In this session, we want to speak directly to board members, because when members of the board understand their individual responsibilities, the board can fulfill its responsibility to govern the church well. First we’ll talk about the three “hats” board members wear at church. Then we’ll discuss the four boundaries of a healthy board member.

Three Board Hats

Each board member wears three “hats” in the life of the Church. It’s important to keep them straight. (We learned this from the ECFA. Here’s a link to their video.)

The Governance Hat

First, you wear the “Governance” hat at board meetings and official board functions. In that setting, you are seeking to spiritually discern God’s voice together, as the board stewards the direction of the ministry in God-honoring ways.

Understanding Foundational Principles

Being in a position of governing authority, you need to become familiar with your church’s foundational documents, which define its core principles, values and practices. This includes a decent working knowledge of the church’s Bylaws, along with where to find things in the church’s Policy Manual. You should understand any other essential documents that set direction for the church, such as a Statement of Faith or a Philosophy of Ministry Statement. (At our church we call that “The Alpine Way.”) The decisions of the board should always be within the boundaries set by these foundational documents, or the documents should be changed.

Engage in Strategy, not Operations

Boards can spend too much time on the details of operational matters. Operational matters pull on the board’s attention because those discussions often yield short-term, concrete results. The board feels like it is active and leading. But when a board gets into the operational weeds, it won’t have time or energy to focus on the big picture, to think ahead, and to ask the right questions. In other words, nobody will be paying attention to issues that affect the long-term health and direction of the ministry.

As mentioned in the first episode, board members need to understand the difference between governance and operations. Members of the board (both individually and as a group) should not be involved in the day-to-day management or operational decision-making of the church. As much as you might want to weigh in on practical operational issues – like the floorplan of a building remodel, or who to hire as the next Youth Pastor – your focus on the board is on governance, not management. When you dabble in operational matters, it undermines the Senior Pastor, it confuses and frustrates the staff, and it violates clear decision-making boundaries. It also wastes the value and energy of the board by diverting your focus from matters of your primary responsibility, which ultimately weakens the church.

The exception is the Senior Pastor, if the Senior Pastor is a member of the board. In that case, he is the only board member who has authority to oversee the staff, implement the church’s mission, and manage the day-to-day operations of the church.

We use a tool called the Prime Responsibility Chart to help clarify the boundaries between the board and the staff. We’ll talk about that in Lesson 4.

The Volunteer Hat

All board members are also expected to serve in an appropriate ministry at the church outside of the board. This is the “Volunteer” hat, which is separate and distinct from the “Governance” hat. Whatever “Volunteer” hat you wear, when you put it on you must leave the “Governance” hat back in the boardroom. So when serving as a volunteer, you never act as a board member in that situation. You respect the lines of authority you are under by submitting to the appropriate staff or volunteer supervisor who leads that ministry. 

Likewise, when wearing the “Governance” hat, you leave the “Volunteer” hat at home. That means you don’t bring volunteer issues into the board meeting, so the board won’t be tempted to micromanage staff functions and neglect board functions.

The Participant Hat

The “Participant” Hat includes those events which board members are expected to attend, but which don’t have a governance function (such as the annual Church Business Meeting or a New Members Orientation). You may (or may not) be introduced as a board member, but since those events are not board meetings, it would be inappropriate to wear the “Governance” hat.

Be a Positive Force

Your attitude goes a long way to making the church – and the board – a positive experience for everyone. First, take an interest in your other board members, as individuals, and in their families. If possible, spend some time building relationships outside the boardroom.  

You can set a positive tone by continuing to grow in your own relationship with Jesus, and in your ability as a board member. Don’t let your personal development stagnate.

Finally, an important way to be a positive force is to pray. Pray for your pastor and staff. Pray for your fellow board members, by name. Pray for the decisions, opportunities, and risks facing the church.

Four Boundaries of a Board Member

Boundary 1: No Individual Authority

No board member has any individual authority over the Senior Pastor, other staff members, or volunteer ministry leaders. The authority of the board resides not in its individual members, but in its joint decisions. It might be tempting, as a board member, to want to have a say in how a particular ministry is run. But it is entirely inappropriate for you to try to wield official influence individually over any ministry leader or staff member. 

