Mar 06, 2023

Seven signs of a closed and dysfunctional ministry system to be wary of

 


I spoke recently with a ministry leader who had resigned from his church staff position (a large church) because of the dysfunctional culture that he sensed. Having left the "system," he now realizes that it was a great deal more dysfunctional than he thought, and he is so glad to be out of it. When we are in a "closed" system that is dysfunctional or toxic, we may sense that not all is right,...

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Feb 13, 2019

Ten Lessons to be learned from the Harvest Bible Chapel Debacle



I am glad, I hope, I pray that the soap opera of church dysfunction being played out in public for years at Harvest Bible Chapel is finally over with the exit of James MacDonald. Of course, given the history of controversy and the poor governance of the church all we can do is hope and pray. I suspect there will be disclosures that may well lead to lawsuits - a habit at HBC against dissidents....
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Jan 15, 2019

Confusing, outdated, unclear and vague church governance systems


Many churches are long overdue to change their governance systems, but I am still surprised to read many church constitutions that make real leadership very difficult. Church leaders who would never structure their business the way their church structures leadership are seemingly OK with the fact that it is almost impossible to do any kind of leadership within their governance system.

Yes,...
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Aug 09, 2018

Willow Creek and governance lessons: A watershed moment

The inevitable resignation of the entire board of Willow Creek Community church today along with that of the two senior pastors is a watershed moment for church governance - and its failure. There are many lessons to be learned about what good and poor governance look like when it comes to the church. The leadership failures at Willow will become textbook fodder on governance for years to come.

One...
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