List of all archived articles.
- #333. Book Review #13: Dave Beckwith with Joanne Beckwith “God Meetings. An Awakening in the Boardroom” (Plymouth, MA, Elk Lake Publishing, 2022).
- 332. Re-opening Offices Will not be a Return to Normal
- 331. A Fresh Look at Leadership Performance Evaluation
- 330. When Policy Confronts an Unforeseen Situation.
- 329. Who’s Responsible for Discerning a New, Post-Covid 19 Vision for your Congregation?
- 328. Complexity and Communication — Continuing Board Challenges
- 327. Institutional Paralysis in Time of Crisis
- 326. Church Board Chairs and Social Justice Issues.
- 325. Planning Beyond a Crisis.
- 324. Chairing “Virtual” Church Board Meetings
- 323. A New “Black Swan” Event — a Good Learning Opportunity for a Church Board.
- 322. Refereeing and Coaching Good Listening within your Church Board.
- 321. If you want better decisions, plan better meetings.
- 320. Anticipating — A Necessary Bit of Board Leadership.
- 319. Discerning Your Boards ‘Blind Spots’ — Engaging a Risk Assessment Process.
- 318. My New Book About Leading as a Church Board Chairperson.
- 317. Board Values and Board Governance.
- 316. Reflections of a Retired Church Board Chairperson.
- 315. Book Review #12: “Lessons from the Nonprofit Boardroom” by Dan Busby and John Pearson. (ECFA Press, 2017. 225 pages)
- 314. Institutional Complexity and Individual Complexity — Taming the Church Organization
- 313. Defaulting to the Probable and Overlooking the Possible.
- 312. What Kinds of Information Does a Church Board Need To Do Its Job Responsibly?
- 311. Can Church Boards Dispense with the Vice-Chair Position — and Should They?
- 310. Lessons Learned About Church Board Leadership (2)
- 309. Lessons Learned about Church Board Leadership
- 308. Board Chairs and Organizational Leadership
- 307. Responding to Disappointment — Hearing “No!”
- 306. Church Boards and Spiritual Authority
- 305. Church Boards and Church Transformation
- 304. The Catalytic Power of Clarity.
- 303. Is it Time? Renewing The Ministry of a Church Board
- 302. “Results-Based leadership” — Is this An Important Perspective For Church Boards?
- 301. Who Leads — Pastor or Board?
- 300. Motivating Effective Non-Profit Board Meetings
- 299. Do Effective Church Boards Contribute Significantly to Congregational Health?
- 298. Age Limits and Church Board Service
- 297. Do Church Boards Have to Use New Testament Terms to Describe Leaders and Leadership Structures?
- 296. Do Church Boards Experience Developmental Cycles?
- 295. Church Board Policy Development: Getting It Done.
- 294. Discerning the Right Time to Develop New Board Policies and Getting it Right.
- 293. The Power of Regular Board Policy Reviews.
- 292. Handling the Emotional ‘Pitch’.
- 291. When is it time to change Church Board Structure and Operations?
- 290. Building an Engaged, Effective Church Board: Who is Responsible? # 3
- 289. Building an Engaged, Effective Church Board — Who is Responsible? #2
- 288. Building an Engaged, Effective Church Board — Who is Responsible? #1
- 287. Factors Contributing to Bad Board Decisions
- 286. The “Other” Voices in Governance.
- 285. Helping Board Members “Make Things Happen.”
- 284. Getting “On-Board” — Church Board Orientation
- 283. Church Board Chairs, Church Boards and Fund-raising
- 282. Church Boards and Congregational Education.
- 281. Communication #2: An Essential for Effective Church Board Operations
- 280. Communication #1: An Essential for Effective Church Board Operations
- 279. Ideas for Improving Church Board Meetings.
- 278. Book Review: “Focusing Your Church Board Using the Carver Policy Governance Model,” by Ted Hull (Word Alive Press, 2015)
- 277. Governance, Innovation and Sustainability in the Role of a Church Board Chairperson.
