Church Board Membership

[Pete Vecchi]

We just receieved our weekly e-mail newsletetr from our DS, and in it was this information about Church Board Nominations:

Nominations and Church Board Elections

In a few weeks pastors and church boards will select a Nominating Committee to present a list of nominees to the congregation for election to the church board.

When considering the Nominating Committee the pastor and church should select individuals that are in keeping with Manual 39.

The Nominating Committee should only consider candidates for the church board who meet the qualifications in Manual 39. Some of the qualities Nominating Committees should apply to potential candidates are these:

Saved and Sanctified

Tithe to the local church

Faithful to all church services (AM, PM, and Prayer Meeting) unless hindered by work or illness.

Christlike temperament.

Those who lead by example (Their walk matches their talk)

Those who do not have to have their own way.

Those who say, "Lost people matter to God."

Those who put God's Kingdom above their own interest or preferences and who willingly say, "It is not about me, but about building His church."

A church board nominee needs to agree to Manual 39 and these qualifications before allowing his or her name to be on the ballot.


In my lifetime in the Church of the Nazarene, I have been involved with people and churches where some or most of the church board members did not meet all of those requirements.

Thinking back, (and putting these in alphabetical order so as to not incriminate anyone from any particular church), I have seen board members who:

Attended only morning services on Sundays, claiming evenings were needed for rest and family time;

Didn't tithe;

Fell asleep during most sermons;

Missed the vast majority of Sunday morning services due to work;

Remained technically married to spouse, but openly talked about their lack of communication and not even wanting to try to improve it;

Smoked cigarettes;

Were divorced at least once;

Were separated from their spouses;

Yelled at a pastor during at least one board meeting.


Now, I don't know about you, but it would seem to me that some of those issues are spiritual in nature, and others more practical. For instance, I wonder if a person can be an effective board member/leader in a congregation if his/her employment keeps him/her out of more than half of the regular Sunday morning worship servicves. I wouldn't generally look at that as a spiritual matter, but a practical one.

Should all of those issues carry equal weight? Should some of those things be discounted in small churches where if things got too picky, there wouldn't be a church board at all?

What do you think?

[Billy Cox]

It is tempting to wink at so-called shortcomings in order to keep a 'money person' on the board.

Reason? If we're going to ask for their financial support, they should have some voice in how the church operates.

[Barb Bouldrey]

After 36 years of pastoral ministry and observing all the churches around me, I can tell you that the list from the Manual is the IDEAL and DESIRED qualifications.

In all reality,

1. People nominate and elect those who are willing to run on the ballot. Many churches, large and small, struggle to fill their ballot.
2. Many serve on the board who do not attend faithfully, especially the evening services because the church had to have SOMEONE on the board and these people were the only ones willing to run.
3. Often board members get elected and stay on for life, even when they shirk some of those qualifications because nominating committees are afraid of hurting their feelings and they need SOMEONE to be on their board.
4. Officers like NYI and NMI are on the board by their position. They might slip by with not tithing because they were elected by their organizations and maybe NO ONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE CHURCH WOULD TAKE THAT JOB, SO WE HEDGE A BIT ON THE REQUIREMENTS.

Are you getting my drift? Many churches, large and small, allow people on the board who do not fit that description entirely because no one else will run on the ballot and the church has to have SOME church board.

My brother, in his first pastorate, was eager to keep to the exact line of the Manual. He was in a small church with a treasurer who did not tithe. He forced the issue, even calling the D.S. The D.S. told him to leave it alone because SOMEONE had to be the treasurer.

In our last pastorate we had an NMI president who did not tithe, but they kept electing here because no one else wanted the job.

Now, in our case, John always sends a letter to nominees and includes that paragraph from the Manual. If they agree to have their names on the ballot, they sign their names saying that they will do their best to abide by those requirements. So, this NMI president signed that she did tithe and would tithe, even though the church records show no giving from her(and she did not give cash loose offerings) (then, I deal with my feelings that she also lies.)

So, Pete, you try to nominate people who fit that description, but don't worry if most of the names on the ballot have a flaw or two or three. It happens.

Barb

[Ron Davis]

It is tempting to wink at so-called shortcomings in order to keep a 'money person' on the board.

Reason? If we're going to ask for their financial support, they should have some voice in how the church operates.

