Christ-Centered Management

Management or Leadership:
Which did Jesus emphasize more?

•     Managers are the main characters in nearly all of Jesus’ parables.

•     Why is “Christian leadership” 100x more popular than “Christian management”?

•      There are 203 times more books on Amazon that include the phrase “Christian leadership” than those that include “Christian management.”

•      Google generates a whopping 400,000 search results for the phrase “Christian Leadership Conference” while there are only 561 search results for “Christian Management Conference.”

•     What are the consequences of our society’s negative view of “managers” and “management”?

 

Managers: The Main Characters in Nearly All of Jesus’ Parables

•     The Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14–30)

•     The Parable of the Minas (Luke 19:12–27)

•     The Wise and the Foolish Builders (Matt. 7:24–27; Luke 6:46–49)

•     The Growing Seed (Mark 4:26–29)

•     The Two Debtors (Luke 7:41–43)

•     The Rich Fool (Luke 12:16–21)

•     The Workers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20:1–16)

•     The Two Sons (Matt. 21:28–32)

•     The Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1–13)

•     The Faithful Servant (Matt. 24:42–51; Mark 13:34–37; Luke 12:35–48)

•     The Ten Virgins (Matt. 25:1–13)

•     The Hidden Treasure (Matt. 13:44)

•     New Wine into Old Wineskins (Matt. 9:17–17; Mark 2:21–22; Luke 5:37–39)

•     Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3–9; Mark 4:3–9; Luke 8:5–8)

•     The Tares (Matt. 13:24–30)

•     Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31–32; Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18–19)

•     The Leaven (Matt. 13:33–33; Luke 13:20–21)

•     Parable of the Pearl (Matt. 13:45–46)

•     Drawing in the Net (Matt. 13:47–50)

•     Counting the Cost (Luke 14:28–33)

•     The Lost Sheep (Matt. 18:10–14; Luke 15:4–6)

•     The Unforgiving Servant (Matt. 18:23–35)

•     The Lost Coin (Luke 15:8–9)

•     Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11–32)

•     The Master and Servant (Luke 17:7–10)

•     The Parable of the Tenants (Matt. 21:33–41; Mark 12:1–9; Luke 20:9–16)

•     The Budding Fig Tree (Matt. 24:32–35; Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33)

•     The Sheep and the Goats (Matt. 25:31–46)

Stewardship:
Managing as though God owns it all.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psa. 24:1)

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”    (1 Tim. 6:7)

“What do you have that you did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7b)

“…all things belong to you, and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God … it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy.”                      (1 Cor. 3:22-23; 4:2)

 

Benefits of Christ-Centered Management

•     Breaks the “I’m the master” mentality

•     Helps us to focus on being faithful and effective rather than on being important and significant

•     Increases our influence and authority