Job Descriptions

In this resource, Theresa Lynn Sidebotham, Esq. and Dr. Brent Lindquist have a discourse about job descriptions and how they can apply differently in a ministerial or mission environment.

Part 1: Performance Reviews, and Other Troublesome Stuff (from Brent)

In the last thread on psychological assessment, Theresa, you made regular comments about some things are more of a concern for "regular" employees, and less of a concern for employees who fit a "ministerial" category. You say that religious organizations have almost unlimited freedom to choose and un-choose their ministers. The ministerial exception means that employment decisions and requirements about ministerial personnel are not likely to be scrutinized by the court. Job descriptions become important in that context as well.

Therefore I think we need to look at more detail in job descriptions and perhaps later performance reviews in the ministerial or mission environment. Back in my pre-field orientation and training days, we used to help new missionaries think about their work. The list of things that they did relative to missions work, that would normally fit in the category of a "job description," were actually more like a "life description." We were trying to help them think in a more holistic way about everything they did. It's very difficult to decide when you stop being a missionary during your day-to-day activities. Is it at 5 PM? What about the person that comes and visits after hours? Are you working if you show a video, or conduct a Bible study, in your home?

I would like to think in more detail about how we help organizations create position descriptions, etc., for these situations with such fluid boundaries. I'm really looking forward to hearing from you about this!

Part 2: Do Your Missionaries Get Time-and-a-Half? (from Theresa)

You’ve actually raised two very interesting job-related questions. The first is the divide between ministerial and non-ministerial employees. The second is the divide between professionals and hourly workers.

Religious organizations have a lot of freedom to choose their ministers, because the work of the ministers actually defines the organization’s position and activity. They can impose religious standards, character standards, behavioral standards, and so on. It’s called the “ministerial exception” because Title VII specifically does not apply to them. Constitutionally, various other employment statutes probably cannot apply to ministers either. Many missionaries, perhaps even most missionaries, fall into the ministerial exception. However, certain personnel, such as missions staff and administrative people, might not fall into the exception, depending on their job description and role. It is worth taking a little time and effort to draft job descriptions for different positions and determining whether the position is considered ministerial or not. (There can also be tax and benefit implications, which are beyond the scope of this blog.)

If an employee of a mission does not fit the ministerial exception, there is still freedom under Title VII to discriminate in hiring according to religion, which means the mission can require certain beliefs and behavioral standards. But it’s not as generous a protection as the ministerial exception.

The next big divide is whether a person is paid hourly, and is entitled to time-and-a-half if he or she works overtime. This is the staff v. professional divide. (There are other categories of worker that don’t get paid overtime, such as computer programmers and sales people, but for simplicity, we won’t consider those.) If someone is pure staff, you had better be thinking through those evening calls and emails, as the person may be entitled to overtime pay for it.

Most missionaries are going to be professionals—in fact, the variety of professional known as clergy! As any young law firm associate will tell you sadly, overtime does not apply to professionals. Professionals can work as much as they want to or have to. As a psychologist, if you handle a patient emergency in the middle of the night, you don’t go on time-and-a-half. As a pastor, someone showing up with an emergency or personal need one evening is part of your job. I often check client emails from the U.K. as I roll out of bed in the morning and respond to questions from the Far East at 10:00 p.m. That’s just part of being a professional.

Professionals are assumed to love their job and be willing to do whatever is necessary to get the job done (you see, being an attorney is like being a mom). I think most of us who serve or have served as missionaries would agree with that! So the answer to your question is that it’s okay for the job description to be fluid.

Part 3: Hybrid Organizational Positions and Ministerial Exceptions (from Brent)

Hi Theresa! Or should I say mom? Thanks for clarifying some of the issues involving ministerial and non-ministerial employees, and professionals and hourly workers. Although, in clarifying I think you've introduced a whole bunch of other issues!

I note that you talk about all the variability that an organization has when employing ministerial employees, as well as professionals. Your response brought two issues to mind that I would like some clarification on.

