Transcript Document

Governance and Leadership
Bill Krejci, Associate in Ministry
512-363-5133
Monson, Krejci and Associates
Leadership and Governance
Do not follow where a path may lead. Go instead where there is no path
and leave a trail. – Unknown
YOU have been sanctified as a leader in the church! – Matthew 9:36-38
True leadership means to receive power from God and to use it under God's
rule to serve people in God's way. – Dr. Leighton Ford.
Your Leadership...
The “Mandatory” role - constitutional & legal responsibilities.
The “Chosen” role – In partnership with your Pastor: Interpret and
cast the mission and vision of the congregation and the wider
church to the members and partners of your congregation.
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Governance and Leadership
Who are you accountable to????
† Council are trustees for the “stewards/stakeholders” of
the congregation.
Q: Who are they in your congregation?
† Councils/leaders focus on fulfilling the desires of those
stewards.
Q: What are the desires of your stewards?
† Ultimately responsible to God - guided by the Holy Spirit,
using Jesus Christ as your rabbi and model.
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Governance and Leadership
ACouncil’s role can be described in two broad categories:
1.
Mandatory roles: based on the constitutional
requirements established for the council.
2.
Chosen roles the council elects to fulfill.
and
legal
Many councils are dedicated and skilled in carrying out their work,
providing clear and consistent leadership to their synod.
Others, however, are not as effective.
And almost all councils raise concerns at some time or another that their
job is not clear and their work is at times difficult and confusing.
A key to how well a council functions and contributes to the leadership
of the synod is the type of governance under which it decides to operate.
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Governance and Leadership
Governance...
The processes and systems under which an organization operates.
Ordained by God:
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets,
third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of
assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. – 1 Corin. 12:28
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have
the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and
individually we are members one of another.We have gifts that differ
according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith;
ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in
exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the
compassionate, in cheerfulness. – Romans 12:4-8
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Governance and Leadership
Three activities found in any organization:
I.
Governance: Policies developed by a board/council
providing overall direction to the organization.
II. Management: Actions and conscious (and unconscious)
decisions by a council ensuring appropriate human and
financial resources are present for the church to
accomplish its mission.
III. Operations: Activities, services and programs of the
church. A council has no mandatory role in this area. It
may see this as the responsibility of the pastor and staff.
Or it may choose to actively participate in operations,
due to its philosophy or the limited resources of the staff.
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Governance and Leadership
Governance as Leadership
Q: How is the performance of your council? (1 to 5)
Three prevalent performance problems:
I. Inherent dysfunction found in any diverse groups of people.
II. Council members become disengaged.
III. The council doesn’t understand what their job is!
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Governance and Leadership
Improving your performance:
Don’t focus as much on roles as on purpose.
Find your purpose as a council:
Is the council’s most important, official work governing?
Or is it its less important, “unofficial” work?
Enhance the fulfillment of council members.
Is your council too focused on means – and not primarily
focused on ends?
You have a choice to make - to intentionally establish your
governance model.
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Governance and Leadership
Several models to consider...
Increasing size and complexity
Model
Council Functions
Working/Administrative
Informal group
Elected and/or volunteer
Work directly with staff who
carry out the daily work of the
synod.
Collaborative
More formal advisory group or
small, elected Church Council
Oversee the development of
the mission, policies, and
operations.
Policy Based
Large council
with established committees
Shape mission and policies,
raise money and oversee
congregation’s financial and
programmatic performance.
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One approach does not fit all congregations...
1. No two congregations are the same.
2. No two governance models should be identical.
3. A church’s governance needs will change with time,
pastors, mission, staff, programs, ministry focus, etc. –
It always needs to be re-examined.
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Governance model comparison regarding...
Visioning, Planning and Evaluating
Policy-Based
Councils
• Create the vision and
mission.
• Set policies and ensure
procedures are in place.
• Define the outcomes
and measurements of
results.
• Planning: A committee
drafts planning to be
approved by council and
congregation members.
Working/Administrative Councils
Collaborative
Councils
• Share responsibility
• Set policies and provide with staff for policy
setting.
general direction.
• Have shared values
• Council and staff create with staff on their
involvement in providing
the strategic plan and
programs,the ways of
implement it.
providing them and the
manner in which council
work is conducted.
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Governance model comparison regarding...
Organization and Operation
Policy-Based
Councils
• Extensive synodical
committee structure
supported by staff.
• Council receives reports.
• Pastor attends to all
“operations.”
• Council plans direct
“council work.”
• No/limited council
committee structure – only
when needed to support
the work of the council.
• Council discussions lead
to decisions by consensus.
