We need to make one thing
clear. The church is not a
business. Denominational publishing
houses are businesses. Many faith-based
organizations including the church often have to do some of the things that a
business does like pay FICA taxes for its non-ordained employees or undergo
fire inspections. But . . . this does
not make the church a business.
Please understand that I think
that there is much that we can learn from business practices and organizational
development that will help us to more effective as a church. I participate in the Willow Creek Association’s Leadership Summit (usually by
teleconference) each year because I think we can learn some things from business
gurus and corporate leaders like Patrick Lencioni, Blake Mycoskie, Jim
Collins, Daniel Pink, Terri Kelly, Howard Schulz, and Seth Godin as well as from
church leaders. They have insights we
need to hear and apply.
Most of our churches are
fortunate to have business people as lay leaders. They offer their expertise in financial,
building, and personnel matters. We can
be grateful for their input into these matters for often this means we are
better stewards of the resources that God has given to us at the Body of
Christ. They help the church to make
informed and reasoned decisions that contribute to the health of the church as
an organization.
The problem comes when someone substitutes
the desired outcomes for a church with business outcomes. What is the outcome we desire? What is the bottom line? In business, we are usually looking for
return on investment measured in profit generated for shareholders. We measure this in dollars. Of course, we sometimes look at other metrics
as well—retention of staff, new product lines, or even community service. What’s the bottom line in the church? Is it a comfortable facility? No. Is
it a well-paid staff? We could only wish, but no. Is it paying all the bills? This is a good thing but it is not the bottom
line when it comes to the church.
The measure of success in the
church is men and women being transformed into the likeness of Jesus
Christ. We are all in various stages of
this process, but the real work of the church is making disciples. If we forget that then nothing else is
important. When we come to the point
that maintaining the organization is more important that growing the organism
(the Body of Christ), we might as well put up a “Closed for Business” sign.
Comments