Have you noticed how business models and business thinking have come to play a very significant role in evangelical church leadership?

This is true both here in the Diocese of Sydney and overseas, especially in the USA.

This is easy to understand owing to the considerable influence and success of business throughout the world. But the reliance on business models has grown in evangelical circles because of the need for Christian leaders to find other models through which to understand what to do and lead their churches in times of rapid social change. (Interestingly the more Anglo-Catholic end of our church tend to lean on the different models of the therapeutic rather than the business profession.)

We have recently seen business impact on the kind of books on church leadership that are commonly read using the language of market share, of re-engineering the church and of vision statements, and so forth.

The dominant message has valued leadership way over management. The greatest goal was, above all else to be "entrepreneurial". ‘Big, audacious, hairy goals’ were they way to go.

This is neither a bad thing nor a good thing. (Although we should here as ever be sensitive to the potential influence of worldliness through such influence.)

Financial crisis: a new paradigm

Is there now a change in the wind?

We have just seen in the last six to eight months a significant, even in some places a catastrophic collapse in some forms of business. I don't believe it is the end of the world or even the end of market economics. But it has been a severe blow.

I am wondering whether this will affect the kind of metaphors of church leadership in the fullness of time.

Will business continue to be the dominant model?

And will leadership continue to be valorised over management?

One of the reasons for the financial collapse has been a failure of management, of not properly managing the organisations institutions.

Frankly, sometimes there has been a little too much entrepreneurialism and a ‘can-do’ attitude. As well, there has been a realisation that we have been underestimating significantly issues of risk.

Will this affect the church? Will we see in the next five years a different style of leadership metaphors, moving perhaps moving more to mattes of management and risk and sustainability?

It will be very interesting to see what kind of books are being read and focused on by the generation of leadership coming up in our church.