In this podcast episode, we ask Dave three major questions, which he answers with vim and verve: (or at least vim!)
1. How would you define a dysfunctional board? 2. What is the purpose of a functional, healthy board? 3. What can I do if I have a dysfunctional board? This is one of our early conversations with Dave, and it's funny to listen to, because now we are so much more comfortable talking to him, because we know him so much better. All of us have dealt with dysfunction in a church board before, and guaranteed - our boards have dealt with dysfunction in a pastor before! But, since this is a podcast for pastors, we get to focus on dysfunctional boards today! We hope that you get some good tips and direction from Dave Jacobs as you listen to this episode. To hear the episode, as it appeared originally in episode 58, click here. You can find Dave Jacobs at SmallChurchPastor.com. Enjoy!
John and Dianne Finkelde pastored in their church in Australia for 30 years! To say they have seen it all would be an understatement. When John transitioned out of his church three years ago, he began GrowAHealthyChurch.com.
John and Di consult with and coach pastors and pastors' wives, as well as church leadership at every level. They do onsite consults, online consults, Skype pastoral coaching, etc. You can check out their site at www.growahealthychurch.com, where you can find some free resources and everything else they offer. Jonny and Jeff caught up with John early this week and talked to him about life and ministry. With his Aussie accent, he is a delight to listen to, but a blast to learn from! He gives some very practical and important content that any pastor at any level can put into practice this week! In this episode John talks with the guys at some length, giving very practical coaching on four issues : visitors to your church, how to handle the issue of finances/giving, how to evaluate your ministry at every level, and managing yourself as pastor for long term sustainability. DOUG'S BACK TO COLLEGE, AND JEFF & JONNY ARE BACK IN THE STUDIO! With Jeff's son Douglas back at college, (which was a miracle of God and thank you for praying!) Jeff and Jonny are back in the luxurious and opulent 200churches Podcast Studio this week - recording three episodes in this first week of the year. They are moving and grooving with plans already in motion to upgrade the studio and expand what they offer to pastors of small churches this year. They wrote last Friday that their two main goals are to reach more small church pastors, and serve and encourage them even better this year. Let this first episode of the year be an indication of the quality you can expect every single week, Lord willing of course, in 2015! Enjoy this episode, as our gift of encouragement to you! As you pastor your church, we salute you as a man or woman of God, called to love and serve him by shepherding, feeding, and leading his Flock. Jesus died for them, and you live to love and serve them. May God bless you, your walk with him, your family, and your church ministry this year!
This episode is a special one! It features a pastor of a 200church, and two of his Deacons - the first Deacons to speak on the 200churches Podcast! We are honored!
Pastor Mark Meyers is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Warrenton, MO. The ministry leaders with him on this episode are Tory and Steve. These guys, with their families, are part of the Grace Bible congregation, and they are also part of the leadership team at Grace. You will hear some very cool stuff from all three of these guys that will encourage you and challenge you as you lead in your 200church. Jonny and I had a blast talking with these guys, and when we were done recording, we spent some time just talking about our own church here in Iowa, and how we could integrate some of what we learned from Mark, Steve, and Tory. Rather than writing a bunch of blather (is that what our blog posts are?!) we're just going to let you listen to episode #70 yourself. Plus, here are a number of pictures of the guys in their natural habitat, doing family and doing ministry. Together. When we started 200churches, this is exactly what we envisioned - thousands of pastors being encouraged and challenged by other pastors doing ministry in the trenches just like they are. Enjoy the pictures, and thank you to Mark, Steve, and Tory! Slideshow disclaimer: some captions may have been written tongue-in-cheek!This week at 200churches we have talked about church boards. On Monday we encouraged you to give your boards some slack, they’re people too. On Wednesday’s podcast episode 58 we talked with Dave Jacobs about what to do with a dysfunctional church board. As we close out the week, we want to share with you what we think is the #1 thing that church boards need, after their relationship with God and His Word. What is the #1 need of a healthy church board?
