Successfully working through board and staff conflict within a Pregnancy Resource Center (PRC) organization has been a challenge over the years. Many PRCs have suffered serious decline after going through destructive personnel conflicts and some have faced serious legal issues resulting from failed efforts to deal with such conflict.

A tool that has been successfully developed to deal with board and staff conflict within a PRC has been the use of an appointed Board Chaplain. This is a volunteer position that serves the PRC board of directors and is set up to deal with organizational conflict from a biblical perspective.

Rev. Jim Dundas, President of Hope National, a former PRC director and NIFLA Advisory Board member developed this program. He says: "We have been doing this program now since 1990. Good results have occurred in our ministries from this and it has been a wonderful way to engage busy pastors involved on a leadership level in our ministry without committing them to a monthly meeting which many, due to their overworked schedules, will avoid."

Some key elements of this position are:

1. The Board Chaplain is a non-voting member of the board and, as such, acts as an active advisor to the board on all matters of spiritual significance, including the handling of board and staff conflict.
2. The Board Chaplain is not required to attend board meetings although welcome to do so. The only time attendance is required is when the board has a special issue that requires the Chaplain's presence for resolution. In such cases the Board Chaplain is called in for a discussion of the specific issue(s) and leaves when the issue is either resolved or tabled.
3. The main purpose of the Board Chaplain is to serve as a pastor to the board and deal with spiritual-related issues that arise. For example, the Chaplain may be called in to explain the PRC's Statement of Faith when there is confusion or even disagreement among board members about its meaning. In such a case an expla­nation to the board of the issue, its history, meaning and impact is helpful.
4. The Board Chaplain is the first pastor that the board calls when any dispute arises that requires a pastor's input or insight. An example of this occurred when a particular PRC was having difficulty resolving conflict and several board members were seeking their own pastors for advice. Not only was the advice being given contradictory in some cases, but this scenario allowed the board issues to be talked about within numerous church staffs and even within the churches themselves creating greater problems for the PRC. Further, various board members were receiving uninformed advice from pastors who didn't have the complete story and input from all sides of the conflict. Such conflict can be avoided by making it a board requirement that the first place the board would go for such spiritual help is the Board Chaplain. This will ensure that matters are kept confidential.
5. The Board Chaplain should physically visit the center at least once a month to meet with staff and volunteers. This is a way for the Chaplain to get to know them and opens the way to minister to them if needed due to center stress.
6. The Board Chaplain is the first pastor to go to when the PRC needs a pastor to do a Bible study or help with counseling — even to do pastoral counseling.
7. The Board Chaplain position is a two-year position. After two years it is recommended that it rotate to another qualified pastor in the community. This allows multiple churches to become involved with the PRC.
8. The position of Board Chaplain creates a great connection between the center and the churches in the community. The Board Chaplain represents the PRC ministry at local ministerial meetings and informs others of the PRC ministry/ purpose and needs. One PRC reports that: "When we first started this program we had only a few churches involved with us. A year after we started it we had 25 new pastors at our banquet and all were supporting the ministry. This multiplies pastoral and church involvement."