I love thinking and writing about how we live as God’s people.

Hmmm…

God’s people…

It’s such a loaded phrase when you really think about it—or try to unpack it, as the preachers say.

What kind of “people” are you?

• There’s black people, white people, and more.
• There’s tall people and short people.
• Fluffy people and fit people.
• In the USA, there’s Republican people and Democratic people.

As you read that list, I bet you can picture each one of those different classifications of people—and, more to the point, what makes them that kind of people. But what classifies a person as one of God’s people? What are the characteristics of God’s people?

It’s both who we are, what we are, and then what we do that classifies us as God’s people. We are literally a different kind of people than anyone else on earth. Our community of faith, and our gathering together in this new classification of people that come out of every other classification of people, is what and who the church is.

Our business is not like any other business.

As a preacher’s kid and life-long minister, who we are as God’s people consumes almost all of my thinking life.

This is a collection of articles where I begin a process of engaging with our thinking and philosophy about why we do what we do as the family of God.

Many balk at calling church an organization. It sounds too formal or business like. Every organism has structure. The core concern is whether that structure is organic and natural or forced and sterile. These are the questions I’m addressing.

I believe the core elements of any organization are: Mission, Story, Vision, Strategy, Tactics, and Accountability. And the order is significant as each is a building block on the previous one.

The Business of Church Part 1 — wherein I unmask the thinking behind the thinking and its dehumanizing effect.
The Business of Church Part 2 — wherein I tackle the money question and call us to a new definition of stewardship.
The Business of Church Part 3 — wherein I expose the flawed belief that our lead pastor/teacher should also be the lead decision-maker.
The Business of Church Part 4 — wherein I show how our unfruitfulness is directly linked to our adopting business leadership principles regarding the value of inexperience.
The Business of Church Part 5 — wherein I discuss the difference between Strategy and Tactics and unveil an exercise to develop strategy based on current strengths.

Your Vision is the Problem — wherein I expose the misguided notion that vision is the greatest, most important thing and highlight the necessity of Story and Accountability which give meaning and alignment to vision.
3 Ways Our Understanding of Church as Family is Wrong — wherein I correct 3 misunderstandings about family that should never be applied to the church.