Boundary 2: No Personal Agendas

As a board member, you should not promote any personal agenda, but always seek the success of the church as a whole. We all have issues we are passionate about, and it can be tempting to use board authority to push our personal agendas about social issues, politics, theological topics, ministry preferences, and more. That’s a violation of your stewardship as a member of the church’s governing body.

Other people will also try to press their personal agendas through you. So this boundary includes any personal expectations communicated to you by others. The church is not a representative democracy. You do not answer to any human constituency. Your job is not to speak up for the wishes or opinions of the people who attend your church. Your calling is to discern what God is saying to the board as a whole, and to seek the bigger picture of his larger purposes for the church.

Boundary 3: Confidentiality

Members of the board have access to sensitive information about the church’s affairs, as well as the personal situations of church members. Confidentiality is the preservation of this privileged information. Board members are expected to honor the confidentiality of what is said in board meetings and documents, along with any non-public information shared with you in your governance role. You will not disclose or discuss information with others who are not authorized to receive it, or who have no need to know. There are no exceptions to this. When confidential information is disclosed, whether on purpose or not, this can damage the church’s reputation, hurt its ability to advance its mission, and even expose it to legal actions. In our church, breach of confidentiality disqualifies a person from serving on the board. Again, resources on this are available from ECFA. See this link.

Every board should develop a clear-cut confidentiality policy, such as the one we use at Alpine Church, to be signed annually by board members. The board also needs to hold any member who breaks confidentiality immediately accountable with a private rebuke, followed by dismissal in case of a second offense.

Boundary 4: No Conflicts of Interest

The board of a non-profit agency, including a church, must maintain and enforce a conflict of interest policy. This protects the church’s reputation and guards it from making bad decisions. It also safeguards the church’s position as a tax-exempt organization. A conflict of interest policy applies whenever the board is considering any transaction or arrangement that might benefit the private interest of any board member or staff member (including their family members), or that might result in a possible transaction where someone receives an excess benefit. The ECFA provides great information about how to implement your conflict of interest policy: this article, and this assessment, for example.

The relationship between the board and the Senior Pastor is a carefully maintained balance between support and accountability. In different churches, the Senior Pastor may or may not be a member of the board, but the same balance still applies.

A church board should avoid two extremes. Some boards provide the Pastor with an uncritical rubber-stamp approval for all of his ideas. They never ask tough questions or push back on his perspective or proposals, so the Pastor never has the opportunity to be sharpened by honest feedback and wise counsel. On the other hand, some boards have an adversarial attitude. They believe that their job is to keep the Pastor in check at all times.

But let’s consider how support and accountability can be balanced in a healthy way.

Big Picture: Attentive to the Pastor’s Soul

A great board gives thoughtful attention to their Pastor’s inner life, not just his outward or institutional success. Without being overbearing, they care about his marriage, his relationships with the staff, and the character traits he is developing, recognizing that success in these areas flows out of a nurtured inner life. So the board provides encouragement and resources to help the Pastor observe Sabbath, take vacations, spend time with family, develop confidantes, engage in spiritual disciplines, and generally have a life outside of his ministry identity and duties. This role includes support, but may also include accountability at times.

The governing board should not have the same kind of relationship with other members of the staff. Supporting the staff and holding them accountable is the responsibility of the Senior Pastor. Board members should never wield power over members of the church staff.

Support

Members of the board should have a positive relationship with the Senior Pastor. They should have his back and be generally positive about his vision and leadership. We believe that vision and direction for the church originates with the Senior Pastor, not with a committee, an entire staff, or a board. The board should embrace the vision, help sharpen it, and adopt a collaborative approach toward implementing it. 

Part of the support a board gives a Senior Pastor is wise counsel. The Pastor needs the board to support him by helping him see past his blind spots and weaknesses, to think through his ideas and to probe how they can be improved. The board should ask hard questions and give honest, realistic feedback to help the Pastor’s vision take shape in responsible ways. 

Another part of the board’s support is to provide the resources needed for the Senior Pastor to succeed. This involves doing everything possible to make sure he has adequate funding to do the job. It means providing the right staff positions, investing in systems and policies that will help, making sure he has adequate time off, and investing in coaching, conferences, and other growth resources. Providing resources like this will strengthen him and make him more effective in leading the church toward the mission.

