So many church members (and ex church members) have become the walking wounded, not because they weren’t willing to serve, but because when they volunteered they were turned into virtual slaves by domineering, control freak pastors who abused biblical terms like servanthood and obedience to give them cover for their own control issues, abusing their position and overstepping their authority.
The result? Domineering pastors and burnt out members.
3. The members act like stockholders and treat the pastoral staff like employees
This is most evident in churches with a congregational form of government.
That form of church governing isn’t wrong (the church I pastor requires congregational approval for big decisions), but when it’s abused – as any good thing can be – the church members become more like passive investors demanding a return for their money.
Committee membership becomes more important than actual servanthood, pastors are afraid to take a potentially unpopular stand, and actual ministry grinds to a halt under the heavy hand of procedures and pettiness.
The result? Controlling members and neutered pastors.
Where does Jesus fit in our business models?
Perhaps the biggest problem with these three skewed visions of the church is how we treat (or ignore) Jesus.
If anyone in the church is acting like a boss, they’re crowding out the place where Jesus should be Lord. And when church members act like customers, they’re missing out on the extraordinary joy of serving Jesus.
Businesses have employees and customers.
The church has family members.
Businesses have bosses.
The church has a Lord. A head. A savior. And a king.
Copyright © 2017 by the author or Christianity Today.
Click here to read our guidelines concerning reprint permissions.
Pivot is a part of CT's
Blog Forum. Support the work of CT.
Subscribe and get one year free.
The views of the blogger do not necessarily reflect those of Christianity Today.
Join in the conversation about this post on Facebook.
- Destigmatizing the "M" Word (Marketing), with Austin Savage (Ep. 26)
- Why Your Church Needs A Website And Social Media, with Josh Givens (Ep 25)
- Rural Church Rescue, with Jon Sanders (Ep. 24)
- A Christian's Guide To The Gender Revolution, with Dr. Vince Gil (Ep 023)Karl and Dr. Gil address issues of concern to pastors, and provide a dialogue on how to approach varied sex/gender concerns in congregants and beyond.