Sorting Out the Roles
of
Board and Staff
Peter Drucker
Drucker's books, his
scholarly and popular
articles explored how
humans are organized
across the business,
government and the
nonprofit sectors of society.
He is one of the bestknown and most widely
influential thinkers and
writers on the subject of
management theory and
practice.
Peter Drucker
His writings predicted
many of the major
developments of the late
twentieth century,
Peter Drucker
…including privatization
and decentralization; the
rise of Japan to economic
world power; the decisive
importance of marketing;
and the emergence of the
information society with its
necessity of lifelong
learning.
The four hardest jobs in America
according to Peter Drucker :
President of the United States
President of a University
C.E.O. of a Hospital
Pastor of a large church
What do these four jobs
have in common
that makes them so
difficult?
Each of these leaders serve
a diverse constituency
with competing demands
and expectations.
The existence of many competing
demands and expectations
underscores the necessity of a
clearly defined sense of purpose.
IT CANNOT BE EMPHASIZED TOO
STRONGLY
The leader of a local church must
be CLEAR about the purpose
and God’s specific calling for
the local church.
One biographer states that
President Ronald Reagan had two
objectives so clearly defined that
they could be written on the back
of a business card:
DEFEAT COMMUNISM
LOWER TAXES
Because the existence of
many competing demands
and expectations
underscores the necessity of
a clearly defined sense of
purpose.
This is where the central
board is to work most closely
with the lead pastor of the
church.
Every local church should
periodically revisit and clarify the
sense of purpose in ministry.
What is God calling us to do in this
community?
These clear statements are called
ENDS
Furthermore, the central board of
every church should be diligent in
identifying the next critical
success factor or imperative that
must be addressed to move the
ministry forward.
“What is it that seems to be an
obstacle or problem that can
obstruct our progress?”
STRATEGY = the ultimate objective
TACTICAL = specific battles that
must be won to achieve the
ultimate objective
LOGISTICAL = supplying the
physical needs of the army
fighting the battle
GOVERNANCE = accountability of
the leader(s) to achieve the
ultimate objective
PURPOSE= the ultimate objective
TACTICS= specific victories that will
enable us to achieve the ultimate
objective
LOGISTICAL = supplying the
physical and organizational needs
of the volunteers
GOVERNANCE = the Board holding
the lead pastor accountable
to fulfill the objective
Simple governance ground rule:
POSITIONS
MINISTRY
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP
GOVERNANCE
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
MINISTRY
Members
MANAGEMENT
Staff
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
MANAGEMENT
Staff
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
Accountability and
Support
METAPHORS
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
Teammates or
Champions,
Athletes, etc.
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
Accountability and
Support
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
Teammates or
Champions,
Athletes, etc.
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
Assistant Coaches
and Specialists
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
Accountability and
Support
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
Teammates or
Champions,
Athletes, etc.
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
Assistant Coaches
and Specialists
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
Head Coach or
Quarterback
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
Accountability and
Support
POSITIONS
PLAYERS
FUNCTIONS
METAPHORS
MINISTRY
Members
Outreach first then
care for one
another
Teammates or
Champions,
Athletes, etc.
MANAGEMENT
Staff
Equipping and
Coordination
Assistant Coaches
and Specialists
LEADERSHIP
Lead Pastor
Vision, Direction
and Teaching
Head Coach or
Quarterback
GOVERNANCE
Board of Elders
Accountability and
Support
Commissioner,
Umpire,
Scorekeeper
1. Board governs
1. Board governs
2. Pastor leads
1. Board governs
2. Pastor leads
3. Staff manages
1. Board governs
2. Pastor leads
3. Staff manages
4. Congregation ministers
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP
GOVERNANCE
Is entrusted to the staff
Executes with excellence
Does things right
Contributes efficiency
Answers to the Lead Pastor
Translates vision to action
Links pastor to ministries
Operates within boundaries
Runs tactical operations
Meets frequently
Solves problems of today
From WINNING ON PURPOSE by John Edmund Kaiser
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP
Is entrusted to the staff
Executes with excellence
Is entrusted to the Lead
Pastor
Directs with excellence
Does things right
Does the right things
Contributes efficiency
Contributes effectiveness
Answers to the Lead Pastor
Answers to the board
Translates vision to action
Links pastor to ministries
Translations purpose to
vision
Links staff to board
Operates within boundaries
Enforces boundaries
Runs tactical operations
Runs strategic operations
Meets frequently
Meets with staff and board
Solves problems of today
Solves problems of tomorrow
GOVERNANCE
From WINNING ON PURPOSE by John Edmund Kaiser
MANAGEMENT
LEADERSHIP
GOVERNANCE
Is entrusted to the staff
Is entrusted to the board
Executes with excellence
Is entrusted to the Lead
Pastor
Directs with excellence
Does things right
Does the right things
Defines what is right
Contributes efficiency
Contributes effectiveness
Contributes accountability
Answers to the Lead Pastor
Answers to the board
Answers to the church
Translates vision to action
Articulates purpose
Links pastor to ministries
Translations purpose to
vision
Links staff to board
Links church to owner
Operates within boundaries
Enforces boundaries
Establishes boundaries
Runs tactical operations
Runs strategic operations
Writes and monitors policy
Meets frequently
Meets with staff and board
Meets infrequently
Solves problems of today
Solves problems of tomorrow
Prioritizes the problems
Protects with excellence
From WINNING ON PURPOSE by John Edmund Kaiser