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