By Drs. Dave and Judi Coats
Generally, many businesses function today, understandably, as success-driven, money machines. Some businesses, not all, drive their employees to the point of stress-filled, robot-like performances. In contrast, local churches should function as members of a family–the family of God. But too often, churches resemble frenzied businesses. And surprisingly, some businesses are more concerned about the well-being of the families in their employment than some local churches are. What do Paul and Matthew and John say a church should be?
- A Body and Members One of Another (I Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4)
- A Family (Ephesians 3)
- A Community Influence (Matthew 5)
- Called to Fellowship (I John 1)
Sadly, we have seen church members disillusioned with their church bodies because these faithful folks experience firsthand as members–overtly and also behind the scenes–an atmosphere and a practical functioning of a faux business rather than the comfort and accountability of a loving family. Should the family of God be fiscally responsible? Absolutely! However, we are talking about the week to week functioning of the body of believers.
Just so that we are on target as to the exact point that we are making, here are some common perceptions and characteristics of a “typical” business that is success-driven at all cost:
- The upper management rarely interacts with the “everyday” worker.
- The business seeks to please clients, especially the wealthy ones.
- The upper management rarely attends individual birthday parties and office celebrations opting rather for the big splash moments.
- Workers that are in middle management are left out in the cold as they are rarely consulted on major decisions.
- Workers attend meetings as an obligatory requirement but leave frustrated because of not being consulted.
- The salaries of upper management are often hidden from the workers because of the vast chasm in difference.
- The worker is only a number, not a person with feelings, family, and a life.
- The upper management hobnob at their outings financed by corporate while the worker snags a week’s vacation with his/her family.
Our point is not to analyze business practices. Our point is to examine our church bodies to see if they resemble a business, operationally, to the detriment of the body of Christ.
Okay, so what signs could be red flags that your church functions as a 21st century business rather than a body?
Sign #1. The leadership are more like aloof CEOs rather than shepherds/servants (doulos).
We had a friend who joined a church team as the music director. He asked all the right questions before he began his ministry, but the answers (unbeknownst to him) were from a business mindset. He asked the pastor, “Will you mentor me?” The pastor replied, “Yes.” So the young man thought that he would meet with the pastor often, pray together, grow together, and enjoy time together as brothers in Christ. But this pastor’s idea of mentoring became a monthly visit to the pastor’s office, a list for the music director of all the things this young man was doing wrong in the pastor’s mind, and a cold dismissal—just like a performance review in a job. Basically, “You are not fitting into the mold that we expect of you.”
Another indication is that the leadership is rarely seen interacting with people outside of the official Sunday preaching time. They give the proverbial, obligatory hand shake at the door, but the relationships go just that far. They tend to be aloof from people. They many times hire a “visiting” pastor so that others can remain cloistered and walled off from problems and the people that have the problems; they give the impression that the “study time” must overshadow all else. We totally agree that leadership should study and prepare well to deliver the Word of God to the body, but they must be shepherds among the sheep.
Instead of being characterized by humility and teach-ability, the leadership must be obeyed or else, rubber stamped by allies. Whatever the leadership want, they get. They rarely consult outside of their circle. The deacons are chosen for their ability to do whatever the leadership want, not healthy and loving accountability.
Sign #2. The members with a lot of money are given preferential treatment.
If members that have a lot of money (or influence) have grievances, they bring those issues before the leadership. “If they ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”
We witnessed one instance where some teenagers from our local church were clearly stealing from stores, and everyone knew it. But one teen’s folks were extremely wealthy. They went to the pastor to demand that the youth pastor back off when it came to confronting their teen daughter. What happened in the end is very sad. The pastor sided with the wealthy church supporters instead of seeking help for the daughter. Years later, after immense suffering and family destruction, the daughter fessed up and the parents realized that the youth pastor had been right several years ago. Their daughter had stolen valuables for years, and she was in and out of jail. But many lives had been permanently marred. This story was a very sad, preventable scenario.