- 276. Regaining Board Momentum After Summer Breaks
- 275. Church Board Chairs and Pastoral Sabbaticals
- 274: Mining the Annual Board Evaluation Data
- 273. Selecting Church Board Leaders
- 272. Summer for a Church Board Chair
- 271. What Kind of Leadership Must Your Church Board Provide/
- 270. Better Church Boards, Better Congregations
- 269. Maintaining Focus and Coherence.
- 268. The Role of a Church Board as Innovator.
- 267. Discerning the Future. A Church Board’s ‘Prophetic’ Leadership.
- 266. Board Leadership in the Midst of Crisis.
- 265. Change and Time: Transformation Without Annihilation.
- 264. Review of “You and Your Nonprofit Board,” ed. by T. Temkin (Charitychannel Press, 2013)
- 263. Church Board Accountability
- 262. The Challenge of Social Stewardship for a Church Board Chair.
- 261. The Human Factor in Board Leadership
- 260. Board Succession Planning — A “Vexing Issue”
- 259. Board Engagement: Reflections on Boardsource’s January 2015 National Index of NonProfit Board Practices — Insights for Church Boards.
- 258. Church Board as Teacher.
- 257. Spiritual Leadership — Church Board as Advisor
- 256. Case Study #17: Faith, Dollars, Budgets and Risk Leadership
- 255. Revisiting the Annual Church Board Retreat.
- 254. Enhancing Board Orientation Processes.
- 253. Organizational Health and Governance
- 252. When do You Step Down as Church Board Chair?
- 251. “Trust and Tension” — Managing the ‘Tone’ of a Church Board
- 250. Church Boards — Who Cares?
- 249. Church Boards, Transformation and Leadership.
- 248. Resolving Complaints Against a Church Board
- 247. Resolving Complaints Against The Lead Pastor.
- 246. Communications and Church Board Operations.
- 245. Selective Results from a Recent Survey of NonProfit Boards in North America
- 244. Church Boards and Their Relationship with other Internal Church Ministries.
- 243. Church Board Chemistry — Developing and Sustaining It
- 242. Church Boards and Unfunded or Deferred Liabilities — A Chairperson’s Concern
- 241. Developing a Church Board Work Plan.
- 240. It’s My First Church Board Meeting as Chair….
- 239. Addressing Dissent and Building Consensus in Church Boards (Article 4)
- 238. Addressing Dissent and Building Consensus in Church Boards (Article 3)
- 237. Addressing Dissent and Building Consensus in Church Boards (Article 2)
- 236. Ways for Church Board Chairs to Addresss Dissent and Build Consensus (Article 1)
- 235. Church Boards Who ‘Drink the Kool Aid’
- 234. The Church Board as Coach and Sparring Partner for the Lead Pastor.
- 233. Time Commitment, Board Member Impact, and Board Effectiveness.
- 232. Resources for Developing New Church Board Members.
- 231. A Curriculum For Developing New Church Board Members.
- 230. Developing New Church Board Members.
- 229. The “Imperfect” Church Board Chairperson.
- 228.Book Review #15: “The Imperfect Board Member” (Jim Brown)
- 227. The Trap of Micro-governance for Church Boards and their Leaders.
- 226. Case Study #16. Leading Through Leadership Change — Church Boards and Succession
- 225. Do Church Boards Have the Governing Capacity Congregations Need?
- 224. Common Church Board Governance “Failures.”
- 223. Governance — Making a Church “Work.”
- 222. What is a Church Board “Governing”? Understanding the Work of a “Church.”
- 221. The Structure of a Church Board Policy Manual — the Role of a Church Board Chair
- 220. Policy “Levels” Guiding a Church Board.
- 219. Preserving, Consolidating and Passing On Board Wisdom
- 218.Church Boards and Governance — Who’s Empowered?
