Churches are primarily, if not exclusively, in the people business. We gather, organize, and manage people to help them grow into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Others might argue, well that\u2019s beautiful idealism, pastor, but the church is still a business. We need to raise money, pay salaries, and keep the buildings in repair. True enough, but do those two concerns, building people and maintaining an institution, have to be mutually exclusive?<\/p>\n
Peter Drucker, whom Forbes Magazine<\/em> once called \u201cthe most perceptive observer of the American scene since Alexis de Tocqueville,\u201d doesn\u2019t think so. Listen to his sage summation of business principles and see if we can learn anything for the church.<\/p>\n The mission comes first. The mission of nonprofits (including churches) is changed lives.<\/p>\n I think this is a pretty good list of principles to help keep us on the target of our purpose. As we think about defining a vision and a strategic plan in preparation for calling a new pastor the first question we need to ask is, \u201cWhat will it take to reach our goals?\u201d not \u201cWhat will it cost?\u201d And as we think about programming we need to ask, \u201cWhat do we do well and how can we strengthen it?\u201d and \u201cWhat has outlived its usefulness and is it time to let it go?\u201d Idealism and realism can be friends after all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Churches are primarily, if not exclusively, in the people business. We gather, organize, and manage people to help them grow into faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. Others might argue, well that\u2019s beautiful idealism, pastor, but the church is still a … Continue reading \n