Governance and Ministry

List of Figures

Preface To the Third Edition
How I Came to Write This Book
Planning and the Governance Question
What Has Changed—And What Hasn't
Size Still Matters
Who This Book Is For
Gratitude

1. Organized Religion
Containing the Tension
Two Kinds of Leadership
Governance and Ministry in Brief
Some of My Assumptions
Benefits of Governance and Ministry

2. Ways Congregations Have Organized
Board-Centered Congregation
Committee-Centered Congregation
Clergy-Centered Congregation
Some Even Worse Ideas

I. Overview of Governance and Ministry

3. A Map of Governance and Ministry
Board and Staff
The Congregation
Committees and Teams
Three Zones of Leadership
Clear Delegation

4. Board-Led Governance
The Board as Fiduciary
Duties of Board Members
Modes of Board Governance

5. Staff-Led Ministry
Epiphany in Louisiana
One Structure for Ministry Decisions
Key Elements of Staff-Led Ministry
Ministry Teams
Stresses of Transition

6. Leading in Partnership
Lay-Clergy Tensions
Nothing New Here
What Can Clergy Do?
Practices in Partnership
Boundaries
Healthy Partnerships

II. Life After Governance Change

7. Better Board Meetings
Poor Robert and His Rules
Board Meetings that Are Less Excruciating
Board Meetings that Are Fun and Productive
Committees that Help the Board
A Board Covenant
Why Improving Meetings Is Not Easy

8. Effective Staff Structure
The Head of Staff
The Staff Leadership Team
An Org-Chart Workshop
Teams for Effective Ministry

9. Skilled Staff Leadership
Shifting from Contributor to Leader
Supervising—The Core Skill of Staff Leadership
Three More Staff Leadership Skills
Emotional Skills for Staff Leadership
Testing Leadership and Emotional Skills
Whistling While You Work

10. Faith and Money in One Conversation
Board Governance of Finance
Staff Management of Finance
Organizing for Finance
Transparency About Money
Budgeting as Leadership
How Boards Raise Money

11. Board-Staff Collaboration
Ministry Vision
Open Questions
Holy Conversation
Staff Management and Implementation
Monitoring
Evaluation
Strategic planning

III. A Governance Change Process

12. Starting the Process
Governance Workshop
Governance Assessment
Questions to Ask Up Front
Workshops with the Board
Governance Change Vision
The Governance Task Force
Planning the Work

13. Bylaws and the Like
Hierarchy of Documents
What Bylaws Should Say
What Bylaws Should Not Say

14. Writing Leakproof Policies
Writing Like a Sculptor
Policy Writing as a Process
Style Guide for Policy Writers
Quick Tour of the Bourne Street Policies

Bourne Street Board Policies
Glossary of Terms Used in Governance and Ministry

Workshop Plans
A. An Org-Chart Workshop
B. The Board's Time, Part 1: Analysis
C. The Board's Time, Part 2: Planning

Bibliography
Board Governance
Congregation Size
History, Sociology, and Law
Management, Staff, and Teams
Meeting Facilitation
Planning and Evaluation

Notes