1. When looking at the ministerial exception category, especially as it occurs in a not-for-profit religious foundation, such as my own, I wonder if a person has to be an accredited or ordained minister in order to qualify for the exception. I am a psychologist. I have not been to seminary, nor am I ordained. We have had discussions before at the board level about accrediting some of us for tax purposes, but I am not just talking about that. I am wondering if there are grounds to exempt me simply by being employed by a 501(c)(3)? Lest I give you an easy out, does a missionary wife, who is part of a mission, but who has a job description, still count for exemption, and what if the mission does not ordain women?
2. It seems like the ministerial exception would allow quite a bit of variability in terms of how much time a missionary spends on their "tasks." But I also wonder, when thinking about a missionary team, how you would conceptualize the team leader. The team leader has all the missionary tasks that everyone else does, but also for a period of time has to do some administrative work. How would you help an organization define the role of the hybrid person, such as a team leader, in order to help them be effective, as well as legal?

I have a feeling this is quite a lot to think about, and then write about. But, hey, you are the professional, right? (and, mom too!)

Part 4: Who’s a Minister and Who’s a Mom? (from Theresa)

Brent, I have the feeling that when you were a little boy, you drove your mom crazy by asking “Why” all the time? Yes, it is complicated how you define ministerial exception. I find myself driven to the lawyer’s answer of “It depends,” just as I expect your mom sometimes said, “Because.”

You ask how to define a minister. Why does this matter? Most importantly, for conduct and character standards, and to some extent for tax reasons. Generally, you do not have to be accredited or ordained to be a minister. For instance, youth ministers and music ministers have both been found to be ministers, even though they are not ordained. Some denominations don’t even use ordination or accreditation. The general rule is that the religious organization carries out its religious calling by choosing ministers, and to some extent, that is its choice and the courts will probably defer to that. But of course, it’s not that simple, because it is defined partly by constitutional law and partly by the laws of various states defining ministers or clergy.

Could you personally be a minister because you are employed by a 501(c)(3)? Probably not, because your organization is not a church specifically or very much like one. Some mission organizations are considered churches, or they are similar enough as a religious organization that similar standards would apply. (Take note, Brent, this is not legal advice, because I don’t know that much about your structure and situation!)

Now on to your missionary wife question. For tax purposes, it may not matter, because she may not get a salary anyway. I know I didn’t, when we were on the field, since half of not-very-much would have been practically nothing anyway. For the purposes of defining roles, responsibilities, and standards, it may matter a lot how your missionary wife is defined. I liked one mission’s job description for a young mom that said her primary ministry was to the children (given how many MKs over the years have felt neglected for the work)—they obviously considered her a minister. A woman could be a minister even if the organization does not ordain women. Or the religious requirements for a male minister could include conduct standards within the family. You want to be pretty careful if you differentiate between married and single women, or between women and men, in working all this out. You can’t just ignore gender discrimination issues.

The team leader? Just an even-more-busy minister and professional, who has some administrative leadership tasks. This is all very broad-brush and is not legal advice. But an organization working through this probably would need legal advice!

Part 5: Thinking about a Missionary Job Description (from Brent)

Thanks for this background, Theresa. I think we have included some good ideas about background, but I would like us to forge ahead and look at what a reasonable job description might look like and what a performance review might look like. Perhaps you will not want to create an actual job description, but I think we could at least discuss the main parts of a job description. Here goes.

Position description: Missionary

The job description for the full-time evangelistic missionary in (position) with XYZ Mission will include the following dimensions: daily activities; major responsibilities; chain of command; and performance review.

With regards to daily activities, the missionary will be expected to find and maintain an appropriate place to live and care for his or her family members, which is consistent and safe with the surrounding community. The missionary will be expected to engage with the community in various aspects of evangelism and church-planting, to be developed with field and team leadership. He or she will work under the field leader, who will help the missionary to find the appropriate place for his or her gifts and talents in the larger scheme of the mission team.

While there will be an annual performance review that will look at all aspects of the missionary’s life and witness, the nature of the close team relationship means that feedback will also come more frequently. In addition to team and field leadership relationships and relationships with nationals, the missionary will also be expected to maintain regular communications with supporting individuals and churches.

