As you read the first few words of the title of this post you may have concluded the phrase “everything starts with” either with “mission” or even “Jesus’ Great Commission.” However, in an organization like Winebrenner (legally, a non-profit entity) all items start with our Board of Trustees, or our Governance.
The Board is responsible for the mission and whether or not we seek to fulfill Jesus’s Great Commission. Regardless of how we believe the organization should function, everything begins and ends with our Board of Trustees (some organizations may use Board of Directors or some other label).
In the case of Winebrenner Seminary, the Administrative Council of the Churches of God, General Conference, elects the Board of Trustees; however, once the Board is assembled they are fully autonomous of external control. In order to strengthen the relationship between the sponsoring denomination and Winebrenner, our By-Laws currently require that 2/3 of our Board members are part of the Churches of God, General Conference.
I have now been at Winebrenner long enough to affirm the idea that healthy Boards lead to strong and healthy decisions. Our ability to pursue and fulfill our mission is dependent upon a strong and engaged Board of Trustees.
In the coming weeks I’ll be highlighting some of the key attributes that allow me to say that our Board is healthy and strong. Also, I encounter questions from time to time like “what, exactly, does a Board do?” and will seek to provide some basic insights into the rhythms and responsibilities of Winebrenner’s Board of Trustees.
[…] about governance. As we conclude this brief introduction to governance (click here for posts one or two) I am providing a few reflections from the perspective of a Board […]