Pop Quiz For Church Leaders

Church leaders: What principles do you use in managing the ‘business’ of the church? Secular best-practices, personal inclination (gut feeling), or Biblical teachings? Give it a whirl.

First, match the following (true) modern-day scenario with the parable that it best fits. Then, see if you would take the same action that Jesus recommends to church leaders:

(By the way, in the scenario below, please don't pass judgement on the particular church. All the people involved in the story are genuine Christians, great at their jobs, good people, and great leaders. They are not alone. Stories like this are being shared all across the country and in all churches.)

In a medium-sized church, the Executive Pastor hires a Director for Communications and Marketing. At the council meeting, the salary of the new Director was discussed and approved. The next day, the Director of Children’s Ministry reads the published minutes of the council meeting, only to discover that the new Marketing Director makes more money than the other tenured Directors. As someone who has worked for the church many years, and who has built the programs that support the foundation of the church, the Director of Children’s Ministry was angry and hurt that a new person (whose position seems like fluff) would make more. She storms into the Senior Pastor’s office and demands the salary of the new person be reduced and that other salaries of tenured directors be adjusted higher.

Which parable best fits:
A) The Parable of the Weeds? (Mt.13:24)
B) The Workers in the Vineyard? (Mt. 20)
C) The Tenants? (Mt. 21:33)

If you guessed Workers in the Vineyard, you guessed correct!

When Paul says, "Serve wholeheartedly as though you were serving the Lord, not men." He means: it doesn't matter who you work for, or where you work, you need to do your job as though God is your boss. Do it to meet His expectations...which hopefully, would be above and beyond any written job description, right?

So, church leaders, what you would do if you were the Senior Pastor? Jesus teaches through the parable of the Workers in the Vineyard that the person in charge (the land owner) tells the worker who has been there all day working hard - -basically -- to buck up. The boss reminds the worker to stick to his own agreement and that, as the land owner, he has the right to do with his money what he wishes. In other words, 'mind your own business and do your own work' wholeheartedly.

In the case of the example above, the Senior Pastor felt bad. He had to choose between keeping peace with his tenured staff - super vital - or cutting the pay of just one newcomer (everyone upset, or just one?), and so he approved a pay cut for the new Director of Communications and a pay increase for the Directors with lower wages.

Was his corrective action good for the church? Why or why not? By his actions, who is the Senior Pastor accountable to? Think of your own church leadership team. Should they be accountable to the staff, or to Jesus? What do you think is the right thing to do? If you were the Senior Pastor in the above scenario, would be able to do what Jesus says is right? The future of the church relies on your answer.