Congratulations! You have become a member of your church’s board. Now what?
What must I do? What must I not do? What is expected of me? What is my role vis-à-vis the Pastor, the staff, members, active volunteers, other board members?
There are some things that have developed over the years for all board members of all organizations. Things like loyalty, confidentiality, avoidance of conflicts, and acting as a fiduciary are commonly written about across the internet.
This piece instead is meant to provide some additional views from my years of working with many churches and their boards. In all my years working with churches there have been some common and practical things that I have witnessed make some boards more successful than others.
1. Understand your authority and responsibilities. This varies from church to church and denomination to denomination. Read your church Bylaws and Denominational statements. In some cases, the board’s authority is quite limited, and authority is vested in either the Pastor or a Denominational office. Understand these boundaries and:
a. Step outside them at your own risk, but
b. Fulfill the obligations within them completely.
2. Be fully engaged. Colossians 3:23 states “Do all things as unto the Lord.” If you are too busy to do the job well, do not do it. The Lord may have someone else in mind for the position – even if you do not know who that person is.
3. Be collegial. Proverbs 15:22. “Many advisers bring success.” The Lord gave us two ears and one tongue. It is wise to use them proportionally.
4. Employ the discipline of good meetings.
a. Publish your meeting calendar for the full year in advance. Your board will know when it must act, and when it can wait to act. This will also set expectations of the church staff for delivery of materials in advance for your meetings.
b. Ensure that staff, particularly the bookkeeper, know the meeting schedule.
c. Distribute meeting materials several days in advance – and expect that all members have read them in advance.
d. Set a start time – and an ending time. And adhere to them.
Wisdom is available for assisting churches in a myriad of situations through Wisdom Advising. Contact us if you are interested in how Wisdom can help your church board.
