A book review of “Good to Great”
By Jim Collins- Published by HarperCollins, 2001

As Christians, we MUST start with the presupposition of the ultimate authority of God’s infallible Word over area sphere of life. Every thought, every concept must be submitted to the eternal, unchanging principles that God Himself revealed (2 Cor 10:4-5). Though Scripture is always the FINAL authority on all matters, God does reveal things about Himself through His creation (Psa 19:1ff). When we study that creation, especially how His providence works out on a day to day basis, and then relate it back to what God has said in Scripture, we obtain wisdom.

Wisdom is the ability to think properly about the world, and by God’s grace, discover how to conform our lives to His ways and therefore live rich and meaningfully to His glory. The entire book of Proverbs is a series of observations about life, relationships, human dynamics, and general principles based on the immutable character of God, given to teach us wisdom. As we meditate on these Proverbs, we gain insight, understanding discernment.

Men without God, and without the illumination of His Holy Spirit, often live frustrated, truncated lives, because at the core of their beings, they are at war with their Creator and live in defiance of His principles. Yet sometimes men DO learn true things about the world that seems to escape the righteous (Luke 16:8). Though of course we would argue that such men arrive at these truths only by thinking inconsistently with their own presuppositions, in effect borrowing intellectual capital from a Christian worldview; still, sometimes, they can (and more often than some would like to admit) discover things that Christians miss. Most of the history of modern scientific and technological progress is a result of unbelieving men, assuming the regularity and order of the cosmos that their philosophical presuppositions cannot explain, yet still making accurate and true observations about God’s creation that benefit all.

Clearly, when we analyze their research or consider their informed opinions, if what they say IS true, then we ought to be able to find some evidence of those truths already present in Scripture; which is exactly how Jim Collins’ book “Good to Great” should be viewed. This is a ground breaking research study that demonstrates how good companies became GREAT companies. Whether Mr. Collins realized it or not, his analysis of eleven phenomenally successful companies and the attributes that generated their “greatness” are in fact Biblical principles of leadership and stewardship. Through careful observation of God’s providence in creation, (though of course, he probably didn’t see it that way), he has managed to identify and crystallize crucial Biblical principles of organization and management that EVERY Christian leader ought to study and emulate.

He “discovered” these principles by examining various companies and comparing them to others that had similar assets, liabilities, products, market dominance, etc. His “great” companies exceeded 6.9 times the average cumulative stock returns in the fifteen years following their transition point. To put things in perspective, if someone had invested $1 in one of these “great” companies between 1965 and 2000, the “return” would have been 471 compared to a 56 fold increase in the market!

But if two companies began at the same point, why did one become so successful and the other managed to achieve only mediocrity? Collins” spent years with his research team pouring over company documents, published accounts and personal interviews to answer the question “what made them “GREAT?”

Eventually, Mr. Collins and his researchers identified six basic qualities that marked each of these “great” companies. Many of these qualities defied “common” sense and went against the grain of most business and management theory. But all of these companies shared these qualities in common; and the “mediocre” companies lacked at least one if not more of them.

Now, if this book was about just building a “great” business, then to be honest I personally would never have bought it, let alone read it. As a pastor and sometimes humorous (OK, debatable) commentator on Christianity and modern culture, I am ill-equipped to discuss business management or the complexities of modern industry. I have never made a lot of money in the stock market (my retirement account is only now recovering from drastic losses incurred during the recent stock market crash), never run a large organization, nor ever spent a lot of time in the business world.

But Mr. Collins’ book is not really about business; it is about organization and management; what works and what does not. And as a pastor I saw him describe every church or ministry I have ever been involved with; both what they did right, and what they did horribly wrong. As I looked back on my own experience of “managing” various churches and Christian organizations, he put into words the principles I had only dimly grasped; and he showed ME where I had made many of my own mistakes.

Thus “Good to Great” is re-shaping my whole worldview about certain aspects of the ministry because it identifies what makes ANY organization great (or mediocre or even a miserable failure); and its observations ARE actually Biblical principles. Now, Mr. Collins’ research and findings are being filtered through my own Christian presuppositions; and I may not always get them right. Therefore, please, extend a little charity if this review does not due justice to his principles or apply them as consistently as they ought. To the contrary, discussion and debate on the applications of those principles to the local church is heartily welcomed!

