Christianity And Management

T.C. YEDITEPE UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

CHRISTIANITY AND MANAGEMENT

Kerem KÖSEOĞLU Akın UĞURLU

İstanbul, 2006

Table Of Contents Table Of Contents ..........................................................................................................2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................3 Literature Review...........................................................................................................4 1. Christian Philosophy And Management ....................................................................6 1.1. What Is Christianity? ..............................................................................................6 1.1.1. General Information About Christianity ..............................................................6 1.1.2. Common Beliefs Of Christianity .........................................................................6 1.2. The Link between Christianity and Management ...................................................8 2. Christian Community and Management ..................................................................17 2.1.2 Beginnings of the Church ...................................................................................18 2.1.3 Acceptance by the Roman Empire – Church division ........................................19 2.1.4. Christianity at middle Ages and Early modern period.......................................20 2.1.5. Worldwide expansion ........................................................................................21 2.1.6. Controversy and criticism ..................................................................................21 2.2. Christian Organization and Management .............................................................22 2.2.1. Entrance at Christianity (Church) – Baptism .....................................................22 2.2.2 Exit from Christianity (Church) – Excommunication (Anathema).....................23 2.2.3. Confession..........................................................................................................25 2.2.4. Organization of Church......................................................................................27 2.2.4.1. Leadership positions and functions.................................................................27 2.2.4.2. Basics for Leadership......................................................................................29 2.2.4.3. Contrast between worldly and spiritual leaders ..............................................30 2.3.4.4. Decision Making & Biblical Approach ..........................................................30 3. Conclusion ...............................................................................................................31 List Of References .......................................................................................................33

Introduction One of many functions of a religion is to provide a guideline for people to show them the correct way to live. Therefore, they have rules to organize many things in the human life. Social relationships, interaction with the nature, the forms of worshipping, spiritual growth and most, if not all, of similar topics are covered. Being one of the widely accepted religions on the world, Christianity also has its own characteristics. Jesus, the Christian prophet, has affected many people through the generations and his teachings provided a foundation for many systems and ideas which still exist today. Management is no exception for that. The aim of this report is to cover the relationship between Christianity and management. The first part of the project will reveal the basic concepts of Christianity. We will discuss what Christian philosophy has to offer in terms of management. In the second part, we will inspect Christianity as a social institute and see how the world of Christianity has been managed through the history. Christianity is a sensitive topic which is still being discussed by many. Different ideologies, even Islam, refuse many key points of Christianity and provide alternative approaches to Jesus and his life. However, revealing the truth about Christianity is way beyond the scope of this project. „Christianity as believed by Christians“will be our main focus in terms of philosophy.

Literature Review To be able to talk about a religion, the researcher must have a good understanding of the religion. Because “The Bible” is the foundation of everything Christian, it is be the main source of the religious point of view of this project. “The History Of Management Thought” discusses many key points of management. It is possible to see the historic evolution of management and how it was developed through the time. Christianity and Management is also one of the topics of this book. It is possible to understand how the social and managerial form of the Catholic Church has been developed, and how the cultural rebirth has been taken place with the Protestant ideology. The classical, neo-classical and modern management theories are also part of this book. Especially these sections were really helpful to build the managerial side of the bridge between Christianity and management. “Organizational

Behavior”

covers

the

human

factor

in

business

organizations. Common sociological and psychological motives of the human are discussed. Values, attitudes, satisfaction, emotions, motivation, and group behavior are some of these points. This book is a very comprehensive source on the subject, and it has provided the foundation of human psychology in a social environment for this project. “Dinsel İnançlar ve Düşünceler Tarihi” is a large set of 3 books, providing a chronological review of all major beliefs, as well as organized religions, in human history. This book can be recommended to anyone who wants to make a research on a spiritual doctrine. It has been helpful to understand the efforts of Pavlus to spread Christianity and how he connected the daily life of business with Christian doctrine. Although it is not one of the most recent resources, “An Approach to the Psychology of Religion” reveals the basic relationship between human psychology and religion. It is not focused on a single religion; instead, religion has been discussed as a general concept. It provided an alternative point of view to differentiate the cognitive and affective effects of religion.