- 217. Adhoc Committees, Chairpersons, and Church Boards
- 216. Personnel Committees, Church Boards and Chairpersons
- 215. Finance/Audit Committees, Church Boards and Chairpersons
- 214. The Role of a Church Board Governance Committee
- 213. Church Boards, Chairpersons and Board Committees
- 212. Overcoming Church Board Development Inertia
- 211. Trust, Church Board Chairs and Transparency.
- 210. The Incremental Work of Church Board Development
- 209. Who is Responsible for the Ethical/Spiritual “Tone at the Top” in Congregational Organizations?
- 208. Essential Tasks for Effectively Functioning Church Boards
- 207. A New Resource for Church Board Governance.
- 206. Church Board Chairs and 2014
- 205. Board Chairs and Board-Congregation Relations.
- 204. Church Board “Hardware” and “Software.”
- 203. Church Boards and “Spiritual Loafing”
- 202. Church Boards and Information Abuse
- 201. Chairperson — Thought Leader, Catalyst, Motivator
- 200. Book Review # 14: “Winning on Purpose” by John E. Kaiser.
- 199. “Missional Governance” — Governance Necessary for the Vitality of a Congregation
- 198. “Tripwires” Signalling Unhealthy Board Dynamics
- 197. Book Review # 13: “Policy vs. Paper Clips” by E.H. Fram (2011)
- 196. How Long Should Church Board Members Serve?
- 195. Reflections on Carver’s Model of Governance And Its Relevance for Church Boards.
- 194. A Church Board Manual — A Chairman’s Indispensable Tool. Part II
- 193. A Church Board Manual — a Chairperson’s Indispensable Tool. Part I.
- 192. Book Review # 12. The Role of the Board Chairperson. E. C. Dorsey (1992)
- 191. Church Board Chair Manual — A New Resource
- 190. Elders and Deacons — Chairing a Mixed Church Board.
- 189. What Committees Does a Church Board Need?
- 188. Taming the Sacred-Secular Divide in a Church Board.
- 187. Case Study #15: Who’s boss? A Cultural/Theological Perspective.
- 186. Some Helpful Articles for New Church Board Chairpersons
- 185. Improving Church Board Dynamics — Who’s Talking With Whom in the Boardroom?
- 184. Case Study # 14. If it ain’t broke, why fix it? — The Case for Church Board Assessment.
- 183. Case Study # 13: The Drama of Dismissal
- 182. Chairpersons, Church Boards and Staff — The Trauma of Resignation
- 181. Developing a Productive Church Board Ethos
- 180. Chairpersons, Church Boards and Staffing Issues: Succession Planning for the Senior Leader
- 179. Chairpersons, Church Boards and Staffing: Governance and Hiring
- 178. Chairpersons, Church Boards and Staffing Issues: General Issues
- 177. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 5, 6 & 7)
- 176. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 3 & 4)
- 175. Seven Habits of Effective Church Boards (Habits 1 & 2)
- 174. Building Better Church Boards.
- 173: Bad Governance is Harmful — Chairs, Take Note!
- 172. Case Study # 12. Where, Oh Where, Is the Next Board Chair?
- 171. What Makes a Great Church Board Chair?
- 170. Book Review # 11: “Eldership in Action through Biblical Governance of the Church” by R.H. Swartley (2005)
- 169. The Challenge of “Information Asymmetry” for Church Board Chairs.
- 168. A Church Board Chair Evaluation Tool (cf. Article 142)
- 167. Church Board Chairs and the Value of Good Governance
- 166. Strategic Planning in your Board — a Spectator Sport?
- 165.Chairmanship — Can Every Conflict be Resolved?
- 164. Chairing, Board Operations and Delegation.
- 163. Lead Pastor Compensation and the Board Chair.
- 162. The Public Dimension of Church Board Work — the Application of the “Nolan Principles.”
- 161. Governance — “Seeing that things are run properly”
- 160. What Should a Board Chair Expect from Church Board Members?
