Do churches today rely on something other than biblical principles for leadership? The answer in many cases is a resounding, "Yes." The church is filled with unbiblical "hero" pastors and evangelists among many other kinds of workers. And local churches are seen purely as corporate organizations, not the spiritual organisms they are.

Local churches were not always seen as little corporations. This view of the church probably had its genesis in the United States at the turn of the last century. The stimulus was John D. Rockefeller, Sr., a devout Baptist.

The corporation as a legal entity was evolving rapidly in America in the early 1900's, and Rockefeller was in the forefront of it as head of Standard Oil. The corporation embodied several important characteristics. First it was a legal entity that would survive the death of the founder. As a legal entity, the corporation was subject to financial controls dictated by the establishment of Certified Public Accountants in 1896. Corporations had the power to create stock and own property, and this led to regulation by the government, particularly in the areas of securities sales and taxation.

Corporations were run on a daily basis by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who stood at the top of a hierarchical pyramid. It was governed by a board of trustees. This board had a unique function in that it had they stood outside the organization, yet had control over it.

Individually, most trustees could not lead the corporation as a CEO, but together the trustees had the power to make or break it. Rockefeller was a large benefactor to many Christian endeavors including a grant that enabled the founding of the University of Chicago, several theological seminaries and homes for orphans. He required that each of these institutions be operated with the same strict management and financial controls as his own companies.

By 1924 Rockefeller had moved from Ohio to New York City. He was prominent in the Park Avenue Baptist Church there, but was unhappy with the leadership. He proposed that the church move to prime property uptown, and was ready to pay for the move.

He required several things before the move was made, first that the church be operated on modern corporate principles, which included a Board of Trustees which had a secular rather than spiritual function, and that a new pastor be installed.

The new pastor, who functioned as the CEO was the well-known Harry Emerson Fosdick. The new church which was, and is known, as Riverside Church, became the symbol for all that was modern in religious institutions. The leadership of Rockefeller in building this "Cathedral of American Protestantism" - along with a proliferation of U.S. Federal laws affecting organizations - caused other churches to follow the Riverside Church pattern.

This model of church organizational structure raced around the world even though change was not fueled by indigenous corporation and tax laws as it was in America.