1 Corinthians 12:28 mentions gifts of administrating, of business. Here, we are thinking about secretaries, treasurers, and planners. The Greek word is used often of someone who steers a ship—a helmsman—someone who prevents the ship going round and round in circles. The helmsman takes the rudder and controls the direction of the ship, so that it is not going round and round in circles.
I do not think we should necessarily think of leaders here. Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. They are people who are methodical; they are business‑like. Once a policy has been set, these people can break it down into goals and objectives. The leaders may say,
Here is where we want to go.Those with gifts of administration will say,Here is how we are going to get there.They will ask: how are we going to work out the objective? Their gift is to evolve strategies, to motivate other people, to organise and direct the work, to see that the various responsibilities are carried out.We tend to have inherited a view from the past that the pastor may have this gift. However, it is my observation that very, very few pastors have this gift. I certainly do not have it. We need to pray for such gifts. It seems like not an exciting thing; it seems like a pretty run‑of‑the‑mill thing, but it is in the New Testament. Gifts of administration, planning, organising, and of seeing that everything is mobilised and in order. We need them in the congregation.1
Edward Donnelly
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.