- 159. Case Study # 11. The Accountability Vacuum.
- 158. “Janus” Vision for Church Board Chairs.
- 157. Setting the Tone at the Top — a Board Chair’s Responsibility
- 156. Minding the money — What’s a Chairperson’s Responsibility?
- 155. When was the last time your evaluated your church’s reputation?
- 154. How does a church board exercise “effective control?”
- 153. What is a church board ultimately responsible for? The Dangers of a “vision-vacuum.”
- 152. Church board “Sweet Talk” and Leadership Dynamics
- 151. Book Review #10: “Serving as a Board Member” by John Pellowe (CCCC 2012).
- 150. Carver’s Approach to Board Governance and Church Board Engagement.
- 149. Board Insularity — A Detriment to Mission Advancement
- 148. Good Governance and Good Chairmanship — Significant and Critical Investments for Church Boards.
- 147. Leading Through Conversation — A Primary Skill and Strategy for Every Church Board Chair.
- 146. The Dangers of a “Cocoon Mentality” — Is your Church Board Getting the Right Information?
- 145. Re-imagining The Role of Church Board Chair — Responding To Imminent Challenges.
- 144. Is your Church Board Paying Enough Attention to Risk Management?
- 143. Is there an optimum size for a Church Board?
- 142. Evaluating a Church Board Chairperson’s Performance.
- 141. What’s the “Authority” of a Church Board and how does a Chairperson Direct That Authority?
- 140. Overoptimism and Overconfidence — Helping Church Boards Be Spiritually Discerning.
- 139. Case Study # 10: Daring to Change — “Can These Bones Live?”
- 138. Advancing a Church Board’s Performance — the Chair as Coach
- 137. Keeping the Primary Leaders Honest — A Board’s Opportunity
- 136. Board Chairs — The Dangers of Being Too Passive.
- 135. Church Board Chairs — Observations re “The Report Regarding the University of Pennsylvania State University”
- 134. Board Chairs — The Dangers of Being Too Controlling
- 133. A Chairperson’s Challenge — The Dangers of “Groupthink”
- 132. The Church Board and Staff Recruitment
- 131. The Impact of Debt Upon the Ability of Church Boards to Lead.
- 130. How do Church Boards and Pastoral Leaders Really Think and Interact?
- 129: Developing Productive Church Board Culture — a “People” Project
- 128. Case Study # 9: “Culture Wars” in the Church Board.
- 127. Values, Board Culture and Good Governance.
- 126. How does the Chairperson Tap into the Knowledge of the Church Board?
- 125. The Linkage Between Good Governance and Resources.
- 124: Fostering “Value Creation” through Good Governance.
- 123. Pros and Cons of “Staggered” Church Board Membership.
- 122. The “Stockholm Syndrome” in Church Board — Managament Interactions.
- 121: Top Five Issues For Chairs of Church Boards
- 120. Case Study #8: “Relative” Interest in a Church Board Member.
- 119: Developing and Maintaining Church Board Cohesiveness
- 118. Case Study #7: Stepping in or Stepping Out as Chairperson
- 117. How a Chair Facilitates an “Executive Session” for a Church Board.
- 116. Chairing, Board Development and Resistance — Keeping the Faith
- 115. Additional Thoughts on Carver’s Ideas and Church Board Leadership
- 114. Book Review # 9: “Sticky Teams” by Larry Osborne (Zondervans, 2010)
- 113. Chairing a Church Board in a Context of Theological Diversity
- 112. Case Study #6: Tradition — The Game of Who Remembers and Who Cares.
- 111. What a Church Board Chair needs to Care About When a Building Program is on the Agenda.
- 110. Case Study #5: Who’s in Charge? Negotiating the Sudden Inspiration.
- 109. The Chairperson’s Ability/Responsibility to Discern and Avoid “Bad Strategy.”
- 108. Bylaw Review — Tedious But Essential.
- 107. Case Study #4: The Case of the Unrecorded Minute — A Chair’s Nightmare.