This is admittedly brief, but it presents the opportunity for each missionary to develop a lot of flexibility with their own leadership in terms of meeting the requirements for the goals that the church or mission has.

I'd like to hear your response to this and your corrections, and I want to tell you that I have a surprise. I have asked one of my friends to provide me with a position description from his organization as well as a performance review document. It should be interesting to see how far off you and I could potentially be. On the other hand, I would like to hear what your position description was when you were serving overseas as a missionary. Have fun!

Part 6: Seven Reasons and Seven Guidelines (from Theresa)

Brent, this struck me as pretty funny! When I was a missionary, we didn’t have a job description. I don’t think that concept had occurred to anybody (this was a while ago). Why do we even need job descriptions? Here are seven reasons.

Reasons we need job descriptions:

1. We want to make sure people have the training and qualifications to do that job.
2. We want to know what requirements of physical or mental health are actually job-related, so we understand what standards are fair to impose and what accommodations can (or cannot) be made.
3. Someone should be able to tell if she is doing a good job.
4. A supervisor’s evaluation should be based on objective criteria.
5. People should know what to expect of others and how their job functions mesh together.
6. For religious organizations, we want to know if the employee is a minister and falls into the ministerial exception (which means that in the U.S., many of the employment laws will not apply).
7. We want missionaries to know what steps to take to accomplish a very confusing and challenging job.

The Department of labor has some helpful guidelines on job analysis at www.dol.gov/odep. It suggests that we consider these seven items in analyzing a job.

1. What is the purpose of the job?
2. What are the job’s essential functions?
3. What time and physical activities do those functions require?
4. Where does the job take place and under what conditions?
5. How will the work environment be organized?
6. What training and qualifications does the job require?
7. What accommodations could reasonably be made?

These questions are helpful to ask in designing the job description, interview questions for the job, and performance appraisals.

In finishing, I want to recommend a remarkable new resource, Cross-Cultural Church Planting for Probies, by Dr. Roger Dixon and Jan Dixon, M.Psy. This book is a step-by-step guide from preparing for departure through planting a church. It breaks down the process into eight phases and addresses each in detail. I have never seen a resource like this anywhere. It should be helpful both for writing job descriptions for all levels, and for helping missionaries with training and qualifications. The authors (who in the interests of full disclosure are my parents) spent over 30 years church-planting in an unreached people group.

Part 7: Underlying Psychological Reasons Why We Need Them (from Brent)

For this post, I'd like to note a few underlying psychological reasons to go with your reasons. I will comment on most of your points, or after any particularly important points.

First of all, Theresa, I am glad I made you laugh. We need to laugh at least once if not preferably a dozen times a day. I really appreciate your reasons for job descriptions, as well as the Department of Labor's outline of what needs to be in a correct job description. For this post, I'd like to note a few underlying psychological reasons to go with your reasons and then in another post hopefully with your help, I'd like to create a Department of Labor job description for what you did when you were on the mission field. Should be fun! My comments after most of your point, or after any particularly important points are italicized.

• We want to make sure people have the training and qualifications to do that job. Making sure people have the training and qualifications for a particular job is really important for their sense of accomplishment and self-esteem. When this is mismatched, lots of issues become apparent, like absence, illness, and injury.
• We want to know what requirements of physical or mental health are actually job-related, so we understand what standards are fair to impose and what accommodations can (or cannot) be made. In my opinion this is a big glaring hole in mission job descriptions, because there are no particular specifications made about a position in terms of what country are they going to be serving in. What may be very easy and straightforward in one country, may be extremely difficult if not impossible and dangerous in another country.
• Someone should be able to tell if she is doing a good job. Thank you obvious woman! Being able to see if your effort results in results can be a powerful motivator for many people. However, even while saying this, I must note that John Paton labored for many years in a horrible situation, and did not see any results. So we need to be a little careful with this one.
• A supervisor’s evaluation should be based on objective criteria.
• People should know what to expect of others and how their job functions mesh together. Group cohesion, connection, and intimacy are directly related to the degree in which people understand what each one is contributing, and are committed to each other.
• For religious organizations, we want to know if the employee is a minister and falls into the ministerial exception (which means that in the U.S., many of the employment laws will not apply).
• We want missionaries to know what steps to take to accomplish a very confusing and challenging job.

