{"id":422,"date":"2010-04-20T12:58:33","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T12:58:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/?p=422"},"modified":"2010-04-20T12:58:33","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T12:58:33","slug":"pastor-church-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sharefaith.com\/blog\/2010\/04\/pastor-church-business\/","title":{"rendered":"The Nine to Five Pastor – Why Church Should Never Become a Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve got some questions for you. Is God your CEO? Do you have an Executive Pastor, not just a Senior Pastor? Does your church have an appropriate marketing orientation that reaches a strong local constituency? Are church attendees getting a good ROI?\u00a0 Are the church\u2019s deliverables meeting the client\u2019s needs? Does the church have a strong CFO, CEO, and CTO? And a final question: is all this beginning to sound more like a business than a church?<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Make no mistake about it. The church has imbibed the strategies, techniques, and jargon of business. Pastors, rather than being viewed as \u201cshepherds,\u201d are now viewed as \u201cexecutives,\u201d many of whom receive salaries commensurate to the title. Instead of bookshelves stocked with commentaries and devotional books, pastors read business books like Good to Great, The One Minute Manager, <\/em>and The Tipping Point. <\/em><\/p>\n

What\u2019s going on? Whatever happened to the church sans business? Is all this Church Inc., stuff really what churches need? First, let\u2019s state a few disclaimers. Business is not evil, and the church would do well to streamline best practices, keep careful accounting, and exercise savvy management techniques. But the church is not a business. The megachurch movement has built an approach to doing church that smells way too much like a business corporation and not like the house of God. What\u2019s wrong with this picture?<\/p>\n

Business Models are Not God\u2019s Models<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a lot wrong with this picture, but we will just mention four issues, beginning with this one:\u00a0 when it comes to church vs. business, we\u2019re talking about two totally different models. Totally. What works great in the corporate world might get results in the church, but is it actually accomplishing God\u2019s goals for the church? The church universal is Christ\u2019s body. The local church is a visible manifestation of this body\u2014glorifying God, winning the lost, and edifying believers. Turning this assembly into an organization that operates primarily on business principles is to turn the essence of the church into a secular organization that fails to meet the true purpose of the church.<\/p>\n

The Goal of Business is Profit. The Goal of God is Changed Lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When it comes right down to it, business is in the business of making money. Listen to some pastors or check out the lifestyle of some megachurch pastors or television evangelists, and you might think that the church isn\u2019t much different. But the church ought to be different. The church is not ultimately trying to rake in cash for its Christian coffers. It ought to be working in concert with God to change people\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

Business meets people\u2019s wants and needs. The church is on a rescue mission to save people. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Every business has a product or service. Transporting this idea into the spiritual realm, by speaking of the church\u2019s product, service, <\/em> or deliverable <\/em>is woefully shortsighted. The church does not function on the same plane. The church is compelled by the passionate glory of God, ruled by Jesus Christ, and lived out by believers. The church is on a mission to bring glory to God by bringing the lost to Christ.<\/p>\n

Business is temporal. The church is eternal.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One day, time will come to an end. Will profit margins, ROIs, executives, ad campaigns and branding continue? Nope. Whether in the church or in the business, these things will be no more. Only the church itself will continue. The church is here to stay\u2014forever. Let\u2019s make sure we\u2019re adjusting our goals, objectives, and mission to match Gods. Let\u2019s not make the church a business.<\/p>\n

Check out these resources.<\/em><\/p>\n

In tune with yesterday\u2019s post, encouraging pastors and church administrators to be readers and learners, here are a few resources that you may want to check out. These are three of the classic (and contemporary) books on the subject of the church.<\/p>\n

The Nature of the Church, <\/em>Earl D. Radmacher<\/p>\n

The Church in God\u2019s Program<\/em>, Robert Saucy<\/p>\n

Nine Marks of a Healthy Church,<\/em> Mark Dever<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve got some questions for you. Is God your CEO? Do you have an Executive Pastor, not just a Senior Pastor? Does your church have an appropriate marketing orientation that reaches a strong local constituency? Are church attendees getting a good ROI?\u00a0 Are the church\u2019s deliverables meeting the client\u2019s needs? Does the church have a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[405],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-422","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-pastor-how-to"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Nine to Five Pastor - Why Church Should Never Become a Business - Sharefaith Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sharefaithblog.wpengine.com\/2010\/04\/pastor-church-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Nine to Five Pastor - Why Church Should Never Become a Business - Sharefaith Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I\u2019ve got some questions for you. 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