In response to Why We Need More Entrepreneurial Church Leaders, Not More Shepherds by Carey Nieuwohf

Author and pastor Carey Nieuwohf’s impassioned plea for the church to seek out more entrepreneurial church leaders is much needed. Right from the start, it has been God’s intention that the church be led by a blend of gifted leaders: apostolic visionaries, prophetic exhorters, evangelists, and yes, pastors and teachers. Pastors and teachers were never intended to fill most of the seats at the table.

My “high five” to Nieuwohf on that point soon changed to a weary sigh. Why? Read what he said for yourself, and see if you can spot the problem: “Tap an entrepreneur you know on the shoulder today and ask him or her, ‘Have you ever considered ministry?’” Then he asks, “Who do you know who might be in business today who could be in ministry tomorrow?”

Did you see it? Underneath those words is a long-held assumption held by most of us in church that’s more cultural than biblical. That assumption is that ministry and vocation are two separate worlds. That view reinforces the secular-sacred dichotomy that equates “ministry” only with what paid clergy do, when the Bible actually teaches us that all of life is ministry.

What would happen if we all began to view every profession as a full-time ministry? None of us would have to leave the marketplace to “be in ministry tomorrow” because we would be doing ministry from our desks today. Where we work should be viewed as God’s divine placement to live and love like Jesus amid people who need Him. It may be that some business professionals should move from the marketplace to a remunerated ministry in a local church — but let’s not refer only to what happens in the church as ministry.

What’s the solution, then, to the over-weighting of pastoral gifts in the church? Is it to give the remunerated leadership roles to those with spiritual gifting in entrepreneurship? Probably not. Why? Because limiting our definition of ministry to the place we get our paychecks isn’t an accurate picture.

A better solution to the imbalance is to ensure that every church leadership team has a healthy blend of the five gifted leader roles described in Ephesians 4. Pastors and teachers were never intended to solely lead the church without being bolstered by the more catalytic gifts of apostles, prophets and evangelists. We must intentionally include them in blended teams of leaders where all voices carry equal weight.

Here’s another thought. The solution is not more apostles in church leadership; it’s more apostles in the harvest.

After all, Jesus said the solution to untouched harvests was to “beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:38). Sent workers are, by definition, apostles — spiritual entrepreneurs. When the church in Antioch prayed, the result was thrusting Paul the apostle out of the church. The question is not whether spiritual entrepreneurs should become remunerated church leaders, but whether God’s people, beginning with the leaders, are doing what Jesus told them to do.

I’ll conclude much the same as Nieuwohf did — by asking you not to simply comment, but to tap someone on the shoulder. But don’t ask them to consider ministry tomorrow; remind them of their commitment to be involved in ministry and discipleship today.