Over the last 30 years Christian charities, churches and schools have echoed a catchy phrase as the gold standard of board governance: “noses in, hands out.” It neatly delineates roles: boards should engage in oversight and strategy without meddling in operations. The goal of such a posture was to liberate the principal, pastor or executive…
A pastor, consultant and governance expert walk into the board room of a Christian organization and ask, “What kind of board are you?” The board answers: “We are a Policy Board, or at least we are trying to be.” If it were a joke, it would be a bad one. There’s no punch line. But…
Recently, I wrote about the all-too-common tendency for Christian organizations to delay action. Excuses are made, like “needing to pray,” “waiting upon the Lord” or “forming a committee.” Ultimately these excuses prevent Christian communities from taking action. How different it is from God who “sees” and then “provides.” God takes action! To provide a practical…
I heard in seminary that Calvin once said “Don’t assume the Holy Spirit’s presence unless you sigh, cry, and die for that to become a reality.” AI tells me the quote comes from Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932), a preacher of English Methodism. So I can’t be sure. I frequently encounter the opposite assumption: Christian communities who…
I’ve long been aware of a problem in Christian leadership circles: that it is far too easy for Christian organizations to maintain the status quo, to simply try and maintain equilibrium, to ignore a problem, to turn a blind eye from the evidence that has made clear that the organization is faltering. It’s why the…
I spent time with a crying woman at the bank the other day. She is what I imagine Mary, the mother of Jesus, was like. As we got out of our respective cars, she recognized me. She wanted to talk “church.” We weren’t in the conversation for more than 60 seconds when tears filled her…
Summer is over and Christian schools are beginning again. In Edmonton, the school year will likely be more intense than usual given the report of the July 1 Christian Courier story, “Tense Elections in Edmonton,” regarding the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the Edmonton Society for Christian Education (ESCE). It was, reportedly, a “long night…
My favorite image of Jesus has always been “The laughing Jesus.” It was originally drawn by Canadian Willis Wheatley, a member and employee of the United Church of Canada. The image celebrated its 50th birthday in 2023. This image of Jesus stretches viewers to appreciate the full humanity of Christ. And it stretches us to…
Summertime and the livin’ is easy! But what about Christian organizations? Is living any easier during the summer? Sure, there is a kind of “break”: vacations, time away from school, and the activities of church life reduced . . . but is summer really a time to break from intentional leadership behaviour? Let me suggest…
About 12 years ago the Muttart Foundation, a private foundation based in Edmonton, commissioned Ipsos Reid to conduct a survey on public opinion that measured Canadians’ attitudes towards charities (including churches). Ipsos Reid found that 33 percent of Canadians trusted churches only “a little” or “not at all” (their two lowest categories for measuring trust)….
Warning: If you belong to a rural Christian community and you don’t heed the following advice, your leadership will go crazy and your community will likely decrease in size. Just joking. Sort of. Rural leadership. Is it different from urban leadership? I believe it is. I have served as a leader in both urban and…
There are people and moments that leaders should have etched in their minds as part of their framework for how they make decisions. For me, one of those moments and individuals came halfway through my first ministry assignment. I was a seminary student trying on the clothes of a pastor in Edson-Peers, Alberta. Ten weeks…
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