Lessons from Gordon Ramsay

Chef Gordon Ramsay

Most of my friends know how much I love watching shows about food. Last week a friend told me about a show called Kitchen Nightmares where chef Gordon Ramsay goes into failing restaurants and tries to save the business. So I went to Netflix and found the UK version of the show (which is documentary-like and has a lot less screaming than the US version). Many restaurants have the same problems:

1. Things are too complicated and take too long
2. There is little or no organization
3. There is little or no healthy communication
4. People are too stubborn to change even though the doors are ready to close forever
5. The owners and/or chefs won't listen to the expert who has been brought in to help them

This sounds incredibly familiar, doesn't it? I hear the same kind of complaints about churches all around the country.  The parallel is actually a huge part of the Christian faith. (Communion, anyone?) So it's not surprising that restaurants sometimes have the same problems as churches. Food feeds the body, and spirituality feeds the soul. So what lessons can church leaders learn from Mr. Ramsay and the struggling restaurants he tries to help?

1. Use what's local. Good restaurants use fresh, local ingredients. Churches can use resources including congregants, buildings, denominational resources, and local non-profits. Not every church can be a part of every ministry; so it's crucial to connect with others across denominational, religious, and political differences.
2. Churches are not businesses, but organization is just as key to a church's health as to a businesses'. Roles need to be defined for paid and volunteer staff with everyone knowing who their supervisor is. Training and education is thought out and, when necessary, people are sent out or brought in.
3. Communication needs to be clear and active. Everyone (hopefully) is in the loop of what everyone else is doing. Goals short-term and long-term are clear. The building and grounds committee chair has been talking to the finance committee chair and is aware of where the budget is going and preparing accordingly.
4. Congregants and staff are honest when things aren't working and are open to change. It's not about blame or disrespecting the past. It's about effectiveness of ministry.
5. Listen. Listen to the Spirit. Listen to the people who are trained. Listen to people who are there every week. Listen to the people on the edges. Listen to people of different ages. Listen to people who have stopped coming. Listen to outsiders. And, listen to the Spirit. With listening we can start building a vision of what we can be.

I've been working on personal organization in the past week, and it hasn't been easy. So I know it's not easy for a church. The biggest problem, I think, is how difficult all of this is. Each idea by itself (using local resources, organization, communication, openness, and listening) is difficult, but when attempted together is downright daunting. Plus, it's easy for a person sitting alone in her apartment thinking lofty ideas about how to build an effective church while watching a reality show from the UK. But if I don't think these lofty ideas on my off time, I may not think about them when I'm part of a particular church.


There is one thing Chef Ramsay wants to pump into people: passion. When people who don't seem to care about the restaurant find passion for their job the restaurant is far more likely to succeed. Passion. If that doesn't have spiritual overtones, nothing else in the show does. Without passion, businesses fail. Without the Passion, churches fail.
And that's all I have to say about that.