Many people are promoting the practice of building churches with the strong employment of business principles and ideals today.  My limited background in business during the early years of my ministry, has me asking this question:  

"Could we be making a serious mistake?"

We are living in a very AGGRESSIVE and COMPETITIVE business environment. Many years ago, men and women started their own businesses such as hardware stores, grocery stores and such and did quite well as long as they provided a viable solution in a thriving economy. These came to be known as "mom and pop stores".  The family, with maybe the exception of one outside employee generally ran them and this might still have been a close relative.  As business progressed and things went well, mom and pop might even dare to open a second store. 

I watched my Grandfather and Grandmother do this over the years in the Yakima Valley. Over a period of just a few years there arose seven, Drive-thru Dairy Marts with the Reesman name over them throughout the Yakima area.

Mr. Joe Albertson was another example of these hard working pioneers of the business community. He started with a small storefront grocery store that eventually evolved to what we know as the ALBERTSON Stores grocery chain.  Many of these corporations sprang up around the country with momentum due to our strong economy.  As prime properties were soon purchased or snatched up and populated areas soon were saturated, the word competition was on the lips of these entrepreneurs who were now used to pretty much having their way in the local community. Competition always has a profound effect on any business. With the rise in media advertising, competition only grows with the expense of each new ad. 

As grocery stores continued to compete fiercely one with the other, a major change took place back in the 70’s, which you might have recognized.  Senior store directors known as the manager might be a man in his 50's with silvered hair, and years of business experience and a salary to match. Independence was very important to them. Where individual stores were recognized as individual profit centers. (Each store competed to be the most profitable with the manager at the helm taking full credit, responsibility and accountability for this great feat. These managers, along with their large salaries and bonuses derived from store profitability were retired early or just released. They were soon replaced with much younger managers with much lower salaries and who would simply implement programs and product placement schematics handed down from corporate office, which by the way had now become the profit center. Goods were priced by CORPORATE. (The group of people known as senior management who set prices, policy and developed all advertising campaigns and programs) Profits on the local level disappeared as products were priced so competitively to attract the shopper.  Loyalty in shoppers towards one store also disappeared as prices dropped and competition be came more fierce.

If prices continue to drop at the store level and individual outlets are no longer the place where profits are generated then who’s paying the corporate office salaries? This brings us to the next and newer development in the retail industry. ALLOWANCES!

Behind the scenes is another business altogether. Most customers and many employees are completely unaware that this other business exists. This OTHER business exists in the way of allowances. This might be in the way of advertising allowances, where the product manufacturer pays absorbent fees to advertise in the newspaper insert you get on Wednesday with your daily newspaper.  This insert is generated by corporate and each inch of print is sold as real estate. You thought they made money selling products didn't you? Another unknown factor is the slotting allowance, where again the product manufacturer, not the customer pays a fee to have their product placed on the store shelf with no guarantees as to how long it may stay there. Product volume movement may become a factor but not necessarily.  Real profits come from the allowances the manufacturer is willing to pay.  These slotting allowances can be as high as several thousands of dollars per item or flavor in a given product line.  The more popular the brand, the higher the required slotting allowance.  Any questions why prices climb at the customer level? These two only scratch the surface of behind the scenes selling. There are promo allowances, demo allowances, TPR (temporary price reduction) allowances and more.  What used to be a product business has now become a real estate business. The more stores I have, the more shelf space I can offer, therefore the more money I can ask for allowances. This is business in the strongest sense of the word. 

This is the system that we are now a part of. These and other factors of business concepts are now becoming a major part of our thinking process. Is this really what we want to pattern our churches after?  Has the highly competitive environment of the retail industry already got it's grip in the fellowship of the body of Christ?  Are we beginning to view our local congregations as retail franchise areas that as pastors we compete as if we were striving to gain market share one from another?

Another element in business, which has strongly been on the rise for years that I must address, is that of FRANCHISES, and the absorbing of franchise mentality and brand awareness.  Much of the risk in business has lowered with the development and promotion of the FRANCHISE.

McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen and other franchises have covered our country in every city where there is a busy corner. What is a franchise? This is where an entrepreneur in the least sense of the word, uses his capital to buy what is known as a franchise, giving them the sole right to sell products provided from corporate (or approved vendors), use of the corporate name and logo, and answers available to any business questions due to the already established business plan provide by the franchise owners. The need for the entrepreneur to possess some level of business acumen is decreased due to the tried and proven methods of the franchise. This is why a franchise for a given city or metropolitan area might cost in the hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on the franchise, McDonalds being on the high side, and a printing franchise on the lower side.  The right to continue with a franchise is also closely tied to performance of contract standards such as volume, implementing of programs handed down from corporate and high customer satisfaction. All these factors are of great consideration when building a business around customer satisfaction and the motivation of profit.  Is this really what God had in mind when he said, "I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."   Are supposed to some how dismiss the need to be called of God in this line of thinking?   How shall they preach, except they be sent?

Brand Awareness
Nike, the shoemaker headquartered in Portland, Oregon recently began leaving out there name on ads whether in newsprint or billboards or television. They touted that brand awareness was now tied to the Nike "swoosh", a small symbol or logo on each shoe. We have become so brand oriented that some of our children (and parents) choose clothing by brand rather than according to perceived VALUE. Absorbent prices paid for Tommy Hilfiger wear has replaced the frugality of a true steward of finances.

While Paul pressed toward "the mark", for the prize of the high calling in Christ Jesus... which teaches the cross, or the loosing of one's life to be the goal, have we like some, even in the Lord's day, actually became defectors of the cross.   

Listen to the sincerity of Paul’s words ...as stated in Phil 3:14-19  14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. 16 Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing. 17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample. 18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ: 19 Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.) (KJV) Are we sure we are running in the same race and on the same track as Paul?

Competition and the Brand Awareness, along with much touted business concepts has now become an integral part of our mental psychic development.  Much of our thinking and consequent actions are produced from a competitive and brand orientation that we see people and other church organizations as a threat to our success and have found ourselves fiercely competing for market share. We have become so driven to win that we have forgot how to LOSE. Did I really say that? Yes,... lose! Jesus said... "He that seeks to save (or win) his life shall lose it, but he that loses his life for my sake shall find it." Has all this business and franchise mentality really served to help Christ build His church?  Or in reality have these concepts actually slowed the progress of the apostolic church due to the drive to gain market share and profit motivated thinking.

As long as I view others as "The Other Brand", as long as I involve myself in stiff spiritual competition with other groups of so called Christians, will I ever bend a knee and pray... "Father,...open their understanding to deep spiritual truths that will serve to grow YOUR church." .... "When that pastor down the road is looking through your word Lord, in preparation to speak to that massive congregation that attends there where that man pastors, illuminate the scripture to him, put truths in his mouth as he approaches that pulpit to share and speak to that massive group of souls."

Could you pray this prayer?  Whose kingdom is this all about anyway?  Or has competition so griped you that you only see them as your competitor and brand X.  Do we see them as Jesus does?  Is our goal to get them to be a part of our franchise in order to create more brand awareness so as to validate our own position in Christ?  Are we viewing them from His vantage point, which was the cross?

Have we strayed so far from apostolic teaching that we have a greater confidence in business concepts handed to us by "the world" that we no longer believe that... "Except a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die..." how will we ever know?  How will our children ever know?  Are we sure this is still what we want? Is it "His Church" or is it our business? 

As God’s plan was unfolding for the Gentile nations, beginning at the house of Cornelius, God had some work to do on His apostle to accomplish His purpose.  Three times the Lord had to approach His man Peter as he prayed. While giving Peter a vision and saying to him…, “Arise, kill and eat.” The Lord strove with him three times to get him to think outside the box.  Some of our traditions have this same effect on us.  All the while God is trying to invite us into what He is doing or preparing to do, we are contending for what we have always thought, and always done.

Philip left revival in Samaria and journeyed out into the dessert at the bidding of the messenger of God.  Little did he know there would be a man searching the scripture for a deeper experience that he evidently already had.  Should Philip have labeled him as Brand X, or of another franchise in competition with him, Gods plan would never have unfolded to the Eunuch of Ethiopia through this apostle and He would have been forced to look elsewhere.  By the way!  Is there any question whether this episode in the dessert ever impacted more than one man considering he was from a country now experiencing one of the greatest demonstrations of evangelism we have ever known.

Just a little something to think about...