Over at Evangelical Village there has been some discussion going on about ‘business style leadership’ within the church. In the first post written on the topic, “The Place of Business Leadership in Ministry?” , a pastor of an SBC church opens the discussion by simply asking if business leadership belongs in the church. He tells of how he had his church leaders read “Good To Great” by Jim Collins and then simply asks if people think it is wise? Josh Howerton, who wrote the article, is a very gifted leader himself and is a man that always tries to learn from anyone he can. To be honest I had thought very little of the topic of ‘integrative leadership’ before his post so I called him and we had a great conversation about it.
This conversation sparked another post on the issue, Business leadership in the church-part 2. Here Josh, answers two questions that I asked during our conversation. When he first got me thinking about the topic I have to admit that I was very hesitant and thought that maybe it wasn’t wise. I have always been against integrative counseling so I figured it should be the same with leadership. That is where I believe I went wrong.
I encourage you greatly to go read the 2 short posts. I bring this issue to SBC Voices because I definitely think it is a topic that needs to be addressed. I know a lot of SBC churches that are seem more secular in their leadership style than biblical. Professionalism is not an issue to be taken lightly, but there should also be some room for us to learn from leaders even if they are not Christians. It seems to me that it would be foolish to not take advantage of the resources that people like Jim Collins and Seth Godin. The surveys done in Good To Great are helpful all on there own. Now of course we need to read these secular books with a biblical filter, but realize that we have to read EVERY book that is not the Bible with a biblical filter. One could also argue that it is foolish to try and learn leadership from people who do not get their leadership principles from Scripture.
I think Josh handles both of those issues well in his posts. So, go read the posts and then we will discuss…
Is integrative leadership wise or foolish?
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Is it a Biblical filter we want or a Spiritual Filter? Remember that God’s power through the Holy Ghost is what helps us to understand and learn from His word in the Bible – not the Bible itself – if that were true, then all who read it would find conversion. We know that sadly, all who read the word of God do not find Him, often due to disconnect between man and the Holy Spirit.
Why is this important? One, it helps us to not elevate the power of the Bible above God Himself, which sadly, many good-intentioned Christians have done and ultimately distanced themselves from the Divine.
Secondly, it helps us to understand that, as you point out, we CAN read all sorts of secular literature and, while remaining good, faithful Christians, have the influence of the Holy Spirit to guide us in how best to utilize what we are reading in bringing ourselves, and others, closer to God.
If God truly is the author of all that is good, then there are many that do not profess His name and glory, yet still find His inspiration and contribute to the body of knowledge that we draw upon, though they know it not. Advances in medicine and healing are surely divinely inspired, and so are advances in organizational management and the ability to make groups and organizations more effective.