Dmitriy Demidov *
Have you ever wondered why in some churches the leadership emphasizes the guidance of Jesus but acts as though all that matters to them is how many people show up at a worship service? This is a paradox in which church leadership often finds itself. When church leadership looks for numerical expressions only, they miss the nature of the Kingdom of God. Despite how much leaders at church claim to follow the authority of Jesus, the quest for numbers only undermines this claim.
The leadership of Jesus is a prominent theme in Scripture. When Matthew describes Jesus in the Great Commission, the Son of God is more than the one who is sending. Jesus is the one who is sending with power so that disciples can bring this liberating power to other nations. Jesus provides his disciple with the all-powerful divine presence. He is also the one who sends his disciples to make more disciples. His way of discipling is to bring nations under his rule.
How would the kingdom of God rule in God’s church today? When Jesus sent disciples two thousand years ago, it was more than a onetime event. Disciples continue to join the commission of the Lord. On the same grounds, Jesus’ proclamation of authority was not a onetime event either. If Jesus is the one who empowers and authorizes Christians, shouldn’t his followers spend day in and day out seeking the empowerment and authorization of their Lord?
Matthew challenges not only the first century worldview but also the twenty-first century approach to church leadership. What happens when a church borrows principles from the business world and applies it to church leadership? What happens when church leadership tries to run a church as a business enterprise?
A business approach to church leadership may have adverse outcomes. A pastor, or preacher, may act as a CEO who makes all the decisions. A group of elders may act as a committee of directors who call all the shots. Moreover, the business approach often influences the results that church seeks. There exists the so-called “ABC” measurement. “A” is attendance, “B” stands for building, and “C” is cash. There is nothing wrong with these results. Every group of believers shows some of these numbers. God is capable of initiating a building acquisition or numerical growth for his people. The problem is when the number approach becomes the cornerstone on which church leadership lays the church’s foundation.
When church leadership runs a church as a business, church becomes a business. Like any business organization, a minority rules the majority. As much as such a minority agrees with the fact that kingdom of God dwells in people’s hearts, they refer to buildings as a feasible representation of God’s Kingdom. Furthermore, outsiders are seen as potential customers that needed to be attracted with different programs that satisfy their needs. Mission work becomes an investment, and, instead of connecting people with their Creator, church leadership measures how many souls can be purchased per dollar spent. Numerical values tend to replace spiritual ones. Business oriented churches lose spirituality because for them it becomes a wayside item. Business churches produce Christianity “a mile wide and an inch deep.” When numbers rule the church, church becomes a business. Numbers were never an important measure of success for the early church.
Matthew offers a sharply different concept. According to him, Jesus holds all authority on heaven, on earth, and, most importantly, in the church. Those who constitute church should spend their time seeking Jesus’ authorization for what they do next. The role of church leadership is to encourage followers to seek God’s will for them as a community. Church history is abundant with different spiritual practices of how to seek God’s will in one’s life. The main question is who initiates movement in church? Is it humans, or is it God working through humans? Only by discerning Jesus’ will can churches ensure his true authority on earth. Further, in order to avoid a minority dominance, discernment should have a communal aspect. A church should not submit to a decision until the community as a whole receives and accepts the same direction. The discernment process should continue both on personal and communal levels.
The business approach is evidenced by an abundance of programs and planning. The danger is that we blame programs and planning even though the root problem is in the approach. Scripture does not condemn planning (ex. Lk.14:-28-32). When a person, however, excludes the Divine element or puts it below the human potential, then Scripture warns such a person (Lk 12:21). With Matthew’s emphasis on the totality of Jesus’ authority, planning and programs have to shift. There is only one main program – make disciples. Planning aims at submitting to the authority of Jesus and asking for divine guidance. As it continues to pursue Jesus’ authority, a church community may discover that its life does not spin around programs anymore. Instead, it focuses on God’s presence and the discernment of his will.
Regardless of how many of the above characteristics are present or absent in a church, the question is who or what “runs” the church. The copying of successful business models fails to transform church communities. Matthew gives a hint to Jesus’ followers by offering a structure that has both completeness and the potential for building a foundation for church that reflects its founder. Being the head of the body, Jesus has the right to lead his church. The kingdom of God operates on its own terms. Those of the kingdom follow their King’s approach.
* Dmitriy Demidov is the pseudonym of a missionary who works in the countries of the exUSSR. Dmitriy and his wife serve as evangelists who work with house churches. This is a shorter version of the article “The Great Commission, the Great Leadership and the Great Mission.”