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Why Most Churches Don’t Work
Orginally published on Wednesday, March 09, 2005 at 6:00 AM
by Todd Rhoades
Bruce Johnson has an interesting blog that I really enjoy reading. Recently, he had an entry called "Why Most Churches Don’t Work". It was an interesting read… Here’s part of what Bruce writes: In my mentoring group this month, we’re reading The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It.
It’s a business classic, written by Michael Gerber, that highlights an
essential problem in small businesses. You see, the e-myth is that
most small businesses are started by entrepreneurs. But they’re not. ..
The typical scenario works like this. Joe is a great mechanic. He hates that he's better at repairing cars than his boss (and yet the boss makes more money than he does). So, Joe decides to open up his own shop. Since Joe is so good, word spreads and Joe has more work than he can do on his own. So, Joe starts to hire people to help him (and especially to do things that he doesn't like to do--like manage people and take care of the books). Over time, everything starts to fall apart. Staff morale sags. The quality suffers. Customers aren't as happy. And Joe, who once dreamed of taking vacations and having dinner home with his family, is now working 12-18 hour days, seven days a week?and hating every one of them. What was once a joy, has now become a burden.
Sounds a lot like the church doesn't it? But in this case, Joe is a preacher (or a former youth pastor who has decided he knows more than his former senior pastor does). Joe loves to preach and teach the word. He may even like to pray. But when he becomes the senior pastor of a congregation, he's no longer just a preacher/pastor?he's the leader of a congregation?which is about much more than just being a pastor/shepherd. i don't care what anyone says, when a church gets past 75 people, the pastor is no longer just a pastor. The advancement of the gospel calls him to be much more than that, he must become a leader. Preaching, teaching and caring are not enough?which is why most church struggle to grow.
Using Gerber's language, the pastor is a technician. And technicians make terrible "owners" (in our language, Senior Pastors). What Gerber argues for is that small business owners (i.e. Senior Pastors) learn to balance out the three personalities needed for a successful business?the entrepreneur (i.e. the leader), the manager (i.e. the administrator) and the technician (i.e. the pastor/preacher/shepherd). In another blog, I'll share Gerber's solution to this e-myth problem. But for now, I want to leave you with this thought. Gerber says that what makes successful small business owners different is that they work on their business, not in their business. In other words, they step back and see the business (church) as a system to work on, rather than a job that they must complete. If you get that, it will make all the difference in the world for both your church and your life. Get the book and read it.
Any comments?
Have a great day!
Todd
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I'm a chronic workaholic, love to connect leaders with other leaders, and would consider myself somewhat of a 'maven'. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you'll like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step.
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Wednesday, March 09, 2005 at 10:27 AM
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Friday, November 03, 2006 at 2:36 AM
Post Your Comments:I think acually, no matter what job you have, you usually get promoted and have to learn new skills for your next assignment.
When you’re at the very top, there’s two jobs that need to be done: Leadership and Management. Sometimes they conflict. Management wants to control everything, and make best use of the resources. Leadership wants to cast a vision and break into new territory. A strong organization needs leadership and management, and neglecting one for the other will spell doom. For example, management-only will produuce a very efficient organization, but without leadership, the product they make will not be compelling. Likewise, leadership-only can create great poducts and services, but it won’t be able to adequately provide them.
The key is to study articles like yours, and be constantly learning and adapting. Once we stop learning, we’re sealing our own doom.
...Bernie
http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/247
I received an excellent bit of education from this concept when I worked for Church Growth Institute. I have since taught my Pastoral Theology students the same concept.
There are three levels of pastoral leadership similar to the business model. Most pastors are leaders of an average sized congregation (80-120) attendance on Sunday.
One of the keys of moving to the next level of leadership from entrepeneur to manager is to start training your congregational leaders to take more responsibility in leading. It is difficult for the entrepeneur pastor to delegate to volunteers who have limited time and abilities (?) and allow them the time and freedom to make something happen because we tend to want to keep a tight reign on everything that happens to assure quality. Sometimes we think we are doing a good job of delegating, when we actually are stifling people by requiring too much accountability. In other words, we need to let people run with the ball.
Leadership is not bossing—it is motivating people and influencing people to BE THEIR BEST. When we allow them to put it together and make it work with our encouragment and coaching, they learn so much more and take other people to a higher level, thus taking themselves to a higher level and taking us to a higher level.
When a pastor is an entrepeneur/technician, he tends to be very hands-on. If he can learn to be the coach instead of a coach/player, he will prepare himself and his congregation for the next level.
When a pastor goes to the manager level, he must take other leaders to that level first. When a church grows to around 500--600, the pastor must be less hands-on and learn to “direct traffic” in the church, setting directions, visions and goals and helping others accomplish individual goals within the context of the whole body’s vision/goals.