Accountability

Along with strong support, we believe that every leader needs accountability. The board exercises this accountability toward the Senior Pastor in three ways: through the decision-making process; through a regular performance evaluation process; and in the most rare and serious cases, by placing him under discipline or even removing him from his position. Let’s look at those three roles: 

Decision-making. The board collaborates with the Pastor to set priorities and formulate long-term goals in order to fulfill the church’s mission. In this process, board members will have a great deal of input. Ultimately, they exercise accountability by how they vote on specific proposals set before them. For example, the board can accept the Pastor’s proposal to add a staff position, but should reflect realism about how to finance that new position. The board can adopt a budget that reflects the Pastor’s vision, but which sets some prudent boundaries on its implementation, in light of fiscal realities.

Performance evaluation. The Senior Pastor will be subject to the same evaluation process as everyone else on the staff. Feedback will be given annually through a defined evaluation instrument. For example, the Pastor and the board will set priorities and goals together annually. The Pastor will then lead the staff to implement those priorities. The board will check in regularly on his progress. At the next evaluation, he will be formally rated on the pursuit and outcome of those goals. 

The evaluation process may include personal growth as well as job performance. But all evaluation is done to provide constructive input to help the Senior Pastor thrive and flourish in his important leadership role.

Two important safeguards are put in place to protect the Pastor in this process. First, the performance evaluation is a regular, consistent process. Second, no individual board member has any authority to hold the Pastor accountable. This prerogative belongs only to the board as a whole. A member of the board can certainly speak to the Pastor about any matter of concern, but only as a private person without any official standing.

Removal. In most settings, the board has the power to fire a Senior Pastor (or in some forms of church governance, to bring this prospect to the congregation). This action must only be considered in the most extreme circumstances. As a preliminary step, depending on the church’s Bylaws and Policy Manual, if a Senior Pastor falls short of the standards set forth for leaders in general, the board can set up a disciplinary process to help him grow and succeed. If a Pastor is to be fired, it should not be for routine poor performance. Instead, the board should set up a process to help him grow in his abilities and skills. This protects a Pastor from an adversarial board. Likewise, the board should adopt policies that protect the Pastor by requiring a supermajority to take action, and by defining the sort of issues that might lead to his removal. 

If a Senior Pastor does have to be removed, it should only happen in situations of serious failure, such as commitment of a crime, pastoral misconduct or abuse, a major ethical lapse, or a moral failure. In our church, we have specified the legitimate reasons for removal in our Bylaws (see Article Four) and supported them with a specific policy, so that everything is done fairly and above board.

Summary

In one sense, the Senior Pastor works for the board, in that the board can hire and fire him and conduct his performance reviews. In a greater sense, the board works with the Senior Pastor as they get behind him and collaborate with him to refine and fulfill the church’s mission, based on the vision God has given him.

In the next two lessons, we’re going to talk about some qualities that set apart a great board as a whole and great board members as individuals. Let’s start with some positive traits that characterize a great board. Then we’ll talk about some pitfalls that can bring a board down.

Spiritually Attuned

A good board takes care of the business of running the organization. A great board cultivates the spiritual dynamics of seeking God together. While sound governing principles are important, the church is not just any non-profit organization. The board needs to be humbly submitted to Jesus as Lord. It needs to prayerfully depend on God’s leading and empowering, and to live in the unity of the Spirit. A great board spends time together pursuing God, not just researching and debating decisions.

Relationally Healthy

A great board goes beyond the nuts and bolts of the governing process to become a true team. Members really care about each other and invest in those relationships. They’re willing to take needed steps to resolve conflicts and settle personal animosities. Board members may not always be best friends for life, but they will enjoy mutual camaraderie and respect. Because they encourage each other, the board becomes a place where members want to be. 

Fully Invested in the Mission

A great board is united around the church’s mission and vision. In fact, the board is passionate about this. Its governance is driven by the mission, not by the status quo, by comfort or familiarity, or by personal preferences. Its members enthusiastically promote that mission and actively exemplify the church’s values and purpose. 

Focused on Strategy, not Operations

Once again, a great board doesn’t get bogged down in operational matters. If the board doesn’t ask the big picture questions, nobody else will. This includes questions like: are we headed in the right direction? How healthy are we as an organization? Is our overall staff configuration the best for our future? Is our financial situation sound? What risks and challenges do we face? Do we have the right policies in place? 

