The Business of Church: The Final Cut

The Prevailing Church
by Randy Pope
ISBN 0802427413

This book is a practical guide to organizing a church with a view to growth, both in maturity and numbers. The author, Randy Pope, is a church planter in the Presbyterian Church in America. He draws heavily from his own experiences. He has been able to start from a clean sheet in starting new churches

I have found this book tricky to deal with. I first blogged about it here, but it has taken me some time to commit to finally writing about it. To be honest, I’m not sure if I approve of it or not! The problem is that it is so unremittingly practical in its emphasis.

To deal with the topic I would expect the author to deal with three areas. Firstly, what does the bible say about the matter? How did the apostles approach the task of church planting? How did they describe what the church should look like?

Secondly, what were the theological principles that we should draw upon in church planting? In other words how do we draw together what we have gleaned from our biblical study to form principles by which we should act today?

Thirdly, what are the practical issues that have to be faced in a western culture as the principles are applied? How are real people handled? What are the planning and organizational issues? These three areas form a kind of building: at the top are the practical issues, which must be built upon theological principle. The theology in turn must be built upon a foundation of biblical study. With this picture in mind it is my observation that the building in this book is very top-heavy.

Pope’s biblical study is limited to a handful of occasions. The first comes in describing the Prevailing Church. The idea is a simple one, drawn from Jesus’ words in Matthew,

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome [or prevail against] it. (16:18, NIV)

Hades will not prevail therefore we conclude that the church must. What does ‘prevail’ mean? It means that the church is marked by a spirit of servanthood, and acts as a magnet for non-believers. To this end, then, Pope concerns himself with how to plan the work of such a church. How does it go about organizing itself such that it prevails in these terms?

Pope comes up with ten components of a plan for a prevailing church. The plan must contain:
1. A God-honouring purpose.
2. A faith-oriented commitment.
3. A God-given vision.
4. Well-prioritized values.
5. A well-defined mission.
6. Biblically based job descriptions.
7. A strategically defined infrastructure.
8. A culturally oriented strategy.
9. Well-documented goals.
10. A time-bound schedule.

There are some good theological points made in describing this list. For example, a ‘God-honouring’ purpose is well summed up in the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism: What is man’s primary purpose? Man’s primary purpose is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. Pope calls for the practice of the church to align with this purpose.

Further biblical study is enlisted to sort out ‘biblically based job descriptions’. On the whole this is kept fairly orthodox. The exception is his separation of the eldership from ‘staff’. This latter class seems to include Pope himself, since he is a paid pastor.

However, much of the remainder shifts away from the biblical and theological into the practical. There is much that would fit well into a business environment. Words like “vision”, “prioritization”, “mission”, “strategy”, “goals”, “schedule” are all found in any modern business. It is here I begin to get uncomfortable.

The peak of my discomfort comes when Pope likens the church to a business in order to clarify roles. The church, Pope says, has an owner (God), an employer (elders and staff), employees (members) and customers (members and the unchurched). I’m afraid I just find myself saying, “Why can’t we just learn what the bible means about roles in church life?” Instead, Pope has to introduce a new interpretative grid to explain things. This grid runs the risk of severely distorting biblical teaching and undermining the influence of Scripture in the lives of believers. One can only speculate about the effect this has on the members of his churches.

Having said this, I find myself thinking that there is some validity in simply outlining the practical steps that have been learned. It is clear that Paul had a purpose (to glorify God), a mission (to bring the gospel to the Gentiles), was culturally oriented (his starting point in preaching was different for Jews and Gentiles) etc. It is clear that he made plans, and thought deeply about how to go about his mission. Why shouldn’t we do that too? There is a place for practical wisdom in the task of church leadership.

However, the key issue, it seems to me, is where Paul and the Apostles obtained their wisdom from. They gave themselves to the ministry of the word and to prayer. It is this that enabled them to make decisions, set goals, devise plans to the glory of God. Their minds were being transformed and God gave them wisdom as they asked for it. It is this key element that has, at best, receded into the background in this book. The risk in a book like this is that the reader will bypass the wisdom brought by the Holy Spirit through his word. Instead, he will look here for a manual of steps to be followed unthinkingly. We are always looking for shortcuts as Christians, and this book may tempt some to find one within its covers.

Overall, this book provides much practical help in planning, but it must be handled with care. We must not forget that ultimately we submit to our Lord through submission to his word, and his word must not be replaced by mission statements or time-bound schedules.