Working/Administrative Councils
• Committees support the
work of operations.
• Council members’
workload is heavier.
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Collaborative
Councils
• Operational functions
shared by the Council,
Pastor, staff and
volunteers.
• Decisions are made
through consensus.
Governance model comparison regarding...
Finances
Policy-Based
Councils
• Have a volunteer
Treasurer.
• Have a Finance
Committee
• Set limits on the
pastor’s and staff’s
financial decisions.
• Review financial
statements.
• May or may not be
involved in financial
decisions.
Working/Administrative Councils
• The financial decision
making is largely in the
council’s hands.
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Collaborative
Councils
• Council, pastor and
staff work on financial
matters as a team.
Governance model comparison regarding...
Human Resources
Policy-Based
Councils
Working/Administrative Councils
• Pastor reports personnel
matters to the chair of the
Personnel Committee.
• Council speaks with
• Council members often
one voice to the pastor.
act as direct volunteers.
• The pastor is
responsible to the
council.
• Policy is communicated
by the pastor and the
Personnel Committee.
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Collaborative
Councils
• Staff, management and
chairing functions are
often shared by the staff
and council.
• There is little or no
management hierarchy.
Governance model comparison regarding...
Communications
Policy-Based Councils
Working/Administrative Councils
Collaborative
Councils
• An Outreach Committee
develops awareness of the
church’s mission and
ministry in congregations,
agencies and institutions.
• The Outreach Committee
interprets and reflects
community needs to the
organization.
• Congregation Council
defines the results (ends)
the congregation is trying
to achieve and measures
them.
• Pastor , staff and council
represent the congregation
to the community.
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• All council members
represent the church to the
community.
Governance and Leadership
Congregations and congregation councils ultimately need to make a
determination on which is the most appropriate governance and
working model for them to emulate. How does God call for them to
oversee the three areas of responsibilities (governance, management
and operations).
Three important questions they need to answer:
1.
Which decisions does the council need to make and which can
they delegate?
2.
How much involvement does the council need to have in the
management and operation of the congregation?
3.
How will the reporting relationship between the council, pastor,
and staff be defined?
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Governance and Leadership
When a congregation council exercises its
‘appropriate’ governance, relationships between and
among members, support staff, the ministries of the
church and the churchwide organization are
strengthened.
An inevitable outcome is that those served (the
members and the ministries of your church) become
more effective and responsible stewards of the
church with the help of your leadership!!!
Monson, Krejci and Associates
Governance and Leadership
Bill Krejci, Associate in Ministry
512-363-5133
Monson, Krejci and Associates
Keys for Effective Councils
Governance keys:
• Measuring the outcomes (strategic planning)
• Council’s self governance (responsibilities, officers, committees,
task forces, methods of self governance)
• Pastor’s self governance (limitations, creativity, CEO capacity)
• The council/pastor relationship
• The Council President/Sr. Pastor relationship
• The role of policies
Human element keys:
• The commitment of the officers and members
• The competence of the officers and members
• Ability of council to collaborate on decisions and then remain united
on them
• The authority they have been given
• The authority they assume!
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Excerpts from A Theology of Leadership by Rev. Marlo Petersen
Visionary Leadership:
Vision means reading the signs of God’s promises in the context of present events and then
translating them into ministry goals and objectives. The vision is from above to below and
from the future to the present.
The Purpose of Leadership:
Leadership is to build community, not to perform tasks. This doesn’t mean tasks do not fit
into this role, but they are not the primary focus. Moses’ leadership of the Israelites was to
lead them to the Promised Land – but the ultimate goal was to establish an obedient, faithful
community that embodied God’s Word.
Boundary Setting:
This is based on the belief that sin exists in individuals as well as social systems. The
potential for sin is always present. The leader reinterprets the vision and the mission of the
community in terms of appropriate boundaries in order to maintain quality of life and vitality
within the system. Destructiveness must be limited.
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Perspectives on Governance
There are a number of challenges that congregations need to face in order to provide
what is necessary in a time of change, when old ways of doing business are not only less
productive but can be counterproductive. At the heart of the dilemma is the reality that
our denominational structures and expectations, including those of our congregations,
have been inherited and are being maintained despite the fact that they were built for
another time for which they were appropriate and effective.
† If council leaders see their role as problem solving, the demands made by
members often increase.
† Congregation councils commonly do not know what they are to produce.
† A systems approach tells us that a system produces what it is designed to produce.
† Church councils must learn how to focus the attention of their prayers, their
people, and their resources on those places and people of potential for ministry.
The Alban Weekly, The Alban Institute...Gil Rendle – June 2005
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