I first met Brian Kreeger, creator of The Courageous Ask: A Proactive Approach to Prevent the Fall of Christian Non-profit Leaders, on the 2023 Christian Leadership Conference in Chicago in March. Along with one other attendee, we shared an enjoyable day together after the conference as tourists, including a cruise on the Chicago River and joining the multitude on the spectacular sculpture Cloud Gate.
I used to be thinking about Brian’s book from the beginning, primarily from the present wave of more public falls, and likewise having attended a gathering in the course of the conference hosted by Ministry Watch. This is an organisation that monitors and provides information and advice on Christian organisations.
Brian has written this book from his own experience of a fall, and is making his experience and wider research available now to assist others.
It would have been helpful to have this book when starting out in various Christian and church contexts, especially the board context. I’ll come back to the board, but want to focus on that this book may be very relevant for individuals who might not be in direct leadership themselves. If you’re actively involved in a Christian or Church board or governing committee you will discover the sensible Christian reflections personally helpful. It can be instructive for attentive atypical members who’re prayerfully concerned in regards to the wider witness of Christian leaders, whether or not they be well-known or locally centred.
While there may be an obvious concentrate on the person and their very own responsibility for his or her actions, Brian thoughtfully shows the importance of the broader community, and particularly the role of board members pre-fall, in the course of the fall, and the aftermath, including the context of restoration.
Some of the points that stood out for me.
Humility
The theme of humility is ready throughout the book and helps to tie together chapters, providing continuity and a foundation that Christians know is central to our understanding of grace.
We may also help or hinder Christian leaders of their roles, and placing them on pedestals, even higher than our Lord provides a foundation for pride and a context for a fall. May the Lord place around us loving members who can remind us that our gifts aren’t created by us and are for use for the blessing of others.
The wider community
A helpful consideration by Brian is the vital role the broader community can play in all these matters, particularly in the availability of appropriate support and restoration. Any organisation is just not only a board; there are members, clients, and the immediate community where the organisation could also be based, and the broader public. All of those parts can play a task in asking questions, helping to forestall a fall, and coping with the results of a fall.
The Board
The Board is a key chapter and the role of board members is an area that organisations have gotten aware of by way of the necessity for more and higher training.
When you consider most of the quite public falls that Christian leaders have had over many now more public years the immediate focus is after all on the person. Increasingly what has come out when considering a lot of these falls is an awareness of a standard feature, namely an inadequate board. A board that did not ask any questions. let alone the appropriate questions.
From my long contact with the Christian Ministry Advancement (in Australia), I even have grow to be vitally aware of the importance of governance issues and the importance of a cohesive and functioning board and particularly the necessity for training. I’m not talking about doing ‘get to know one another activities’, but understanding the ministry itself; not assuming that when an individual is on the board they’ll read emails and papers for meetings. Good training will facilitate awareness and understanding of the dynamics and spiritual dimensions of a board and your role within the oversight of the ministry.
And a final focus:
Humility
Yes, I’m doubling up. And it’s crucial, and a key a part of this book that illuminates the context for a fall. While reading I used to be repeatedly reminded of a straightforward and profound saying: “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16: 18).
Don’t miss reading the ‘acknowledgements’ which might be at the tip. Most of us normally skim over these, but they’re very relevant and link into the story. Perhaps read these first (together with the highlighted ‘appendix’).
There are quite a lot of resources related to the book, and these are particularly helpful for a Board. Brian’s website (briankreeger.com) has more information.
This is an honest and direct book tackling a subject that needs discernment, prayer, and wisdom. May God grant us courage.
