Ohio-Meadville District Blogs

Once upon a time, there was a small congregation.  The leaders of the congregation, which consisted primarily of the Board of Trustees, made all the decisions that impacted on the day to day lives of the members of the congregation.  When members had questions, they asked them of the Board.  When members had problems, they brought them to the Board.  As the congregation grew larger, they hired themselves a full time Minister.  But the job of the Minister was to tend to the spiritual needs of the congregants and to lead them in joyful worship.  The day to day running of the congregation still fell to those who served on the Board.

More and more people began hearing about this wonderful congregation and the numbers of visitors and members began to increase substantially.  Now additional staff had to be hired and committees formed to take on the added work of this larger congregation.  But still, the day to day decisions rested in the hands of the Board of Trustees and people in the congregation who wanted something done came to them for answers and solutions.

But the questions were too numerous and the problems too complex for the Board to keep up with them.  Decisions were delayed, communication throughout the congregation was difficult and conflict was on the rise.  The Board of Trustees, in an effort to stem this menacing tide, tried to work harder to answer the questions and solve the problems.  Eventually, they said “enough”.  They were burned out.  They couldn’t keep up this pace any longer.  They had lost their enthusiasm, their excitement at being leaders in the congregation.  They decided it was time to let someone else lead the congregation.  But no one in the congregation wanted to serve on the Board.  They were aware of the stress that their leaders were under and the inordinate amount of time that they were spending in the performance of their duties.  So this little congregation that had enjoyed so much growth and success suddenly found itself in crisis; there was a great void in leadership.  There was no one to steer the ship.  Eventually, the congregation hit an iceberg, sank, and was never heard from again.  The End.

Okay, so I’m not good with happy endings…or, for that matter, consistent metaphors.  But the moral of the story is this:  A congregation, whose governance process does not keep pace with its growth in numbers, vitality and significance, will collapse under its own weight.  As more members become involved and the work of the congregation becomes more complex, more people need to be brought into the governing process.      The Board of Trustees can no longer do it all itself.  Staff members must be trusted to take on more of the day-to-day decisions.  Committees should be empowered to take action more independently.  Questions and problems need to be addressed with people and groups in the congregation better equipped to give timely answers and informed advice.

The job of the Board of Trustees becomes more visionary.  Efforts are directed at setting policies and procedures, creating a vision, ensuring that the congregation is moving in a direction that is consistent with its mission.  In this scenario, Board members become inspired, energized and confident in their role as stewards of the congregation.

The governance process in our congregations must be as fluid and ready to change as any other component in our on-going efforts to grow and to become stronger and more vital congregations.  In so doing, we help to create our own happy endings.

What do you think?

Mark Bernstein, Shared Growth Consultant