“We should run the church more like a business.”
Over the years, I have heard this statement numerous times. It often is spoken in response to perceived and actual inefficiencies, or it expresses someone’s frustration at the church’s lack of focus. These are real concerns, and I am sympathetic to the search for good ideas. The business community has a vested interest in making better managers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. By the sheer volume of books, articles, and research, there is plenty from which to learn, and there is some good information out there. Moreover, the church should not be shy towards accountability, transparency and better communication.
However, we must be careful. Analogies are helpful until they reach their limits. At some point, they break down. For example, someone might suggest that the church is a spiritual factory producing religious goods and services for its customers. The church needs to increase its market share by making better and more popular products. In this scenario, the producers are the church’s staff, leadership, and committees. The customers are the people in the pews. Our products are worship services, music programs, and service opportunities.
This is how many view the church, but it is a false image. In this model, the parishioner is reduced to nothing but a consumer whose appetites are insatiable. Since being a consumer is a lot easier than being a producer, recruiting leadership is difficult. Service is not seen as a joy but in fact an obligation. Burn-out is a real problem because our production quotas become more and more demanding. The products, the programs, and events, become the focus rather than the people.
In the gospels, Jesus described a different model. He told the church to go and “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). The end result is not more pot luck dinners or children’s programs. Instead, it is a community of people following Jesus. The main characteristics of this community are to love God (Matthew 22:37), to love one another (John 13:35), and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:39). Our worship, fellowship, and outreach grow naturally from this community.
In this community, the church leadership has a special opportunity. Rather than focus on particular works, their focus is on God and others. Leadership grows out of love, not obligation. We disciple others so that they grow in faith. Our hope and desire remain that they themselves will join the ranks of leadership. Thus, the process perpetuates itself.
This is our calling. This is who we are. Together, let us never lose sight of the Lord’s business.
Pastor 139 