Furthermore, while working on this “review,” it quickly became apparent that it will require a series of articles on Collins’ research, both to do justice to his work AND delineate the relevant Biblical principles and how they could be applied to the local church. Thus, this first essay will begin by analyzing just two of the six main qualities of his “great” companies and then attempt to identify the Biblical principle he “discovered” and how it might potentially relate to the average church.

Finally, please keep in mind that these “principles” are not just “good guesses” or even “informed opinion” but actually meet the rigorous criteria for scientific observation. As Collins’ research team poured over thousands of pages of documents, and then vigorously debated their findings, the characteristics were present in ALL of the “great companies” and lacking in every mediocre company. These principles are not just ivory towered academic theories but as close to the “truth” as limited men can get.

Factor #1 “Level Five Leadership”

Clearly, good leadership is essential to any organization whether it be as small as the average household or as large as the United States government. Collins and his team though were able to distinguish between various types (or “levels”) of leadership. While a certain level of leadership might be sufficient for certain tasks and organizations, the “great companies” all seemed to possess a particular kind of leader. Furthermore, these “great” leaders were not what one might expect. We often think of “great” leaders as being highly gifted, charismatic individuals able to sway others through force of personality or sheer talent.

However, Collins’ team found that there was a NEGATIVE correlation between highly charismatic, wonderfully talented, big “ego” leaders and building a great company. Though some men were truly outstanding in their area of expertise and could help a company accomplish some phenomenal success in the short term, as soon as the leader moved on (or became distracted by other interests) the organization went right back to mediocrity.

Collins’ team found that leaders broke down into fairly distinct categories; the talented, capable individual, the contributing team member, the competent manager, the effective leader and what they call the “Level 5 Executive.” The essential characteristic of the “Level 5” leader was the ability to “channel their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company. It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed they are incredibly ambitious-but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution, not themselves (emphasis in the original).” Such leaders though modest and self-deprecating, possessed a strong will that never let their own pride get in the way of their primary ambition for making their organization great.

Many of these men are practically unknown outside of their own companies because they do not seek the “limelight” or publicity. When they were interviewed, they seldom talked about themselves and gave credit to everyone else, even attributing “luck” as the reason for their success. The people who worked with them and for them described them as “quiet, modest, humble, reserved, shy, gracious, mild-mannered, self-effacing,” and so forth. They often lived simple, understated lives staying in their modest homes even when they could have afforded mansions. “The good to great leaders never wanted to become larger than life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or become unreachable icons. They were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results.”

And yet at the same time, they also had an “unwavering resolve to do what must be done to make the company great.” They were not wimps or men who sought consensus but leaders were willing to take drastic actions to make their company succeed; regardless of whose feelings got hurt along the way. They would fire their own brothers if necessary to move the company where it needed to be. Their one goal, their one passion was to make the company succeed in its chosen field (more about that later). Yet as noted, this was NOT about ego; their commitment was to something greater and grander than their own wealth, power or position. These men were not out to line their own pockets, or give themselves great perks or enjoy a particular lifestyle. They were driven to do BE the best and make their companies the best.

Collins’ team strongly rejected the idea to call these men “servant” leaders because they were afraid of giving the wrong impression; the very word “servant” gives some the idea of weak, conciliatory individuals which is the exact opposite of a “Level 5” executive. However, they were on the right track even as they pointed out a common misconception about “servants.” Jesus Himself said, “He who would be great among you must first become the servant of all.” Christians especially have forgotten that simple maxim and hence, “great” churches are sometimes thin on the ground because MANY pastors and elders DO place themselves and their desires ABOVE the well-being and “success” of the church. There are powerhouse preachers with great talent and charismatic personalities, but they are more concerned about promoting themselves, and their ministries, than they are about the Kingdom of God or the health of the church.

Every research study done over the past fifty years notes that the WORST possible job for a pastor is to follow a highly successful predecessor; such a man is almost doomed to fail. The reason is that the previous “powerhouse” did not build a truly “great” church but rather one dependant upon his gifts and abilities. When he left (to take a new church, retired, died, etc.) no one else could do what he once did. So the church fell into disarray, sometimes even collapsing into factions and schism.

