A strong church board can be the difference between a congregation that’s firing on all cylinders and one that’s hobbling along. When things are off-kilter in the church leadership, it has a dramatic impact on the life of the church.
Here are five signs that your board needs some restructuring.
1. The board rubber stamps the pastor’s ideas.
Occasionally, the problem with a church board isn’t that it is contentious. Sometimes the problem is that there isn’t enough dispute. Not every idea the pastor comes up with is a good one—or maybe it is, but it’s not the right time for it. Sometimes a board needs to be able to say no. If they never do, there might be a problem.
2. The board continually opposes the pastor.
Some church boards think of their job as merely keeping the pastor in line. This is disastrous for the church. Too often, boards hire pastors because they’re forward-thinking and energetic but then work to stop them from doing too much too quickly—which disempowers those pastors from doing anything at all.
3. The board never thinks about the future.
Church boards can spend so much time talking about the past or focusing on the present that they forget about the most critical topic: Where are we going and how do we get there? When a board isn’t forward-thinking, churches tend to float along without making much of an impact in their communities.
4. The board is being held hostage by one individual.
When boards require a unanimous vote to pass anything, it only takes one person to ensure that nothing ever comes to pass. Even when boards require a majority vote, it’s easy for a single person to be a wedge in every decision. One option to address this is for boards to shoot for consensus rather than putting everything to a vote and empowering people who love to operate as the intellectual opposition.
5. The board seeks to control rather than guide.
In smaller churches, it’s not unusual to see a board that expects oversight in every area. Even after approving a budget, the board may want to have a say in how all the money is spent. Or they may want to play a part in day-to-day ministry decisions that should be left up to the staff or the pastor. Creating this kind of bottleneck is not only unsustainable, it can be deeply demoralizing.
The right board at the right time.
In addition to being thoughtful about the people who are nominated to lead on the board, you also want to identify what you need from the board in a particular season. What is helpful from the board during a church plant isn’t necessarily as beneficial when you’re pushing 500 in attendance.
Take time to evaluate your church board and identify areas of strength and areas where you can improve. How can the board seek to serve the Lord and serve the church as a unit? Encourage board members to pray about the areas of growth and lean into the areas of strength so that your church can continue to faithfully serve the Lord. When board members are empowering and equipping the congregation to serve Jesus, that’s the sign that things are running well.
