14 Lessons Pastors Need To Know About Effectively Serving Business Leaders

By: Brian Dodd

http://youtu.be/auUCjyG2tL0 

July 31, 2013 0 Comments

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall when two great leaders get together?  Last week we got that privilege when Carey Nieuwhof, Lead Pastor at Connexus Community Church north of Toronto, and Casey Graham, Founder and CEO of The Rocket Company (and my boss), had an unscripted conversation about the need for pastors to develop meaningful relationships with business leaders.  A video of their time together is shown above.
I have often stated Carey has the best Christian leadership blog on the web while Casey is one of America’s most successful entrepreneurs.  Pastors and church leaders can learn much from these two great leaders.
As I watched the video, I gleaned 14 Lessons Pastors Need To Know About Serving Business Leaders.  These lessons and quotes from Casey are vital for pastors wishing to effectively disciple these high-capacity individuals within their church.

1. Great Leaders Naturally Connect With Other Great Leaders – Carey and Casey model what a relationship between a pastor and business leader should look like.
2. There Is A Huge Need To Serve Business Leaders - “There’s not much happening between pastors and business leaders in the church as a whole”
3. Serving Business Leaders Make Churches Successful – “The ones (churches) that we deal with (and) that connect with business owners and learn from business owners…are some of our most successful churches.”
4. Serving Business Leaders Is A Growing Trend – “There is a trend that great church leaders are connecting with great business leaders.”
5. Serve Business Leaders Like Jesus Did – “Jesus loved everybody the same but treated everybody differently.”
6. Serve Business Leaders First By Loving Them The Same As Everybody Else - “We feel like, as church leaders, we have to treat everybody the same.  But the reality is we have to love everybody the same.”
7. Serve Business Leaders Rather Than Ignore Theme - We often over-compensate as pastors and church leaders.  In our fear that we may show preferential treatment, we go to the opposite extreme.  ”Business owners are one of the most left out communities in the church.”
8. Serve Business Leaders By Understanding The Pressures They Face - “The systematic how to create margin, how to lead staffs, how to lead under pressure and pure good ole fashioned leadership comes the best out of the business world because they are under pressure and have tremendous competition.”
9. Serving Business Leaders Makes You A Better Pastor - “Some of the best church leaders I know connect with some of the best business leaders in their church because it keeps them on top of their game in areas in which they otherwise wouldn’t learn in.”
10. Serving Business Leaders Reveals Your True Motives - “Principles are principles.  The key is what’s the motivation in your heart.”
11. Serving Business Leaders Is A Ministry - “Business owners are some of the loneliest people in the church.”
12. Serving Business Leaders Allows Pastors To Develop Friendships With Like-Minded Individuals - “There’s a common interest there in that we’re both at the top of the food chain in terms of reporting.”
13. Serve Business Leaders By Going Inside Their World - “Go to their office.”
14. Serving Business Leaders Provides You Ministry Access To The People They Influence - “Business owners have tons of influence.  Tons of people that work for them.”

As a bonus, Casey did a section on the value of personal coaching.  The following are 6 additional thoughts that if implemented will make you a better leader.

1. “The business owners I know have coaches that they pay to help them with their performance.”
2. “If you don’t have someone helping you go further faster you’re going to get stuck.”
3. “You invest money in people who help you in a specific area.”
4. “In the business world people don’t just pay for advice.  They pay for accountability.”
5. “If you’re so broke it’s a big deal that’s an indication you haven’t been investing in coaching.”
6. “Even a bad coach is better than no coach because a bad coach will get you to do things you wouldn’t have normally done.

Pastors and church leaders, these are critical lessons that must be implemented for your ministry to be as successful as possible.  Let’s learn together.  How do you disciple and build relationships with the business leaders in your church?  Also, are you ready to hire personal coaching?