Pastors as entrepreneurs

 Perhaps one of the greatest needs the church has is for pastors who think like entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs in business are visionary people who are not afraid to take risks to see those visions come to fruition. Managing a business is relatively easy; growing a business requires leaders who are not afraid to take risks. Managing a church is relatively easy. All that is required is to keep the machinery running and most people relatively content. However, that is a sure way to disaster. Bill Easum wrote in Dancing with the Dinosaurs, "If churches only improve what they have been doing, they will die." We see that happening every year in the United States. What is required is a more entrepreneurial strategy for churches. We need Pastorpreneurs leading our churches.

John Jackson wrote Pastorpreneur: Pastors and Entrepreneurs Answer the Call. In the book he defined a pastorpreneur as "an innovative Christian leader, a creative dreamer who is willing to take great risks in church ministry with the hope of great gain for Christ and his kingdom." In the book he addresses five strategies that he believes will lead to a healthier and growing church.

Like most things worthwhile, being a pastorpreneur is not easy. For many pastors, it isn't what they were taught in seminary what pastoral ministry should look like. It requires a completely different approach to ministry, and some cannot make that transition. Pastors are no different than anyone else. We like the security of doing what we were taught to do and the congregational approval when we do it in a manner that they expect. Many of us are just as risk-averse as those sitting in our pews.

Approaching ministry from an entrepreneurial perspective is not likely to sit well with some in our congregations. "We've never done it that way before," is often the first thing a pastorpreneur will hear when he or she proposes a new way of thinking about ministry. Church controllers especially will feel threatened. A fresh vision for ministry cast by a pastorpreneur will probably be initially embraced by very few people.

Unless the pastorpreneur is starting a new church, it may be difficult to overcome decades of tradition in the church. Church members prefer harmony over mission in many cases. Who cares if the church is dying as long as they can hold onto to their traditions during their lifetimes? Even more sadly, who cares if people around us are dying apart from Christ as long as nothing changes in our church? The pastorpreneur will not be welcomed in a church with this mindset.

Despite the challenges, churches need pastorpreneurs if they are to effectively minister to our current culture. We need strategic thinkers who can receive fresh visions from God for the ministry of the church and can conceive of a plan that will allow that vision to be fulfilled.