On the other hand, the very idea of being a “servant” gives many Christians, both elder and laymen, the idea that the leadership is supposed to be a doormat, blandly smiling as people walk all over them. Jesus was the epitome of the “Level 5” executive in that He came to serve, but His passion was always for the glory of God not the approval of men. He did not compromise the truth to please men or make them feel comfortable. He did not talk sweetly and gently to people but called them to account when they were in error; truth took precedence over protecting people’s pride. He even called Peter “Satan” because Peter’s emotions were in danger of interfering with His mission.

One really does have to wonder sometimes whether the average Christian has actually ever READ the Gospels; the mental image they have of Jesus is far, far different than what the Scriptures reveal. The same Jesus who confronted the Pharisees, deliberately confounded the crowds with parables, rebuked His disciples, and drove the money changers out of the temple hardly resembles the popular conception of “gentle Jesus meek and mild.” Yet Jesus WAS meek and mild, if we understand the words the way HE used them! He was committed to displaying the glory of God and calling rebellious men to surrender to His Lordship. He willingly laid aside His own glory and divine prerogatives to become flesh and live among us rebels. He suffered and died for those rebels, but never once backed down or accommodated His mission to maintain their comfort levels.

As a sidebar, every Christian needs to re-read the incident in John 4:1ff wherein Jesus confronts the woman at the well. He confronts her immorality, rebukes her ignorance of true worship and calls her to repentance. Would any “successful” pastor today dare talk to an ungodly woman the same way that Jesus did? Yet, He was both humble with her and absolutely resolute.

Collins then introduces what he calls the “mirror and window” pattern. Level 5 leaders “looked out the window to apportion credit to factors outside of themselves when things go well (and if they cannot find a specific person or event to give credit to, they credit “luck”). At the same time they look in the mirror to apportion responsibility; never blaming bad luck when things go poorly…” This stood in stark contrast to the attitudes of CEO’s of the “also ran” companies that were used for comparison purposes. Mediocre leaders took credit when things went well, and blamed others, or “luck” when things went bad.

Again, whether Collins recognized it or not, this is a both a Biblical principle AND a well-attested sociological/psychological dynamic. The Book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the fool who will not receive correction, or take counsel but who delights in speaking his own mind. Psychologists of learning have identified the tendency of people to rationalize and justify their own actions and blaming their problems on others, or circumstances outside of their control. Both Solomon and modern research demonstrates that the fundamental problem is PRIDE which is counterproductive to solving problems, resolving conflicts or effective leadership. A man can always find reasons to blame others when things go wrong; but where does that leave him? He may be justified in his own mind, his ego may have been protected so he does not feel “bad” about himself, but the problem is still there. To the contrary, the problem is even worse because now he assumes he is impotent to DO anything about the problem. Therefore he is less likely to look closely for factors that he COULD change that might affect the situation differently in the future.

Of course, as Christians, we do not believe in “luck” but rather in the providence of God. But God has chosen to govern His creation so that He blesses diligent, conscientious labor (see “Restoring Christian Finances; Wealth, Wisdom and Poverty from the Proverbs”). A leader who takes credit for the successes of the organization and blames others, or “providence” for its failures, can NEVER LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES that all of us make every day. None of us is right all the time; all of us make errors in judgment, miscalculations or just bad decisions. If we take responsibility for the times when things go wrong, we are therefore motivated to scrutinize our decision making process, priorities, value system, etc., as well as recognize our dependence on God’s grace. “God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble…” Peter paraphrases from Proverbs 3:34 (1 Ptr 5:5). And this is EXACTLY the dynamic that makes Level 5 leaders so effective.

When people “outside the window” were asked to explain the success of their organization they would point “inside” at the leader saying, “He was the key; without his guidance and leadership we could not have become a great company.” But the Level 5 leader points right back out the “window” and says, “Look at all the great people and good fortune that made this possible; I’m a lucky guy!” This is true humility, the fundamental requirement that any man has to have before God will “exalt” him (cf. 1 Ptr 5:6).

