Staff Advisory Councils Make PBG work

Under PBG, church staff are given much more authority for making day-to-day ministry decisions. Though that idea may make some people nervous, it really is a good thing. Frankly, staff are in a better position to make a lot of these decisions, because they're at the church every day.

However, every PBG church needs to ensure that staff are not just carrying out their ministries on their own, oblivious to the thoughts, desires, and ideas of the regular people of the church. To do their jobs well, staff need the advice and counsel of regular members of the church.

My congregation has made this happen by mandating that programmatic staff meet at least twice/year with an "Advisory Council", composed of 5 lay people. Some members are chosen by the staff person, the others by the Senior Pastor. At these meetings, staff present their ministry plans for the coming year and get feedback, advice and counsel.

We're just getting started, but so far it seems to be working really well.

Here's the video we put together for the first meetings of the Advisory Councils. It explains both PBG and the role of the Advisory Councils pretty well.

Selling PBG to your congregation

Whenever congregational leaders decide that PBG is a good idea, they then face the hard task of getting their congregation as a whole to feel the same way. The last thing on earth you want to do is to bring PBG to a congregational vote without plenty of time to educate your people and answer their questions first.

The leaders of my congregation used a variety of means to inform our congregation about PBG, including many forums and informational brochures. One of the most effective things we did, however, was to create this video:

In it, three well-known Lutheran church leaders in our area of Northern Illinois talk about their experience in transitioning congregations to PBG. The three leaders are:

• Pastor Alan Buss, First Vice-President of the Northern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod and Senior Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Belvidere, Illinois.
• Pastor Dan Gilbert, former pastor of Cross Lutheran Church in Yorkville, Illinois and current President of the Northern Illinois District.
• Dr. Jack Giles, Congregational Services Executive for the Northern Illinois District. Dr. Giles previously served on the staff of two churches using PBG: Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle, Illinois and St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Minnesota.

This video gave our people confidence that PBG had already been tried and found effective in many other congregations.

Though initially designed just for Prince of Peace in Palatine, Illinois, this video should prove valuable to any congregation exploring PBG.

PBG Church Profile--Trinity Lutheran, Houston, TX

Trinity Lutheran Church in downtown Houston, Texas operates under PBG. You can find their Board policy manual at this link:

http://www.trinitydt.org/pdf/PolicyManual.pdf

An interesting twist here is that they have made the Elders of the church a committee of the Board.

PBG Church Consultant--Les Stroh

If I were to give one recommendation to a church considering a transition to PBG, it would be this: don't try to do it alone!

One of the best decisions my congregation made as we explored and implemented PBG was to hire an outside consultant to help us. This is the man we chose: Les Stroh of Cornerstone.

Over the last few years, we've used Les in several ways. First, he came and explained the PBG model to our church council and staff. Later, he helped us develop a plan and timetable for making the transition to PBG. His input was invaluable as we drafted our first Board of Directors' policy manual. And after we adopted PBG, we brought Les back again to train our new Board.

Each time, Les brought a wealth of helpful insights. If you're looking for someone to help your congregation explore or implement PBG, I'd certainly recommend Les Stroh.

You can learn more about him at this site: http://lesstroh.com/.

PBG Church Profile--St. John Lutheran, Rochester, MI

Saint John Lutheran Church in Rochester, Michigan began operating under PBG in October of 2003.

Their web site states that the "Primary advantages of Policy Governance® include: fewer meetings/more ministry, improved accountability, efficient decision-making, and better focus on our mission and vision."

Other PBG churches (and those exploring PBG) will find a wealth of helpful information on their web site. Follow this link: http://www.stjohnrochester.org/Church.aspx. Then, click on "Inside SJ" on the toolbar and go to "Governance."

Some of the resources you'll find there include:

• Great summaries of how PBG works at Saint John
• Their Constitution, Bylaws and Vestry Policy Manual
• 2008-2009 Desired Outcome Policy Goals and Measures
• Vestry meeting minutes
• Vestry Meeting Calendar

Thanks to our brothers and sisters at St. John for making it all available!

PBG Church Profile--Gloria Dei Lutheran, Houston

Gloria Dei Lutheran church in Houston, Texas is another PBG church we can all learn from.

Many of their important documents are available on-line. Follow this link: http://www.gdlc.org/about/board_directors.aspx

You'll find there:

• Their Board policy manual


• Minutes from all their recent Board meetings


• Their Senior Pastor's ministry plans for 2009

Very helpful stuff for the rest of us PBG churches! Thanks Gloria Dei!