Mike 
Despite the title, this is not a political blog. I’m not advocating for or against any presidential candidates. I doubt that anyone reading this blog has been thinking, “I need to model my leadership after ‘The Donald.'” But I do think that Donald Trump’s surprising position at the top of the polls points to some very real dangers for church and ministry leaders.
No, the danger has nothing to do with religious liberty or tax-exempt status. It has everything to do with a model of leadership that may influence the people that you’re leading. Here are three specific dangers to consider:
- The loss of civility. Trump seems to say the first thing that comes to his mind without regard for who may be offended. While Christian values should influence the world, the disappointing truth is that the influence flows the other way far too often. There have been disagreements in the church from its earliest days, but those conflicts should be characterized by love and respect, not name calling.
- Personality-driven leadership. There’s not any doubt where Trump wants the spotlight to be – on him. It’s a classic example of what Jim Collins referred to as Level 4 leadership. While this kind of leadership gets results, at least in the short term, it’s not the highest or most effective model. Christian leaders should already know this. Their leadership should be informed by Christ’s example and teaching that “whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).
- Treating everything as a business. Trump says, “I’m not a politician; I’m a businessman.” He believes that the problems facing our country can be solved with business thinking. There’s just one problem. The government isn’t a business. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to eliminate wasteful spending, improve efficiency, and have logic prevail in political decisions. But it’s still not a business, and treating it as one will create problems. The same is true of your church or ministry. It’s much more complex than a business. Even though I have a business background and advocate using business concepts in ministry, you can’t treat churches and non-profits just like businesses.