Collins is divided about where and how Level 5 leaders come from. He is not sure whether it is something inherent within an individual, or something that can be learned. Of course, the Christian response is that Level 5 leadership is what every pastor or elder is supposed to be BEFORE they are ordained to the office; a combination of humility AND dedicated passion for the glory of God. If a man lacks either, then according to 1 Timothy 3:1ff, he is not qualified to govern Christ’s church. Elders are supposed to be humble but yet at the same time FIRM in their convictions. A “wishy-washy” elder may be loved, but he will not be respected. If he does not have the courage to stand on the solid foundation of God’s Word then at best, the church will never accomplish anything for the glory of God; at worst it will be ripped apart by “goats” who seek to fill the power vacuum.

One of the recurring characteristics of the Level 5 leader was that “he relies principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate.” Does this not sound EXACTLY what a dedicated, Christian leader is supposed to do? Are the elders not to call the people of God to their highest and holiest calling by basing their preaching, teaching, counseling and ministry ON the unchanging standards of God’s Word? A “great” elder is one who is committed to something greater and grander outside of himself; the glory of God. And it is that upward call of holiness in Christ Jesus that gives His people a holy passion that transcends personal circumstance, suffering, affliction or hard times.

Factor #2: First Who…Then What

Despite what Collins and his team EXPECTED to find regarding goals and direction for a company, what they ACTUALLY discovered was probably shocking to the average management theorist; the people who work for you are more important than the product or service you provide. In other words, rather than the successful CEO determining the destination of the company, and then inviting people along for the ride, he focused on getting the right people “on board the bus” (and the wrong people off) and then TOGETHER they figured out where they were supposed to go. The Level 5 leaders said in essence, “Look, I don’t really know where we should take this bus. But I know this much; if we get the right people on the bus, the right people in the right seats and the wrong people off the bus, then we’ll figure out how to take it to someplace great.”

Great people make a great organization and at first that may sound directly contrary to Biblical principles. “There were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things that are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen the things that are not that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God (1 Cor 1:26-20).” Clearly, in His sovereign decree, God did not choose the smartest, wisest, most talented people to be in His church. To the contrary, He intentionally chose weak, silly, foolish and common people as a means of expressing His own glory; through our weakness His strength is made known.

But what then are the “right” people for the church? The “right” people are those who are dedicated to the glory of God; whose hearts are humble before Him and open to His instruction and discipline. A business produces a product or service that it then offers to the world in competition with other businesses. The church of Jesus Christ also offers a product; the transformed life. Christians are to be producing in their lives, for the glory of God the character of Christ (Rms 8:29). Christians are certainly not sinless, but they are forgiven! The task of EVERY believer is to proclaim the crown rights of King Jesus over every sphere of life; and the most effective means of doing so is through their sanctified lives (1 Ptr 3:15-16).

Therefore the “right” people are those who will submit to King Jesus, willing to bring every area of their lives in obedience to Him. This does not require brilliant, powerful, charismatic, or wealthy individuals; just humble ones. And THROUGH that humility, as Christians live in love with one another, bearing with one another, forgiving one another and exhorting and encouraging one another, God is pleased to use their transformed lives to demonstrate the reality and power of His gospel.

But what does the average church actually do? The almost universal assumption is that a church is “great” if it is large; the larger you are, “obviously,” the more you are being blessed by God. There exists an entire genre of Christian literature and lecture material on how to make one’s church grow. Everything and anything has been offered as a means of attracting people to one’s church from coffee bars (selling “Jehovah Java”), entertainment-oriented “worship” services (“And now introducing the Holy Spirit Dancers!”) and a cheap, unbiblical gospel (“Try Jesus and all your problems will go away…”).

Yet, nobody wants to peak behind the curtain to see what is really going on. For all their “success,” such churches regularly suffer from chronic immorality, adultery, divorce, dysfunctional family life, broken relationships, bitterness, and angst. Recently a friend related a conversation he had with a police officer in New Orleans who mentioned in passing that the local hookers LOVED it when a major Christian conference was held in their city! It seems that prostitutes flew in from all over the country because they KNEW their “business” would triple! Now isn’t THAT saying something we’d all rather not know about the state of modern American Christianity?

Membership in the average evangelical church turns over regularly and though some people MIGHT have a wonderful “spiritual” experience on Sunday morning; it is a personal, subjective experience that does not manifest itself in the transformed life that is fundamental to genuine, Biblical Christianity (cf. Rms 12:1-2). It is almost as if the Christian faith has been reduced to “spiritual” tranquilizer used to deaden people’s pain, rather than the cure that tortured souls need, and for which Jesus Himself paid with his earthly life.

