Hans Finzel, in his book, Change is like a Slinky, tells the story of three British soldiers who were lost in the desert during the Persian Gulf War of 1991. After being separated from their troops they stumbled around for several days; hungry, thirsty and searching for help until they literally bumped into an American four-star general. Excitedly they blurted out “Do you know where we are?”

The general stiffened. Upset at their lack of protocol and rituals of respect, he looked down at them and demanded, “Do you know who I am?”

One of the English soldiers elbowed his buddy and mumbled “Now we are in deep trouble. We don’t know where we are, and he doesn’t know who he is.”

Though humorous, there is deep truth in this story for many PRCs. Many boards stumble around in the desert of their community, not knowing where or who they are.

In rapidly changing times, it is imperative that boards develop a strategy to assure ongoing learning at the board level.  Learning is gathering information and then putting it into practice. Therefore the learning process for the board requires a commitment to gather information to learn both where the organization is and who the board is. Below are some suggestions for how a board may begin the learning process.

Know Where You Are

•  Develop a learning calendar to become acquainted with changing trends in the culture, the community, and the demands of the donors. This could be done through focus groups, attendance at local conferences, or inviting subject matter experts in to share their observations with the board.
  
  
• Put together a panel of youth pastors to share trends they are seeing in the young people they deal with every day. This type of information gathering should be a primary focus of every board and helps a board know where they are.

Know Who You Are

Once you know your community, learn about who you are as a board.

• Schedule board self-evaluations to monitor how the board is doing in terms of process, leadership, and governance.
  

• Allow opportunities for healthy conflict. Remember that consensus implies glorification and not sanctification.
  
  
• Invest in regular Board development programs with outside facilitators to assure ongoing learning at the board level.
  

Once you know where and who you are as a board, the information that's been gathered has to be applied. . Boards are responsible to set the course for the organization, based upon acquired knowledge. Boards that operate in a knowledge vacuum cannot hear the voice of God or set the course for the ministry. If a board gathers, but does not apply the information, it is like the hearer described in Scripture: “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)

Boards that actively apply what they've learned have the power to propel their PRC to new levels of excellence.

In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. – Eric Hoffer