Can you be an effective Christian leader without being entrepreneurial? Yes, but you will not as effective as you otherwise would be! The synergy of an entrepreneurial approach combined with an understanding of leadership can lead to an exponential impact in organizations.

 I have attempted to highlight this powerful synergy in various ways. The ELO World Conferences—20 events over 10 years—exist to highlight the important role of being entrepreneurial as part of leadership. I speak regularly on the topic of entrepreneurial leadership to receptive audiences throughout the world. Lastly, R. Paul Stevens and I have co-authored, Entrepreneurial Leadership: Finding Your Calling, Making A Difference (IVP, 2013). The bottom line is that through the fusion of entrepreneurial skill and leadership principles people can have an exponential impact.

 What, then, is entrepreneurial leadership? First, let’s look at entrepreneurship. There are various dimensions to understanding entrepreneurship fully. Peter Drucker, the father of modern management, talks about innovation as the sine qua non of entrepreneurship. Henry Mintzberg, one of the world’s leading management thinkers, highlights the creative process and how entrepreneurship is a blend of craft, art and science. Howard Stevenson offers the so-called Harvard definition: the pursuit of opportunity without regard to the resources controlled. Larry C. Farrell, one of the world’s leading entrepreneurship trainers, focuses on the importance of self-inspired behavior. Lastly, Bob Hisrich focuses on the importance of proper risk assessment, balancing investment, emotions and time pressure. All of these perspectives are components of entrepreneurship.

 Secondly, we need a clear understanding of leadership. Like entrepreneurship, there are many perspectives on this topic. John Maxwell simply says that leadership is influence. A more complete definition is that leadership is a relationship of influence within with followership is gained and goals are met. There are biblical insights on leadership. In the Bible leadership involves casting a vision with examples such as Moses, Paul and Jesus. In addition, leaders take a “systemic” approach in which the leader is part of the system, such as the body of Christ. Leadership also involves exercising stewardship of the gifts and talents of others – good leaders give power away by empowering others. Like entrepreneurship, the notion of leadership has various important dimensions.

 With this context of an understanding of both entrepreneurship and leadership, I want to highlight two key aspects of a Christian perspective on entrepreneurial leadership. First, God-inspired creativity is embedded in a Christian approach. God is the “Creator.” He is the ultimate source of creativity. God is a doer, imagining, designing and speaking into existence the earth. Entrepreneurs have God-inspired creativity. We don’t create something out of nothing. Instead, we are creative in the derivative sense of sharing with God the continuing stewardship of the world. We help bring creation to fulfillment. We are called to extend the sanctuary (the Garden) and to “fill the earth” not only with people but by humanizing the earth through creative work.

 A second element of a Christian approach relates to risk taking. Yes, we are blessed to take risk.Without risk there will be no innovation! Man and woman are placed in the “Garden of Opportunity.” God commissioned them to have dominion, but did not specify how to do so. Let’s look at a parable about the Kingdom of God – the parable of the talents (Mt 25:14-30). A master entrusts three servants with talents—talents were a measure of money or gold—while the master goes away. Each servant gets what the master thinks he is capable of undertaking as a steward: 5, 2 and 1. The one with five talents has made 5 and the one with 2 talents has made 2 through opportune investment and taking a risk. The master commends them and invites them to celebrate his joy. The servant who had one talent and buried it in the ground is soundly condemned as a wicked servant and cast out. Why? He had a wrong view of stewardship as preservation rather than investment! He had the wrong view of the Kingdom of God—sit around and wait for its coming. He was risk-averse (of the master he said, “I knew you are a hard man.”). The bottom line is that it is a sin to squander what God has given us to use; we should be empowered to take risk.

 What are some examples of being an effective entrepreneurial leader who is creative and takes risks? One example is Graham Power, The Power Group, which is involved in the construction business throughout South Africa. He has a 100 year vision for his company. He views his company is God’s business and is managing it on God’s behalf to create opportunities. Power is very conscious of social responsibilities. His creative vision is to impact South Africa, the entire continent & the world. He has taken financial and reputational risks by initiating new projects such as the Global Day of Prayer and an organization to fight corruption called “Unashamedly Ethical.”

 Another example of an effective entrepreneurial leader is Mark Burnett. He is the #1 TV producer is Hollywood. He has an amazing life journey, going from being a British paratrooper to a nanny in the US to one of the top success stories in Hollywood. His commercial success includes shows such as Survivor, Apprentice, Shark Tank and The Voice. He is committed to making a difference for his faith. He has used his creativity to envision new projects and he has taken financial and reputation risks to implement them. Burnett originated the idea of “The Bible” miniseries—not a very popular idea in Hollywood. Despite his stellar track record he encountered many difficulties in terms of the financing and launch of the miniseries. Later he then launched “The Son of God” movie with a wide theatrical release. Burnett has displayed a lot of creativity in his ventures and he has had a huge impact from a faith perspective.

 To conclude, an effective Christian leader can be most impactful by being entrepreneurial. These types of leaders—like Graham Power and Mark Burnett—have an exponential impact through the fusion of entrepreneurial skill and leadership influence. What’s the take-away? Ask yourself how you can be more entrepreneurial in your present context. Ponder whether you can be more creative and take some careful risks to achieve greater impact. In short, whether in church or in business, how can you enlarge your territory and have a greater impact?