Reflection: Family table*
Do relationships actually matter to how a board or a ministry team functions? Are you able to say those in your team are family? What would change if you saw them that way?
The board I stepped into made it very clear to me from the beginning that they were a family. But not just any family.
My mentor warned me, “Lucy, I need to warn you that this board is crazy — we may be small, but we believe we can change the world.” When I saw this family in action, I was blown away.
One of the most encouraging things that I learned as an intern was that loving, authentic relationships around the boardroom table CAN exist without erosion of good governance and in fact they can actually enhance godly governance.
When relationships around the boardroom table are unhealthy, the board behaves like a dysfunctional family. Argumentative, reactive and often avoidant.
Finding a balance of informality to build relationships – sharing a meal, informal catch up before the board meeting, getting to know your fellow board members, board retreats – in and around board meetings builds culture. This is what family is about.
Should a Christian board feel different to a non-Christian board? Should team meetings of ministries feel different to non-Christian team meetings?
Prayer: For prayer today, pray reflecting on Jesus’ prayer for us, his followers: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me, and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me (John 17:20-21).
*A thought from Lucy