A few people forwarded me an article titled Jesus, CEO from Economist.com. The article was subtitled: America’s most successful churches are modelling themselves on businesses.

Permission to speak frankly?

The article got under my skin because it assumed that a church that has good business practices has somehow sold out. Why is it that everyone thinks that a church that does everything with excellence is somehow soft-selling the gospel?

I have a core conviction: the church ought to be the most creative place on the planet. Let me add something to the equatoin: the church ought to have the best business practices on the planet.

One of my all-time favorite quotes is a Dorothy Sayers quote. She said, “I daresay that no crooked table legs or ill-fitted drawers ever came out of the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth.” I’m sure Jesus did what he did with excellence. He ran a good business.

The church ought to be setting business standards. Wouldn’t it be great to see an article in 25 years subtitled: America’s most successful businesses are modelling themselves after churches

By the way, I don’t think there is anything wrong with learning from successful businesses. I get ideas all the time from the stores I shop at and restaurants I eat at. It’s called “plundering the Egyptians.”