For example, if the church needs a new facility, the board’s job would be to consider the larger strategic and missional implications, with an eye to current and future church health. Based on their evaluation, they may approve a building project and set financial boundaries for it. The board’s job would NOT be to decide which piece of land to buy, which architect or contractor to hire, what the design of the building should be, the details of the fundraising campaign, and so forth. Those are operational matters that should be delegated to the staff and/or to key volunteers. 

Self-Policing

In a great board, every board member takes responsibility for the healthy functioning of the board. In board meetings, members are always ready to speak up if someone is out of order, if the discussion gets into operational matters, or if the tone is not spiritually or relationally healthy.

Outside the board meeting, members are willing to have difficult conversations with other board members when needed. They don’t passively sit by and let inappropriate attitudes or actions go unchallenged. They don’t wait for the chairperson or the Senior Pastor to take appropriate action. It’s up to everyone to cultivate a healthy board climate.

TRANSITION: No board is perfect. Every board will prayerfully have to learn how to handle new issues they’ve never encountered before. But to become a great board, you will learn to avoid certain common pitfalls that will cause the board and the church a lot of trouble.

Poor Record Keeping

Every board needs to establish the discipline of keeping good records, not only to meet legal requirements but to establish credibility, and to forestall future disputes and misunderstandings. Think about three kinds of records:

• Foundational documents.

These are the documents that provide the legal basis for the board’s actions, such as the Articles of Incorporation, the Bylaws, and the church’s Philosophy of Ministry statement. They need to be kept up to date, and referred to regularly, so that the board acts within its legal boundaries.

• Records of board proceedings.

The actions taken in every board meeting should be detailed in precise language, whether ratified or rejected. (This does not include the board’s discussion before an action is taken – just the decision itself.) If the minutes aren’t clear, actions of the board can be challenged by church members or outsiders, and board members themselves may disagree over what was actually decided. The minutes should also include the documents that supported the decision, and enough information to verify that the proceedings took place in a legal manner.

• Policies and procedures.

The board oversees two types of policy documents. The Board Policy Manual dictates how the board itself functions. The Church Policy Manual dictates how the church as a whole functions. (The two may be kept under single cover, but it still makes sense to have both). Someone on the staff may be delegated to prepare and update these manuals, but the board is ultimately responsible to manage the church’s records.

Sloppy Attention to Finances

Finances is another area where careful record-keeping can keep a church out of trouble. Get professional help if you don’t have a staff member or volunteer qualified to keep the books. 

You also need a system of checks and balances to prevent anyone from abusing the church’s trust in this area. A sound system also protects your team against unwarranted accusations of malfeasance.

Keep an eye on debt. Don’t spend what you don’t have, even if you have to curtail the vision for a time. Build some financial reserves. Insufficient reserves can sink a church if the local economy falters. Irresponsible spending and debt can also hurt a church long term.

Make sure money earmarked by donors is spent in the way donors designated it. If you can’t spend it as designated, don’t receive the donation.

All of these practices safeguard the financial health of the church, which is the board’s responsibility. Attention to finances also builds credibility with church members and donors.

We recommend the seven standards of responsible stewardship established by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), which can be found here. 

Relationship Dysfunction

Boards get in trouble when their members can’t work together in unity and mutual respect. Ego and rivalry lead to competition as members are tempted to elevate their own standing and opinion over the good of the church. The board becomes about “me” versus “we.”

Another form of dysfunction is when board members tip-toe around difficult conversations. For example, when one member displays a negative attitude or behavior, it’s tempting for other members to sweep the uncomfortable subject under the rug. Or board members might have a hard time being honest with the pastor about his proposals or his performance. But failure to speak the truth in love torpedoes the effectiveness of the board.

Putting Preference Above Mission

Another pitfall is when board members are more concerned about getting their personal tastes and preferences enacted in church life than they are about fulfilling the mission. Often members are not able – or not willing – to recognize the difference between the God-given mission versus their own desires. Members need to lay down their preferences for the sake of a greater purpose.

TRANSITION: Let’s conclude this episode by introducing three practical tools that help a board be great.

Board Member Covenant

It’s a good idea to make expectations of board service crystal clear in advance, and to ask board members to reaffirm them on an annual basis. A single, consistent document helps. This helps board members rise to the highest standards, and makes it easier for underperforming members to remove themselves or be removed. 

