Dear Jeremiah: Business Models and the Church
Jeremiah,
Yes, you are correct. Using business and political models to build the church is now such a part of our church culture that we do not even give it a second thought. Let me give you an example of when this all hit home with me.
In pastoral and church growth classes, the importance of developing vision, mission, and value statements as a guide for our churches was hammered into my classmates and me. We were all encouraged to create our own vision, mission, and value statements with pithy acronyms and slogans. All this was seen as the best path to church growth.
A year or two into our time in Ashton, I remember walking into a brand-new, chain taco restaurant in Idaho Falls. On the wall next to the entrance was a large plaque with the company’s Vision, Mission and Values statement written boldly for everyone to see. I remember saying to myself “Wow! This vision, mission, and values idea has been so successful in American churches that businesses are starting to use it.” Then reality sank in: it was not businesses adopting the practices of churches, but churches adopting the growth strategies of businesses. I had been taught how to build a successful taco restaurant when I should have been taught how to shepherd the flock of God. Then I remembered that I have years left on my school loans, and I finished my taco while I stared blankly at the wall, eyelid twitching sporadically.
If we search the scriptures, there is a better model to follow than big box retailers and taco stands. It is the model of the farmer. Paul refers to the church as God’s field and church leaders as ones who plant and water while God gives the growth. A different set of virtues are needed for the farmer. Patience, endurance, faithfulness, and knowing times and seasons are all qualities of a good farmer. Farmers know that not all ground is the same and that a bountiful harvest depends on so much more than the craftiness of the farmer. The goal of the farmer is a good harvest while the goal of big box retailers and taco stands is satisfied customers.
Adopting business models comes with adopting business goals. Churches use them because they produce what successful businesses produce: customers. God does not want customers, He wants servants. Church leaders should not be building a clientele but the body of Christ. And that, Jeremiah, is the heart of the issue.
BTW, that Taco restaurant in Idaho Falls is now out of business.