“Son Üç Peygamber” provides a good summary on the lives of three prophets: Moses, Jesus and Mohammad. Comments from different points of views are also included for certain important events. This book has been used as a support resource to understand the life of Jesus. “Toma’ya Göre İncil” includes 114 commitments of Jesus Christ himself, as well as comprehensive comments on each commitment. Some of these commitments were used to develop a better understanding of the concepts in The Bible. “Christianity: A Very Short Introduction” of Linda Woodhead provides a very good summary of Christianity and the common beliefs among Christians. It covers concepts like Jesus, signs and symbols of Christianity, and modern Christianity in the west. It is offered to anyone who would like to have a general idea about Christianity. Published at http://www.bibleinfo.com , Bible Info is a very comprehensive source to research The Bible. It has split the Bible into different topics, and excerpts about each topic can be viewed together. Published at http://www.wikipedia.org, Wikipedia is one of the largest and most respected online encyclopedias. Information about almost anything can be found here. This resource has been used to gain a general insight about the structure and history of Christianity. “Biblical Management Principles” course is part of the Harvestime International Institute, a program designed to equip believers for effective spiritual harvest. The basic theme of the training is to teach what Jesus taught, that which took men who were fishermen, tax collectors, etc., and changed them into reproductive Christians who reached their world with the Gospel in a demonstration of power. It is a single course in one of several modules of curriculum which moves believers from visualizing through deputizing, multiplying, organizing, and mobilizing to achieve the goal of evangelizing.

1. Christian Philosophy And Management 1.1. What Is Christianity? 1.1.1. General Information About Christianity Being one of the three largest religions on earth, Christianity is a monotheistic religion based upon the life and teachings of Jesus. With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, Christianity can be defined as the world’s largest religion and is predominant religion in America, Europe, and large parts of Africa1. In the chain of Abrahamic religions, Christianity takes the second place between Judaism and Islam. Jesus himself has claimed that his purpose isn’t to change the religion of God, but rather to complete it. However; the Christian community has a large diversity of beliefs; and it is very hard to define Christianity as a globally accepted static doctrine, let alone being one with Judaism and Islam. There are three main groups; which are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Christianity and Protestantism2, and each group has different subgroups. Does any of these groups represent the original doctrine of Jesus himself? We will never know for sure. What we can say confidently is, that they all share some common beliefs.

1.1.2. Common Beliefs Of Christianity Christianity is shaped around a person, Jesus Christ3. In general, Christianity is based upon the idea that there is only one God, and that Jesus is his messenger – and (arguably) his son. Mary, the mother of Jesus, was a virgin when she was pregnant; the pregnancy was a result of God’s grace. After growing up in terms of age and power and being tested by the devil in the desert, Jesus wandered his whole life, teaching people about God’s religion. Jesus

1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity 3 Woodhead, Linda (2004), Christianity: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, P.1 2

was also able to cast miracles. For example, he healed many people, walked on water, demonstrated scenes of exorcism, and even raised the dead. Because of his deeds, many Roman authorities were uncomfortable. Therefore, they catched and crucified him. However, Jesus was resurrected and he kept wandering amount for some time. Being the messenger of God, Jesus was free of sin; and he successfully resurrected himself. Therefore, Christians share the common belief that the salvation from sin and death is possible by following Jesus’ doctrine. They believe that Jesus paid off for all the sins of his followers in exchange for his pain during his crucification. Among God and Jesus, Christians share one more important concept: The Holy Spirit. It is believed to be the implementation of God’s power on the earth, and it is the source of the supernatural powers of Jesus Christ; as well as other holy men in the history of religion. Devil is an important character of Christianity. He disobeyed God when he ordered him to kneel in the presence of a human, and was doomed to go to hell. However, he was given a chance to live on earth and try to tempt people not to follow God’s path. It is believed that people will be resurrected in a judgment day, and according to their deeds, their next destination will be heaven or hell. People, who made good deeds and followed God’s path successfully, will be the folk of heaven and have a peaceful eternal life there. On the other hand, the followers of Devil will be the folk of hell aside him. The key requirement of the path of God is to have faith in God and his word. Although there are different versions, Christians accept The Bible as the main source of God’s word. The Book is believed to be written by humans under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit. The key concept of The Book is the love for people. A good

Christian is expected to follow the orders in The Book, and organize his life accordingly. Other important concepts are sin, salvation and The Spirit.4 It is also important that the faith and the love is sincere. Religion as we commonly use the word stands for at least two distinguishable things: (i) Behaviour as actually observable, and (ii) Experience, which may or may not issue in behaviour which is observable5. This means; a Christian will have a visible part of religion, which is consistent of his observable behavior. He will also have an invisible part of religion, which is consistent of his inner world. A good Christian believer is expected to have both at the same time, and sincerely.

1.2.

The

Link

between

Christianity

and

Management 1.2.1. Management Functions Beyond all the details, it can be said that Christianity does support the business life. This is significant in the letters of Pavlus, which order Christians that people must work to deserve their food. Of course, “to work” is an activity which evolved through time, but the basic idea didn’t change: it is the effort of production. Because Christianity orders people “to work”, it is reasonable to say that it also supports the concepts of business – as long as they don’t happen to provide a contradiction with the path of God. Business is basically about production, which is made by people. People must be managed during the production process. If Christianity supports production and business, it must also support management. This is the fundamental link between Christianity and Management.

