How to Stay out of Trouble with your Boss and Board in Ministry

Here are four ways to stay out of trouble with your boss and board in ministry.

Aaron Buer

Digital giving apps and tools

We all have a boss. Maybe it’s your supervising manager. Maybe it’s your Senior Pastor. Maybe it’s your elder board...maybe it’s your wife! 

This post is all about staying out of trouble with your boss and your board. In this post I’ll share a few hard learned lessons from my ministry experience that may help you avoid trouble. 

Under Promise and Over Deliver

Here’s a principle I try to live by in all of life, but especially when it comes to people in authority over me. Always seek to under promise and over deliver on results. The reason is that unmet expectations are troublesome, both in relationships and in work. 

One of the easiest ways to disappoint your boss or board is to miss the target and not produce what you said you would. It’s always a better strategy to undersell what you think you’ll be able to deliver and then surprise them with better than expected results.  

This can be challenging if you are an optimistic person. Let that optimism fuel your confidence and drive to achieve, but don’t let it trick you into setting unrealistic goals that you are held accountable for

Be Accurate

This might seem like a minor thing, but when it comes to your relationship with your boss or board, accuracy is huge. If you report that 300 people showed up but in reality only 270 showed up, round down. Just say 270. Be accurate. If she said she disagrees with your idea, don’t say she hated your idea. Why? Because accuracy builds trust. 

Leadership is all about trust. When I’m looking for someone to lead alongside me in ministry, one of the highest values a person can bring is accuracy. Do they accurately represent other people’s words? Do they accurately represent situations? Do they accurately represent the significance of an issue or problem? If a problem is a 4 out of 10, do they add energy and make it feel like an 8 out of 10?  

This might not seem like a big deal, but it really is.  In leadership you are often short on time and are required to make quick decisions with significant impact and consequences often based on the recommendation of other leaders and if those other leaders aren’t providing accurate information, well that’s a problem. 

If, over time, you demonstrate the ability to be accurate, even when the accurate truth doesn’t make you look good, you will greatly improve your chances of staying out of trouble with your boss and board. 

Never, Ever Surprise 

Let me share a scenario that will get you in trouble with your boss or board. A member of your congregation calls your boss with a complaint about something that happened at a youth group last night. Your boss doesn’t know anything about what happened at the youth group last night and is forced to scramble to respond. 

This is bad for you every time. Never, ever let your boss or board be surprised with significant information—good or bad. Always give them a heads up. This simple statement  will save you so much grief:  

“Hey, I just need to let you know about something that happened.”

And, this isn’t just about bad stuff. If your boss knows that your children’s ministry intern did a great job planning an event, it gives him or her an opportunity to make a connection and encourage. 

When it comes to bosses and boards, surprises are bad. Never, ever let them be surprised with significant information. 

Wet Cement

This last idea is related. Let me tell you that this one has landed me in hot water more times than I can remember. Here’s the thing, your boss and your board have final authority over your decisions. And, there will be times that for whatever reason, they will disagree with something you want to do. 

How many times have you had to tell a co-worker or volunteer, “Sigh…they won’t let us do it.”  When that happens, who is the villain?  It’s “they,” as in your boss or your board. 

Don’t do that. 

It erodes trust with leadership and paints your boss or board as the villain. People who were excited about an idea are now disappointed in your boss or board. “They just don’t get it.” 

It is so much better to pull your boss or board into the idea or conversation while the decision is still in flux, in other words, while it is still wet cement.  Let them speak into the idea before significant movement has taken place. That way, if they need to redirect, shift something, or even say “no,” there is no damage done. 

Here’s a phrase I often use with my boss:

“Hey, I want to pull you into an idea while it is still wet cement.” 

Now, your boss will feel like you value their input, that they have a voice, and that they can speak their mind without doing damage. 

Wrap Up 

Your boss, and your board, whether you love them or struggle with them, are a significant part of your ministry role. There is an unhealthy way to relate to them and a healthy way to relate to them. You want to stay out of trouble with them!  In next week’s post, I’ll share some thoughts on how to not only stay out of trouble, but win with your boss and board.

Discover how our Groups tool can help you organize and manage one-on-one meetings effectively.

Explore Groups Tool

Looking for an easy-to-use software to help manage your church?

We'd love to show you what we built!

Join 10,000+ happy churches using Breeze ChMS™.

Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Name
loves Breeze

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
David P.
loves Breeze
St. Pauls United Methodist Church

Breeze has been incredible. Their customer service, commitment to innovation, and their product are top-notch. I love the features, the ease of use and the mobile applications.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Karen M.
loves Breeze
Hillcrest Church

All of our database needs have been more than met, it's easier to use than the last database we had, and the price is amazing - what a value this has been to our church! All of our staff can use this software and they do regularly. We use it to track…literally anything a church could possibly need to track regarding it's attenders.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Chris K.
loves Breeze
Crossroads United Methodist Church

Breeze has been a great asset to our church and congregation. Especially from an administrative standpoint, it has been the most adaptable and easiest church database I have ever used. The features from blast emails to giving on-line, and texting have been one of our greatest assets. Thank you!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ed R.
loves Breeze
Church Admin

We switched from a major, web-based ChMS to Breeze and our decision is confirmed every day. We are a medium size church and we use Breeze for contributions, member management, event checkin and a few other applications custom to our church. I had trouble getting any staff to use our previous ChMS but almost all staff are using Breeze. The product is very well designed, extremely easy to learn and use and customer service is incredible.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Ellen G.
loves Breeze
Grace Church

Breeze has opened the communication highway for our congregation and staff, with very little training. Because members can update their own records and search easily for other members - and map their locations, send emails and text right from Breeze, they love it and our data is more real-time accurate. Our ministries are stronger, because they can trust the data in Breeze, which is easily accessed anywhere, anytime.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Steve H.
loves Breeze
First Presbyterian Church of Ramsey

Breeze is the first ChMS my volunteers have actually embraced. That's because it's so easy to use. The software is very flexible and gives us the opportunity to make decisions based on actual data we've collected and not just hunches or stories we believe to be true.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Allicia B.
loves Breeze
Ellel Ministries Canada

I cannot say enough about Breeze. Their customer service is so friendly, you feel like you have friends and family helping you get started, they're prompt to reply and will do whatever they can to help you get things sorted out. It's been so easy to learn, our staff is loving it and best of all even our staff who are not computer savvy find it a breeze (pun intended). We are just thrilled by our choice.

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!
Kevin D.
loves Breeze
Central Baptist Church

From the start of our process looking for an online solution, Breeze has exceeded all our expectations. Fast data import, fast and friendly customer support, and we can’t say enough about how much we like the program itself. Very well designed and user friendly. On a scale of 1-10, Breeze gets a 15 from us!

Try a demo of Breeze for yourself!

Rated 4.9 stars – 700+ reviews