It is amazing to me how easy it is for organizations to get very individually focused, and the benefits of team and connectivity are missed. I'm looking forward to our efforts in the next post on Theresa overseas!

Part 8: A Retrospective Overseas Job Description (from Theresa)

Brent, you asked me to look back about 20 years and write my job description for when Bruce and I and our four small sons lived overseas for 7 years. He asked if I had a job description—I don’t think anyone did back then for this type of job.

Brent, you should understand that I am not making a legal recommendation that anyone have this job description, and most job descriptions would be much shorter. This is only my job description—what I actually did. I just read it to my husband, and he said, “That sounds like fun; I want to go back.”

Company Mission:

Glorifying God among those who do not know Jesus Christ.

Job title:

Cross-cultural communications—wife

Department:

Oh please.

Purpose:

Build the Kingdom on multiple levels from family to church to broader community in a relatively primitive multicultural setting.

Essential functions of the job:

• Teach university English classes;
• Teach preschool and elementary school;
• Train inexperienced household help;
• Run a house in a primitive tropical setting;
• Learn a national and tribal language;
• Assist in church work;
• Show hospitality to people from multiple people groups;
• Assist in development work;
• Provide nutritional and tasty food for a family, where most of it has to be made from scratch (as in making bread, noodles, and tortillas);
• Care for three small children;
• Give birth to a baby in a primitive medical setting and provide for adequate newborn medical care;
• Sew or cause to be sewn clothes and curtains for the family;
• Identify markets and shops to buy or make needed items;
• Any other task required to be done from time to time.

Time required:

14-16 hours a day and always on call.

Physical activities:

• Ability to work continuously in tropical heat and resist tropical diseases;
• Bear a baby without medical complications;
• Design and implement adequate exercise in an environment where walking on the street is not practicable;
• Drive a large manual Landrover with no power steering (up to 9 months pregnant);
• Eat a variety of food without becoming ill.

Place:

The job takes place in a mid-sized but fairly primitive Asian city on the equator and near the ocean. Temperature varies little throughout the year, but is consistently hot and muggy. Rainfall is about 36 inches a year. Tropical diseases, including cholera, typhoid, dengue fever, and tuberculosis, are endemic.

Work environment:

• The work environment is not organized; the worker must organize it.
• The worker must be able to identify tasks, design an approach, and implement the tasks in a self-directed way. There will be no supervision and no feedback.

Training and qualifications:

• Capable of learning languages rapidly;
• Qualified to teach English and ESL at university level;
• Qualified to design curriculum;
• Qualified to teach preschool and early elementary;
• Skilled in training uneducated workers;
• Psychological knowledge to diagnose and treat disabilities and identify emotional conditions;
• Able to diagnose and treat medical conditions with no formal training; must be able to tolerate the sight of blood;
• Management skills to run a household and school of small children and workers;
• Theological training for church work;
• Cross-cultural skills;
• Emotional ability to stay calm in crisis; must be able to deal with overwhelming situations with no visible emotional reaction;
• Sufficient inner resources to exist with few friendships and little communication back to the U.S. or with colleagues in other parts of the country;
• Practical skills in cooking, sewing, and decorating;
• Driving skills to drive under dangerous conditions and on inadequate roads.

Accommodations that could reasonably be made:

It is possible that for some physical disabilities, additional household help could be hired. Many disabilities could not be accommodated. Wheelchairs would not work—no sidewalks. You couldn’t learn the language with a hearing disability. The environment would severely exacerbate any emotional disabilities. Any physical weakness would lead to severe illness and possibly death.

Part 9: Several Modern Missions Job Descriptions (from Theresa)

Brent, you have gathered a couple of modern missions job descriptions, and you’d like me to comment on how they compare to the Department of Labor suggestions. So here we go.