1.2.1.1. Planning Planning is one of the most important functions of management. From the macro point of view, managers are expected to develop strategies to reach the

4 5

Woodhead, Linda (2004), Christianity: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, P.24-45 Flower, Cyril (2001), An Approach To The Psychology Of Religion, Routledge, P.2

organizational goals. Beyond that big picture; before each decision, the management is supposed to build a good plan of resource usage to make sure that the decision is efficient and that the organization has enough resources to complete the process. The Bible supports the planning function of managers as well. "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’”6 It is the responsibility of management to plan ahead. But is it always the case that the management has enough information and experience to make a plan? Not really. A typical oppositional scenario is the case where a company wants to enter a new market. In such cases, support of consultants is needed. This is also suggested by The Bible. “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.”7

1.2.1.2. Organizing In an organizational structure, the concept of “Span Of Control” has an important place. It defines how many employees a manager can direct. A structure where one single manager directs all the employees would not be efficient. Therefore, a common organization will have a pyramid-like shape of structure where groups of employees are directed by mid-level managers and mid-level managers are directed by top-level managers. This concept has been stated in The Bible clearly. We understand that the span of control pyramid is also supported by Christianity. "But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens."8 . We see that The Bible also suggests the number of people to be managed in each level of the pyramid. Staffing is another important concept in terms of organizing. To be able to reach organizational goals, it is important to build a group of employees which can provide a diversity of skills and expertise. This is also supported by Christianity. In the example of Levites, it is stated that different people have different abilities, and 6

Luke 14:28-30 Proverbs 15:22 8 Exodus 18:21 7

they should be brought together to achieve a goal. “They hired masons and carpenters to restore the Lord's temple, and also workers in iron and bronze to repair the temple.”9 “...had charge of the laborers and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and doorkeepers.”10 Introduced to management theory by Taylor, specialization suggests an organization where each employee is concentrated to one (or a limited number of) main responsibility. This idea is the source of departments and job descriptions of todays modern organizations. Specialization is also one of the key concepts of Christianity. “And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.”11 We understand for instance, that a teacher is not responsible of healing others, and a healer is not responsible of teaching others.

1.2.1.3. Leading Leadership is the ability to lead others towards the goals of the organization, and is one of the key functions of management. Leadership is a deeply discussed subject, because management and leadership are not always the same thing. An employee with a high level of charisma and technical skills can be the leader of others while the manager of the department is someone else. Leaders are people who motivate and lead people towards specific goals. A leader is a model for his followers; and he should be able to communicate and motivate others to do what they are supposed to do. In The Bible, David provides a good example of leadership. His army was afraid of the foes. However, when he slayed giant Goliath with one single sling shot, he provided an example to his army that size doesn’t matter at all. When talking about motivation, Goal Setting Theory suggests an approach where reachable goals will increase the motivation of an employee when they are

9

Chronicles 24:12 Chronicles 34:13 11 Corinthians 12:28 10

stated clearly and measurably12. It is far better than saying “Just do your best”. When we come back to Christianity, we all see that Christians have a goal for motivation: If they walk in the path of Jesus, they will live in Paradise forever in the afterlife. “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” 13 At this point, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that Christianity itself happens to be the strongest source of motivation for the workers by stating that people should work as if God is their boss. "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free."14

1.2.1.4. Controlling To make sure that the organization is performing well, managers have to monitor the activities. The performance in a specific time span can be compared with previous periods, or with other organizations. If a deviation is detected, the management should make a new plan to get things back to track. The data needed to perform the controlling activities is usually provided in forms of reports. People with lower ranking gather information from their span of responsibility, and report it to the higher ranks. This behavior is also the case in the life of Jesus. Because Jesus was not able to travel everywhere he wanted within his lifetime, he trained apostles and sent them to teach his doctrine. “The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.” 15 Evaluation is another key point of controlling. If a manager evaluates the reports within the organization only, the only thing he can measure is the productivity. However, efficiency is also a very important term of measurement. To be able to determine the level of efficiency, the manager should be able to compare the organization with others; which is also suggested in The Bible. “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they

12

Robbins, Stephen P. (2005), Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education, Inc, 11th Edition, P.180 Philippians 3:14 14 Ephesians 6:7-8 15 Mark 6:30 13

measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.”16

1.2.2. Management Skills The Bible has made a clear statement that not all people are capable of leading others. We understand that every person has his own abilities, and we all should do the best thing that we can. If we have the abilities to be a good leader, then we should take responsibility and play a leading role. Otherwise, we should act as workers. "God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well… If your gift is that of serving others, serve them well… If God has given you money, be generous in helping others with it. If God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take the responsibility seriously."17 This statement makes a perfect match with the modern idea of Robert Katz that there is a set of skills that a good manager needs to have. These can be summarized in three categories: technical skills, human skills and conceptual skills. 18 Just because someone has very good technical abilities doesn’t mean that he can be a good manager, there is much more to that.

