Business in the Body

© J. Francois Barnard – 21 December 2024

In the late 1990s, I wrote an article with this same title when I saw how business people and the church collaborated. I noticed myths and false perceptions about a dividing line between Christianity and Business that should not exist. As if Christianity is holy and Business is unholy. As if the ordained are “in the ministry” and the businesspeople are “secular”.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

How should the Body of Christ, that is, both the church and the Christian businesspeople, conduct business amongst each other? I thought the answer was so clear that we should not ask the question in the first place.

But I was wrong.

There is frustration going both ways that the two groupings do not understand each other or have misconceptions about each other, which leads to misunderstandings and distrust. The church’s frustration is that they do not generate money but need it. Some would use the pulpit to manipulate wealthy business people in their congregation. Some businesspeople would donate money to absolve themselves from guilt about wrongdoing. Others would donate to manipulate the church and God so that their business would receive some blessing.

No one would admit to the above, obviously! These are the things people do but never say.

In 1992, I started an IT business, programming DOS-based software solutions for other companies. It soon evolved into networking and hardware, and before long, my tiny IT business became the “IT Department” of different small and medium-sized enterprises.

As a Christian, I knew I was “called” to be in business. No, I did not hear a thundering voice from on high commanding me: “Thou shalt be in business!” I knew it in my heart and found myself in “the marketplace”, where I could be the light and salt as any Christian should be.

In the late 1990s, my local church invited me to their steering committee meeting. They decided and notarised that my business would be their official IT supplier of goods and services. They proceeded to purchase accounting software and computers from me. I networked their computers and set up application and hardware sharing.

Not long after, the church office called me to come and “sort out a new computer.” I knew I did not supply a new one and asked where it came from. They bought it from someone else, contradicting their notorised steering committee decision. It was clear that an amateur assembled the computer poorly and loaded its operating system but not the device software.

I confronted the church office about buying from an unknown supplier without even requesting a quotation from me. They answered that they wanted to help a brother who started a new IT business.

Who were the winners and the losers in this situation?

The new IT business made little profit but gained a poor reputation. I lost a deal and earned a reputation from the church as a harsh businessman. The church lost because they spent money on a computer which did not function, and they lost my trust.

The net result was that the Body of Christ was losing in this situation.

A few years later, a reverend from a church in Babsfontein knocked on my office door. “Brother,” he started, “we are in the ministry and live by faith.”

I knew what was coming and looked at him intently. By implication, he was in the ministry, and I was not. Also, he lived by faith, and I did not.

“Yes, Reverend,” I said, “It is easier for you to manipulate me to lower my prices than it is for you to bolster your faith in God and pay the regular price.”

He left, and I found my printed quotation in the rubbish bin in the foyer.

In 2006, life hit me with a curveball when my father unexpectedly died. I had to rush to sell my IT business to rebuild the family farm. Part of the sales agreement included a restraint of trade, and I could not return to the IT industry for three years. Just as unexpectedly, the farm sold within two years, right when the global economy sank into the 2008 recession. I found myself in the middle of a dry season without income. Our business ventures failed, but somehow we survived.

By 2012, the odd jobs became more odd – I was assisting a small Christian school to get rid of a bookkeeper with her hands in the till when a large church organisation with a few schools took the little school over. It was a solution for the little school because the larger organisation accommodated all their children and staff. It was also a solution for the larger organisation because they needed more English-speaking children and staff to pass their one school off as a double medium school.

The church asked for my résumé, and I reluctantly passed it on. It contained my IT background, and I left the industry a few years before. The IT industry is unforgiving in such instances because of the rapid technology developments.

But it so happened that their previous IT Manager resigned, and they needed my skills. My situation left me with no option but to take the position, but privately, I protested this appointment. I was supposed to be in business, and now I had to work for the church!

To my shame, I have to admit that I allowed this turmoil to run for much longer than it should have. I was shocked to find among my new colleagues the same narcissists I previously encountered in the business world. I loved the church but did not want to know too much about them - and now I was part of them! But thankfully, amongst my colleagues were those gems who lived out their calling fervently. They loved God, and it showed. My protests diminished as it became clear that I could apply my IT and business skillsets appropriately in the church.

