A Firm Foundation

I moved around a lot as a kid. Three grade schools, three high schools across three different states. I spent my sixth-grade year at Mount Olive Lutheran School in Des Moines, Iowa. My earliest school days were spent at St. John’s Lutheran School in Portage, Wisconsin. That’s where I learned and loved so many hymns and so much sacred music.

On one particular Sunday afternoon near our home in Urbandale, I found myself at a demolition site. It was just a vacant lot with piles of concrete rubble everywhere. Giant chunks of concrete littered the lot. It was a favorite activity of mine to sing hymns at the top of my lungs on playgrounds or parks. That afternoon I was jumping from one chunk of concrete to another singing, “On Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.” Lutheran teachers and pastors had taught me the value of building on a strong foundation. That foundation is the Word made flesh as revealed in scripture—the word about the Word, if you will. 

Building on a strong foundation applies in all aspects of the church. It is especially vital when it comes to the governing board of your church, school, camp or other Lutheran ministry. Far too often, governing boards that lack a strong foundation become a liability. Sometimes boards can even become an existential threat to the organization they are meant to protect. Boards seeking a strong foundation must have a coherent model of governance upon which to build their policies and through which to understand their pivotal role.  

Principles Based Governance is a model built on the foundation of 10 principles first articulated by John Carver. These 10 principles provide the firm ground upon which a board can craft effective policies, delegate operational authority, protect the interests of the voters, and establish clear areas of responsibility and lines of accountability.  

I serve LCEF as Vice President of Ministry Solutions, and I’m also certified as a Governance Systems Professional. My book on Principles Based Governance is being released by Concordia Publishing House later this year. Contact me at Tim.Kurth@lcef.org and learn how your ministry can implement Principles Based Governance and put your governing board on solid ground.