As someone who has spent over 20 years in the throes of industry, I am frequently asked what common business principles can be applied to ministry and non-profits to help them run as a better organization. Certainly, the Christian non-profit has taken a closer look at successful business trends and tried to implement business frameworks, systems, and ideas wherever possible. Organizational change and leadership training gurus like Patrick Lencioni and Jim Collins are now just as likely to be seen at a Christian conference as they would on a TED talk. In fact, over the past decade an entirely new niche has been formed for the Christian ministry leader concerned with such topics. Global conferences like the Leadership Summit and Leadercast have successfully merged business concepts with church leaders.
Although these events are important and I do not desire to discount just how valuable this information can be, it is important to point out that many leaders in ministry have looked backwards to gain their forward-thinking ideas. By this I mean that much of the information that tends to float around in these types of venues are precepts that have been implemented and tested in for-profit companies for years. The time has come for those in Church and Ministry leadership to be focused on the needs, issues, or changes to come. Through greater collaboration, church and ministry can help set the pace of change instead of adapting years down the road. More attention needs to be spent on preparing for what is to come instead of what has been. Ministry will gain a stronger foothold by being a part of the change.
For instance, Jacob Morgan, a proclaimed Futurist and contributor to many business publications recently wrote about the 14 Principles of the Future Organization (Forbes). He lists them out in the following diagram:
While this is not a definitive proclamation of what the future will hold for companies, churches and ministry would do well to take notice of these predictions and have the courage to adjust accordingly. We at World Impact tend to agree with Mr. Morgan in many of his principles. Our organization began adjusting our ministry operations two years ago to address just this type of change. As a ministry that serves the urban poor in the United States, we have witnessed the need to stay mobile. Our growth has been and is being set up so that we have flexibility to adjust when needed. We are pushing down more responsibility while ramping up training to empower more people. This will help dramatically flatten our management and decision-making abilities. Most importantly, our organization is building in a culture that responds well to change; not that we desire to be constantly disruptive. More so, we recognize that to be both sustainable and relevant, we need to keep a constant eye on what is to come.
The book of Ecclesiastes tells us what has been always will be. There is nothing new under the sun. Certainly, we want to be astute enough to look behind us to learn from our past successes and mistakes. But more attention needs to be spent adjusting to what is in front of us. While the future offers nothing new, it does bring change. As ministry leaders, we need to prayerfully consider and have the courage to adjust accordingly, so that we can be increasingly fruitful.
Romney Ruder is World Impact's Senior Vice President and COO.
