Steve Marr Business Proverbs

Should churches be run like businesses? Not in every respect, but churches should certainly adopt a biblical and businesslike model for implementing successful ministry. To be effective, churches and the individual ministries within those churches, must establish a clear ministry vision, based on careful, insightful planning held together by a system of accountability.

Pastor Jeff had been the senior pastor for five years at his church of 250 members. While the church had not grown, most of his congregation gave him high marks for personal contact and preaching good sermons. But others had left the church, or never joined, because of problems with the other church staff members.

"The best predictor of future performance of an individual is the persons past performance" according to Dr. Charles Ridley, former professor at Fuller Seminary. Many churches will collect and review many résumés, screen and interview candidates well but then offer a position without thoroughly checking references.

Pastor Walter slumped into the armchair in his study, feeling devastated. It seemed that every leader in the church wanted to take a piece out of him. One of the elders had layered on the guilt for a list of tasks that he believed the pastor had neglected, another had called him lazy because he had missed a committee meeting. And he was still reeling from the out-of-control anger he had absorbed during a phone call from a member of the congregation.