Now here is the problem; if a church attracts the WRONG people, those mentioned above who do not want to obey God, who will not submit to His Holy Spirit and who will be upset with “uncomfortable” churches where their sins are confronted and a change required, then the church will lose its high and holy purpose. In Collins’ terms, these are the people who hijack the bus and want to take it to where THEY want it to go.

The WRONG people are not sinners, for Christ came to save sinners, but people who will not REPENT from their sins! The WRONG people are those who insist that the church must revolve around making them feel good and comfortable with their sins rather than confronting them about their sins. The WRONG people are those who blackmail the elders into giving them what they want or they will go someplace else!

The RIGHT people on the other hand are those who hunger for the deeper things of God, whose hearts have been touched by His grace in Christ and want to grow in faith and love (1 Ptr 2:1ff). The RIGHT people are those who will receive correction, admonition and rebuke as necessary because they WANT to glorify God through their lives (c.f. 1 Thess 5:12-18-2 Tim 2:23ff). The RIGHT people are those who will repent of their sins, not justify or rationalize them (Acts 2:38ff). The RIGHT people are those who because they ARE humble before God, AND their brothers, will resolve their problems and differences Biblically and not gossip, slander and whisper (cf. Eph 4:25). The RIGHT people are those who “let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly” teaching, exhorting and encouraging one another so that all grow in grace and holiness (Col 3:16)!

Clearly, with the “right” people on the bus, the church can fulfill her mission in the world. Lives are changed, families restored, and the broader culture impacted for Christ. The “right people” want to go where the driver (Jesus) said they should go. And just as truly, the “wrong” people have other designs and are perfectly willing to crash the bus in an attempt to take control.

Now here we depart significantly from Collins’ definition of what makes an organization “great.” It is not quite so easy to quantify Christian character as it is to compare stock portfolios. The same sort of comparison analysis that Collins offered of various businesses could be made of churches; i.e., small struggling churches that underwent massive internal transformation and became mega-churches. But as Christians we are called to something higher than mere high attendance figures on any given Sunday morning.

A “great” church would be one where lives were really being changed by the gospel. It would have to include that the Word of God was being faithfully preached, and faithfully (though admittedly imperfectly) applied. It would be a church where the Kingship of Christ Jesus was being proclaimed in the world. It would be a church where people were actually growing in grace and godliness and living in love and humility.

Now say we DO manage to get the “right” people on the church bus (and the “wrong” people off; see “Exhortation to the Elders; Open the Front Door Wide and the Back Door Wider…”), Collins’ principles still apply. Every Christian church is composed of a wide variety of people with different skills, abilities, personalities, gifts and talents. Each church therefore has a unique contribution to make to advancing God’s Kingdom; a place where God has called and equipped them to serve. Each church therefore has a unique contribution in to Kingdom work dependant upon the mix of talents God has given them.

“Greatness” in THIS sense would mean properly harnessing and utilizing these diverse gifts, abilities and visions of all these people to accomplish something great for the Kingdom. Some churches might have a heart and vision for a pregnancy crises center, others for civil justice, others for aggressive evangelism, and others for education/training. The point is that there are MANY worthy goals that EVERY church COULD pursue to the glory of God; but few churches have the resources to meet every need. And the leadership could make that church “great” by wisely focusing all these diverse talents together for a common vision! (This is actually another one of the other principles but it seemed important to introduce it here).

Thus “greatness” does not necessarily mean “size;” and the sanctification of its members is really only the first step in her greater and more glorious ministry! But to accomplish great things for Christ, it will require getting the right kind of people in the church; people, who want to grow, learn, obey, forgive and then DO something!

Now, here is the question; how does one actually get the “right” people on board and the “wrong” people off? A business can get the right people through its hiring practices and salary packages; something not directly applicable to the average Christian church!

