Governance and Leadership Bill Krejci, Associate in Ministry 512-363-5133 Monson, Krejci and...

Governance and

Leadership Bill Krejci, Associate in Ministry512-363-5133

Monson, Krejci and Associates


Leadership and GovernanceDo 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...Your Leadership...

The “Mandatory” roleThe “Mandatory” role - constitutional & legal responsibilities.

The “Chosen” roleThe “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.


Governance and LeadershipGovernance 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.



ACouncil’s role can be described in two broad categories:

1.1. MandatoryMandatory roles: based on the constitutional and legal requirements established for the council.

2.2. ChosenChosen roles the council elects to fulfill. 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.



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



Three activities found in any organization:

I.I. GovernanceGovernance: Policies developed by a board/council providing overall direction to the organization.

II.II. ManagementManagement: 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.III. OperationsOperations: Activities, services and programs of the church. A council has no no mandatory rolemandatory 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.



Governance as LeadershipQ: 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!



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 meansmeans – and not primarily focused on endsends?

You have a choice to make - to intentionally establish your governance modelgovernance model.



Several models to consider...

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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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.

One approach does not fit all congregations...


Governance model comparison regarding...

Visioning, Planning and Evaluating Visioning, Planning and Evaluating Policy-Based

CouncilsWorking/Adminis-

trative CouncilsCollaborative

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.

• Set policies and provide general direction.

• Council and staff create the strategic plan and implement it.

• Share responsibility with staff for policy setting.

• Have shared values with staff on their involvement in providing programs,the ways of providing them and the manner in which council work is conducted.



Organization and OperationOrganization and OperationPolicy-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.

• Committees support the work of operations.

• Council members’ workload is heavier.

• Operational functions shared by the Council, Pastor, staff and volunteers.

• Decisions are made through consensus.



Finances 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.

• The financial decision making is largely in the council’s hands.

• Council, pastor and staff work on financial matters as a team.



Human ResourcesHuman ResourcesPolicy-Based



Councils

• Pastor reports personnel matters to the chair of the Personnel Committee.

• Council speaks with one voice to the pastor.

• The pastor is responsible to the council.

• Policy is communicated by the pastor and the Personnel Committee.

• Council members often act as direct volunteers.

• Staff, management and chairing functions are often shared by the staff and council.

• There is little or no management hierarchy.



CommunicationsCommunicationsPolicy-Based



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.

• All council members represent the church to the community.



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?



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!!!

Governance and

LeadershipBill Krejci, Associate in Ministry512-363-5133



Keys for Effective CouncilsGovernance 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!


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.


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.

Perspectives on Governance

The Alban Weekly, The Alban Institute...Gil Rendle – June 2005

† 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.




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Governance and Leadership Bill Krejci, Associate in Ministry 512-363-5133 Monson, Krejci and...

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