When Boards Shape the Future: How Healthy Governance Protects People and Preserves Purpose
This article distills key insights from my recent conversation with Dr. Michael Anthony on the Life After Ministry Podcast. Dr. Anthony has decades of experience in nonprofit board leadership, both in the chair and in the trenches, and his perspective is grounded in real stories from church and ministry life.
Our conversation ranged from the nuts and bolts of board governance to some of the deepest personal reflections on ministry transition I’ve ever heard on this show. Below is a summary of the wisdom he shared—wisdom that can shape your leadership whether you’re a pastor, nonprofit executive, or a board member steering an organization through change.
When Leadership at the Top Feels Fragile
If you’ve ever walked into a board meeting with a knot in your stomach, you’re not alone. For some leaders, the anxiety shows up as insomnia the night before. For others, it’s a sense of dread building for weeks. Board dysfunction—whether in churches or nonprofits—doesn’t just make meetings unpleasant. It can undermine mission, fracture relationships, and derail years of faithful work.
Dr. Anthony has been on both sides of the table—staff member, board member, and chairman. His decades of experience reveal a reality many ministry leaders wish wasn’t true: most boards don’t fail for lack of passion or intelligence, but for lack of clarity, preparation, and emotional maturity.
The First Cracks: Orientation and Expectations
The biggest problems often begin before a board member ever takes their seat. Many organizations bring on a willing friend of the pastor or executive director without serious onboarding. The new member shows up to their first meeting unaware of the organization’s history, governance documents, or even what role they’re supposed to play.
Without a clear job description, members default to their assumptions—or worse, copy the behavior of the loudest voice in the room. And because not all boards are the same, those assumptions can cause confusion, tension, and mistrust.
Anthony emphasizes a surprisingly rare tool that can prevent much of this: a log of motions—a simple record of every motion brought before the board, whether passed or rejected. Reviewing this history before joining gives candidates a clear sense of the board’s focus, boundaries, and patterns of decision-making.
Three Non-Negotiable Duties
A healthy board member carries three biblical and practical obligations:
Duty of Care – stewarding the organization’s operations with diligence and structure.
Duty of Loyalty – prioritizing the mission above personal interests, avoiding conflicts that dilute trust.
Duty of Obedience – following governing laws, bylaws, and ethical standards.
Without these, boards drift into micromanagement or abdicate responsibility entirely. Either extreme leaves staff frustrated and the mission compromised.
Term Limits and Fresh Eyes
The question of tenure—how long someone should serve—has no universal answer, but Anthony warns against boards becoming entrenched. While long-serving members can carry valuable institutional memory, they can also resist needed change.
Rotating members off after two consecutive three-year terms, followed by at least a year’s break, offers the right balance. It keeps perspective fresh, prevents “we’ve always done it this way” thinking, and invites new skills for changing ministry needs.
Handling Transitions With Honor
Whether transitioning a board member or a CEO, how it’s done shapes the organization for years. Quiet hallway conversations, avoidance, or sudden removal without preparation often create lasting wounds.
Healthy boards use bylaws and policy to set expectations long before a crisis. For long-serving or deeply committed members who need to step back, creating an advisory or emeritus role can honor their contributions while making space for new voices.
Succession Planning Without the Panic
Few things are more sensitive than realizing a beloved founder or senior leader may not be the right person for the next season. Anthony advises boards to use regular, non-crisis conversations about succession—framed as part of ongoing best practices—to avoid making it personal or reactive.
By working from agreed-upon goals and future needs, the conversation becomes about stewardship of the mission rather than confrontation of the leader.
Why EQ Matters More Than IQ
In Anthony’s coaching experience, most ministry collapses aren’t because a leader lacked skill or vision, but because they lacked the emotional intelligence to navigate relationships. IQ gets you the job. EQ lets you keep it.
For boards, this means paying attention to relational health and conflict resolution—not just strategic plans. The goal isn’t to avoid disagreement but to engage it with humility, clarity, and unity of mission.
Theological Weight of Board Service
While bylaws, term limits, and Robert’s Rules may feel “boring” compared to preaching or front-line ministry, the New Testament paints a picture of leadership that is deeply accountable. Elders and overseers are called to shepherd the flock, protect sound doctrine, and model humility (1 Peter 5:2–3).
Good governance is not a distraction from ministry—it is ministry. A well-functioning board safeguards leaders from burnout, helps navigate moral or strategic crises, and ensures the mission survives beyond any one personality.
When the Wheels Still Come Off
Even with best practices, painful transitions happen. Anthony knows this firsthand. After decades of leadership, he was blindsided by a sudden removal that plunged him into two and a half years of what he calls the “Dark Night of the Soul.”
The loss left him questioning God’s goodness, his calling, and his future. But as Psalm 34:8 declares, “Taste and see that the Lord is good.” Anthony reached a crossroads: either reinterpret his suffering through the lens of God’s goodness or abandon the belief entirely.
He chose to believe—and eventually saw God reshape his character, deepen his empathy for hurting leaders, and open new doors for ministry he couldn’t have imagined.
The Takeaway for Leaders and Boards
Healthy boards start with healthy orientation.
Clear roles prevent turf wars.
Regular training and evaluation keep everyone aligned.
Emotional intelligence is as critical as strategy.
Transitions—done well—can strengthen rather than split the organization.
Listen to the Full Conversation & Get Dr. Anthony’s Book
This article barely scratches the surface of what we covered. The last seven minutes of our conversation—where Dr. Anthony moves from boardroom wisdom to deeply personal testimony—may be the most powerful ending we’ve had on the podcast.
With 25+ years in faith-based executive leadership, Matt Davis knows the wins, the losses, and everything in between. As Executive Pastor, he led a team of 140+, tackling the challenges that come with big vision and real impact. As President of Ministry Transitions, he guides churches through tough leadership changes. Matt and his wife, Marilee, host the Life After Ministry Podcast, where they dive into real talk with former pastors who’ve found their kingdom assignment beyond church walls - unfiltered stories of grit, growth, and God’s purpose beyond the pulpit.