First, the Department of Labor job description list again:

• What is the purpose of the job?
• What are the job’s essential functions?
• What time and physical activities do those functions require?
• Where does the job take place and under what conditions?
• How will the work environment be organized?
• What training and qualifications does the job require?
• What accommodations could reasonably be made?

Job Description #1

Job Title: [Administrative Assistant]

Reports to: [Field Director]

Based at: [Field Location]

Job Purpose: [To assist the field director with administrative needs. To care for the hospitality of work teams that travel to (name of field). To assist the national church as requested.]

Duties and Responsibilities:

1. Offer assistance to the field director and the mission team with administrative needs, i.e., database, filing, printing, etc.
2. Organize the hospitality (meals and housing) for work teams.
3. Assist the national church as requested, i.e., teaching English, assisting in the coffee shop ministry, etc.
4. This description does pretty well with the purpose and essential functions of the job. While this is a generic description, so it’s not fully fleshed out, it seems that the template doesn’t encourage much of a description about time, place, physical activities, and conditions of work. It also doesn’t discuss training and qualifications, or possible accommodations. So it’s probably useful as a job-posting tool, but not too useful for helping clarify to an employee what the real conditions will be, or in establishing what the essential functions of the job are if an accommodation is needed.

Job Description #2

Another mission website you sent had an attractive series of job posts. These descriptions made the jobs sound quite interesting, and described the basic qualifications for the job. But they did not really describe the job’s essential functions, the physical activities, the work environment, or possible accommodations. They were a good initial recruiting tool, but would not be very useful for imposing any limitations on who could be hired.

Job Description #3

You sent me another one that was very long and detailed. It appears to have had a lawyer, a theologian, or possibly both, involved (yes, I remember that mine was long and detailed too, but possibly more entertaining). Job Description #2 was a lot more appealing from a recruiting standpoint.

The strength of this job description was that it makes clear the religious standards of the organization, which is very important in defending religious liberties, and also some of the physical standards that are essential to the job.

This particular job description fulfilled all the requirements of the DOL list in great detail. In fact, it was so detailed that I am surprised they are able to hire anyone, because probably only Jesus would meet all the qualifications, assuming that his English is good enough. That brings up a point of caution. If the job description sounds like it is intended to be so restrictive that you can screen out people you don’t want, it could give rise to discrimination charges (if you don’t want them because of discriminatory reasons).

What do we conclude? Although job descriptions are important, they are hard to write. The DOL factors should help you, and it is a good challenge to think through what you expect of your missionaries in different positions.

Part 10: All Things Are Hard, but Writing Good Job Descriptions Is Worth It (from Brent)

Thanks Theresa, for the summary of your comments about the job descriptions. However, before we close this off, I think we need to say more than that job descriptions are hard to write.

Yes, job descriptions are hard to write, but they still need to be done. I would hazard a guess here, based on experience, that many of the problems we see with missionaries several years down the road may arise partly from descriptions of their jobs that are vague or simply leave important information out. Here are some things to consider, and then I am done:

1. I think it is better to err with too much information, rather than too little. I like position #3 above, because it is more complete. I get that it might look like it is trying to keep certain people out, but I would think that if all the position descriptions were complete, than this might be ameliorated somewhat.
2. I would like to put forth an idea that we need even more information. I would like to see a position description tied to a series of narratives developed by the people who have held those positions previously, which articulate the pros and cons, and especially provide information about how someone surmounted the difficulties. This turns the position description into more of an interactive learning experience.
3. Even though this might be distasteful to most, I think a session in the interview process needs to be to go over the position description carefully, to discuss if the candidate truly understands the nuances of the responsibilities.

If people know what to expect and are well-prepared, they are less likely to have problems later on.

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"The Rock and the Hard Place" blog is a discourse between Theresa Lynn Sidebotham, Esq. and Dr. Brent Lindquist on the topics of law, human resources, psychology, member care, and the theology of missions. To learn more about this blog and what it's all about, click here.

Theresa Lynn Sidebotham, Esq.

Dr. Brent Lindquist

Disclaimer: not official legal or psychological advice or opinion