Church Committees Need Better Decision-Making
Mark A. Taylor reflects on why some church committees, elder groups, and ministry boards lead effectively while others stall or make poor choices. Drawing from Jason Zweig’s analysis of investment committees, the article highlights practical ways Christian leaders can avoid conformity, gridlock, and short-term thinking.
- Church and ministry committees can suffer from the same dysfunctional dynamics seen in investment boards.
- Reframing questions and testing assumptions can help groups avoid “group think.”
- When decision makers for God’s work fail to lead well, more than money is at stake.
By Mark A. Taylor
Why do some committees work well, while others only spin their wheels? Why do some groups of elders lead effectively while others baffle with their poor choices or inability to decide? Why are some colleges, missions, and similar ministries directed into effective futures by their trustees while others only tread water?
Whole books have been written to answer questions like those, but insight from an unlikely source bears some attention.
Learning from Investment Committees
The article appeared April 25 in The Wall Street Journal. In his column, “The Intelligent Investor,” Jason Zweig discussed a host of bad decisions made by prestigious investment committees in the last year. How could these intelligent, educated, well-paid people put money into Bernard Madoff’s scam or sink endowments into questionable hedge funds and real estate deals?
The answer, Zweig concludes, is in bad committee dynamics. Reading his column reminds us that the same dysfunction characterizes too many groups making decisions for the church and the parachurch. Zweig said committees “tend either to follow the leader in a rush of conformity or to polarize into warring camps.” Anyone who’s served on a board of trustees or with a group of elders can identify.
Questions That Strengthen Decision Making
Zweig suggests several methods for avoiding gridlock or poor decisions. Those most applicable to church committees:
“Reframe the question.” Divide into “pro” and “con” groups to consider the best argument for and against every proposal. This helps prevent “group think” and takes the spotlight off the one member with the strongest voice.
“Use the ‘five whys.’” Don’t ask if the church should build or if the ministry should expand into a different enterprise. Instead, ask why building is necessary or why the new tasks are appropriate for your ministry. “If you ask five such ‘why’ questions in a row, you are likely to expose any weak points in the advice.”
“Define the default position.” Agree on a basic assumption. If, for example, a college’s purpose is to train Christian workers, any proposal that deviates from that purpose needs compelling justification. If a church’s purpose is to make disciples, any staff hire or budget item must demonstrate how it advances that goal.
When Poor Dynamics Threaten Ministry
When committees or boards don’t work well, the result, in Zweig’s words, is “relentlessly short-term outlook, an inability to stick to strategic plans, a slap-dash pursuit of the latest fad, and a tendency to blame mistakes on somebody else.”
It’s one thing for investment committees to function so poorly. But when decision makers for God’s work fit that profile, something more important than money is at stake.
Zweig’s column is posted at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124061065847354263.html.
Author: Mark A. Taylor
Mark A. Taylor, who served as Christian Standard editor from 2003 to 2017, retired in June 2017 after almost 41 years with Standard Publishing (Christian Standard Media).