Collins makes an interesting observation about his “right” people; They are “self-disciplined.” In our terms, we would say self-governed. A self-governed man is one who understands his covenant duty towards his family, employer, and church and works diligently at fulfilling that duty to each. If a man will not conduct family worship, catechize his children, sanctify his wife, or resolve his interpersonal problems Biblically, then he is a constant source of warfare within the church. Elders spend an inordinate amount of time just trying to keep some people on the straight and narrow; meanwhile, neglecting to help develop the spiritual gifts in self-governed men that would actually make the church healthier! The goal of every Christian ministry ought to be to train men in how to be self-governed. Instead, too often we are devoted to lowering the standards of righteousness and afraid of confronting sin lest it hurt our church growth numbers.

However, the church can create a CLIMATE that attracts the “right” people and facilitates the “wrong” people moving on (again see “Exhortation to the Elders). As noted before, “right” people are sinners with needs just like anyone else but when corrected, admonished and encouraged they grow and change. Most churches though have more than a few chronic “problem” children. Such people are either always whining or complaining, in constant financial distress, gossiping or back-biting, or attempting to hold the leadership hostage to their demands. Many elders find that they spend so much time and emotional energy putting out the fires these people start that they have nothing left for really constructive ministry.

And yet, because the average elder is SO in love with church growth, he really does not want to confront these kinds of people and push them to obedience, lest they become offended and leave. So the problems never go away, and the church never becomes “great.”

Meanwhile, the presence of these people actually works against recruiting the “right” kind of individuals that would actually benefit from the ministry! In fact, many “right people” become so disheartened by the vacillation and lack of clear direction of the leadership (because the elders are afraid of offending the “wrong” people) that they in turn LEAVE to find a healthier church. Bad money drives out good money, and neurotic people drive out rational ones.

Therefore the first step would appear to be to hold the vision of the glory of God through a transformed life before the entire congregation. Preaching, teaching and counseling ought to focus on helping people apply that glory into their own lives. And inevitably, there will be one of two responses; some people will climb on board the bus and rejoice in the great things that God is doing in them. Others will break God’s law, gossip, and whisper because they do not want their sins confronted. They will threaten the eldership with leaving if things do not change. The elders ought to warmly, politely and lovingly invite such people to the back door.

Once the “wrong” people leave, the elders can then focus on finding out where the “right” people ought to sit on the bus. This should be the normal business of the church; helping people find out what God would have them do for His glory (Eph 4:11). This is not a simple process, and will require considerable time, discussion and debate.

One of the things most revealing in Collins’ study was that during the transition process from a good to great company, the leadership often had long, loud and very vocal disagreements. Because they were the “right” people and all committed to the best interests of the company, they used every bit of their intelligence, education and life experience to brutally explore what was right, and what was wrong with the organization. However, this was not about partisanship or personal; someone defending his own piece of turf, but about how to make the company a success. Meetings were often traumatic with raised voices as men argued passionately about various issues; but underneath was a common consensus that the good of the company came before individual comfort levels. What was amazing was that the Level 5 CEO NEVER sought consensus; everyone agreeing or making a decision that everyone could live with. Instead, he sought TRUTH. The company could NOT become great if men were blind to the problems. And therefore they NEEDED vigorous debate and discussion.

Sadly, this is unusual in Christian churches today; men often fear serious debate. We have forgotten Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, so each man sharpens another.” Instead, since the average Christian assumes the church exists to maintain his comfort level, serious debate is often lacking because it puts his pride in jeopardy. Have you ever been to one of those Bible studies where everyone shares their opinion of what a particular verse means? Six different people will give six contradictory interpretations, but NO interpretation is given any preference over another. To say that one interpretation is correct is to imply that the others were wrong. But some people do not like to be wrong and can become quite offended if their opinion is not given equal weight. But while a “share your ignorance” Bible study may make all the participants feel warm and fuzzy, it cannot reveal the truth of God’s word. One Sunday school manual from one of the largest and most successful evangelical denominations in America once said, “The process of thinking through an idea is more important than the conclusion.” But what if the “conclusion” is heresy? This approach implicitly assumes that truth is relative, unimportant and certainly of lesser value than increasing someone’s self-esteem!

In the same line, wimpy leaders try to make peace, rather than engage in the hard work needed to discover truth. Clearly, from Collins’ perspective, the underlying problem is that the church has too many of the “wrong” people in leadership. From a Biblical perspective, we might argue that feminism has so infiltrated the church that men no longer know how to be MEN! Women tend to seek conciliation over truth because they were created for a relational rather than leadership role. The church today has largely adopted feminine values and therefore does not know how to handle disagreements.