1.2.2.1 Technical Skills Management without the technical knowledge about the scope of the organization can’t be expected to be successful. To be able to manage others, a manager must know what the employees are doing; and he should be able to guide or replace any employee in unexpected situations. The technical knowledge can be gained in trainings. However, it is also a common scenario to have someone work among other employees for some while and promote him as manager afterwards. This is also suggested by Christianity. It is stated that a successful manager should have worked as an employee before managing others. "And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant”

16

19

. Working among employees before

Corinthians 10:12 Romans 12:6-8 18 Robbins, Stephen P. (2005), Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education, Inc, 11th Edition, P.7-8 19 Matthew 20:27 17

leading them would also help the manager to have a better understanding of his employees.

1.2.2.2. Human Skills A good manager is expected to have human skills; which means, he should be able to communicate, understand the needs of others and handle the conflicts between members. In Christianity, the prophets are held responsible of providing human skills to solve conflicts between believers. “...have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."20 Christianity suggests that solving interpersonal conflicts has a higher priority than anything else; even offering a sacrifice to God. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.” 21 Before making any decision about the conflict, it is essential to listen to all of the parties. “Any story sounds true until someone tells the other side and sets the record straight.”22 Although it is the managers responsibility to make sure that conflicts don’t affect the organizations success, is it always the case that a manager has to intervene to solve the conflict? Not really. If that would be the case, managers would have a hard time being able to do anything else but conflict elimination. In many cases, conflicts can be solved with the proper communication among employees; which is also suggested by The Bible. “If your brother sins again you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother

20

Exodus 18:21-24 Matthew 5:23-24 22 Proverbs 18:17 21

over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan (...)” 23

1.2.2.3. Conceptual Skills A manager with good conceptual skills will be able to analyze complex situations, seek for alternative solutions and make accurate decisions24. Let’s look deeper into this statement. The first step of a good decision is to analyze the situation. Without an accurate analysis, it is very hard (if not impossible) to make an accurate decision. This principle is also stated in the Bible. “What a shame—yes, how stupid!—to decide before knowing the facts!”25 The second part of the statement suggests the need of alternative solutions. The first solution that the manager has found doesn’t need to be the best one. Looking for new ideas and comparing them to each other will give the best answer; as suggested by The Bible: “The intelligent man is always open to new ideas. In fact, he looks for them.”26

1.2.3. Other Managerial Subjects 1.2.3.1. Ethics From the viewpoint of the employees, The Bible clearly states that every employee must act ethically and be grateful towards their employers. “Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.”27

23

Matthew 18:15-17 Robbins, Stephen P. (2005), Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education, Inc, 11th Edition, P.8 25 Proverbs 18:13 26 Proverbs 18:15 27 Titus 2:9-10 24

On the other hand, Christian doctrine also warns employers to be fair and careful about the wages: “For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. Their cries have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.”28 What about the ethics between the company and the government? Jesus suggests every Christian to pay their taxes. “Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, 'You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap Me? Show Me the coin used for paying the tax.' They brought Him a denarius, and He asked them, 'Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?' ‘Caesar’s,’ they replied. Then He said to them, 'Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God’s.'"29

1.2.3.2. Training When an employee enters the company for the first time, he can’t be expected to fulfill his duties right away. He can suffer the lack of knowledge of technical or non-technical skills. Examples to technical skills are fast-typing capabilities of a secretary and first-aid knowledge of a driver. Examples to nontechnical skills are customer-orientation of a sales representative and team-orientation of a software developer. Such incompetencies can be completed with the help of trainings. Today, much non-technical training is being given in form of games instead of formal educations. During these games, the employees gain a deeper insight about the subject; which is far better than memorizing concepts without really understanding anything. If we take Jesus as the ultimate teacher and his doctrine as a large training of non-technical concepts, it wouldn’t be awkward to say that he provides a good model of indirect teaching in forms of “games”. Jesus was transmitting his doctrine in forms of parables30 and expected his followers to gain a deeper insight with the help of

28

James 5:4 Matthew 22:17-21 30 Eliade, Mircea (2003), Dinsel İnançlar ve Düşünceler Tarihi, Kabalcı, P.382 29

them. “He taught them many things by parables”31. Naturally, Jesus also provides a model where training has a very high importance.

31

Mark 1:22

2. Christian Community and Management 2.1 The History of Christianity 2.1.1. Bible – Choice of 4 main books The Christian Bible used by most Christians, also called Holy Bible, Scripture or Word of God contains life and teachings of Jesus, and also letters of Apostle Paul. Christians use New Testament which covers 27 books. In these books, Jesus is at the center and they are written primarily in old Greek at the early Christian period. 4 books which are canonized gospels are mostly known by Christians. These are Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John. 32 In the 5th century, these 4 books are accepted by the Catholic Church, under the rule of Pope Innocent I. This decision is made by the Church, first it was easier to manage the Church by 4 books instead of many more and second, there are some rumors that they put out the parts which would be a trouble for the Church. For example, was Mary Magdalene the wife of Jesus and was the leadership of the Church given to her by Jesus after him? These 4 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are recognized respectively by the Council of Rome (382), the Synod of Hippo (393), and two Synods of Carthage. (397 and 419)

32 33

33

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible#Differing_Christian_usages_of_the_Old_Testament http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gospel

The historical development of major church branches from their roots: 34

2.1.2 Beginnings of the Church Christianity started within the Jewish religion among the followers of Jesus. Christianity welcomed Gentiles under the leadership of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and gradually separated from Pharisaic Judaism.

