A Critical Analysis of Policy Governance as a Model for Church Leadership

Rev. Dr. Martin Bragger, Doctor of Ministry. Supervisor - Rev. Dr. Jeffrey Pugh

In recent years, many churches have chosen to implement a form of governance known as Policy Governance (PG), a model originally developed by Dr. John Carver for the governance and leadership of non-profit organizations. The ideological core of PG is that effective leadership is the result of the establishment, and proper use, of policies; and the primary role of effective governing boards is to concern themselves with the establishment of those policies.

In order to achieve this the Policy Governance Model aims to produce a culture change in an organization, to create an environment where the board (eldership or leadership team in a church context) is set free from involvement in management in order to concentrate its time on providing an effective leadership function. The CEO (in the church context Senior Minister) is then correspondingly set free from board 'meddling', and so empowered to develop and exercise strategies that will achieve the organization's goals. The board provides leadership by setting policies which are succinct 'minimum verbiage', global policies for the organization's 'Ends' or mission objectives, and also Executive Limitation policies, or boundaries, within which the CEO is given total freedom to achieve the organization's goals.

This study critically analyses the Policy Governance model, to assess its theological legitimacy in the light of the principles that underlie New Testament ecclesiology, and agrees with the consensus of scholarly opinion that the NT does not provide any prescribed model of church structure and leadership for all times and places. The position taken is, that it is the Trinity that informs the shaping of ecclesial communities, and the NT shows a process of development in the leadership structures of churches, having both pragmatic and theological aspects. Such a 'developmental flux' actually provides, subject to the NT essences for Christian κοινωνια (fellowship), a 'divine permission', or freedom, for churches to develop Trinity-reflecting structures appropriate to their context. The PGM does actually provide the freedom for a congregation to construct a model appropriate to its situation, a freedom reflecting the 'divine permission'. The Carver model also uses language that resonates more with an organic rather than a technocratic model, and such a model allows the possibility of a congregation that reflects the 'unity-with-functional-diversity' characteristic of the Trinity. This reflects the model that we see in Paul's 'body' analogy in 1 Corinthians 12, and which can allow the gifts and abilities of members to be harnessed in freedom for the benefit and growth of the whole.

However, a major concern is the question as to whether the PGM will foster an environment that encourages and nurtures the type of Trinity-reflecting communities witnessed by the NT. Other concerns relate to the secular nature of the Carver model, which, if uncritically applied, may provide opportunity for the ecclesial vision of Christ to be usurped by the 'principalities and powers', resulting in a reliance on human endeavour for effective ministry, rather than it being a direct work of the Spirit and the grace of God. In the light of these concerns, an in depth analysis of five significant churches which have implemented policy governance, has been carried out involving pastoral staff, elected leaders and office bearers, and congregational members. The dialogues with staff and members of these churches indicate agreement, by the overwhelming majority, that significant benefits in terms of the ministries and mission of the churches have resulted. However, there is also a widespread perception that there are negative effects, particularly in terms of a lessening of the accountability of the leadership to the congregation, and a diminution of pastoral care for members, which have resulted from the new models. Despite the real concerns regarding the Policy Governance model however, our conclusion is that, in the light of the theological and pragmatic insights gained in this study, it is possible to construct an adjusted Carver-based model of governance for the contemporary evangelical church that would preserve its triune characteristics.

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