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A survey a few years ago showed that businesspeople in general ranked clergy ninth (behind even "no one") when asked whom they consult in making decisions about business (including, presumably, those decisions having to do with ethics).
While serving as business department chair at Eastern Mennonite University, John W. Eby conducted a similar survey and found that only 9.4% of the businesspeople in his community would consult their pastors when dealing with financial difficulties. "That says something about our relationship to the church," Eby wrote. "It also says something about the church's relationship to business."
The reasons for the polorization are many. Pastors are often accused of not understanding the role of capital, return on risk and the pressure of meeting a payroll in a competitive economy. Businesspersons are accused of being individualistic and unsympathetic to persons who cannot make money. Pastors may be more comfortable with "process", while businesspersons may be more interested in measurable results. Pastors with a concern for biblical justice may speak of "wealth redistribution", while a businessperson with a concern for justice may speak of "wealth creation". A businessperson may dislike the dependency generated by "charity", preferring instead to reduce poverty through the use of "productive capital".
Affluent businessfolk are naturally expected to contribute generously to church coffers, and to serve on boards of trustees and building committees. But must their contribution stop there? Many businesspeople do not, in fact, make their best contribution in the "money areas" of congregational life. (Indeed, many pastors complain that businessfolk who are reputed to be innovative "risk-takers" in business can be stubbornly conservative when they sit on a church board.) Businesspeople may have other things to offer, such as the ability to evaluate and motivate staff, coordinate resources and set goals.
On the other hand, some pastors may become so enamoured of business that they fall into the "let's be businesslike" syndrome. This is often most visible when a congregation's outreach plans become market-driven. "Let's give the people what they want" may produce temporary growth in numbers but carries the danger of diluting the gospel and turning the church into a religious supermarket. There is often a fine line between good church management and selling out to consumer forces, and prospective ministers need enough business savvy to know the difference. Is seminary the place to cultivate this savvy?
Curricula are already crowded at most seminaries, and there are endless add-ons that special interest groups could request. Nonetheless, perhaps room could be found for a seminary course on economics and finance, covering government, congregational and personal finances.
Wally Kroeker is editor of The Marketplace, published by Mennonite Economic Development Associates.
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