Mark Dever in A Display of God’s Glory quotes the interaction of a Japanese businessman with a visiting Australian (as told by Os Guiness)…
"…Whenever I meet a Buddhist leader, I meet a holy man. Whenever I meet a Christian leader, I meet a manager…" (HT:reformissionary)
Now I know this is a generalization. When I first read it I was sarcastic. Then I looked back and I was annoyed. Then I read it again and was mad. Finally I looked again and saw truth. Is it me or is nearly every church conference I attend these days focusing on leadership and management. I know I know. I hear all the Northpointers already. "A Church is a business!!! We must run it professionally!!!" OK. I agree. For the love of all things good and holy. Don’t put me in charge of the money. But I think this Japanese businessman was closer than we want to admit. If we are not careful, the American church will look more like a consulting firm and less like a Cathedral. We should be careful.
Los