3 Reasons Why Pastors Should Not Start a Business

There are many great reasons why pastors should start their own business. But is it possible for a pastor to start a business for all the wrong reasons? I think so! And in this episode of the More Than a Pastor show I’ll share 3 reasons why pastors should NOT start a business. Let’s get started!

Hello my friend! Welcome to the More Than a Pastor Show. I’m your host, Rich Avery. This is where we help pastors leverage your ministry know-how into sustainable income outside of the church, through a business or side hustle that’s right for you. So you can serve God and provide for your family, no matter what.

Whether you’re a pastor who’s always dreamed about entrepreneurship, but isn’t sure if God could call you to be a pastor and an entrepreneur, you’re at the point where you need to find a way to create more income, or you want to build long-term financial security for your family, you’re in the right place!

You can learn more about me, get the show notes for today’s episode, and download tools and resources to help you launch and grow your business or side hustle at morethanapastor.com/27 for episode 27.

Hey during the month of September, 2022, I have a goal of releasing one episode each day, starting on Sept 5. Some episodes may be longer, some, like this one today, may be shorter. If you didn’t hear why I’m doing this, and how you can help me grow my show, be sure to check out episode 24 at morethanapastor.com/24.

Links for Today's Show

• 48 Days Eagles Peak Week: Click Here for Free Trial Access
• Join our private Facebook community: https://www.morethanapastor.com/facebook
• Free PDF: How to Know if Starting a Business is Right for You
• Read My Last Post: 3 Key Things Pastors Need to Succeed in Business

If you’ve been watching or listening to my show for any length of time, you know I believe that there’s never been a better or more critical time for pastors to create income outside the church through their own business or side hustle.

We don’t have to look hard to see that there are several social, political, cultural, and economic shifts that are happening in America, which I think will create a different future for the church.

I think the church of the 21st century may look more like the church of the 1st century, than the 20th century. I think the day of the “traditional, institutional, corporate-type of church” is over.

Many churches will get smaller, and will struggle to survive on tithes and offerings alone.. Pastors who have been full-time in the church may have to become co-vocational, working in the church and in the marketplace.

The good news is that I think every pastor has marketable skills that can be easily leveraged into the marketplace. And for many pastors, the pathway forward is to create income outside the church through their own business or side hustle.

But starting a business isn’t for every pastor, I know.

And even though there are many reasons why I think pastors should start a business, I think it’s entirely possible that you could start a business for all the wrong reasons.

So today I want to share 3 reasons why Pastors should not start a business

3 Reasons Pastors Should Not Start a Business

1. You Want to Get Rich Quick

It’s sad that so many Christians - even pastors - fall prey to get rich quick schemes. Ever wonder why that is? I think these definitely play on our emotions, our desires to be a good steward of the resources he’s entrusted to us, the thought that God wants to bless us in a unique and special way (activate God’s promise for increase), the desire to create a financial legacy for our family. And so we are presented with an opportunity that touches on all these things, and promises an amazing return…but only if we get in now. Have you ever been presented with an opportunity like this? Sometimes as pastors we have people approach us and our church with something like this. I attended a webinar back maybe 5-6 months ago, hosted by someone I respect who has created an amazing business for themselves with multiple streams of income, and now they are helping others do the same. This person is a believer and very kingdom-minded. On this webinar, he brought on a guest to talk about investing in Crypto, specifically with something called de-fi or decentralized finance. The guest was also a believer and I think had been involved in ministry in a church, and he said he’d developed a system for investing in several De-fi auto-staking platforms which guarantee huge returns with a very small investment. I was immediately skeptical, but interested to learn more. Some of the tokens he recommended promised that you’d become a millionaire with a $1,000 investment. I’m not going to mention the names of these on the show. I don’t know, maybe I should. But as I did some basic research on Google, I came to the conclusion that most of these are Ponzi schemes. Several have been victims of “rug pulls,” where the people who created these funds stole the money and ran away. Some people have done this more than once. It’s not clear how these funds are purported to generate revenue…what do they invest in or what do they create? It really seems like they just take your money and supposedly pay you a return from the next guy’s investment. So, if you want to start a business or create multiple streams of income, I affirm that, and I think there are thousands of legit ways to do that and make a great return…but don’t go into business because you want to get rich quick and check your brain and integrity at the door. But look, if you don’t understand this thing…how it works…how it makes money…how you make money…then don’t do it. And if the returns sound too good to be true, they probably are.

2. You want to take advantage of others

Well this definitely relates to point #1. Every business relies on relationships. We often start out making a list of who we know, and how we can introduce them to our products or services. That’s natural. But if you get into business with the thought of preying on your relationships, and taking advantage of people, please don’t do it. Network marketing is huge…and it relies on relationships…but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it. Be sure you do it the right way. Serve first. Don’t just call up old college friends out of the blue and tell them about your great new business. Ask how they’re doing. What they’re working on. See how you can help them first. Then you’ll eventually you’ll be given an opportunity to talk about what you’re up to.

My friend Vincent Pugliese talks about this in his new book The Wealth of Connection. I’m giving away 3 free copies of the book this month to those who have joined the More Than a Pastor community on Facebook, and have introduced themselves, asked a question, shared some feedback, or engaged in some way.

So, if you haven’t joined yet, you can do it today for free at morethanapastor.com/facebook.

3. You have something to prove

Many pastors have been hurt by their current or previous church. Some have a chip on their shoulder. I get it, sometimes we get hurt by the church, or others, and we want to "show them."

So we go off and launch into something that will hopefully create more success for us than we would have had before.

It’s been said that success is the sweetest revenge. But starting a business to prove someone wrong, or to make yourself look better than someone else, isn’t a good look.

And it probably won’t end in the kind of success we were hoping for. Let hurt and pain motivate you, but not drive you…or own you. We already know that as pastors, right?

So to recap, the three wrong reasons to start a business, in my mind, are to get rich quick, take advantage of others, you have something to prove.

What’s your take on these three things? Do you think I’m right? Or Wrong? Or would you add other things to the list? Let me know by sharing your thoughts on the More Than a Pastor Facebook community, or in the comments here, or send me an email at [email protected].

Hey, do you think it’s ok to make more money so we can live more and give more? Join me next time when I’ll share my take on John Wesley’s famous words “Make all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” I hope to see you then.

Before we go, remember that you are more than a pastor. Saying yes to God’s call doesn’t mean you have to say yes to feeling stuck, broke, or unfulfilled in your life and ministry. Let’s work together to help you create the life, impact, and income you were made for.