35

Some Jewish Christians didn’t

accept this approach and developed into various parts, while others were joined with Gentile Christians in the development of the church; within both groups there existed great diversity of belief. As we can see in the works of Professor Bentley Leyton, "The lack of uniformity in ancient Christian scripture in the early period is very striking, and it points to the substantial diversity within the Christian religion."

36

As

in every organization, there has to be a structure, a church hierarchy seems to have developed by the time of the Pastoral Epistles (Tim 3, Titus 1). It exists from the first generation of Christians and was formalized by 4th century.

34

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity Romans 1:16 36 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity 35

2.1.3 Acceptance by the Roman Empire – Church division In the 4th century, Christianity became legal at the Roman Empire. After the permission, there was a chaos between pagans and Christians. In 312, Emperor Constantine took a courageous decision and it can be seen as a good management example. He saw the future and success of his empire at Christianity and to show that he is a good leader, he became also Christian. By giving to the Christian Church some privileges, Christian institutions became stronger than pagan ones. In 391 Theodosius I determined Christianity as the official and, except for Judaism, only legal religion in the Roman Empire. As Church becomes more important at social life, managers which are emperors at this time wanted to be in the decision process of Church and more clearly wanted the power. They wanted to ascend the throne by powerful religious people. Pagan culture began to be suppressed and pagan religion began to be accepted heretical by Roman emperors. Pagans were found guilty as they committed a crime against State. Therefore, we can see clearly that accepting Christianity by Roman Emperors is a mostly management decision. They become more powerful by taking the religion power near them. 37 As frontiers of Roman Empire became very large, the Church organization increased, too. Five big powerful constitutions were formed: the Pope of Rome, the Patriarch of Alexandria and of Antioch, to which later were added the Patriarch of Constantinople (in 381) and the Patriarch of Jerusalem (in 451). This system of five sees was later dubbed the Pentarchy. We can accept that as the division of duties in an organization. There were two languages spoken in the Roman Empire. Latin was spoken at the West, Rome being capital and Greek was spoken at the East, Istanbul (Constantinople) being capital. This division formed a two divided Empire: West Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire which is East Roman Empire. This division will prepare at the future the demolition of West one in 476 A.C. and as we know the end of Byzantine Empire in 1453. This can be seen as one of biggest mistake in the Empire for the management view. 37

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

2.1.4. Christianity at middle Ages and Early modern period Migration Period changed the whole situation of Europe, both politically and socially, but at the other hand; they failed to keep their proper religions. Germanic peoples adopted Roman (Catholic) Christianity and Slavic peoples preferred Orthodox Christianity. This event prepared the Great Schism, dated to 1054, which separated officially two churches, Catholic and Orthodox. When 7th century arrived, we can see that Islam challenged Christianity and Christians lost Middle East, North Africa and Spain. This process continued with Crusades and finally the conquest of Byzantine Empire by Ottomans and Turkish people. For the European history, the Middle Age is called “dark age”, because there is a conflict between Church and free thinking. Especially, at this time, not to lose power, Church excommunicated people who disobeys them, therefore religious rules are applied according to the wishes of Church managers. Also, because of Crusades, powerful land owners were sent away and Church owned these lands. We can clearly see the examples of a dictator style of administration. The corruption and immorality among the clergy resulted with the Reform at the Church. After Martin Luther published his 95 theses in 1517, and a few times later, Church found itself divided in two parts. The competition between Catholic and Protestant Christians resulted political struggles for centuries.

38

Stayed far from the center of Europe, Orthodox

Christians lived under Muslim rulers. This event shows the disadvantage of decentralization when both management have not the same capability of management or the knowledge of organization. .

38

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

2.1.5. Worldwide expansion With the missionary and colonial efforts of Europeans, Christianity spread to Americas, Oceania, East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. After the Middle Age, with the Enlightment, discoveries of science, Christianity was confronted. Also, biblical criticism and modern political ideologies such as liberalism, nationalism and socialism weakened the power of Church as compared to the Middle Age. 39 Church responded this situation by a counter action. It wanted a strong religious uniformity of European countries against Islamic countries. With this approach, it protected its power at a limit.