Annual Board Calendar

An annual calendar is a valuable planning tool to help a board govern more strategically and proactively, and not just in reaction to current issues. It lays out the strategic questions that need to be addressed during the year to insure that nothing is overlooked. It helps the board remember its primary responsibilities, defines its focus at each meeting, minimizes repetitive discussions, allows staff to adequately prepare in advance, and orients new board members to the board’s work. 

Prime Responsibility Chart

This tool will help you eliminate fuzziness between board and staff roles, making responsibility for each kind of leadership decision crystal clear. For example: who can hire and fire staff? Who can create new staff positions? Who can create church-wide policies? Who is responsible for the annual budget? This chart clarifies who has the primary responsibility, who needs to be asked to assist, and who (if anyone) has to approve a decision before it is implemented. Each church will develop its own unique version of this, as Alpine Church has. We based ours on an intelligent resource provided by the ECFA. 

Links: 

Alpine Church Philosophy of Ministry Statement

ECFA Standards of Responsible Stewardship

Board Covenant of Conduct – Alpine Church

Annual Board Calendar

ECFA Prime Responsibility Chart Tool

Alpine Church Prime Responsibility Chart

A big part of the board’s work involves regular board meetings. A meeting of the board is designed as a forum for four related purposes: to seek God; to get good information; to discuss issues from various perspectives; and ultimately, to commit the church to action. Consider the following ways to be a great board member in regular board meetings.

Advance Preparation

The board chairperson and the Senior Pastor are responsible to plan the agenda for each meeting and to prepare the board in advance. A good rule of thumb is that no important issue gets discussed at a meeting without board members having thought about it beforehand. That means that any information needed for a meaningful evaluation should be provided before the meeting. A related rule of thumb is that no important issue is voted on at a meeting unless the board has had plenty of opportunity to discuss it. So it is up to the chairperson and the Pastor to prepare well in advance. Send out the agenda, with supporting documents, 7-10 days before the meeting.

Board members are responsible to read through the materials they receive carefully and to comprehend the issues involved, then spend some time thinking and praying about those decisions. If you need more information about an issue on the agenda, or you need to ask clarifying questions, take the initiative to make some phone calls before the meeting, so you are ready to discuss issues wisely. But don’t come unprepared!

Hearing the Spirit

Boards often miss opportunities to be led and empowered by God. That guidance from the Spirit can happen when:

• Members come with a sense of dependence on God.
• The board takes a moment to be still and/or to pray together when facing a challenging decision.
• The board is willing to slow down.
• Any board member, not just the chairperson, can ask the board to stop and pray.

Praying routinely before every agenda item can make prayer a mere ritual. But a board meeting may present some key moments where prayer is called for:

• When facing a fork-in-the-road decision.
• When the Pastor seems weary or discouraged.
• When God’s remarkable provision or action calls for thanksgiving.

It’s okay to interrupt the agenda to engage in what may well be the real business of the meeting.

Looking for Consensus

A board should try to achieve consensus on its actions. Let’s say the Bylaws allow for decisions to be made with a simple majority, and the board votes 4 to 3 on an important issue that will shape the future of the church. Legally, the measure would pass, but the lack of unity on such an important matter should give board leaders pause. It would be better if the board took a straw poll first, then took measures to build greater consensus before moving to a binding vote. If a large minority of the board – people of character who love the church and its mission – oppose an initiative, that could be a temporary “Stop” sign from God.

Unanimity is not necessarily the goal. It’s not wise to let one board member hold the rest of the board hostage based on his or her dissent. But often that dissent can be a clue that more information or more deliberation is needed. Or perhaps some private conversations with the dissenter can help discern the underlying reasons, and contribute to a greater level of comfort with the decision. This may not be the quickest way to get to a decision, but it can do wonders for the unity of the board, and it can often help the board slow down enough to discover God’s timing and leading. 

Participating Constructively

Watch how you behave and interact with others at the meeting itself. Speak up, without dominating the discussion. Listen to others patiently and with respect. Speak calmly. Don’t bully with your point of view. Be on time. Keep your ego in check. Value people even when they don’t agree with you. Don’t hesitate to ask tough questions or raise difficult points. These attitudes and behaviors will help the whole team achieve the goal of making decisions with the greatest unanimity possible. 

As you can imagine, certain board member behaviors can make a board meeting painful.