I was still a businessman and used the opportunity to acquire an MBA. My family and I registered a business, and I could use it to help my employer to procure goods and services at lower prices. I learned a lot about the church and more about Business in the Body of Christ.

The Church and Government are similar in that they obtain their finances from the public. But that is where the similarity ends. The Government has legislation on its side to force the public to pay taxes. The Church depends on the goodwill of the public, and during economic downturns, some churches see how goodwill vanishes.

But not all.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, my employer, by much grace, was ready to stream church services online. I honour them for their innovation and enthusiasm in approaching these trying times. Statistically, their attendance and income grew at a time when many churches closed down. God blessed us because of and in spite of who we were. It reminded me of Matthew 16:18, which says: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

A recent incident prompted me to revisit the topic of Business in the Body. As with any organisation, the church has its service providers. I prefer to use resources from the business world and not the church members. I still have many contacts in the IT industry, and whoever can do a job better than me I would contract in. I am still well-connected and know the pricing for goods and professional fees. When necessary, I can drive a hard bargain but never overdo it. I was a service provider before, and I now look well after those I employ on behalf of the church.

Most of our church offices countrywide use broadband fibre internet, but there are sites either not reached by the fibre network or the fibre service is so poor that we do better with a wireless connection. One such site has a nine-kilometre wireless link from the church office’s roof to a tower on the Magaliesberg. A severe storm moved the dish slightly, and it became malaligned with the receptor on the mountain. Also, the trees on the site have grown a lot since springtime, and they have blocked the internet signal completely.

I asked the terrain manager to prune the trees, and the internet service provider sent a technical team to realign the dish on the roof. However, a large silver oak tree, 160 meters away at the perimeter fence, still blocked the line of sight. The solution was simple. I contacted a tree felling specialist and requested a quotation. This contractor worked for us before and quoted a very reasonable price.

The church’s pastor disagreed.

He said there was a church member that he could ask. I asked for the person’s number, but he declined. “No, we have a relationship with the man, and he would do it for us for free.”

I did not say anything but realised that my beloved employer also has pastors who would like to manipulate service providers out of their bread and butter. They phoned the man, but he never answered, and in the meantime, the staff could not perform their tasks as usual due to a lack of internet access.

I mentioned this case to those higher up in the ranks, and within a few hours, a service provider appeared and cut the silver oak down. The Internet access was instantly restored, and the staff could proceed with their daily tasks.

The tree feller refused to give an invoice to the church, and some would think this deed to be noble, but it was not. Some branches dropped on the perimeter wall and damaged the neighbour’s electric fence. Because the church did not pay for the service, it could not demand that the tree feller return to fix his mess. It was again a situation with almost all parties losing out.

I eventually asked the original contractor to remove the trees so that another contractor could fix the electric fence. I arranged payment immediately, and he did it promptly. Most of the debris was still on the terrain, but I saved a relationship with a neighbour, and the church could function as usual again.

If I could have it my way, I would establish a policy in the church organisation by which no service provider can do anything for the church without giving a reasonable invoice on par with the service rendered. The church can then demand service from this supplier to honour warranties or service the product. There will not be losers in this case, but only winners.

The service provider will show a profit and can, with pride, say that they delivered a good service or product. The church will be able to use the product or service fruitfully to enhance its service to the church members. Suppose the service provider wants to give anything to the church. In that case, they can do so as the Scripture prescribes it: The right hand should not know what the left hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). They can anonymously and discreetly donate to the church without getting “credit” for a good deed done. God will award them, not the church.

Business in the Body of Christ should be conducted the same way as good and honest business anywhere else. Every service provider renders a service or product and gets paid on time at reasonable rates or prices. Service providers should make profits, also from the church. 1 Timothy 5:18 says that a labourer is worth his wage. The church should become the client of choice for any service provider.

If a church cannot afford a product or service, instead of pleading with the congregation, ask God. It is God who provides, not the congregation. The church should allow the congregation to be led by the Spirit of God to be generous and giving (Romans 8:14). They should not manipulate the congregation to do so.

Healthy business in the Body of Christ will always glorify the Name of Jesus. There will only be winners and not any losers. The focal point will always be Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).