2.1.6. Controversy and criticism 


Many skeptics don’t accept Christianity because of internal conflicts involving

its holy scripture. There are many controversies surrounding Christianity in the history: These controversies can be seen as lack of Church management which couldn’t clarify the issue: •

There are some propositions which cover the idea that Jesus of Nazareth may

never have existed, there is a lack of information outside the New Testament. Also, it is argued that there are some similarities with pre-Christian cultures. The idea of Jesus’ nonexistence has not found a general acceptance by Christian community or historians. •

For some writers and researchers, Paul is the founder of Christianity instead of

Jesus. His missionary work and his efforts to spread the Church organization seem more important for this people than a spiritual leader. •

Many Muslims don’t find Christian doctrine compatible with Monotheism

because of the “Father-Son and Holly Spirit” belief.

39 40

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity

40

Matthew 5:17-19 can be taken to imply that the Old Testament laws remain in place in the New Testament, while Matthew 5:38-39 can be viewed as contradicting those earlier passages. Simple investigation yields many apparent contradictions in the Bible, which some use to argue against belief in the Bible as the absolute. While consideration of the context is necessary when studying the Bible, some find the four different accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus within the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, difficult to reconcile. Criticisms are also sometimes raised because of contradictions arising between different English translations of the Hebrew or Greek text. 41

2.2. Christian Organization and Management As we will see at next three parts, Christianity has some rituals for entrance, exit and forgiveness. We can link these rituals with Weber’s bureaucracy. Therefore, a classical management theory is used. As we will see rules of Catholic and Orthodox Church are harsher, as classical theory but Protestant Church prefers to apply rules more relax as non classical theory.

2.2.1.

Entrance

at

Christianity

(Church)

–

Baptism

Baptism is a definitive ritual in Christian explanation. By baptism, the person is accepted (fully qualified) to the participation of Church. The baptism was the duty of John the Baptist, who was thought to be the cousin of Jesus. “Those who believe

41

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Christianity

that John was a prophet identify baptism with his message concerning repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah.”42 In Christian belief, John also taught that his baptism was not finally sufficient, and that repentance would not attain to its goal of separation from sin, apart from a greater baptism which it was not in his power to give. According to the Gospel of Luke, John taught, "I baptize you with water; but one comes who is stronger than I, of whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire; his winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with inextinguishable fire."

43

From this point on, water baptism became identified with

the followers of Jesus. At the end of his recorded ministry, Jesus charged the Apostles to baptize "in the name of Father, Son and Holy Spirit" in the Great Commission44, which has become the common method for baptizing.

2.2.2

Exit

from

Christianity

(Church)

–

Excommunication (Anathema) The biblical basis of excommunication is “anathema”. Anathema was used in the early church as a form of extreme religious sanction, beyond excommunication. The earliest recorded example was in 306. The Roman Catholic Church still makes use of the sanction, though it is rarely used against an individual. Some modern churches refer to any form of exclusion as anathema. Roman Catholic Church 


Excommunication is the most serious ecclesiastical penalty for Roman

Catholics. It is a punishment which is rarely used to discipline unrelenting defiance or other serious violations of church rules especially by those who are accused of spreading division and confusion among the faithful.

42

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptism Luke 3: 16–17 44 Matthew 28:19 43

This gives at the end a prohibition of the person from participating in liturgy in a ministerial capacity. There are some other rights and privileges which are cancelled such as holding ecclesiastical office. Excommunication is intended to be a medicinal penalty: it is intended to seriously motivate the offender to repent, and therefore is a penalty with a goal of returning the person to full communion after the offensive action has stopped. So, it is accepted as a medicament instead of a punishment. “In the Roman Catholic Church excommunication is usually terminated by a statement of repentance, profession of the Creed (if the offense involved heresy) or a renewal of obedience (if that was a relevant part of the offending act). This whole process takes place within the privacy of the confessional and during the same act of confession.”45 Offenses which result excommunication must be absolved by a priest or bishop empowered to remove the penalty. “The Roman Catholic Church has an extensive history of the uses of excommunication, especially during the middle Ages. Popes and archbishops used excommunication as a weapon against high ranking officials and kings who fell out of favor with the Catholic Church. Perceived abuse of this power, along with some other factors, led to the rise of the Protestant Reformation. With the rise of the idea of separation of church and state, excommunication no longer has any civil effect. Today, excommunicated Catholics are still under obligation to attend Mass, even though they are barred from taking active part in the liturgy (reading, bringing the offerings, etc.). Indeed, the excommunicant is encouraged to retain some relationship with the Church, as the goal is to encourage them to repent and return to active participation in its life.”46 Eastern Orthodox Communion In the Orthodox Church, excommunication is not an expulsion from the Church. This can happen because of minor reasons like not having confessed within that year or be imposed as part of a penitential period. It is generally done with the goal of eventually restoring the member to full communion. The Orthodox Church has a right for expulsion, by pronouncing anathema, but this is reserved only for acts 45 46

