The Church is not a business!
If you have been around church circles for a while, or if you have come across the online posts of individuals hurt by churches you may have come across the statement, ‘Church is not a business!’ This line often comes with tinges of sadness or anger, disappointment or regret. I have also heard the rhetoric ‘The pastor isn’t meant to be a CEO!’ which carries with it the same emotions.
I empathise with men and women who have been part of churches who have adopted a style of church which focuses on attendance and finances as primary measures of health. The church system then gradually shifts focus away from righteousness, peace and joy and onto other metrics that are easier to measure but deceptive in the information they provide. These become vanity metrics that serve only to make the pastor or leadership team feel good or bad compared to where they think they should be. The fact is that there can be lots of people in attendance, and lots of money coming in, yet the underlying health of the church is very poor. If you are familiar with The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast you may remember that the Mars Hill church in Seattle had is largest ever attendance and giving just two years before the collapse of the church. A smart church and a healthy church are not one and the same.
Yet I cannot help but feel that the statement ‘Church is not a business!’ is more confusing than it is helpful.
When I consider what ‘church’ is from a biblical perspective, I think of Jesus’ statement, ‘Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.’ The word used in the Greek was ekklesia; simply an assembly or large gathering of people. I find it curious that, to my knowledge, this was the only time Jesus referred to His people using this word. Jesus entire focus was not on the church, but on the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom to which His assembly was invited to join. Are businesses part of the Kingdom of God? Of course! Jesus used business parables many times in teaching Kingdom principles and concepts. Is the Kingdom of God a business? Of course not!
I heard a saying this week that stuck with me, ‘Business is a spiritual game.’ As I understand it, healthy businesses are an expression of the kingdom of God. And if I am honest, healthy businesses are more like the kingdom of God than an awful lot of churches. Now that is a big statement, but one I stand by. A healthy business takes the time to understand its clients and their needs, and works hard to meet clients where they are at and meet those needs to a high standard. To be competitive, the business needs to meet the needs of clients to a higher standard than their competitors. A healthy business exists not to be served, but to serve. Sound familiar?
So for me, when I hear the statement, ‘Church is not a business!’ I want to understand the experience that person has had which leads them to make that statement. My guess is that they have become subjected to sin in the church system, they have not been regarded as people but as objects, and this experience has left them hurt. The soul who experiences this sin has every right to be hurt and upset. Yet it has nothing to do with whether a church is a business or not. It has to do with the sin that has been committed against that soul.
The solution, as always, is to direct our focus back onto the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, whether in business, in church, or outside of the church. By turning our focus back onto King Jesus, His personhood and His teachings, we focus on the right things, and in doing so make progress towards His Kingdom coming, His will being done on earth, as it is in Heaven.