- 106. A Church Board Building Cycle — Guidance for the Chair
- 105. Case Study #3: Downloading to the Next Generation
- 104. Does the Lead Pastor have to be the Preaching Pastor?
- 103. Case Study #2: Fixing Leaks: The Significance of Confidentiality for an Effective Church Board
- 102. Church Board Chairs and Church Finances
- 101. Case Study #1: Decision Time
- 100. Sacrifice as a Spiritual Discipline for Boards
- 99. Emotional and Spiritual Intelligence: Capacity for Board Leadership
- 98. The Church Board Chair and the Interim/Transitional Pastor — Charting New Territory
- 97. Innovation as a Spiritual Discipline for Boards
- 96. The Church Board Chair and Lead Pastor Relationship # 4: A Recent Publication
- 95. Collaboration as a Spiritual Discipline for the Board
- 94. Assessment as a Spiritual Discipline for Boards
- 93. Book Review # 8: “The Chairperson’s Role as Servant-Leader to the Board,” by John Carver (CarverGuide; Jossey-Bass, 1997).
- 92. Principles for Selecting a Model of Church Board Governance (#5): Education, Decision and Implementation.
- # 91. Principles for Selecting a Model of Church Board Governance (#4): Operational Considerations
- 90. Book Review # 7: “Leading Leaders. Empowering Church Boards for Ministry Excellence” by Aubrey Malphurs.
- 89. Principles for Selecting a Model of Board Governance (#3): The Issue of Values.
- 88. Principles for Selecting a Model of Church Board Governance (#2): Advancing the Mission
- 87. Principles for Choosing a Model of Church Board Governance (#1)
- 86. “Indifference” — an Important Attitude Within a Church Board and Chair
- 85. Book Review # 6: “Transforming Church Boards into Communities of Spiritual Leaders” by Charles Olsen (Alban Institute, 2001).
- 84. The Challenge of “Friendship” for a Church Board Chair
- 83. “Respect” — The Golden Rule in Church Board Relationships
- 82. “Best Practices” Are No Guarantee of Good Board Stewardship.
- 81. A Church Board Code of Ethics — An Important Tool in the Chair’s Toolkit
- 80. Book Review # 5: “The Board Chair Handbook” (Second Edition) by Mindy Wertheimer, BoardSource, 2008
- 79. Helping a Church Board Organize Itself.
- 78. Planning and Leading “Mighty Board Meetings.”
- 77. What does it mean to “chair” a church board?
- 76. The Board Chair and a Long-Term View of Governance.
- 75.“’Thinking Institutionally’ – the Mindset of a Board Chair”
- 74. The Chair, the Board, and Disgruntled Members.
- 73. The Chair — the “Voice” of a Church Board.
- 72. Helping a Church Board Evaluate Ministry Proposals .
- 71. How long do you have and how far can you go? Setting Realistic Goals as Church Board Chair
- 70. Planning for Succession as Church Board Chair
- 69. When a New Lead Pastor Is Appointed — the Implications for a Church Board Chair.
- 68. When a Lead Pastor Resigns — the Implications for a Church Board Chair.
- 67. The Challenges of “Visioning”: Church Board Chairs Beware.
- 66. The Church Board Chair and the Operations of a Charity
- 65. The Church Board Chair and the Annual General Meeting.
- 64. What if the ‘Lead Pastor’ Does not Want to Lead?
- 63. ‘Conversion Work’ — How does a Church Board Chair facilitate change?
- 62. Hearing and Dealing with Hard News — a Board Chair’s Most Challenging Hour.
- 61. Role Description for a Church Board Chair — Research Request
- 60. What is a “Policy” and Why is it a useful tool for a Board Chair?
