COMMON BUSINESS PRACTICES IN RELIGION
The first religious organizations that might come to mind are churches, our best-known example of a religious organization. (We are not familiar with synagogues so we will not claim that they exhibit all of the same characteristics that churches exhibit. Nevertheless, since Judaism embodies the spiritual roots of Christianity, we would be surprised if they are not organizationally similar in many ways). Here is a short list of the business-like activities that churches and synagogues conduct.
Marketing
Sign on the building site with the name of the church and when services are held.
Digital, electronic signs with scrolling messages on building sites.
Yellow pages advertisements
Ads in newspapers (especially around religious holidays).
Websites
Sell Religious Products and Services
Larger churches have bookstores in which they sell books, music, teaching dvds, and religious knick-knacks.
Churches of all sizes may purchase study guides for small groups and resell them to small group members.
Many churches hold fundraisers where donated or purchased products are sold.
While there is no written contract, there is an implicit contract between congregations and adherents/attenders that says that tithes and offerings are due compensation for attendance at worship services, Sunday School and other events (conferences, funerals, musical performances) sponsored by the congregation. Usually the evidence of the implicit contract is found in the offering (often called the “free-will-offering” where the announcement of the offering includes an exhortation to help cover costs of the event.
Tradition in many churches is to give the pastor an honorarium in exchange for conducting a wedding ceremony. The same tradition may apply to visiting religious dignitaries invited to speak or perform for special events.
Many churches will contract for the use of an auditorium or fellowship hall by anyone who wants to use it for a purpose that is not directly related to the church’s mission but which serves a compatible social purpose.
Payments for religious services and products
It is an accepted practice in religious communities to ask friends, family and other coreligionists for money for a wide variety of purposes such as the following:
Salaries and contracts for conducting religious services and teaching.
Salaries for performing administrative services for a religious organization.
Honorariums for performance of religious services and music) at weddings and funerals.
Purchase products and services sold by a coreligionist in his/her secular business.
Tickets to religious music events.
Sales of recorded religious music and books.
Support ministry efforts such as missions.
Financial support for health care.
Financial support for emergencies.
There is nothing wrong with asking for money or for advertising a product for sale. It is wrong, however, to use (i.e. exploit) relationships with co-religionists for the purpose of gaining wealth. And it wrong to sell God’s words in the form of teaching, music and books. This practice is religious extortion in which a religious person who asks for money implies that giving money to religious persons or paying them for religious services or products is a righteous thing to do. The underlying message is this: “I am a religious person. You are a religious person. You are your brother’s keeper. I am your brother/sister. If you are right with God you will help me financially. If you do not help me, you are not right with God. When you pay me for my religious service or my religious product, you are really making a payment like a tithe to God.”
People who ask for or expect payment for religious services and/or products effectively exploit their relationship with God for financial gain. In effect they say: “When you honor me with money, you honor God who gave me the ability to provide religious services to you and others.
STUDY TIP: See this link for insights about favoritism and partiality.
Business Practices
Larger churches have professional business managers. Smaller churches may not have a professional business manager, but there will still be a secretary or treasurer appointed to do that kind of work with church finances.
Churches are required to keep books of accounting and follow the same kinds of business practices that private organizations follow. They do this so that they can accurately report financial data to church members and the IRS.
There is an organization called the National Association of Church Business Administration. Churches join this association to learn how to better manage the business of the church. Therefore, churches must, at least in part, think of themselves as a business.
All churches convene business meetings. They may be routine meetings of elders or committees to which authority has been delegated to make decisions about various kinds of church business — not all of which is spiritual in nature. They may be annual meetings where all members are invited to conduct non-routine business — not all of which is spiritual in nature. Non-members will not be allowed to vote at such meetings. As a rule, church business meetings of all kinds will follow some kind of agenda and observe (more-or-less) Robert’s Rules of Order.
Members most likely to be voted into governing positions in the church are those who have experience and some success in private business.
Membership/Ownership
Churches have members who control the business of the church.
Members vote on a slate of candidates who, when elected, will function as a governing board.
Non-members may attend church functions but may not serve on governing boards.
The governing board will have authority to spend money, establish policies and make hiring and firing decisions.
Special decisions, like building projects and hiring of a new pastor, may be made at special congregational meetings.
Having authority to make business decision means that members are de facto owners.
Notes about membership and church government:
The above observations may not apply to all churches in all denominations. Authority to make some kinds of decisions may not exist at the local level but may reside in higher levels of hierarchical denominations. This hierarchical model, however, does not effectively alter the fact that someone has authority to make business decisions. The only difference is that the authority does not exist at the local level.
Property
In a capitalist society, a hallmark of business success is property ownership. This may include real estate, vehicles, office equipment, maintenance equipment, furniture and intellectual property. All churches of any size will own all of these types of property. Churches that do not own property will lease it in order to establish a public presence in which it can conduct its religious business.