Is the Church a Business?
Many times in ministry, I have heard people say something
like this, “… well, the church really is a business after all”. Usually this is
said to explain why we do something that seems right in the business world, but
just doesn’t settle easily into our Christian ideals. We have to be honest. There
can be much that happens in the business world that is counter to our Christian
values. By comparison, we don’t put profit ahead of people. We don’t measure
success simply by numbers, but rather by the condition of our hearts. We don’t
judge effectiveness by how much we bring in, but rather by how much we reach
out in the name of Jesus. Further, Jesus did not call us to be good business people,
he called us to be disciples; to love God and neighbor, and to serve others.
This can certainly be done in the context of business, but discipleship must
always come first.
I have been to many conferences that seem to describe
pastoral ministry as working like a CEO of a corporation. I struggle with this
model of Christian leadership. As pastors we are called to help people
experience God in meaningful ways and then challenge them to live that out with
others. We are caretakers of the soul, not executives of a corporation. We are
messengers of a Gospel of love, grace and resurrection. We make the poor and
broken people of the world a priority. Instead of talking about pastors
becoming like CEOs, I wonder what it would look like to have a conference where
we talk about CEOs becoming like pastors. The business world might look very
different.
I am not saying that administration or leadership is
unimportant, or that pastors should avoid learning such skills. Neither do I
mean to imply that running a business is bad. Indeed, the Church itself must do
business work to exist. I am simply saying we can’t separate these tasks from
our call to follow in the ways of Jesus. If we are leading well, then all of
our administrative/business work is bathed in our spirituality; our decisions
are made not only on the basis of simple profit/loss margins, but primarily on
faith, stewardship, and mission. We may still have to make hard decisions. But
instead of approaching that process mainly from the perspective of a corporate
executive, we do it with the loving and honest heart of Jesus. We strive for
transparency and healthy relationships.
Through the years, I have known many business leaders that
have lived these values in extraordinary ways. However, it was not because they
were business savvy, but because they were Jesus followers first. The Church is
not a business! We are a community of Jesus followers above all. And maybe the
way we are called to do business is something we can offer to the world.
We are the hands and feed of Jesus,
Brett
Comments
Post a Comment