Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with small to medium non-profit boards throughout the country.  Through this experience I have seen the incredible importance of having a board of directors.  In fact, I can reliably predict the current and future effectiveness of the organization by simply meeting an organization's board members — discovering their motivation for serving on the board and observing how they function.  In lieu of the current cultural climate and health of the body of Christ as well as the intensity of the conflict between the kingdoms, I believe that "boardmanship" is one of most important ministries today.

Boardmanship as a Calling

We all have callings in our life.  Some callings start as an embryonic desire or passion and develop into a significant aspect of our life.  This may include such things as intercessory prayer, evangelism, ministry to the poor or teaching.  Other callings start circumstantially and grow into emotional and volitional life commitments.  This may include a calling to parenting, mentoring, leadership or making and distributing wealth for the kingdom of God.

Either way, a calling has a sense of significance, weightiness, destiny and eternal value.  A calling is always something which demands a great deal from us, requiring faith.  It builds on what God has deposits in our life: faith, spiritual gifts, natural abilities, acquired skills, relationships and perspectives from life experiences.

However, I rarely find board members who believe their participation on a board is a calling in and of itself.  In many cases, this is due to the way they were recruited to the position — "We have a board vacancy, would you fill it?" or "We need the credibility of your name and reputation, would you allow us to list you as a board member?"

It is important for a fully completed board to have credibility and funding.  However, it seems that the manner in by which a member is recruited is directly related to how serious they take thier position on the board.

 "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." (Proverbs 15:22).  There are many noble, courageous and transcendent plans which God has placed on individual's  hearts which will never succeed without the guidance, diligence, accountability, resources, energy and enthusiasm of others.  Augustine said, "Without God we cannot, without us, God will not."   This is the weightiness of serving on a board - a noble and worthy calling not to be taken lightly.

Whether you joined a board from a sense of passion or simple circumstances, you must develop a sense of calling for your participation. The "ministry of boardmanship" demands your heart, intellect, abilities, spirituality, energy, resources and time.  It also requires dependency on God, just as in any other ministry.