Some of us have succumbed to the “business-creep.”
What do I mean? ”Business-creep” is when books and best practices from the business sector begin to influence the way we lead our churches more than the servant leadership of Christ in the Bible. PLEASE HEAR ME: I’m not saying business books and practices are bad. Some of my favorite business books are Good to Great, The Advantage, The Speed of Trust, Inside the Magic Kingdom, and First Break all the Rules and Entreleadership. I’m a firm believer that all truth is God’s truth, so we should implement the truths we learn from the business arena. However, we should never let the principles of business trump the principles of Christ-likeness. As pastors we can sometimes put the bottom line before people. That makes us unlikable, but it also makes us sinners. When we treat human resources like resources instead of humans, we err on the side of worldliness and that breaks the heart of God. We must not allow the “business-creep” to cause us to harm people.
Help for pastors who struggle with the “business-creep”: Read Love Works by Joel Manby. This unique business book is written from the belief that the best business model is built on 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. It’s a powerful book about the way biblical love can and should shape us as leaders. Biblical love is not “soft,” so it addresses hiring and firing from the perspective of grace and love. This is a book that all of us as pastors need to read and implement. By doing so, we will be more capable leaders who are at the same time attractive to others for the sake of Christ.
The bottom line for me is this: Pastors have an obligation to have the “nice guy factor.” This doesn’t mean we should avoid tough conversations or tough decisions. Rather, it means we embrace and approach those things with Christ-likeness. When we’re mean, cruel, angry, untrusting, arrogant or rude we do a great disservice to the Kingdom of God. Pastors, we are influencers. Nice guys influence positively. Not-nice guys do the opposite.
