When do you have your best ideas? My best ideas usually come in the shower, when I’m out for a walk, or when I’m trying to take a 10-minute nap. The key is being away from distractions. I’m away from the phone, computer, and anything else that is calling my attention.
In the video, I go over a couple of pieces of scripture and how it relates to judging. I would summarize my thoughts by saying: Your judging should be more like that of your doctor trying to bring health and healing.
When it comes to policies, I’ve been a bureaucrat for most of my career so I’m used to writing and enforcing policies. Here are my 2¢ when it comes to writing a good policy…one that makes your church or nonprofit more successful.
#1 – Don’t create a policy to avoid a confrontation
It seems like there is a backstory behind every policy or rule. Usually someone did something stupid or evil so now there is a policy. Why does it seem easier or better to just create a policy rather than sit down with that one person to work things out? In the long run, that extra policy makes a little more work for everyone else instead of doing the work to straighten that one person out. Good policies focus on the majority not the exception.
#2 – Don’t create a policy to attempt to create a utopia
You can’t fix human nature with a policy. There are always going to be people that, either on purpose or by accident, are going to violate that policy. Most people will not read your policies much less commit them to memory.
Even if they are trying to keep the policy, there is so much variety out there. I remember in my work with one denomination, we approved a policy where churches would basically tithe on their operating income to the denomination instead of basing what they owe on membership. Normally I think of church income as coming in through the offering plate, but churches have farm income, rental income, daycares, unrealized gains, and much more. And that list is growing. Good policies accept the messy reality.
#3 – Don’t create a policy you are not willing to police
I stole this one from Matt Connover of the MidSouth Conference of the Global Methodist Church. When you add a policy, do you have capacity, ability, and desire to actually enforce it? I have worked in State government as well as the church world. Both have more policies than it’s possible to enforce. What a bureaucrat ends up doing is a)ignoring the policies they deem less important and b)enforcing those less important policies with people that are a pain. You can see how this can cause issues with inconsistency and resentment. Good policies are limited in number and enforceable.
#4 – Do create a policy that is consistent with the church’s value/culture
For this one, you need to know the values of your church or the values that you want your church to embody. Back in the day, Wespath was helping the Global Methodist Church design their pension plan. Before we started, we stated the values we wanted to live up to. One of those values is “Simplicity.” Every now and then, Wespath would have to remind us (usually when we were pursuing utopia) that things are getting complicated. We would then come back and look for a simpler solution. Good policies tell more about what your church values than a written mission statement.
#5 – Do communicate policies clearly and regularly
Creating policies is a difficult and engaging process. Once a policy is finally finished, it feels like the job is done, but it’s really just started. Now the church has to live into the policy. Probably the biggest part is communicating it to the folks that need to know and ensuring that they understand and accept it.
In the Global Methodist Church, we expect churches to give 1% of last year’s operating income to the denomination plus another percent to their conference (regional headquarters). This type of calculations is very familiar to churches in the Dakotas but very new to most other churches. Because I’m from the Dakotas so I have assumed people all understand the policy and don’t need much training. That was a foolish assumption. Our churches want to do what is right so now I’m properly getting a lot of emails and calls asking for clarification. You can tell how well you communicated a policy by how many questions you get and by the level of compliance.
Useful Links
- Financial Policies Template 1: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/finance_policies_v1.docx
- Financial Policies Template 2: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/finance_policies_v2.docx
- Personnel Policies Template: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/personnel_policies.docx
- Facilities Policies Template 1: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/facility_policies_v1.docx
- Facilities Policies Template 2: https://jctaccounting.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/facility_policies_v2.docx