Call of the Chair

by David L. McKenna

As Christ-centered ministries go through changing times, the leadership role of the board chair rises in significance. As manager of the board, the chair joins the CEO in responsibility for advancing the mission, partnering with the vision, governing by policy, and setting the tone for the morale of the ministry. Such leadership requires a chair who is appointed by God, gifted with integrity, trust and humility, and anointed by the Holy Spirit. With deft strokes written out of learning from professional practice, understanding from spiritual discipline, and insight from personal experience, David McKenna leaves no doubt. Unless chosen by God, the chair will fail; unless gifted with integrity, trust and humility, the board will fail; and unless obedient to the Spirit, the ministry will fail. Loud and clear, the message is sent to every Christ-centered ministry: The call of the chair is the call of God.

119 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2017

About the author

Dr. David Loren McKenna (b. 1929) is Founding Chair of the Northwest Graduate School of the Ministry, Redmond, Washington. He served for 50 years in Christian higher education, including 33 years as a college, university, and seminary president. His national reputation as an educator was acclaimed when he was finalist for Secretary of Education in the Reagan cabinet. He and his wife, Janet, have four children and twelve grandchildren.

Reviews

[Scott]

My Kindle version of the book was almost on usable. I’ve never had one like it. When I opened the book all the text with the wrong size and it would skip pages. It would take a few minutes just to find the place I left off. I couldn’t highlight or make notes. It was really awful. (The formatting was zero stars).

The book itself covered the nuts and bolts of being a board chair. It made the work seem simple and attainable. One gets the sense that the author has been there before. It is always nice to have an experience guide.

Since the work of the board chair is sometimes heavy, I was happy to be reminded of the importance of it. The book is good for a quick overview of what it means to chair a Christian nonprofit board.

[Tommy Kiedis]

Dr. Peter W. Teague, my predecessor at Lancaster Bible College | Capital Seminary and Graduate School and an expert on board in higher education, recommended this to me as "the best." McKenna's work is thorough and succinct. Very helpful to me.

[Peter Krol]

Some helpful but basic advice. Sometimes McKenna chooses alliteration over clarity, so some paragraphs required multiple reads to get the point.

[Laura]

Required reading for leading a board of a Christian organization.