Jump directly to the Content

Helping Your Board Listen to God

An important test of God's leading is spiritual unity, a sense of peace after a prayerful and thorough discussion of a decision.
—David Goetz

In Texas they call it "kickin' acorns"—when everybody adjourns to the church parking lot after the board meeting to release their frustrations about the previous two hours.

"That's precisely what's wrong with the way many church boards are run," says Danny Morris, director of developing ministries for the United Methodist Church's Upper Room in Nashville, Tennessee. "Most church boards employ Robert's Rules of Order to make decisions, which often creates animosity among board members.

"RRO is an adversarial system that creates winners and losers," Morris says. "And when you deal in an adversarial way, you end up with adversaries."

But not only does RRO throw up walls between people, it's often irrelevant. The making and seconding of motions is often done in a perfunctory manner, not reflecting the deeper mood of the board.

One church board had voted to ...

Tags:
Posted:
March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

From the Magazine
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
I Hated ‘Church People.’ But I Knew I Needed Them.
As I attended my second funeral in three weeks, two Christians showed me a kindness I couldn’t explain.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close