But if the Bible is true, then God holds us accountable to discover that truth and apply that truth. And that means that all of us are going to find that many of our opinions, values and ideas are WRONG! Humble men who seek for the glory of God want nothing more than to study the truth so they can grow in wisdom and understanding. Fools delight in speaking their own mind and will not receive correction. If a church, whether at the leadership level amongst the elders, or simply among the people in Bible studies and Christian education classes cannot engage in serious debate and discussion because they fear the consequences of hurting someone’s feelings, then how can they ever discover truth, let alone stand on it?

However, if a church has the “right” people they will enjoy and relish the opportunity to discuss and debate the things of God because they want the truth. This in turn will attract OTHER people who want the same things. A “great” church therefore is not one without “conflict” but rather where the “conflict” results from “iron sharpening iron” leading to a greater understanding and application of the truth.

OK, granted, there are Biblical guidelines that cover HOW we debate and discuss (see 2 Tim 2:23-24). Name calling, logical fallacies, irrationality, impatient, crudity, cruelty, etc., are all forbidden and when identified, must be repented of and forgiven. But sadly, MOST churches do not know how to argue Biblically. Often, Christians fear legitimate debate so much that what happens in the elders’ or church business meeting has already been determined by “power” people behind the scenes. The formal meeting is there just to give an appearance of legitimacy to the “done deal” already decided by illegitimate means!

Conclusion

Clearly, there is far more to making an organization “great” than just the right kind of CEO and the right kind of people. Even “great” people can lose their way. Therefore we will examine Mr. Collins’ other characteristics in a future essay. However, we have enough here to stimulate our thinking about how to govern the church of Jesus Christ.

First, extraordinary leaders, by definition, are not common! To quote “Dirty” Harry Callahan, “A man’s got to know his limitations” and the sincere elder, knows full well his own sins, failings and disappointments. However, by giving us a picture of what a Level 5 leader looks like, we can be motivated to go back to 1 Timothy 3:1ff and Titus 1:5ff and re-examine our motivations and abilities. Serving as a leader in Christ’s church is a great honor, but also a great responsibility (cf. James 3:1ff).

Therefore, if a church wants to go from “good” to “great” it should start by having the elders do some self-examination. Clearly, there are men serving as elders who ought not to be in the office; often including the one behind the pulpit. Perhaps, church dynamics being the way they are, it might seem impossible to remove such elders without ripping a church apart. But, and this is an important “but;” remember that quality of the Level 5 leader who was willing to do whatever was necessary to make his company “great?” Sometimes, that means putting the right kind of pressure on the wrong kind of elder to make him step down. This is not a putsch or power play, but simply “speaking the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) to people and “holding their feet to the fire.” God’s word is absolutely clear about certain things; if elders refuse to obey God, then they need to be confronted in love, gentleness and kindness until they either repent and grow, or rebel and leave. Either way, the church of Christ wins.

And as the leaders sharpen and love one another, holding each other accountable to live out our glorious faith in Christ, eventually, the “right” people will come and join us. In Collins’ examples, sometimes it took YEARS to turn the company around while they were focusing on getting the “right” people and developing the “right” vision; but if they persevered, eventually they saw incredible returns.

And that seems a good way to end this review. Perseverance is one of the hardest of all Christian virtues and attributes. We have been seduced by a culture of instant gratification and we no longer understand or accept that sometimes, a person just has to keep slogging along until God in His providence hears his cry. Too many people today become discouraged too easily, are too ready to give up hope when things get a little tough because they have not learned perseverance. It is amazing that the same people who understand this principle in other areas of life cannot apply it in their churches. To become a doctor, lawyer, or pastor (or any other skilled craft) takes years of hard, slogging labor; yet some Christians will give up and walk away from a good ministry if there are not immediate returns.

We endure because God always honors His word. We persevere because our goal is not our own comfort or security, but to reveal the glory of God to a dying world. And yes, all these things I am writing RIGHT NOW come from a convicted heart that I have too easily become depressed and discouraged when things do not go the way I thought they should go. So gang, let’s put our trust in Jesus; take a good, long and hard look at our churches and ministries and see what we have to do to let the glory of God shine!