Lifelong learning is critical, especially for church leaders and board members who steward God’s work, according to Dan Busby and John Pearson in their book Lessons from the Church Boardroom: 40 Insights for Exceptional Governance. Highly engaged board chairs and board members know that when they say yes to board service they must continually increase their knowledge and competencies to fulfil this sacred calling.
Rather than offering a systematic overview of the various aspects of church governance, the book provides 40 pithy lessons on topics such as:
- Guarding your pastor’s soul
- Preparing now for the possibility of future accusations and investigations
- Eliminating fuzziness between board and staff roles
- Ways of finding consensus on challenging issues
- The importance of advance preparation in fully addressing complex issues
- Ways to avoid a financial train wreck
- Investing the majority of board effort in future ministry opportunities, rather than rehashing the past
If you’re the sort of church board member who already knew all that was required of a board member before you were elected to the position, this book probably isn’t for you. On the other hand, if you’re the sort of board member who is continually searching for ways in which your church can be more effective in fulfilling its mission, then this book has a lot of valuable lessons for your to consider.