Explaination of the Board Cultures, Duties, and Roles

“Is God inviting you to serve your faith community as a board member?”

A healthy church is not centered or dominated by the pastor.  The church board ensures the work of developing a healthy community of faith has the checks and balances provided by congregants who, with guidance of the Holy Spirit, help guide the work of the church.

Learn much more (including educational videos, handouts, & job descriptions) on this page by scrolling down and/or emailing your Pastor at Pastor@RonaldUMC.org)

Support your Faith community by donating about 3 hours ever 5 weeks as a board member.  Details vary depending on the position you are interested in. (Job discritptions and videos below.)

There are videos to correspond with all this information to provide support for all learning styles and more detail.

Video links are red. Hand out files are purple.

Mission (Statement of Purpose)  ← Video link, explaining mission, vision, values handout

Ronald United is honoring God as we deepen authentic relationships with God, each other, ourselves, and our community… because healing is communal work. 

Ronald United offers a peaceful place for communal healing through contextually informed collective worship, community service engagement, friendship, and learning opportunities.

In Christian terms: Ronald United is dedicated to curating a  peaceful place for communal healing through Worship,service outreach, fellowship, and discipleship.

Vision 

Ronald United’s work will improve the wellness of all of our neighbors as we partner with others and mobilize within our capacity and gifts to remain an influential hub of healing work throughout our area for decades to come. 

Values

Together, we value the following, and we commit diligently to the practice of being our whole selves in order to bring about a more whole and transformed world:

  • Adaptivity: The Lord is constant and the Good News is timeless but how we offer it and make it accessible to the community it was created for is not. We must hold things lightly. We must remember our traditions are held-on but passed-on. We must regularly be willing to release our preferences in order to honor the purpose of our treasured rituals. 

  • Safety: Bodies and hearts will be protected in our space. We give extra worthy attention to marginalized people (people of color, people who are in female presenting bodies, queer people, people with varying abilities, vulnerable elders, children) and try to rebalance our society by actively de-centralizing white, ableist, and male dominated modalities. 

  • Belonging: To be in a healthy community with one another, we operate in a power-with and power-within-community rather than power-over dominant culture. That means we are helping people empower themselves to co-create the Kingdom of God. 

  • Simplicity: We must create opportunities that allow for both meaningful and REPEATABLE for on-going sustainability. 

Culture and Philosophy  ← Video link-Culture,  ← Video link- Theology of leadership,  ← Video link- our cause, our cause hand out, Hierarchy of needs,  servant leadership handout

Culture is how we do things around here. 

Ronald United is a United Methodist Christian Church who believes in bringing God's way, the Kingdom of God, here on Earth by the way we choose to live.  A Spirit-filled, Christ-inspired, God-led way. 

Ronald United is located in a high traffic, rapidly developing suburb of Seattle with a significant amount of highly accessible real estate for which we pay no extra property taxes. Therefore, we will be contextually informed so that our community may offer relevant ways to honor the privilege and responsibility of being a healing place for our immediate geographic area. 


Power-over vs. Power-with & Power-within-community

  • Power-over can be life-saving and appropriate, like a parent stopping a child from running into traffic. However, it is often abused, especially in white supremacy culture, when used to control, dominate, or coerce. This mindset sees power as a finite resource held by a few. We reject this unhealthy model of power in community.

  • Power-with operates under the assumption that we all have power and an ability to influence the world around us. The goal of power-with beliefs is to have a healthy relationship with our own power and understand how to use that power in conjunction with the power of those around us. It is a shared power that grows out of relationships and collaboration.

  • Power-within-community is an extension of power-with; together, we use our power to create agreements with which the community will abide. In this way, the power lies within the community; and it is up to the community to hold itself accountable to the agreements in order to honor the power it creates together.


For all the reasons explained above, we seek a discerning model of leadership in our faith community that allows for a collective board of lay people to vision and discern together as they co-create, nurture, and sustain a faith community that mirrors our mission, vision and values in the operations of our ministries. 

Roles  ← Video for descriptions for all roles, Organizational chart handout

The Ronald United Board is meant to attend to various aspects of Ronald United’s vision and purpose, both within and beyond the walls of the church. While no member is limited to a specific role, we acknowledge that each person is unique and brings unique passions and strengths to the Board. It is our intention that having specific roles for each member of the Board will enable these passions and strengths to be amplified in the context of the whole. In a society that often exploits the gifts of others, we hope to operate in such a way that values the wisdom given to us by the collective vision of differing perspectives and strengths, that each person might feel fulfilled by their opportunity to let their strengths and gifts be put to good use for the development of a more whole and healed world. Also, the culture of Ronald’s Board is that we have an area of focus but that we work together, supporting our other board members in their work and flow with one another freely. 

Discernment

The board’s decision-making process requires more than following a set of rules or guidelines.

It requires spaciousness, spiritual grounding, and seeking multiple perspectives. 

It requires people who think, meditate, and/or pray before they speak.

