Having come from the world of business before becoming a lead pastor of a church I have seen a lot of things that parallel each other. However, it seems as if ministry leaders often want to distance themselves from things that are done in business. I think this is a mistake. Corporate business and the church have something in common. They both embrace vision and mission statements. Leaders are charged with casting vision and ensuring that the company—or church—stays true to its mission. Therefore, I think similar principles can apply to both.
Three things I believe that church leadership can learn from Apple are:
1. Communicate more-effectively: The buzz word in churches these days is branding. Having the coolest logo and a snazzy website are all the rage. However, without communicating who you are (vision) and what you are about (mission) in a clear and concise manner, no amount of marketing with a remarkable logo will make it stick. The church has a story to tell and it should learn to do so more effectively. A company such as Apple isn’t known for their recognizable logo or their cool meeting space—neither should the church.
2. Empower leaders from within: Scan the job listings for any city and you’ll see churches advertising opportunities for all sort of positions. Imagine what would happen if church leaders took the initiative to bring people on-board with the intent to grow them into leadership positions. Steve Jobs is no longer at the helm of Apple, and he recognized that day would come. Jobs brought on Tim Cook as the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple and groomed him to be his replacement as CEO when the time came. Cook takes over knowing the culture and direction of Apple and is well-suited to lead Apple without skipping a beat. It’s rare in the church world to see someone being empowered to take over leadership when someone leaves. Usually when senior leaders leave the church, it does skip a beat and take a step backwards.
3. Know when to cut your losses: Apple is known for some amazing technology such as the Apple II, Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad. However, they weren’t always producing gadgets the world lusted over. Anyone remember the Apple III? Apple Lisa? PowerMac Cube? Apple has had a string of hits and misses. However, they are known for their hits and not remembered for their misses. When the church is trying to move forward with something that obviously isn’t going to work, its leadership must learn to do the right thing and admit their mistakes and move on. In the business world, hanging on to something that doesn’t work or has little interest from the public would be its death. In the church, we hold onto things dear to us way too long.
Learning leadership lessons from success stories such as Apple should not be looked down upon by the church. Many things that help make a corporation successful can also be used effectively within the church to help ensure success with fulfilling their vision and mission statements.
Dave Ingland is a former entrepreneur and pastor with leadership insights in both areas. You can find his thoughts—personal and professional, corporate and ministerial—on his blog at http://www.daveingland.com.
[Image by Ben Atkin]
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