Small churches may not have enough willing people that qualify to serve on a church board. So what do you do?

[Joel Merrill]

Small churches may not have enough willing people that qualify to serve on a church board. So what do you do?

Yes, I suspect that is a common problem. I work second shift so I can never be on a board. I was on the nominating commitee once. The church ran in the 80's and had around 60 members. Of those members a good number of them did not want to be on the board and of course some were children or not eligible. It was hard to have enough to have an election. We had people who had been on the board for years and wanted off. We even had a husband and wife on the board which is not ideal but we had no choice.

Joel

[William Hunter]

When I arrived here my cong. elected one half of the board for two yrs. So, potentially one half of the board could be new each year. That allows for a stability and it has worked well so I have not changed it.

I do send a letter to each person on the ballot, as well as those church board members who have a year yet to serve, in which I list the four requirements found in the Manual for board members. They are to read it and then sign it that they will live by those requirements and date it; or check the box indicating that they do not feel they can meet those qualifications at this time, sign and date it and send it back to me.

I try very hard to allow only those names on the ballot that I am pretty sure who live by these requirements in the first place. I inherited one board member when I came here who had a very serious problem with authority figures in every area of his life. I became aware that he did not tithe either. When I sent out this form he signed it and sent it back to me stating he would live by those standards. At bit later he created an unfornunate incident in which a teen was needlessly hurt emtionally. I confronted him about it and he yelled at me, said I was a poor leader, etc. Several on my board heard it. And he continued not to tithe. My board members wanted a meeting and they confronted him about his behavoir and lack of tithing. he became highly combative. What I did not know was that the board had gotten together and composed a letter to this man. They had all signed it. It stated that he would not be allowed to teach SS or work in children's church, or anyother position in the church until he changed his attitude and got right spiritually. They sent a copy of the letter to our DS. Well, this man got man, resigned from the board and left the church.

My board decided it was part of their job to stand between the pastor and such issues that might come up for they were to be leaders as the cong. elected them to be. They voiced their very real concern about the man and his soul, etc. I was so pleased with the maturity of this board. A little more than half of my board are people who have come to Christ and the church since I arrived here and they have wonderfully grown in show signs of mature spiritual leadership.

That has been the only incident we have had over this type of issue. I insist that those who allow their names to run on the ballot comply with the four required of the Manual for board members. If I did not have enough for a complete board, then the board would be made up of those I did have who lived these requirements. And my people have learned that it does not matter at what level your giving is, if you are tithing you have as much say as anyone and large givers have no more say than anyone else. it has to be that way---no partiality, or we cease to be the church God intends us to be.

I find the Manual guidelines in such matters as this to be quite helpful as a pastor.

[Scott Webb]

Our church is medium size (about 175 in worship). The guidelines listed are good ones but our problem is that the most faithful and qualified people refuse to serve on the board under our current pastor. As a result our board continues to shrink each year and anyone who does run automatically makes it. Our pastor never shows any appreciation to his leaders and fails to empower them. We are such a dysfunctional church and he refuses to accept any responsiblity for this. Do any other churches have this problem?

[Mark Metcalfe]

So, this NMI president signed that she did tithe and would tithe, even though the church records show no giving from her(and she did not give cash loose offerings) (then, I deal with my feelings that she also lies.)

Rationalization is a wondrous (and twisted) thing. I don't know if this is the
case with this particular person, but some people get mad at their church
and tithe to whatever cause they feels deserves their money more. Technically,
they are giving to God their tenth, but not to the "storehouse" in which they
are churched.

I have the ruminations of a thread regarding church money and tithing, but
I haven't had the time recently to record them. I want to keep it separate
from the Money thread.

Mark

[Mark Metcalfe]

Our church has a policy of three years on, one year off. If you've been on
for three consective years, then you have to get off for at least one year.
In the past, we have had difficulty in getting more than a yes/no ballot.
We've nominated on the order of 70 "eligible" names with only 14 or so
affirmative responses.

I think that may change this year. Our Pastor is moving on to another
church, so the coming church board will be part of a pastoral search.
(Oh, joy!)

Mark

[Billy Cox]

This sounds like a pastor who would rather operate without a board and actually does, despite there being a group of people called 'the board'.

In my opinion, pastors who don't want to play by Nazarene polity should quit playing games and go start a non-denominational church where they can be the king unchallenged.