When a church hits 1,000 or higher, the pastor becomes more of an executive, a level most of us never reach because at that level, we can only set directions and lead/train leaders. To be sure, we still have to have funerals and weddings and visit hospitals, or have an assistant who is responsible for these tasks and an understanding with his church that someone else has that particlar assignment. By the way, this transition will go smoother if it begins at the lowest level by involving deacons, elders and other lay leaders in that part of the ministry. Again, we need to share ministry as well as leadership.
This is all part of shepherding the flock and shepherds of animal flocks change roles as their flocks grow and they train and develop “under” shepherds. We can learn from the same pattern.
Ephesians teaches us that this is a biblical principle as we allow gifted people to carry out the work of the ministry to the edifying of the church. Paul told Timothy to take the things he had learned from Paul and commit them to faithful workers who would teach others.
Hmm, sound familiar, doesn’t it.
I am a new pastor, 9 mths. I spent yrs in corp Amer and also running my own business. The problem I am running into is finding people who are willing to run with the ball. I don’t have a problem leading and delegating. However, it seems to me that most people today want to be served, not serve. Any suggestions?
Gene,
Congratulations on your calling to ministry. A lot of times our folks don’t not know what they are gifted to do. Have you given thought to giving your folks a spiritual gifts inventory? This helps them know, if they did not know it already, that the gifts that God has given them are in a certain area. It is a reafirmation of how they are ‘wired’ for ministry.
Larry
I am not sure the key is in more testing but understanding. We have to know the hearts of our people and the heart of God for our church...once we know this...we align these two together and move forward...I have to present the vision in such a way that motivates the people to action and calling that God has already placed in their hearts.
I would teach/preach a series on spiritual gifts as well as giving the inventory. As Larry Gilbert said in TEAM Ministry, it is not enough to know what your spiritual gift, but you need to know what “A spiritual gift is.”
Congratulations on your new ministry and remember that you are building a lifelong relationship, not an immediate involvement. Get everyone to fall in love with Jesus and go from there.
God grant you a fruitful and effective pastorate.
Wayne
Gene,
Spiritual gift inventories are greeat, but is there something deaper going on in the church? Was there a conflict isue with the former pastor? If so you might have a group of people waiting to determine if they can trust you before serving. Or do you have a church of older people that are mostly concerned with keeping the church as they have always known it, no change equals no extra service? just a thought. i to am a new pastor (6 months) after 25 years in corporate world. Keep the faith Gene, remember your call!!
I believe that the Pastor is called to teach and preach. For the most part churches do not let them do that anymore. They expect the pastor to do everything (i.e.-administration). Most pastors aren’t that good of adminstrators. Churches need to put administrators on staff, so the pastors can teach and preach.
If there is a weakness to this article it is that it forgets one important aspect of the Pastor in ministry. George Barna indicates that this ignored aspect may be the most significant to why people get into ministry and stay in ministry. That is the call. Though the article is true, it may not be an accurate assessment of the real nature of the problem.
I can agree there are many churches, and Pastors whose origins are exactly what you assess. They are either entrepreneurs or fueled in dissatisfaction. However I have found that these endeavors are relatively short lived. Most do not make it past the first few conflicts; these seem to be endured by a person who is called.
John
There is a saying in the real estate business: “location, location, location”. In ministry, I think it would be better stated: “relationships, relationships, relationships”!! I am a former church staff member, and one of the primary reasons I no longer work vocationally in ministry is the lack of focus on relationships in the church. I truly believe that if we spent half the time on building relationships and meeting needs that we spend on “church growth” seminars and the like, the church would see overwhelming change. What’s wrong with the church is that, while it bears resemblance to the corporate model in modern america, it certainly is not a corporate entity. Too often we run it like one. The pastor is NOT a CEO or even an Adminstrator. He is a shepherd, a servant. How many pastors do we meet that exudes “servant”? Ministry and service start at the top. Vocational ministry is not a “job path”. It is a calling. If we change our focus in that one area; if we spend twice the time meeting our unchurched neighbors that we spend preparing sermons or reading motivational materials; if we present ourselves as honest, transparent, flawed and in need of the same grace we preach to the congregation about, maybe the presented question would need to be asked less!!! Just a thought based on my experience.
danny
I agree a little with Danny. Pastors don’t spend enough time getting to know the people they are speaking to. If you don’t know the people then you don’t know their needs. If you don’t know the needs, how can you pray for them, or disciple them. There more you know the people I feel the more they will be open to God using you in their life.
I am a firm believer in being prepared for Sunday. I have served with too many Pastors that wait till Sat. night to write Sun. mornings sermons. Studying for Sunday in my opinion should be a high priority. Let it never be said however, of us, “My Pastor does not have time for me, he is to busy studying.
With all respect
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