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Larry Jones fired from Feed the Children charity he founded
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Larry Jones, founder of Feed the Children, has been fired from the ministry he started about 30 years ago. According to sources I have spoken to, there has been an undercurrent of problems at the ministry for years. How much Larry Jones is to blame, time will tell. The present crisis came to a head after Jones had the offices of three of the top executives of the ministry bugged. Jones says he intends to sue to get his job back.
To make matters worse for the ministry they are also dealing with a lawsuit by fired accountants. The accounts claim they were fired for speaking up about unpaid taxes that were being hidden by executives. Again, no need to rush to judgment about who is right and who is wrong, but it clearly puts the ministry in a bad light.
It seems to me there is a broader issue involved here. Can these organizations be effectively run by people whose primary training is in theology? The recent Oral Roberts University troubles are a case in point. Richard Roberts effectively inherited the Presidency of the university from his dad, Oral - a tough act to follow for anyone. But what were Richard's qualifications other than being the son of Oral? What business and leadership training did he have that made him capable of running such an organization?
Larry Jones founded Feed the Children. No one can deny the hard work he put in to making it one of the largest ministries of its kind in the world. But did there come a point in time where the size of the organization outstripped Jones' abilities as a CEO? Clearly, it did.
Pastors develop people skills and speaking skills through their training and experience. But not every pastor is made to be a CEO. Some need to realize that there is nothing wrong with realizing that an organization can outgrow them and their abilities. They need to say it is OK for a Christian businessman or businesswoman to step in and run an organization so that it remains viable and successful and useful to the Kingdom of God.
There are notable exceptions to this rule. But I think Dirty Harry was right, "A man needs to know his limitations.
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