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Yes, it’s time! For too long church board chairs have laboured without much help or many resources. Struggling valiantly chairs work diligently, but often feel overwhelmed by complexity, adversarial relationships, uncertain expectations, and the lack of a road map. Yet, you do this work because you believe in the mission of Christ’s church.
Recent developments in non-profit governance continue to influence how church board’s understand their role, particularly within larger church settings. Whether it is the Carver “Policy Governance” model, or another paradigm, the chair’s role also is being re-conceived and re-positioned within church leadership structures. In this website I seek to provide a forum for introducing, evaluating, and biblically situating such developments and also providing some resources so that you as a church board chair can find your bearings in all of these matters. Continue reading →

177. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 5, 6 & 7)

In blog articles 175 and 176 I introduced the theme “Habits of Effective Church Boards” and considered the first four: the careful selection and appointment of a competent chairperson, the careful selection and appointment of knowledgeable board members, a church … (read the rest)

176. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 3 & 4)

In blog article 175 I introduced the theme “Habits of Effective Church Boards” and considered the first two: the careful selection and appointment of a competent chairperson and the careful selection and appointment of knowledgeable board members. In this segment … (read the rest)

175. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 1 & 2)

Ineffectiveness within church boards is a choice we make, either implicitly or explicitly. Church boards can with specific effort improve their effectiveness, i.e. their ability to produce the results for which the congregation has appointed them. Max de Pree in … (read the rest)

174. Building Better Church Boards.

“The high-performance board, like the high-performance team, is competent, coordinated, collegial, and focused on an unambiguous goal. Such entities do not simply evolve; they must be constructed to an exacting blueprint” (Harvard Business Review, May 2004. David Nadler).

I read … (read the rest)

173: Bad Governance is Harmful — Chairs, Take Note!

In several posts on this website I have argued the benefits of good governance. It is useful, however, to remind ourselves of the harm that bad governance produces. In other words the absence of good governance does not mean that … (read the rest)