Church Board Of Directors Duties

Former newspaper publisher Jarrell Jennings dies

Three Duties of a Board Member « evanmoilan

Imagine it’s Tuesday night at 7pm.  You and 7 others walk, begrudgingly into the room.  Two white plastic tables have been pushed together in board room style, surrounded by 12 brown metal chairs.  On the counter coffee is brewed just a bit past it’s prime.  One of the other 7 is carrying dinner, and the smell of fastfood reminds you that you didn’t stop on the way.  After a few pleasant greetings, some guesses as to the whereabouts of the missing 4, and the establishment of a narrow quorum, the President calls the meeting to order…It’s Church Council Time.

First order of Business:  The Devotion.  Who’s turn is it?  Realizing it was never assigned all eyes turn to the Pastor who quickly grabs a bible and flips to the Gospel Text for last week, then prays.

Second order of Business: The distration of the late arrival.

Third order of Business:  The Minutes of the last meeting.  All eyes find the stack of white paper in front of them on the desk.  Fingers flip through the pile to find the right page.  Extras are handed to those who forgot theirs, and everyone begins to read the minutes for the first time….Sound familiar?

It’s easy to make light of our work as church leaders, and it’s good to laugh at ourselves sometimes.  I do so with respect to the noble intentions of all volunteers, and the demands of time placed upon them.  There is no doubt that all who serve do so with a desire to make a difference and a heart for Christ.  But sometimes we, in our desire to love, let go of accountability.  We allow things at the Church Council table, both of ourselves and our peers, that would never stand in other parts of our lives.   

It is sometimes hard to think of a Church Council as a Board of Directors, and in many ways I would argue that they should be different.  However, differences aside there are some best practices we as leaders in the church can learn, that will better our work together.

There are three main duties of any member of a Board of Directors/Church Council:

• Duty of Obedience:   A Council Member must first, and always work to carry out the Purpose of the Organization.  This means it all begins with mission.  A Church without a mission is like a driver who gets in a car without a destination.  Sometimes they wind up somewhere wonderful.  Sometimes they wind up someplace they don’t want to be.  You mission becomes your measuring stick for all decisions.  No longer does a council wonder, “should we do this?”  Instead the council asks, “Does this meet our Mission.”  In carrying out the Mission of the organization, Board members must also be CARRIERS of the misison to the community.  Interpreting purpose passionately back to the congregation.

Vital issues in Christian Science, a record of unsettled questions which arose in the year 1909, between the directors of the Mother Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Boston, Massachusetts, and First Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, eight of its nine trustees and sixteen of its practitioners

Corpus juris, being a complete and systematic statement of the whole body of the law as embodied in and developed by all reported decisions

The Presbyterian digest of 1898, A compend of the acts, decisions, and deliverances of the General presbytery, General synod, and General assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, 1706-1897

Minutes of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America

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