A Shepherd or a CEO?

Recently a prominent evangelical Pastor indicated that in today's culture-- the Pastor should see himself more as a CEO than a Shepherd. About 15 years ago I was riding with a church planting strategist with the Georgia Baptist Convention. We were doing an area survey to consider possible places for a new church plant. In the midst of the conversation he said something to the effect that in the future churches will not seek out Pastors with a theological degree but will look instead to guys who have majored in business/management. He saw that as a positive development. I was more than a little surprised. Today I am grieved as I see the direction of the modern church growth movement. Every time I think that I have heard it all I learn of another church that is going to new and further extremes in an attempt to relate to our culture. Today Pastors...oops (Chief Executive Officers of Culturally Relevant Religious Businesses) sit in small groups with their staff to find out what exactly it is the folks in our culture want to hear about and they then design their messages accordingly. May our spiritual leaders once again discover that the preacher preaches before the watching eyes of God and the elect angels. Perhaps with that discovery will come a smashing of the drama stage, a slaying of movie clips, a turning over of the tables of popcorn and comedy and a return to the preaching of the Bible.