Christian Piatt includes church boards on his list of five things that are holding Christianity back. He suggests that church boards tend to attract and retain the same small group of leaders, and favor a style that relies heavily on a democratic vote for decision making.
Reality Check
Most congregations have term limits for those serving on the church boards and standing committees. While those rules help ensure no one person remains a part of such a group for decades, it does not stop them from rotating off for a term then returning again. It also does not ensure that boards and committees seek memberships that reflect the diversity within the congregation (much less the diversity of those they may be called to serve or tasked to assist).
What About?
The role of boards, committees, and any ongoing leadership groups must be clear. The role should be expressed formally in the church’s legal documents, communicated regularly and widely, and evaluated by each group within the context of that group. Ideally, these formal “teams” should be intentional about welcoming new members, ensuring diversity, and relying upon subject matter experts for counsel on key conversations (including inviting guests to their meetings to provide such insight).
In the future, I believe local congregations will feature more ministry teams, task forces, and work groups that meet for a limited time period then disband. Additionally, I hope that congregations will think strategically about the type of boards and standing committees needed, the number of persons who should serve on such, and the frequency with which each should meet.
So What?
The DNA of local congregations should be focused on loving God and loving people (and all of creation). To do this, leadership structures are appropriate. Rather than being viewed as bodies that deny requests and manage the affairs of the congregation, they should become agents of blessing that act as creative and creating bodies empowering all who participate in the life of the congregation to find their role in ministry and mission.
- Do the boards and committees in your church accurately reflect the diversity of your congregation, including folks who have been a part of your faith community for only a short period of time?
- Explain the typical decision making process in your congregation when a new idea surfaces. Is that process consistent with the role you believe boards should play or not?