The canary in the council room

Based on my experiences in Christian leadership over the past 30 years, I am confident that one of the clearest indicators of future organizational success is the qualitative experience you provide to currently serving or soon-to-depart leaders. If departing leaders are speaking well on the way out, your future looks bright! For example, in both churches that I served, I noticed a dark reputational cloud had formed from outgoing leaders. Elders and deacons (similar to board or vestry members in other denominations) often bemoaned their experience serving on the church council and had no desire to serve again. More than that, they would inevitably speak of their failed experience to others over coffee and small group conversations. News, especially bad news, travels fast.

What was left?

A vacuum. No one wanted to serve on council. We were forced to recruit those who were willing but not well-qualified or supported. We went out to the proverbial highways and byways and invited any new volunteer to what we began calling “the leadership banquet.” Our main goal: ensure that each one of these new council members walked away from their term feeling like it had been meaningful – no matter how small the impact, their gifts were used well in that season. Which, on the face of it, seems counterintuitive.

Our temptation is to create the next big initiative, the big idea that will act as the big turnaround for the church. But fight that temptation, please!

Overcoming burnout

As we leaned into creating a positive elder and deacon experience reflecting the meaningful use of each person’s gifts, word spread again. Things began turning around, and eventually, the number of nominees far outweighed the council positions open! Thank you, Lord. And with each new person on council, we got stronger and stronger, and the church was better equipped to take on increasingly more mature ministry purposes and goals.

Am I looking back with overly rosy glasses? Perhaps. But what I can say with confidence is that, over time, intentionally ensuring that the board or council member experience is genuinely positive will help the organization grow. As MIT professor Peter Senge reminds us, “Today’s problems come from yesterday’s solutions.” Here’s the point: the outgoing experience of leaders is a harbinger of the future to come.

History teaches us that systems rarely fail all at once. When canary after sick canary comes out of the coal mine, eventually all the stakeholders find out, and the plant either shuts down or is in need of an overhaul!

In your own church or Christian organizational setting, do yourselves a favour, work to make the council, board and leadership experience of your volunteer leaders a fruitful experience!