Across Canada, many Christian boards and church councils carry an unspoken expectation: composure equals competence. Especially in governing meetings, and particularly for the most senior staff leader, emotions are often subdued, if not quietly discouraged. The intent is understandable. Boards want clarity, objectivity and wise decision-making. (Have you ever seen a synod or church council…
Last month, I explored how Christian organizations today – churches, schools and charities alike – are often led more by the spirit of management or spectatorship than by ownership. But God’s design is to lead as owners. I concluded with the question: “Who really carries the true weight of ‘ownership’ in a Christian organization?” You…
A retired farmer helped me better understand the importance of “core values” for a Christian organization. In a church workshop some years ago, I had finished demonstrating how the congregation’s core values were uniquely relevant for pursuing fruitful ministry. Then, during coffee break, the farmer told me that there were different soil types in his…
This September the usual back-to-school focus on new pencils and a different classroom sits on the surface of a boiling cauldron of controversial issues in education. From nursery schools to elite universities, education has become one of the biggest battlegrounds in the contest to control and shape social development in Canada and the U.S. In…
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…
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…
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…
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