- 59. Policy, Governance and Biblical Principles
- 58. What Makes a Church Board Effective? #6 Commitment to Strategic Priorities
- 57. What Makes a Church Board Effective? #5 Respect for the People
- 56. What Makes a Church Board Effective? #4 A Spirit-Informed Discernment
- 55. What Makes a Church Board Effective? #3 Cultivating the Board’s Collective Welfare
- 54: Review Article #4. Dan Hotchkiss, Governance and Ministry. Rethinking Board Leadership
- 53. Boardmanship in the Small Church — a true test of Spiritual Leadership
- 52. Insights on Chairing — Video Interview with Larry Nelson
- 51. What Makes a Church Board Effective: # 2 Continual Learning
- 50. What Makes a Church Board Effective? # 1. Contextual Understanding
- 49. Defining terms #3: Governance — Acts of Compliance or Acts that Innovate?
- 48. Defining Terms: # 2 — Governance and How its Shared
- 47. Defining Terms: # 1- Governance and the Role of the Church Board Chair
- 46. Decision-making in Church Boards. #4: Innovation, Decisions and the Role of the Chair.
- 45. Decision-making in Church Board Meetings. #3: Implementation, Accountability and the Role of the Chair.
- 44. Decision-Making in Church Board Meetings #2: The Chair’s Role
- 43. The Church Board Chair and Pastor Relationship # 3 — The Unique Setting of the Small Church (less than 100 members).
- 42. Review Article # 3: Les Stahlke. Church Governance Matters
- 41. Church Board Chairs and The Relationship with the Lead Pastor #2
- 40. ‘Black Swans’ in the Church Board Room
- 39. A Church Board Chair’s Check List for a New Ministry Year
- 38. Board Dynamics and Cultural Diversity: Part III. Power Distance and Board Leadership
- 37. Board Diversity and Cultural Diversity: Part II: Perceptions of Time and Organization
- 36. Review Article # 2: T.J.Addington, High Impact Church Boards (2006).
- 35. Board Dynamics and Cultural Diversity: Part I: “High Context”…”Low Context”
- 34. Review Article # 1 – Michael Anthony: The Effective Church Board (1993)
- 33. Evaluating A Church Board Member
- 32. The Transition into the role of Church Board Chair
- 31. Measuring a Church Board’s Productivity
- 30. How do you know when your church board is under-performing?
- 29. Factors Influencing The Development of the Church Board Chair’s Role
- 28. A Theology for the Role of Church Board Chair
- 27. Church Board Chairs and Lead Pastors — Understanding this Relationship
- 26. The Chair and New Board Member Orientation
- 25. Church Board Chair — Pastoral Advocate
- 24. Church Board Covenant — Guiding Principles for Board Engagement
- 23. “Risk” Wisdom — A Key Competence for a Church Board Chair
- 22. Holding a Church Board Accountable — A Challenging Task for Any Chair
- 21. Decision-making In Church Board Meetings #1: Working with Bias
- 20. Lead Pastor as Church Board Chair — Good Idea??
- 19. Moving from passive to active Board Leadership19.
- 18. Governing Your Church Into The Future
- 17. Do they trust you?
- 16. Developing a Church Board’s Culture
- 15. Church Board as Ministry Team
- 14. Church — Organism or Organization — or System?
- 13. Carver, Governance and Policy: Can the Congregation Handle It?
- 12. Carver, Governance, Policy and the Local Church Board: Board Chair and Lead Pastor Relationship
- 11. Carver, Governance, Policy and Local Church Governance: Can the Board Handle it?
- 10. Carver, Governance, Policy and Local Church Governance — Can the Board Chair Handle it?
- 9. Carver, Governance, Policy and Local Church Governance — Can the Pastor handle it?
- 8. Carver, Governance, Policy and Local Church Governance – Are they Compatible?
- 7. The Significance of Attitude
- 6. Productive Behaviour
- 5. The Challenge of Sustainability
- 4. Relationships are Everything
- 3. The Spiritual Ministry of the Chairperson
- 2. Transparency: A necessity for healthy church board operations
- 1. The Delicate Dance of Congregational Governance