Organizing God’s Work

This book provides an organizational perspective on the local congregations of Christianity and Judaism Churches and Synagogues. It will meet the need of those who work in congregations, clergy and lay people alike for an accessible, non-judgmental analysis of the day-to-day work challenges they face. It will also fill a gap in the literature of four academic fields: Social policy and administration; non-profit and voluntary-sector management; the sociology of religion; and organizational behaviour.

'Margaret Harris has clearly delineated the role of congregations in social welfare, and her findings are an important contribution to the current debate on public policy.' - Dr Jonathan Gorsky, Church Times

MARGARET HARRIS is Assistant Director of the Centre for Voluntary Organisation at the London School of Economics where she also runs the MSc degree in Voluntary Sector Organisation. Before moving into academia in the early 1980's, she worked as an administrator and policy analyst for the Greater London Council and as a trainer and volunteer adviser in the Citizens Advice Bureau service. She has conducted collaborative research with numerous local and national voluntary agencies including many academic journals on a range of topics including voluntary management committees (boards); the impact of public policy on the voluntary sector; volunteering; and the work of religious congregations. She is co-editor with David Billis of Voluntary Agencies: Challenges of Organisation and Management (Macmillan, 1996).