Lay leaders, my word to you is this: Let your pastors be entrepreneurs. Celebrate their entrepreneurial spirit. Reward them for success, learn from failure. Provide the needed tools and resources.
I also can advise about organizational development for success, strategies for being effective congregations in 2010 and beyond, diversification of your ministries, and branching out to reach other constituencies. But nothing will work unless ministers decide to be entrepreneurs and members allow it.
Every successful congregation I know — indeed, every successful enterprise — is led by an entrepreneur.
» Not a people-pleaser, but a people-challenger.
» Not a hand-holder, but a motivator.
» Not a servant of tradition and replicating former ways, but a restless driver toward fresh and new ideas.
» Not someone who fits in, but a “misfit,” as a fascinating article in Harvard Business Review puts it.
» Not someone who plays it safe to avoid the cost of failure, but someone who takes risks, expects to fail, expects to learn from failure, and dreads the long-term cost of not learning from failure.
» Not someone who waits to be told, but someone who takes the first look around a corner.
» Not someone who asks for permission, but someone who sets a bold and untried course.
» Not an institutional manager, but a builder, a grower, a developer who sees a field and imagines a harvest.
» Not someone who has learned to avoid criticism and rejection, but someone who fearlessly churns, pushes, unsettles, and turns criticism into engagement.
I realize that pastors don’t “own” their churches in the way business entrepreneurs own their companies. Church leadership is more a partnership. So it is essential that members and officers stop trying to rein in their pastors and instead allow them to function as entrepreneurs, even if that means running interference when constituents start to complain about change and growth.
Intimidation, threats, and fear are exactly the wrong way to motivate a pastor. Instead, try encouragement, freedom, and shared excitement.
Members need to allow their institution to change. They need to let institutional imperatives take a back seat to people.
Yes, every enterprise has institutional requirements — budget, insurance, protocols, facilities — but they must never be the first priority. The top priority must always be people.
Entrepreneurs get that; institutional managers and play-it-safe folks don’t get it.
Where do you start?
Ministers need to learn about the entrepreneurial role. It may not come naturally, but it can be learned.
Cultivate entrepreneurs in your area. Ask one to be your mentor. Catch the fire that drives them. Read business school magazines, subscribe to tech newsletters and blogs oriented toward entrepreneurs.
Members, elders and deacons all need to stand aside and cheer their pastors on. Way too much energy goes into restraining this key leader, setting a norm of compliance and timidity. No future there.
