A church board approves a multi-year agreement allowing a community organization to use much of the church building. The arrangement seems to fit the congregation’s current understanding of its ministry. Leaders discuss insurance, scheduling, responsibilities, and cost. The board votes, the agreement is announced, and people begin preparing for the partnership. A few days later,
When the Church Breaks Its Own Rules Read More »
What Cash Can—and Cannot—Tell You About Your Church’s Financial Health A church can know exactly how much money is sitting in its checking and savings accounts. That information matters. Leaders need to know whether the church has cash available to pay employees, vendors, utilities, insurance, and the ordinary expenses of ministry. The difficulty begins when
Imagine a congregation preparing to launch a tutoring ministry in the fall. The board approved the program during the annual budget process. Volunteers are interested, ministry leaders have begun planning, and projected giving for the year is sufficient to cover the expense. Then the treasurer points to a problem no one noticed when the budget
When the Budget Says Yes but the Cash Says Not Yet Read More »
Imagine a congregation where the youth ministry conversation begins with arithmetic. There are six teenagers in the congregation, three of them attending regularly. Two adults care deeply about youth formation, but neither can take responsibility for another weekly program. The pastor can help occasionally, though the rest of the church calendar is already full. Around
When Calling Exceeds Capacity Read More »
A board can conduct an orderly meeting and still struggle to govern together. The agenda moves on time. Reports are received. A motion is made, discussion follows, and the vote is recorded. Yet two members never read the material sent earlier in the week. Someone with serious reservations decides not to speak. Another member responds
How a Board Learns to Govern Together: The Shared Practices That Form a Governing Body Read More »
The congregation’s community meal had become one of its most visible ministries. Attendance had increased steadily. Neighbors who rarely entered the sanctuary came through the fellowship hall each week, volunteers formed new relationships, and local organizations began referring people to the church. Leaders understandably saw the ministry as evidence of Growth and Witness. They began
The governing body had spent nearly an hour discussing deferred maintenance. The education building needed a new air-conditioning unit, but only one classroom was currently being used. The church also needed exterior painting, new tile in the fellowship hall, and perhaps a replacement for the aging refrigerator whose door no longer stayed closed reliably. Financial
The Questions a Church Asks Shape the Future It Can Imagine Read More »
A recent conversation about leadership and conflict turned toward a question I have learned to expect. Most of my public work is with churches, pastors, governing bodies, and ministry leaders. I write and teach in Christian language. I speak about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Scripture, Calling, stewardship, and the responsibilities of communal life. How,
What Daoist Formation Contributes to My Christian Work Read More »
My work has taken form through subjects that churches often keep in separate rooms. Calling is treated as spiritual language. Governance belongs to boards. Money belongs to finance committees. Leadership formation belongs to pastors and training programs. Stewardship, discernment, authority, institutional responsibility, and congregational change are often discussed as though each were its own field.
The pastor had grown increasingly frustrated with the governing board. Meetings wandered. Decisions that seemed settled returned the following month. Assignments remained unfinished, and simple questions consumed more time than they should have. The explanation appeared obvious: the church lacked clarity and accountability. With the chairperson’s support, the pastor tightened the agenda, standardized reports, assigned
