A few months ago a friend of mine described the current situation in the Church of England as follows: the diocesan authorities think of themselves as Moses, calling the people to enter the promised land; while the parishes generally think that their leaders are Pharaoh, demanding more bricks! This basic tension colours discussions about finance, deployment, mission, and so on…

Caught between the diocese and the parishes sits the deanery. As an area dean I know this tension very well: the diocese wants to collect the parish share but would like someone ‘local’ to collect it – and make the difficult decisions about who should pay what – on the understanding that the total amount will still need to come in somehow. The responsibility for being ‘big bad nasty’ is therefore pushed down the line – to someone who can work hard to help people ‘own’ the difficult decisions…

Area deans have perhaps unfairly been characterised as ‘middle management’ but there is some truth in this description. They (or rather we) are placed between two parties with different expectations, needs and issues – and they are expected to make things work…

Management is, however, a difficult concept for area deans, since they have huge responsibilities but little actual power. Furthermore, Anglicanism tends to focus its attention on bishops and congregations. It respects episcopal power and status but also balances this with a strong sense of local autonomy. Hence, area deans can become irrelevant pretty quickly since bishops and archdeacons feel that they can operate in any parish with complete impunity, while parishes often go straight to the bishop with a problem, rather than bothering the area Dean.

As an area Dean I’ve spent a lot of time being sorry – sorry both upwards and downwards – sorry to one party that the other was not behaving as hoped… passing messages upwards and downwards in a palatable manner.

Of course it is possible to ‘lead from the middle’. You can work really hard and pull together a plan of action that is acceptable to everyone. I think I’ve managed to do this a few times. It’s hard work but can be reasonably successful if you get it right…

On a good day, I can feel quite satisfied with those communal wins – although I have noticed how easily they can be ignored, forgotten or re-interpreted. Ultimately, job satisfaction based on such subtle leadership is fairly ephemeral. Talk of area deans as ‘sharing’ in leadership is also unfair since this can only happen with consent and the actual holders of power can withdraw this at any point – according to their own whim or convenience.

It might seem that I am being bitter and frustrated – and on a bad day this is certainly true. On a good day, however, I recognise that this is simply the reality of the situation. Anglicanism is ultimately a form of episcopalian congregationalism and area deans are caught between the two poles of the relationship.

Theologically, I think it may be better to see area deans as pastors rather than leaders. They may not always be able to ‘lead from the middle’ but they can always ‘pastor from the centre’. Because they spend time with a range of people they can empathise with diocesan authorities who are frustrated that their Moses aspirations have been interpreted as pharonic oppression and they can also sit with clergy and parishes who are struggling with a heavy load. At their best, area deans can provide the relational glue that holds the two poles together, even if they are ignored or scapegoated.

Seeing area deans in pastoral rather than management terms may be quite helpful to the development of the role. How do we use our structural position as a way of nurturing relationships, building community and encouraging individuals – rather than allowing that structural position to become a source of terminal stress?…

Anyway… This post has really been an attempt to reframe ecclesiastical ‘middle management’ in pastoral terms. I can only really speak from an Anglican perspective, since that is the one I know best. The interesting piece of work to do next is to experiment with such reframing in action. In other words, how do I act in such a way that I begin to ‘pastor from the centre’ rather than allow myself to become a frustrated and impotent manager… Wish me luck and I’ll see what I can learn…


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