What do you think about, Pastor, when a person from your congregation walks up to you and says these three words, “I’m an entrepreneur.” Your thoughts may resonate with one or more of five common myths about entrepreneurs in churches:
- Great, someone else that will just want to challenge my vision.
- Here’s someone else with a loud mouth and no understanding of theology.
- Terrific, now I have another strong leader looking to compete with me.
- Why is it that every idea they have must conquer the world.
- Somehow I’ll end up being the bad guy.
While it is true, some of these things can happen. Most people in your church just want to help. There will always be people within your reach that have selfish intentions; but, you cannot deny the human resources that God has dropped in your lap.
This is the first of five posts—each of which will dive into one of the top five myths pastors have about entrepreneurs.
Myth #1: We Will Have Vision Conflict
A potential threat to any organizational leader is the tension created when the organization gets pulled in two directions.
The Myth
Entrepreneurs only want to pursue their own ideas.
The Truth
Entrepreneurs have lots of ideas. They are very passionate about their ideas. That passion and determination to see them made real is something God put in their heart to drive them to make what does not exist become reality. It is part of who God made them to be.
That said, entrepreneurs can get equally emotionally attached to any good idea. At their core they are problem solvers. If you start the conversation presuming that they want to be a part of what you are doing, it is easy to reframe their ideas to be in alignment with your objectives.
No organization will survive with vision conflict.
You have to discern whether or not God is using this person to help you revision or stretch your vision; but, once you have discerned that, the vision you have is the one that must win out.
Your primary responsibility is to squarely set your vision. Do not be afraid to stand firm on it. God gave it to you. You will have to answer for it, not this other person. But, once you have established your ideation leadership, you are free to course correct the vision of any entrepreneur within your organization.
Entrepreneurs love solving problems. If vision conflict is the problem that you point out, they will be passionate and determined to help solve that problem.
Check back on Monday for the second myth: entrepreneurs are business people not pastors. Better yet, subscribe below, and the post will land in your inbox!