You might say it’s unity. You’d be close! Unity is so important. You might also think wisdom, direction, integrity, godliness, and teamwork, and they would all be good characteristics as well. As would courage, decisiveness, perseverance, and love! But the #1 thing a good church board needs is… (drum roll please…) a good pastor! You want good board members, right? You want good Sunday School teachers, small group leaders, tech people, sound engineers, and worship leaders. And your board members want and need a good pastor! Finally, what is the #1 character quality of a good pastor, that the board members need? That would be… LOVE! When they look at you, they should see love. When they interact with you, they should experience someone who loves them. Love tells the truth, even if it hurts. Love is patient and kind. Love never keeps a list of wrongs. Love works for the best of the one loved. When Jeff was a kid he had a pastor who he felt truly loved him. This guy was not the best preacher, administrator, or leader, but Jeff felt loved by him. He invited him to his home for meals, took him fishing, and even asked him to help him in his full time ministry. This man wasn’t the perfect pastor, but his love for the people covered over a multitude of his sins. Commit to the LORD your church. Trust him to heal and grow your people. All you have to do is love them. Love your board, and love your people. After all, Jesus said love was the greatest commandment. It’s for the LORD, and for the people. What can you do this weekend to love your boards? How can you model love for them? They need a healthy, godly pastor to encourage them and grow them. Your leadership and shepherding in your 200church will matter huge in God’s Kingdom!
It’s somewhat of an occupational good-natured ribbing. Pastors complain about dysfunctional boards and dysfunctional boards complain about pastors. Wait, did we say that right?? Oh yeah, we mean… boards complain about dysfunctional pastors! There, that’s better.
Today’s podcast is to help and encourage pastors who have dysfunctional boards. Even as we write this, we realize that we must also importune Dave Jacobs to do an episode with us where we help and encourage board members who have dysfunctional pastors – yeah, that topic! We really enjoyed producing episode 58! We talk about what a 200church is, especially for those new to the 200churches Podcast, and there are A LOT of you! And, welcome! We talk with Dave Jacobs about how to handle a dysfunctional board, then we spend about eight minutes debriefing from that conversation, and share our hearts with you pastors who find yourself saying, “Yes, that’s me! I have a dysfunctional board!” This might be the help you need! Click here for Dave's Six Church Board Training Modules!
In this podcast episode, we ask Dave three major questions, which he answers with alacrity and precision:
1. How would you define a dysfunctional board? 2. What is the purpose of a functional, healthy board? 3. What can I do if I have a dysfunctional board? This week we spent a few hours with nine other pastors in our denomination here in Iowa. We were reminded again that our challenges and joys are shared in common among most of us pastors. For example, did you know that some people think that if other people “like” something on Facebook, that it means they approve of and agree with everything about that “something” they liked!? Yes! It’s true! They really think that, so be careful what you like, you, uh… yeah, you just might get it! Whatever. Anyway, apparently this social media conundrum sometimes causes friction between members who are upset when another member “likes” Budweiser or something… As we talked with our pastor friends, we realized we all struggle with board members at least once in a while. We found out that we all could use a little more money in our budgets – you know, the filthy lucre. We wish we could drum up a few more volunteers than we have. We also hope that we don’t get gifted another plot of land that has a grain elevator – because the town will demand that we dismantle and remove it at our own expense. (did you know it costs about $15K to take down a large grain elevator??) (In Iowa anyway…) So, our heart for the mission of 200churches is bigger than ever – Pastors need encouragement! Old pastors and young pastors, tall pastors and short pastors, fat pastors and skinny pastors, male pastors and female pastors, handsome and beautiful pastors and – well, you get the idea! We all need encouragement, advice, a little training, a few reminders, and a healthy shot of inspiration! We want 200churches.com and the 200churches Podcast to give that to you. We also want 200churches to be the place where you find affirmation and gratitude for your work as a pastor, a shepherd of God’s sheep. We want it to be a place of understanding, and connection – where what you hear you can identify with, and in saying “yeah – me too!” you can realize you’re not alone. If you receive anything good from 200churches, and the people and ministries we partner with, then share us on the social media of your choice! You’re smart, you know how to do it. Let other pastors know so that they can receive the same benefit and encouragement. Enjoy episode 58! But don’t worry, there’s more on the way. Every Wednesday… This week we are talking about a pastor’s church board. I’ll never forget how hard I laughed at a Saddleback conference when Rick Warren asked us if our church was “Deacon-possessed?!” Yeah, some of you were there and heard it too! All in good fun… On Wednesday Dave Jacobs joins Jonny and me to talk about what to do if you have a dysfunctional church board. However… before we think about the dysfunctionality of our church board – I have three thoughts for you about the men and/or women on your board:
Board members are people too. The men and women on your board are real people with real lives and real relationships. Sometimes we only see our board members in the board room. We might see them as questioning us (as well they should), poking holes in our ideas, not getting right on board with our programs and initiatives, and generally making our leadership tougher. What we don’t see are the people they left behind to attend the meeting, or the frustrations they experienced at work, at home, or with the in-laws or neighbors. We don’t see their fears and failures that haunt them more often than they care to admit. We don’t see their past experiences with pastors, who ran an end run around them, failed to consult them when they should have, or simply disappointed the heck out of them when they resigned and left – with the board member left behind thinking they actually had a relationship. Bob was increasingly irritable and obstinate in our board meetings for the previous few months. I was frustrated with him and wished he were not on the board. He had not been this way, and I assumed that my recent decisions must be angering him. I assumed, until I found out that he and his wife were divorcing. After 24 years of marriage, he just could not stand the thought of another 24 years, and he pulled the plug. He did not want to, but her incessant behavior forced his hand. Oh, that’s why he’s been this way… Board members overwhelmingly don’t set out to make a pastor’s day harder, meeting tougher, or life more miserable. They are real people who have stepped forward, or been appointed forward – to fill a role for God and his church. Board members are people too. Board members are often in over their head. Pastor, do you ever feel overwhelmed, unduly burdened, or stressed out? So do your board members. Ever feel frustrated and perplexed as to how to move the church forward with this board? The board may feel the same way “with this pastor.” (ouch) Do you ever feel like you just don’t know how to move the ball down the field at this church? Your board members may often be in the same place, and feel like they are in over their head. George was named chairman of the board he served on, and assumed the role without objection. His performance was lackluster at best, but he never let on how confused and lost he was. He made decisions he knew would trouble others, trying to find a reason to be asked off the board. Finally, he objected to a routine decision by the pastor and resigned, leaving the church. He could not find it in himself to be honest and admit weakness, and boardroom ignorance. It would have been okay. Really. It might not hurt to admit your fears and weaknesses Pastor, and ask if anyone in the room can identify with you. Once you knock down the first domino of admission and authenticity, others will fall. The sheer relief people feel when they’re able to admit weakness and struggle is liberating if not exhilarating. After most of you share honestly, you’ll find yourselves on a level playing field and hopefully realize you’re all on the same team. Sometimes board members feel like they are in over their heads. Board members are looking to you as not just a leader, but also a shepherd. Your board members want to know that someone is steering the ship, yes. They also want to know that someone cares for their soul. They should have confidence that if they share their honest assessment of an issue with you that you will still love them and shepherd them, and not nurse a grudge or hold them at arm’s length. If they had to choose between your leading them or your shepherding them, it would only take one life crisis to prove which one is most valuable. I had been in bed for forty minutes and asleep for twenty when the phone rang and caught me fuzzy headed. Someone asked in a panic if I would come right away. Less than five minutes later I knocked on their front door. Dave, a board member, opened the door and said, “Pastor, what is going on?! This is not supposed to happen. She’s only 51 years old.” She was his wife, and lay dead right there on the living room floor, her eyes open but vacant. I did not ask him at the time, but I’m very certain that what Dave needed right then was not a leader, but a shepherd. Those next weeks and months with Dave were a shepherd’s task, not a leader’s. We didn’t get called by God and go to seminary to be a leader, but a pastor – a shepherd. Several years later I got to be Dave’s best man as he remarried. He needed me more as a best man that day than the minister performing the wedding. So cool. Watch your heart and your attitude toward your board members. They’re people too, with real hurts and real feelings. They may be in over their heads and afraid to admit it, or they may not be willing to be honest, for fear they will forfeit their relationship with you, and they’ll be a sheep without a shepherd. As one of my board members often says – “We’re all dysfunctional, and everyone’s a study…” See you on Wednesday for Episode 58 – What To Do If You Have A Dysfunctional Board. It's going to be a good one! |
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