Sign #3. The leadership is absent (very frequently) from workdays and times of cleaning up the church grounds and facilities.
We were members once at a church where the pastor (who, by the way, was very physically fit) was immune and excused from workdays because he had “more important” things to do than to get his hands dirty and to be an example of a servant of the body. A leader who shows up to rub shoulders with the body to maintain buildings and to do some spring cleaning is setting the example of humility and service. And besides all that, workdays together are fun and many times very memorable for the togetherness.
Sign #4. An unhealthy atmosphere of hiding preferences develops because everyone is racing to be approved by the leadership.
The business atmosphere fosters covering and suspicion at times. Covering and suspicion destroy clear lines of accountability and fellowship in a church body. What do we mean? For example, one pastor forbid his staff from attending contemporary Christian concerts. He encouraged the members not to attend as well. Sadly, to save face before the church leadership, people went to the concert incognito, telling no one else in the body of believers. Ironically, many of the members saw each other at the concert but had to hide their attendance lest they were “found out.” This atmosphere is incredibly unhealthy and, frankly, absolutely ridiculous.
Sign #5. Business is an 8-5 job atmosphere, clocking in and clocking out. Church should be the body interacting constantly, not clocking in at 9:45 am and clocking out at noon.
In summation, if we functioned as “we are the church,” community would happen all throughout the week which includes accountability, love, eating together, helping each other, visiting with each other, growing together. “We go to church” is no different than any other mainline denomination–nothing more than attending a community event and then retreating to live life on our terms all week. We attend meetings at the “business office facility”; we do not meet together as a body. We do not have the “one-anothering” throughout the week. See our article that expands on this point here.
Sign #6. The leadership gets paid a hefty salary while assistants and youth directors and teachers (if there is a school in the church) scrape by.
Our dear friend shared with us that he worked in a Christian school in Texas. He was single at the time. He loved teaching his students. However, as he stayed at his job, more and more responsibility was placed upon him by the pastor. He eventually worked at least 6 jobs: teaching, janitorial, coaching volleyball, coaching softball, tutoring, and recess supervision. He sat in our home and shared that the pastor and his wife were both paid a full-time salary of 45,000 per year for a household income of 90,000. His salary never reached 19,000. If you think that this scenario is rare, you are sadly mistaken. We could probably share many, many more anecdotes of the same situation. What is in the minds of “Christian” leaders who watch people suffer financial while they prosper? We will never understand this mentality, especially in Christian circles. Dr. Dave Coats is writing an article regarding the financial suffering of Christians who serve in these types of institutions.
Sign #7. The little, faithful people mean absolutely nothing. They are only tools to make the business successful.
One church body hired a woman to keep the books for anything that was ordered for the church–cleaning products, coffee for the break room, etc. She worked part-time, but she was faithful. After working at the church for 12 years, one of the church leadership (who had been there 12 years as well), came to her to tell her that they no longer had it in their budget to pay her for her part-time work. He had never stopped by her small office before. When he “thanked” her for her service, he said this: “Thank you, Rachel, for your work.” After 12 years at the church, the pastor did not know her name. Her name was Susan. This woman came to us devastated for being treated like a flower on the wall. She shed many tears. She thought that her service had meant more than an insult and a quick, meaningless statement when they did not want her around anymore.
Conclusion
Please do some objective analysis. If these signs are dominant and present in your church body, we would advise you to seek out a living, thriving, community-focused, Gospel-oriented, biblically-textually-rich body to be a part of instead of a business. Some churches are frankly worse than some uncaring businesses because of the destruction they do to lives. Assess yourself and your place in your church. Are you part of a functional, success-driven business? Or are you a part of a living body with a loving, humble, teachable, serving leadership team?
Corinthians reminds us that we are members one of another. Also, if we function as “we are the church,” every member is absolutely vital to the whole body. How have we gotten so far from the one-anothering of the New Testament and what a church body really should be that we do not see the truth? Are we playing church, or are we drawing on the instrument of God’s grace: a church body to serve and to be accountable to.
