Last month’s Gleanings addressed the question, who are organizations responsible to? This month I want to address the question, why do organizations exist? In other words, what is the purpose of organizations? I use the term organization to describe two or more people who have joined together to accomplish a mission. Examples of organizations are families, churches, nonprofits, businesses, and government entities.
Pedestrian answers to the question of organizational purpose include jobs, money, societal advancement, and the greater good of mankind. While there is value in connecting organizational purpose to these pursuits, are these really profound reasons for organizational existence? Could a more profound answer be found in theology?
Consider, for example, three possible theologies and what these views of God intimate about organizational purpose.
1. The atheistic view assumes there is no creator and therefore no transcendent purpose. This means there is no purpose originating beyond the tangible universe. Those who adopt this view embrace a naturalistic view of reality. Furthermore, this view assumes there is no overarching metanarrative that connects organizations to a higher purpose. A pedestrian assumption of atheists is that organizations exist to provide jobs. Any purpose for organizations must be self-defined by man.
2. The theistic view assumes the existence of a transcendent, sovereign, immanent God who created the universe of his own will and for his own purpose. The attribute of transcendence means the Creator exists outside the boundaries of his creation. The attribute of immanence means the Creator is present in his creation (though not limited by his creation). The attribute of sovereignty means the Creator defined the rules of creation and is sovereignly rules over it. Furthermore, the Creator’s sovereignty is expressed through an overarching comprehensive metanarrative. Therefore, the Creator alone has the authority to define organizational purpose. Each organization should focus on discerning and fulfilling its divinely ordained purpose in the metanarrative.
3. The deistic view assumes the existence of a transcendent Creator but the Creator is not sovereign or immanent. A transcendent Creator means creation exists by the will of the Creator who also defined its laws. But the Creator is presumed not to be sovereign or immanent in his creation, and therefore, the Creator is passive relative to his creation. This suggests the Creator is not sovereignly ruling his creation and there is no overarching metanarrative. Furthermore, there is no divinely defined purpose for any organization. As with the atheistic view, any purpose for organizations must be self-defined by man.
The atheistic and deistic views lead to the same conclusion: organizational purpose is humanly defined. The theistic view, however, leads to a divinely defined purpose for organizations that is humanly discerned.
The difference between humanly defined purpose and divinely defined purpose that is humanly discerned is subtle but real. Humanly defined organizational purpose is developed independent of God’s will. Divinely defined organizational purpose is developed by humbly seeking God’s will. Humans then engage in discerning the will of God.
To discern God’s will is a spiritual process. Organizational leaders must humbly and prayerfully seek the Lord for wisdom to understand an organization’s purpose and role in the metanarrative.
Clearly, of the above options, only the theistic view provides God-defined purpose. If it is true that God defines organizational purpose, then one would expect corroboration from empirical studies of organizational behavior.
For example, consider the book Built to Last. This tome presents an empirical study of organizations (mainly businesses) that enjoyed long-term success. The authors assumed that success in the physical universe was predicated on obedience to the laws of the physical universe and sought to discover some of the laws or principles that facilitate enduring organizational success. From a theistic view, the authors were seeking, though probably unwittingly, to discern the Creator’s laws for his creation.
One of the principles the authors discovered was called enduring purpose (core purpose). This concept was used to seek to understand the reason for the existence of any organization. Here is what the authors said, in part, about enduring purpose:
Purpose (which should last at least 100 years) should not be confused with specific goals or business strategies (which should change many times in 100 years). Whereas you might achieve a goal or complete a strategy, you cannot fulfill a purpose; it is like a guiding star on the horizon —forever pursued, but never reached. Yet while purpose itself does not change, it does inspire change. The very fact that purpose can never be fully realized means that an organization can never stop stimulating change and progress in order to live more fully to its purpose. (note 1)
According to the authors, organizations that enjoyed long-term success had an enduring purpose.
This means at some point organizations developed a profound sense of purpose, providing a multigenerational guiding light that facilitated long-term organizational success.
To the authors, success was a corollary of enduring purpose. But behind the principle of enduring purpose is an organizational philosophy and behind every organizational philosophy is a theology. The question then is, what theology provides the best organizational philosophy to explain the principles that facilitate long-term organizational success?
In my view, a theistic theology (as defined above) best supports a business philosophy that supports the principle of enduring purpose. The principle of enduring purpose presupposes organizational leaders who recognize that God blesses obedience to and alignment with his will and ways. Such leaders humbly seek to discern the divinely defined organizational purpose in the metanarrative and seek to work multigenerationally to fulfill this purpose.
This intimates that part of the presupposition of the authors of Built to Last was to some degree, though probably unwittingly, a theistic view of the physical universe. Therefore, at the root of enduring organizational success is a theology that embraces a transcendent, sovereign, immanent Creator.
If this explanation of the principle of enduring purpose is sound, what lessons might we learn? Consider the following:
- Your view of purpose is a corollary of your theology. If you desire to develop and be part of an organization that enjoys long-term success, then sound theological training is foundational for developing organizational leadership.
- Discerning an organization’s enduring purpose is not a matter of human definition, it is a spiritual activity that requires humble, teachable, and submitted leaders seeking God’s will for the organization.
- Organizational leaders should seek to discern God’s will for their organizations consistent with God’s metanarrative. In other words, organizational leaders should recognize that organizations exist not primarily to make money but to discern and align with God’s will.
In today’s world, few people connect sound biblical theology with organizational success. But if you concede that the Creator is transcendent, sovereign, and immanent, then everything in the physical universe is defined by him and subject to him. Therefore, only alignment with the Creator will produce lasting long-term success.
The reason the authors of Built to Last discovered the principle of enduring purpose is because they were granted the grace, by the Creator, to see it through their empirical study. But more profoundly than empirical study, the principle is a corollary of sound biblical theology that assumes a transcendent, sovereign, immanent Creator. And in a biblically congruent universe, only sound biblical thinking will lead to enduring success.
What then is the purpose of organizations? It’s not primarily about jobs or money or societal advancement or even the greater good of mankind; these are secondary purposes. The seminal answer to the question of organizational purpose is that organizations exist to facilitate the purpose of God in his creation. May the Lord grant us grace to see this truth and to walk in it.
1. Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies (Harper Business Essentials, 2011) (Kindle Locations 4891– 4894, HarperCollins, Kindle Edition). 
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