Elder Oversight Gone Right

It’s rare that the concept of elder oversight of church ministries is thought of as a bad thing. Most churches wish they did it better. As it turns out, however, elders overseeing particular church ministries causes more harm than good. Now, before you get too up-in-arms at that statement, hear me out?

But first, why do we like elder oversight so much? One good reason is because we think it a good idea to distribute the load so that the overworked pastoral staff gets an assist. One not-so-good reason is that we think elders don’t have enough say-so or a big enough slice of the accountability pie if they don’t oversee particular ministries. If we look to Scripture, we notice that elders are barely distinguished, if at all, from the pastor/shepherd role. But although both Paul and Peter refer to this group as “overseers,” there still isn’t much to go on in the New Testament to find a precedent for elders as overseers of individual church ministries. In fact, the wording of Acts 6:2-4 seems to indicate just the opposite.

So why does elder oversight of particular church ministries cause more harm than good? In short, it inevitably causes confusion on at least two levels. (It also tends to create red tape and ministry silos and tends to stifle innovation). On the leadership level, it puts too many cooks in the kitchen. Very innocently, the clarity of direction within the church’s mission looks slightly different from one elder’s oversight of a ministry to that of the next elder, and also from that of the pastor and pastoral staff. What’s more, the pastor’s ability to lead the overall church decisively is obfuscated. On the individual ministry staff level, it’s inescapable that at the very least there will be times when they have to pick between directives. In big and small decisions, what will invariably happen is one vibe or recommendation to them from their overseeing elder won’t jive with the vibe or request to them from the pastoral staff. (There may in some instances even be a third line of communication coming from the board of elders as a whole). And suddenly, we’ve got mixed signals, diffused mission, ennui, or stalled momentum. Not good.

“The elders, speaking together in one voice and as a subset of the congregation, provide accountability and leadership solely over the pastor, who then provides accountability and leadership over the staff and the church as a whole.”

There is a solution. One that in actuality provides the accountability that we crave of elders over all things church. If you dare to believe it, it provides what I call “global accountability.” That is, it allows the board of elders to systematically and thoroughly maintain accountability of every single thing that goes on at the church! And—I know what you’re thinking—no, it does not require umpteen hours a month from the elders. We’ve been doing it for years now with elder meetings of about 90 minutes each month and less than that in “homework”. And here’s the best part—it aligns with … well, clarifies really, … the concept of elder-led churches that we see represented in the New Testament. It’s a governance model postulated for non-profit charity boards called John Carver’s Policy Governance.

“Instead of individual ministry oversight, the elder board’s function is first to ‘see the future’ and set the church on the right path or footing for it.”

You can read about it in my book, Nimble Church, but here’s a quick description. The elders, speaking together in one voice and as a subset of the congregation, provide accountability and leadership solely over the pastor, who then provides accountability and leadership over the staff and the church as a whole. Instead of individual ministry oversight, the elder board’s function is first to “see the future” and set the church on the right path or footing for it. Secondly, they monitor how the pastor, staff, and church are doing based strictly on the elder board’s written policy that plots a path to the future and describes their expectations for ministry.

We pastors and elders want to lead Christ’s church well. We want to be good shepherds who “receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” when “the Chief Shepherd appears” (1 Peter 5:4, NIV 84). Given that one of our tools to do just that is clear decision making, perhaps God is nudging you to reconsider how you do it?

Shawn Keener is the pastor of Brookville Bible Church in Holbrook, MA, a member of the Authentic Church Revitalization consulting team, and the author of Nimble Church.