• Not listening well. Not everyone knows how to really listen, paying full attention to the person speaking. Work on improving your listening skills.
• Bullying. A bully manipulates and pressures people to follow his or her ideas. Bullies usually have strong personalities and are highly opinionated. Don’t be the person no one wants to stand up to.
• Annoying practices. Some people are chronically late. Others can’t stop wisecracking. Some hold side conversations. Others hog the discussion. Consider whether you have any of these, or other, annoying habits, before your board chairperson has to have a hard conversation with you. 

An excellent board meeting involves more than just getting work done. People can leave a meeting with great satisfaction when: 

• Time was spent efficiently, without getting bogged down in irrelevant talk.
• All the board members participated constructively.
• There was a sense of God’s presence and leading, beyond perfunctory opening and closing prayers.
• The focus was on important matters, not just petty or small-minded details.
• The meeting was permeated with joy.
• Members were seeking together to hear the Spirit’s leading.
• There was energetic discussion, honoring different perspectives, but seeking true insight.

TRANS: Beyond having great meetings, you can be a great board member if you cultivate these five traits…

Emotional Maturity

To be a great leader, you need to celebrate your strengths and take ownership of your weaknesses. You have to be teachable, seeking out and accepting honest feedback. You stay positive, engaged and supportive when the board makes decisions that are contrary to your desires or your point of view.

You care about people, not just about getting tasks done. You engage in conflict well, speaking the truth in love. When you have a problem with someone, you speak to that person first, and encourage others to do the same. One tool we use at Alpine Church to help us continue growing in our emotional and relational maturity is the Profile of a Healthy Leader. It applies not just to board members but to all of our staff and volunteer leaders.

Teamwork

You will be an exemplary board member if you define success in team versus individual terms. You desire to see the church and the kingdom of God prosper, not just yourself. You celebrate and defend others on the board. You work in good faith with your board peers, respecting the opinions, insights, and convictions of others. You come to meetings fully prepared. You are courteous and caring. You can speak the truth without being divisive. You can disagree without being disrespectful. You will maintain a positive, supportive attitude toward the board chairperson, the Senior Pastor, and members of the church staff.

Investment

The best board members are deeply invested in the life of the church. That means you are a ministry participant, not just an attender or spectator. You are a generous financial contributor, supporting the ministry through regular, sacrificial giving in keeping with how much God has blessed you.

Wise Diplomacy

As a board member, you will often find members of your church approaching you with some grievance or complaint. You need to handle those situations with wisdom. Very few complaints are worthy of attention from the board. People may approach you for immature reasons: because a staff member didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear, to avoid responsibility for having a direct conversation with someone, or just because they like the attention. 

Here’s how wise board members will respond to people’s complaints:

• Protect the staff and leadership. Don’t give what appears to be a sympathetic, listening ear to trivial or unfounded grievances. You don’t want the complainer to feel that their grievance is validated because you listened and didn’t say anything.
• Don’t promise to go talk to a third party. If the person has an issue with a staff member or leader, it is their responsibility – biblically – to have that conversation. Don’t let them off the hook by promising to do that for them. 
• Don’t accept generalizations. People sometimes try to bolster their case by saying, “A lot of people believe…:”. If those people actually exist, they need to speak for themselves or at least be identified.
• Don’t promise unconditional confidentiality. Sometimes people don’t want to take responsibility for their complaints, so they request confidentiality. But if there is a real problem, other people will have to be brought into the situation to deal with it, so confidentiality cannot be guaranteed. 
• Never promise to take care of the issue for them. For one thing, this trains people to expect you to be at their personal disposal. Also, the issue may not be worth your time and effort. Or it may not be an issue that falls within the legitimate responsibility of the board. Even if it is, you may not be able to solve it for them.
• Be kind but honest and firm. Gently confront them about their complaining and their back-door approach. Challenge them to become part of the solution. Help them see things to celebrate rather than complain about.

Continued Growth

First, you need to continue growing in your board skills and wisdom. You are willing to assess their performance as a board member and to receive feedback from others. You welcome opportunities to be trained and to enhance your governance skills. You are eager to learn more about how good governance works and how to do it. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) offers many great resources for this kind of improvement. 

Most importantly, you need to continue growing in your relationship with Jesus. You’re not just sitting on the laurels of your past experiences, but you continue developing greater intimacy with Jesus, continue taking steps of faith, and embracing new changes and new challenges as the Holy Spirit leads.

Links:

Profile of a Healthy Leader

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability