Your Pastor: Shepherd or CEO?

Many observers have recently expressed concern that the biblical model of the pastor as shepherd has been replaced with the model of the pastor as manager. Some biblical priorities are threatened when such a managerial model of the pastorate replaces the shepherding model. In what follows, I will place the priorities of a managerial model in contrast to what I believe to be biblical priorities. I do not intend to suggest that such priorities are inherently opposed to each other, but I do suggest that lower values have replaced higher values.

Quality vs. Quantity
The effect of a managerial model on the church is that the number of people is a higher concern than the quality of those people. How many are reached by various outreach efforts becomes more significant than what actually happens to those reached, in terms of spiritual vitality. How many people attend a special program becomes more important than whether that program actually makes people stronger, more pious Christians. The apostolic "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 3:18) is not so much overtly challenged as it is shuffled over into a corner somewhere and forgotten.

Biblical ministry never sacrifices true quality of spiritual experience for its quantity: Paul visited the Ephesians for three years, declaring to them the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:18-21). His prayers for them and for others were filled with concern for the quality of spiritual life: "For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Col. 1:9).

We must raise the question of how large a congregation can be while still retaining a biblical ministry. If the God-ordained responsibility of church officers is to "watch out for your souls, as those who must give account" (Heb. 13:17), does there not come a point when the sheer size of a church makes such care difficult, if not impossible? Indeed, does not the very size of some churches promote anonymity? In the corporate model, bigger is always better. In a biblical model, it is not clear that bigger is necessarily better.

The CEO vs. Plurality of Elders
A given business has one chief executive officer, under whom various other managers function. The CEO is given final authority for decision making, and a good CEO listens to the counsel of the managers who work under him. Biblically, there is nothing analogous to this in God's order for his church. The pastor is not a CEO. He has no more or less governing authority than do the other elders; he is not more or less responsible for the church's programs and vision than the other elders. He does have a greater responsibility to administer the Word of God and the sacraments, but he does not have a greater responsibility in governance. Biblically, governance in the church is genuinely plural, as God provides for his flock those benefits that come only from the proverbial "multitude of counselors."

Such a managerial model degrades the role of elder to that of a corporate "yes-man." Many mistakes have been made when lower-level managers, themselves more familiar with the details of some aspects of corporate life, have been unwilling to express reservations about a policy that enjoys the CEO's enthusiastic endorsement. Similarly, there are churches in which the elders have abdicated their responsibility to govern by complying with the wishes of the pastor in areas where they respectfully disagree with him.

Equally problematic, when the minister-as-CEO model of ministry is embraced, is the degrading of the office of minister of the Word. Ironically, the minister becomes more influential than he should be in areas of governance, yet less influential and effective in the area of ministry of the Word. Hours in the day that ought to be devoted to prayer and the Word (Acts 6:4) become devoted to developing strategies and programs.

The Program vs. the People
One of the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution (and its first cousin, the managerial revolution) has been the creation of a work environment that rewards conformity while discouraging individual initiative and creativity. Reminiscent of the prophetic decree against idol worshipers, that "those who make them will be like them," those who stamp out cogs on an assembly line virtually become cogs themselves in a large corporate machine. For the program to run efficiently, individuality must be removed from the process. The program is sovereign, and people must learn to work within it.

Regrettably, this model has made its way into the church also. The church's strategies, vision, and programs are determined by the CEO and the managers, and the people must work within the program. The program is inflexible; the people are flexible. We might suggest that the opposite should characterize the church. God's (ever-changing) providence of people with particular gifts and particular needs (not necessarily perceived needs) should shape the ministry of a given church. Program-oriented churches should not replace people-oriented churches.

A managerial model can produce a minister whose interests are only tangentially related to the well-being of his sheep. Some ministers are happy to stay up to 11 p.m. at a planning meeting, but are less happy staying up to 11 p.m. on a hospital visit or with a couple whose marriage is about to dissolve. The Good Shepherd, by contrast, lays down his life for his sheep--not for programs. He expends his labors, his energies, his resources on his sheep. Paul, the apostle whom we consider a brilliant thinker and theologian, was also a shepherd, whose ministry to the Ephesians was accompanied "with many tears" (Acts 20:19), and who said things such as this about his affection for those he served: "But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us" (1 Thess. 2:7-8).

Oversee or Overlook?
Where the managerial model replaces the shepherding model, God's overseers become overlookers. Ninety-nine sheep are herded into a program, while the one straying sheep perishes apart from the loving pursuit of a faithful shepherd.

Bigger barns can mean more barns, also. It is not just the large structures, but the many that take potentially taxable properties off the rolls. Churches are moving into shopping malls, downtown retail areas and suburban development areas. All become targets because they are seen as "one day a week" uses. The mega churches, at least, are usually operating every day and usually make a portion of their facilities available for parochial schools, community ministries and other community uses.

The religious exemption was at one time justified because it was seen as a benefit to the community because it served the "welfare" of the community. It was the place where the needy were fed, clothed, money hand outs were given, housing was found, unwed mothers were taken care of and the elderly were taken care of and the sick in body, mind, and spirit could find help. All of these ministries, at some point and in some way were ceded to the government, so that now the church finds itself in a position where part of the reason for the exemption is gone. That, along with the loss of respect for the institutional church due to its many public involvements in politics and business outside the scope of its calling, has made it a target for the loss of its exemptions.

When this article was published a few years ago, an elderly gentlemen, a friend, was greatly helped by reading it. This man had been offended by the bad habit his pastor had of constantly looking at his watch while the gentlemen was talking to him. He was hurt because he took the pastors perceived impatience personally.

After reading this article, our friend could see the larger picture and he went to the pastor with his concerns. If the article has helped you in the same way, praise God!

>>Because these mega churches are populated by the YUPPIE type for the most part we see Starbucks move in; a Krispy Kreme (or however you spell those over sugared grease blobs); etc. All so you can attract the right kind of tither.<<

We have two local churches that are exactly like that. In order to pay those big mortages, they need to keep the pews full and the tithes rollin' in. Unfortunately, what gets lost in the process is sound, expository preaching. Don't want to offend anyone by calling them a sinner, do you? You might lose their 10%! So, instead, 'You're ok - I'm ok!'

My brother goes to one of them. For years he's been trying to get me to go there and "Do things the (insert name of church here) way!" Not God's way, mind you - but the church's way. i've tried to get him to see the folly of such a statement, but it's what the leadership of the church has adopted as part of their marketing strategy. It's in all their commercials - "Church should be fun...entertaining...exciting. Do it the (insert name) way!"

It's one of those "name it and claim it" places. I listened to one of the pastor's sermons - in essence, if you believe in Christ, you'll become rich. His son, after all, accepted Christ and is now working in Hollywood making over $2 million a year! It can happen to you too! Then came the sales pitch for their new entertainment facility, and how we can make it happen if we donate "just a little more".

The whole place reeks of image, nice suits, and money.

The outside of the cup is very pretty. But the inside...

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