Wall Street Tactics

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: "The scribes and the Pharisees are seated in the chair of Moses. Therefore do and observe whatever they tell you. But don't do what they do, because they don't do what they say. They tie up heavy loads that are hard to carry and put them on people's shoulders, but they themselves aren't willing to lift a finger to move them. They do everything to be observed by others… - Matthew 23:1-5a HCSB

Like the grand gurus of fashion in Paris, the titans of industry also periodically get caught up in a craze. Some new management theory becomes the latest commercial version of the yo-yoing hem height.

They give the latest fad strange names like reengineering, the hedgehog principle, Six Sigma, MBO (management by objective), or TQM (total quality management). As the fashion world seeks to fascinate and titillate, the business community seeks to improve quality, productivity and profitability.

In their fervor to find the magic button that will guarantee their (already ludicrous) short-term profits, they so emphasize the role of structures and systems that they forget that what truly counts in the long run is personal integrity, passion for the mission, quality, loyalty and balance.

Unfortunately, churches and denominations are not immune to such stupidity. Being human unfortunately renders the tzaddikim just as vulnerable to the tendency to oversimplify. We are just as prone to what is at heart, laziness. Rather than be consistently obedient, we would rather simply seek the latest book, prayer or charismatic preacher. Rather than consistently give of ourselves, we would rather seek a church experience that gives to us. Rather than take care of our poor, we would rather find a Federal program that will take care of them for us.

Churches, being hierarchical by nature, are particularly vulnerable to the appeal of structures and systems. Observe if you will the layers of foolish and contradictory obfuscations that characterize the practices of our oldest denominations.

We pastors read a book and jump on the band wagon. We attend a conference and get hyped up about the latest technique. We listen to the inspiring words of uber-pastors of mega churches and all go “OOOH! AAAH!”

We must remember that our goal is not to streamline. Our purpose is not to manage. Our purpose is not to fill our parishioners’ lives with more busy work just so we can say, “Look! See how successful I am? Look at all the programs!”

Our goal is to get our parishioners to conform to the image of Christ. Our purpose is to feed them, strengthen them, get them pointed in the right direction and send them on their way to further build the kingdom.

We need to be very cautious of using Wall Street tactics to further the Kingdom. What works in an environment of greed will not necessarily produce lives marked by humility, service and gratitude.