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication

of serious and unrepentant heresy. Even in that case, the individual is not damned by the Church but is instead left to his own devices. “But, according to some theological sects, the person who receives anathema by the Church, is condemned to Hell and will be unable to rot in their grave.” 47 Lutheranism Although there are several variants of Lutheranism across the world, Lutheranism technically has an excommunication process, although some of them do not use it. This process which is rarely used has created some unusual situations because of its democratic excommunication process. According to Luther, excommunication requires: “1. The confrontation between the subject and the individual who he has "sinned" against. 2. If this fails, the confrontation between the subject, the harmed individual, and two or three witnesses to such acts of sin. 3. The informing of the pastor of the subject's congregation. 4. A confrontation between the pastor and the subject.” 48

2.2.3. Confession “Confession of sins is an integral part of the Christian faith and practice. The meaning is essentially the same as the criminal one – to admit one's own guilt. Confession of one's sins, or at least of one's sinfulness, is seen by most churches as a pre-requisite for becoming a Christian.” 49 Roman Catholicism 



In Catholic teaching, the Confession is the method given by Christ to the

Catholic Church by which individual men and women may confess sins committed 47

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excommunication 49 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession 48

after baptism and have them absolved by a priest. (It is not necessary to confess sins committed before baptism, as baptism itself is considered to remove the guilt of sins.) Confession is named also as penance and reconciliation Many Catholics continue to use the term "confession" in reference to the sacrament. “Catholics believe that the power of forgiveness belongs to God alone; however, God can and does exercise it through the Catholic priesthood. The basic form of confession has not changed for centuries, although at one time confessions were made publicly. The role of the priest is of a judge and jury; in theological terms, he receives from the Church the power of jurisdiction over the penitent. The penitent must confess mortal sins in order to restore his/her connection to God's grace and not to merit Hell.” 50 Eastern Orthodoxy “For the Eastern Orthodox Church, confession has more to do with the spiritual development of the individual and much less to do with purification. Sin is not seen as a stain on the soul, but rather a mistake that needs correction. In general, the Orthodox Christian chooses an individual to trust as his or her spiritual guide. In most cases this is the parish priest but may, in fact, be any individual, male or female, who has received permission from a bishop to hear confessions.”51 Protestantism For Protestant churches, an intermediary between the Christian and God is not necessary in order to be absolved from sins. “Protestants however, confess their sins in private prayer before God, believing this suffices to gain God's pardon. However confession to another is often encouraged when a wrong has been done to a person as well as to God. Confession is then made to the person wronged, and is part of the reconciliation process. In cases where sin has resulted in the exclusion of a person from church membership due to unrepentance, public confession is often a prerequisite to readmission. The sinner confesses to the church his or her repentance and is received back into fellowship.” 52

50

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession 52 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confession 51

2.2.4. Organization of Church Christian Church always lived a problem of organization from the beginning of its foundation. Early congregations had their own doctrine and conditions for membership. This independency created disorganization. There were a lot of bishops who were heads of various local churches at the 3rd century. “At the Council of Nicea, (A.C.25) the bishop of Rome was named to the office of Pope.”

53

This movement

was realized to keep unanimity but throughout the history, Christian Church failed to do it.

2.2.4.1. Leadership positions and functions The Bible determines five special leadership positions set in the Church by God: “And He gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors, and teachers.”54 (Ephesians 4:11) “Apostle: An apostle is the person who has a special ability to develop new churches in different places and also to oversee a number of churches as a supervisor. Apostle means a delegate who is sent with full power and authority to act for another. The apostle has a special authority or ability to extend the Gospel through the world by developing organized bodies of believers. In modern terms, an apostle is used as a missionary and church planter. The Apostle Paul is one of the best examples of an apostle from the Bible. Prophet: A prophet is the person who speaks under the direct inspiration of God and holds an office of authority in the Church. A prophet has the ability to receive and communicate an immediate message of God to His people. Agabus is a good example of a New Testament prophet. 53

Wren, Daniel A. (2005), The History Of Management Thought, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 5th Edition, P.20 54

Epjesians 4:11

Evangelist: An evangelist has a special ability to share the Gospel with unbelievers in a way that men and women respond and become responsible members of the Body of Christ. The word evangelist means the person who brings good news. Philip is a good example of an evangelist. Pastor: The word pastor actually means shepherd. Pastors are leaders who assume long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers. Teacher: Teachers are believers who have a special ability to communicate the Word of God (Bible) effectively in such a way that others (students) learn and apply what is taught.” 55

The five special leadership positions work together in the ministry of the Church. “The Apostle extends the Gospel to new regions to rise up new churches. The Evangelist communicates the Gospel in such a way that unbelievers respond and are added to the Church. The Prophet gives special messages from God to the Church by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Teachers provide instruction which goes beyond the presentation of the Gospel done by the evangelist. They take new converts on to spiritual maturity and train faithful people who are capable of teaching others. Pastors assume long-term leadership and care for the Church.” 56 There are other positions of leadership mentioned in the Bible that are not spiritual gifts. They are "offices" established because of practical needs of the Church. Other positions 55

56

Biblical Management Principles, Harvestime International Institute, P.5

Biblical Management Principles, Harvestime International Institute, P.7

The offices of deacon, elder, and bishop are mentioned in the New Testament. (Some people consider a bishop to be similar to a pastor. Others see it a separate office.) The purpose of these offices is to assist those with spiritual gifts of leadership like the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers.

2.2.4.2. Basics for Leadership There are four basic requirements for all leaders. A Christian leader must be:

“1. Born Again: He must be a true believer in Jesus Christ according to the instructions given in John 3. 2. Baptized In The Holy Spirit: He should have the evidence of a powerful witness as described in Acts 1:8. 3. Called And Anointed To Be A Leader: People must be called and anointed of God to fill leadership positions in the Church. 4. Spiritually Mature: He should have experienced the foundations of faith described in Hebrews 6:1-3 and moved on to spiritual maturity as this passage directs.” 57 Spiritual maturity involves a good personal relationship with the Lord including good prayer and Bible study habits.

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Biblical Management Principles, Harvestime International Institute, P.19

2.2.4.3.

Contrast

between

worldly

and

spiritual leaders

Ref: Biblical
Management
Principles,
Harvestime
International
Institute,
P.27


2.3.4.4. Decision Making & Biblical Approach Making decisions is a hard task facing leaders every day. Each decision is important, because decisions on small matters over a period of time affect the whole picture and management. A decision is a choice. An answer has to be found for a real life situation and the action which will be taken has to be decided. Decisions determine destiny. Decisions made by a leader affect not only his destiny, but the destiny of his followers. Life is an endless succession of choices and decisions. Making choices is a responsibility. Refusing to make a decision is in itself another decision.

“The Biblical approach to decision making is not voting by the people. It is not the democratic approach or majority rule. Democratic process in the Church produces compromise, legalism, and competition. Rules of order, motions, and votes limit revelation by the Holy Spirit. Voting often results in hurt feelings, anger, and church splits. These are not Biblical

ways of decision-making for the Church. They are methods the Church has adopted from democratic government styles of the world.” 58

3. Conclusion From the philosophical point of view, we see that many concepts of modern management theory, such as management functions and skills, also exist in The Bible. Most of the modern theories were developed by Christians. The question is; were they developed with the inspiration of The Bible? Or is it the case that an absolute truth may be discovered by different people living in different spans of time? The answer is up to you. As in every organization, Christianity also has a management history and its managers. The first important management decision in Christianity is the choice of four canonical Gospels as the main books. Church wanted to manage the religion easier and wanted to put out some parts which could be trouble for them. Christianity became important with the Roman Empire. At the 4th century, to become more powerful, Roman emperors chose Christianity as the legal religion of the empire. They finished the chaos happening between Pagans and Christians. Therefore, it was a very successful management decision. As Christianity became important at social life, emperors wanted to use this power; they ascended the throne by religious people. Throughout the history, there are also some unsuccessful managerial decisions taken by Church. In the name of religion, Church sent a lot of land owners to Crusades and at the end of Crusades, Church lost his credibility. After the Migration Period, Christianity was separated into Catholicism and Orthodoxy The corruption at clergy ended with another separation which is Protestantism. These separations that can be accepted as decentralization resulted some political struggles. Biblical criticism and discoveries of science weakened the power of Church. With a counter management decision, Church protected its power by using Christianity as the uniformity of European countries against Islamic countries. There are some differences at rituals between Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. So many rituals can be compared to Weber’s bureaucracy. Also another link with management theory can be formed: Catholicism is more like 58

Biblical Management Principles, Harvestime International Institute, P.47

classicism giving more importance to strict rules and Protestantism is near neoclassicism that gives more flexibility and put the people at the front.

List Of References The Bible Candan, Ergun (2002), Son Üç Peygamber, Sınır Ötesi Yayınları, 8th Edition Eliade, Mircea (2003), Dinsel İnançlar ve Düşünceler Tarihi, Kabalcı Flower, Cyril (2001), An Approach To The Psychology Of Religion, Routledge Özemre, Ahmed Yüksel (2002), Toma’ya Göre İncil, İyi Adam Robbins, Stephen P. (2005), Organizational Behavior, Pearson Education, Inc, 11th Edition Woodhead, Linda (2004), Christianity: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford Wren, Daniel A. (2005), The History Of Management Thought, John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 5th Edition Biblical Management Principles, Harvestime International Institute http://www.bibleinfo.com http://www.wikipedia.org