It requires differentiating between what is best for the whole community compared to what is our personal preference.

Responsibilities Shared by Every position on the Board: ← Video Provided

  1. Plan, implement and evaluate effective ministry.

  2. Stay focused on the primary task: how our mission happens

  3. Action items must happen for short-term success but be guided by the long term horizon. 

  4. At least one annual charge conference

  5. Understanding of the UMC polity and and doctrine

    Sanctification as life-long growth

    Social holiness

    Itinerancy

  6. Resources

  7. Work closely with the pastor

  8. Substituting in/out for one-another

Specific Board Roles and Job Discriptions: (folder with all videos of job discriptions here)

Pastor ← Video Provided

  • Pastor - Ministry Leader appointed by the BIshop

    • Keeper and initiator of the vision

    • Worship leader, preacher, teacher, community minster

    • Equipper of laity, leadership development

    • Responsible for seeing all UMC expectations are being properly managed. 

Board Co-Chair (Direction Keeper) ← Video Provided

  • Keeps of focused on our work of how our mission happens while protecting our culture and values

  • Seek intimate knowledge of the organization to help us be in alignment

  • Initiates action items and reminds us to complete them.

  • Plans, coordinates, and executes our meetings.

    • Creates agenda in collaboration with the pastor and board members

    • Sends out meeting reminders and action items when needed

    • Follows up with participants

Staff-Parish Relations (Caretaker of Relationship Dynamics)  ← Video Provided

  • Cares for relationships and dynamics of the relationships among the staff, parish members, and pastor

    • Provide annual evaluations

    • Creates job descriptions and payment agreements

    • Establishes and implements policy

    • Facilitates opportunities for celebration and feedback between Pastor, staff, and Ronald United participants, at minimum once per year

    • Helps mitigate challenges of participants

Finance (Caretaker of Financial Resources) ← Video Provided

  • Holds the pulse of the intersection of money, power, and mission/values at Ronald United

  • Oversees the giving, spending, systems, and management of Ronald United funds

    • Creates a budget in collaboration with the Board; tracks projected and actual income and expenses

  • Collaborates in the development of a healthy orientation towards money at Ronald United

  • Attends to the routine and special financial needs of the community

  • Provides, in collaboration with the Board, meaningful reports that are accessible and understandable to participants within and beyond the Ronald United community

  • Develops  plans to raise adequate funds to support the church’s routine and special needs.

  • Provide financial reports

  • Roles:

    • Secretary- records the income to the church

    • Treasurer- records disbursements

Trustee (Caretaker of Material  Resources) ← Video Provided

  • Trustees - property management and legal compliance

    • Attend to the needs and care of Ronald United’s physical property, including …

      • The church building

      • Church grounds

      • Church equipment

    • Attend to the needs and care of Ronald United’s legal compliance, including …

      • Ensure the congregation follows laws and codes

      • Ensure insurance is appropriate for fire, theft, and public liability

      • Operate an annual accessibility audit

    • Cast a vision, in collaboration with the Board, that allows property, power, and mission/values of Ronald United to breathe freely and easily

Lay Leader (Ministry Collaborator)  ← Video Provided

  • Passionate about the average church person’s involvement with ministry and supporting developmental opportunities.  

  • Attends an annual conference and votes on behalf of the average church member.

  • Seeks to empower and connect the congregation to the ministry work and how to serve the wider context.

Secretary (Story Keeper)

  • Holds the heartbeat of power-within-community by attending to the intersection of community agreements and the Board’s behavior and operation

  • Demonstrates curiosity and initiative with regard to the wider denomination and local/global community to help support alignment

  • Listens deeply and observes the spoken and unspoken words and actions of the Board as well as Ronald United as a whole

  • Creates engaging and meaningful ways to capture and share the story ofRonald United and its participants within and beyond the community

  • Holds the intersection of Ronald United’s values and its actions


Additional Follow-Along Materials

The following was created to be an additional follow along document. It may help you follow along with the content uploaded in the “board orientation” folder that you can find here. The video’s can be watched in any order but do build on each other so you may benefit from watching them in the order outlined below. https://tinyurl.com/u94rphw7 



Folder: Part 1

  1. Start here! 

Watch Video: 

“1. Intro Video” 

Attachments:

This document to follow along. :) 

Notes:

This video tells you what to expect from this orientation

  • Overview Job descriptions and responsibilities 

  • Theology of our Org chart 

  • Clarify our Cause: Why we do what we do 

  • Content: What of what the board does

  • Cultture: The how of how we do what we do


     2. Servant Leadership

Watch Video: 

“ 2. Servant Leadership ” 

Attachments:

2.a Servant Leadership graphic

Notes:

Our work is a service loop inspired by Jesus’s servant-based leadership in Matthew 20:28.  “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:28 


Our loop looks like this: 


The context serve the board by teaching us how to make the Good News accessible

The board serves to inform, center, and direct the management of the ministries.

