Led by God

When we first talked about this book, we were alarmed at the number of church employees who are unhappy at work, perhaps even demoralized. We reasoned that, not unlike their business counterparts, many of them feel underutilized and unappreciated.

The church is intended to be the beacon on a hill. Its employees are often the first point of contact for anyone who comes to the church. Faithful church members should be able to quickly agree that a demoralized church staff is simply unacceptable because it presents the danger of compromise or even collapse as the church organizes to perform its mission. Moreover, demoralized church employees unwittingly send a signal to the world that our churches do not practice what they preach. The two of us cannot accept that result.

At least part of the answer to our concerns can be found in more effective management of church employees and volunteers. It begins with every employee clearly understanding his or her central importance to the purposes served in the name of God.

Not unlike today’s millennials, for whom passion for a cause is among their top three motivations, truly understanding the cause of Christ should be a powerful motivator for people who work in the church.

Clergy and other managers must, therefore, learn and practice effective principles of managing the human resource in their midst. Such management must begin with a properly oriented head and heart, which is why we have written this book to expound the values of what we call People-Centric Principles of Management. We believe all people in the church who have management responsibilities can eagerly embrace these principles if centered in their hearts and minds are the values demonstrated by Jesus of Nazareth. As followers of the Christ, we can do no better. In fact, we have a duty to try to do as well.

Throughout this book we use the term human capital. We use the term in its best possible meaning, without implication of any degrading context or assumptions, and certainly without implying any association with immoral and dangerous activities such as human trafficking. Rather, for us, human capital is a conscious reference to the fact that all types of human institutions are required to make an assessment of their assets, to value them appropriately, and to use those assets in the performance of the organization’s mission. Christians who inhabit these organizations have an opportunity to demonstrate to the world a new kind of “best management practice,” one that values our human assets even more than the financial resources we routinely manage. In general, “capital” is the money or wealth needed to produce goods and services. In the most basic terms, it is money. All businesses must have capital in order to purchase assets and maintain their operations. However, we are inviting our readers to see the human (i.e., human capital) as even more valuable than the money needed for operations. With that attitude in mind, properly managing the human assets of our organizations should be among our highest priorities.

What follows is the explanation of the People-Centric Principles of Management, together with commentary about the scriptural basis for these principles.

We humbly offer all of this as a product of our life experience and faith, which includes years of service in the secular marketplace, local church setting, in the governing bodies of the church, and in related church institutions.