People sometimes ask me which one I am: the IT guy or the pastor. The honest answer is that I have never been able to separate them, and I stopped trying a long time ago.
I have been in IT since 1997. I have been in ministry since 1998. For most of that time, those two things have run in parallel. I have led youth groups and managed IT teams. I have preached Sunday sermons and advised MSP leaders on vCIO strategy. I have sat with grieving families in rural Indiana and helped businesses build technology roadmaps.
That combination is unusual. It is also, I have found, genuinely useful.
What IT and Ministry Have in Common
The skills that make someone good at pastoral ministry and the skills that make someone good at IT leadership overlap more than most people expect.
- Both require trust as the foundation. A pastor who loses the trust of their congregation cannot lead. An MSP that loses the trust of its clients cannot grow. The mechanics are different but the principle is the same.
- Both require documented systems to survive leadership transitions. A church that depends entirely on the pastor’s knowledge and relationships is fragile. An MSP that depends entirely on the owner is fragile in exactly the same way.
- Both serve people who are often overlooked. Rural churches serve communities that larger institutions ignore. Small MSPs serve businesses that enterprise IT vendors do not want. I have spent my career in both spaces for the same reason.
- Both require honest communication under pressure. Telling a client their IT is a mess and telling a congregation something they do not want to hear require the same kind of courage and the same kind of care.
The Rewired MSP Framework and the Local Church
The Rewired MSP framework I write about at RewiredMSP.com is built around four things: trust-based partnerships, scalable systems, empowered teams, and objective leadership. Every one of those applies to a healthy local church as much as it applies to a healthy MSP.
A church that builds trust with its community, documents its processes, develops its volunteers, and leads without the pastor being the bottleneck for every decision is a church that can survive a pastoral transition and serve its community for generations. That is not a business principle borrowed for ministry. It is just what good leadership looks like in any organization.
Where to Find Me
- MSP strategy and IT leadership: RewiredMSP.com
- Small church ministry resources: MinistryPlace.net
- Rural ministry podcast: RuralThinkTank.com
- Speaking on both sides: Speaking page
- Working together: Work With Me
About the Author
Brent Lacy has been in IT since 1997 and ministry since 1998. He serves as Strategic Advisory Manager at Core Managed IT Services, leading a team of vCIOs. He is the founder of RewiredMSP.com, MinistryPlace.net, and the Rural Think Tank Podcast. He has written six books spanning IT leadership and church ministry.