The staff serve the efforts of our ministries.

The ministries of the church serve to nurture and equip the faith community.

The faith community services the context.

(Repeat)



3. Our Cause: why we do what we do 


Watch Video: 

“3. Our Cause” (5 minutes 32 seconds) 

Attachments:

3.a Cause graphic & 3.b Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs graphic

Notes:

  • Our cause it to create disciples… but why?  -Because Christ-centered discipleship heals!

  • Wesleyans believe in doing all the good we can, all the times we can, —

    1. That means we are fierce about a few deal breakers:

      1. Safely (hearts and bodies)

      2. Smiles (people want to come because they find value in themselves among us)

      3. Spiritualism (people won't typically be interested in spiritualism if the first two aren’t honored. 

    2. To have intentional work!  Create and curate our filter.  The filter helps us know what to say yes to and what to say that’s great, but that’s not ours. 



4. Content: what a board does


Watch Video: 

“4. Content”  (4 minutes and 58 seconds)

Attachments:

2.a Servant Leadership graphic may be helpful again

Notes:

Serving on the board is a ministry!

  1. It is an action team. We are thinkers, we need to think but all thinking must lead to decision making. We act in hope, informed by risk. 

  2. Keeps us clear, accountable, relevant, and democratic.

  3. We take our context’s needs and then, based on our capacity, and we filter it through our mission statement, vision, statement and values to guide our next steps.


(Even more will be added in section #7, when we discuss the shared required responsibilities of our Shared Job descriptions.)


5.Our Culture: How we do what we do


Watch Video: 

“5. Our Culture” 

Attachments:

-

Notes:

  • Trust each other. :) Be real friends! 

  • We make choices- informed by risk but guided by hope.

  • We sub in for each other! 

  • We humbly ask for help and stay curious as we remember, we already have all the authority you need. 

  • We connect as  individual teams

  • We connect at least every 6 weeks as a whole board for an in-person meeting.

  • We connect  regularly using via Marco Polo so discussion items don’t pile up for a meeting or in endless emails.




6. Decision Filter: Mission, Vision, and Values


Watch Video: 

“6 Our Filter- Mission, Vision, & Values” 

Attachments:

6.a  RUMC’s Filter, & 6.b Filter Explained 

Notes:


Currently we filter through asking ourselves if opportunities are in harmony with the following:

  • Mission (we exist to…) “deepen authentic relationships with God, each other, ourselves, and our community… because healing is communal work. ” 

  • Vision (what happens when we are that… ) Ronald United’s work will improve the wellness of all of our neighbors as we partner with others and mobilize within our capacity and gifts to remain an influential hub of healing work throughout our area for decades to come. 

  • Values (we we conduct ourselves based on prioritizing)

    1. Belonging-  we curate a space where no one has to pretend to be accepted and loved in this messy community. 

    2. Simplicity- we intentionally build experiences that are easy to repeat and in hopes that they are easy to duplicate so more people can participate. 

    3. Safety- we are committed to the on-going work of protecting the hearts and bodies of the vulnerable populations in our care. 

    4. Adaptivity- The Lord is constant and the Good News is timeless but how we offer it and make it accessible to the community it was created for is not. We must hold things lightly. We must remember our traditions are held-on but passed-on. We must regularly be willing to release our preferences in order to honor the purpose of our treasured rituals. 

  • Also, do we have capacity for this opportunity?


Folder: Part 2 



7. Intro to Job Descriptions

 

Watch Video: 

“Shared Job Description” 

Attachments:

Organizational Chart

Notes:

Responsibilities Shared by Each of Us:

  1. Plan, implement and evaluate effective ministry.

  2. Stay focused on the primary task: how our mission happens

  3. Action items must happen for short-term success but be guided by the long term horizon. 

  4. At least one annual charge conference

  5. Understanding of the UMC polity and and doctrine

    Sanctification as life-long growth

    Social holiness

    Itinerancy

  6. Resources

  7. Work closely with the pastor

  8. Substituting in/out for one-another


8. Overview of Each Team’s description


Watch Videos: 

8.1 “Pastor ” 3 minutes, 4 seconds

8.2 “Lay Leaders” 1 minute, 30 seconds

8.3 “Staff Parish Relations” 2 minutes, 34 seconds

8.4 “Trustees” 2 minutes, 41 seconds

8.5 “Finance” 2 minutes, 12 seconds

8.6 “Chairs” 1 minute, 54 seconds

Attachments:

2.a Servant Leadership and 7.a Organizational Chart

Job Description notes:

  1. Pastor - Ministry Leader

  2. Lay Leader/s - Ministry Collaborators 

  3. Staff/Pastor Relations - Caretaker of Relationship Dynamics

  4. Trustees - Caretakers of Material Resources

  5. Finance - Caretakers of Financial Resources

  6. Board Chair/s - Energy Keeper


9. Next Steps

Watch Video:  “Next Steps”

Next Steps Board Checklist: