I've begun pondering the big question of how Christ motivated His disciples while on earth, and how He motivates us today. I have a theory that it's not the way we as business leaders are taught to motivate employees. My theory is that worldly research is catching up to how Christ motivates. I can think of several scriptural examples that encourage intrinsic motivational factors (versus extrinsic, which most business leaders focus on).
But there's a danger of proof-texting: believing is seeing; finding passages that fit my conception and ignoring contrary examples. So I'm trying to stay open and objective.
Business leaders focus on extrinsic motivational factors: bonuses and other incentives, recognition, celebration, perks, promotions, interpersonal support, clear goals...and punishments like demotion, termination, loss of prestige, etc. Especially if they're "visible"--foreseeable, to happen in the short-term. If these are the absolute main ways to keep people motivated, you can probably know that Christ has already failed. Sure, there's interpersonal support--abundant well-being, peace, love, joy and so on. But there's very little in the way of bonuses, recognition (we are but servants), promotions and so on. The one incentive a lot of people mention is the reward of heaven in the far-off era or hell as the punishment also in the far-off. These won't keep you engaged in the short-term: how many of us maintain exercise, healthy eating, diligent work effort if we don't feel we're gaining strength/losing weight/sleeping better and having a boss recognize our improved performance within a few days or weeks. (The second Friday of January is informally known as the Big Quit Day, when most people give up on their New Year's Resolutions.)
Before we get too deep into motivation, let's step back and ask if Christ would be rated a successful leader. There have been plenty of books written about His style and techniques. He certainly has grown an "organization" with a billion-plus "employees" that have radically changed the world. (Islam's prophet Mohammed could make the same claim regarding the size of the organization and contributions to math and science.) Like many of our businesses, the level of engagement differs. Not all employees are committed and enthusiastic about accomplishing corporate goals and the company's success. Likewise, not all Christians are committed and enthusiastic. In the organized church world, there are many names for the cultural Christians, ones who call themselves Christian, but know little and do little with regard to following the Master and Teacher: CEOs, for example, as Christmas-Easter Only attenders/followers/Christians. Cultural Christians believe they're Christian because they live a mostly good life: they don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal... (We know from scriptures, like Galatians 5 and Matthew 5 that it's more than this, such as overcoming greed, envy, quarrelsomeness, etc.)
So does Christ motivates us beyond what even the best business leaders have done? Gallup rates employee engagement as being in the 20-25% range for the past 30 years. Despite an emphasis in that time for organization's to improve it, it hasn't changed. The obverse of this is that 75-80% of employees are apathetic or disengaged. People are excited to join the brand of the company but become disheartened with the management and corporate culture. Hardly a winning formula.
Reluctantly, anxiously, I'm finding Christ's church not much better...at least in the US. In 2005, four out of five Americans claimed to be Christian but faith is only of primary importance for 1/6th of them. (Evangelicals scored higher than 50%, barely.) The Barna group surveyed thousands of Americans on several different aspects of commitment and the head, George Barna, summarized the results this way:
For starters, it appears that most Americans like the security and the identity of the label ‘Christian’ but resist the biblical responsibilities that are associated with that identification. For most Americans, being a Christian is more about image than action.
Surveyed in 2019, young adults in the US follow a similar pattern with two-thirds self-identifying as Christian, but only 10% finding joy in their faith, relationship with Christ and remaining resilient, acknowledging that their faith impacts the way they live. Another third of young adults are habitual church-goers but not resilient.
In a recent conversation with an Ugandan leader, she related the same effect in her country: most professing to be Christian, but not practicing any commitment to the faith obligations.
In 2005, those who were enthusiastic and committed to faith in Christ was 16% of all adults. Young adults in 2019 were at 10%. Really, it's below the business norm of 20-25%. Less than a third of adults in 2005 had attended church, prayed or read their Bible in the past week. This is a low bar for commitment. Barna Group acknowledges that the lowest scores were for the most intense Christian level of participation, such as teaching and evangelizing. Discouragingly, the "employee turnover" rate--faith abandonment rate--seems to be growing.
Black Americans, who have come through centuries of systemic oppression and suppression (lack of developmental support), scored the highest commitment levels. Their overall level of faith--resilience, hope, forgiveness and so on--is a model for the rest of us. The God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus has always been aligned with the least, last, lost and left out: Israel is one of the historically smallest, least developed nations and oft overrun. Similarly, reports out of Asia are that the persecuted church there is stronger, more resilient than many American churches regarding remaining open and consistent attendance. So if Christ wanted to improve our level of engagement, should He allow more persecution?
If Christ is failing the grade, should we pay attention to how He motivates? Unlike businesses where failure is high in the first five years, Christ's Church has survived millennia despite persecution, scandals, corrupting levels of state and material power, and horrible human leadership. The Church has been robust and Christ's image has survived any tarnish--as related in the mantra "I love Jesus but hate the church."
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| A cathedral in Germany being renovated behind a fabric facade--author's photo |
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