Brian Houston’s recent teaching on church governance was presented as practical advice for church planters and founders. Framed as counsel to protect ministry vision and avoid unhealthy board dynamics, the message may initially sound like seasoned pastoral wisdom. Yet when examined in light of Houston’s own leadership history, (including scrutiny by Australia’s Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and later court proceedings), his YouTube message carries weight beyond general governance discussion.

This is the message we will be examining:

In this episode of Leadership & Other Stuff, Pastor Brian Houston speaks directly to church founders, planters, senior pastors, and pioneers about one of the most critical, and often misunderstood areas of leadership: church governance and boards.

Drawing from over 50 years of firsthand experience serving on boards, leading executives, and planting churches around the world, Brian asks a confronting question many leaders avoid: Who actually holds authority in the local church and who keeps the board accountable?

This candid conversation explores the biblical foundations of church leadership, the role of apostolic oversight, and the difference between board-governed and board-controlled churches. Brian unpacks common dangers that can creep into boards, including self-preservation, offense, personal ambition, control, and self-righteousness and why these issues can have devastating long-term consequences for pastors and congregations alike.

If you are planting, pioneering, or leading a church or serving in governance, this episode will challenge you to think deeply about accountability, authority, and alignment with Scripture. This is Part 1 of an essential leadership conversation that every church leader needs to hear.

Source: Brian & Bobbie Houston (@brianandbobbiehouston), Who’s In Charge (Boards) Part 1 | Leadership & Other Stuff with Brian Houston, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1WDnRIQtmE, Premiered on 5 Feb 2026. (Accessed February 08, 2025.)

Early in the message, Houston reads from Galatians, emphasizing Paul’s divine commissioning:

“I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself…”
(2:35–2:51; repeated 3:03–3:10)

He then directly applies that language to church founders:

“I’m talking to you about protecting yourself ultimately… and your position because God appointed you.”
(35:53–36:07)

This linkage is foundational to the entire message. This theological framing becomes significant when paired with Houston’s repeated warning about boards potentially controlling or limiting pastors.

Houston distinguishes between what he calls a “board-governed church” and a “board-controlled church” (18:24–19:27). Using a visual metaphor of hands elevating versus pressing downward, he suggests that boards can shift from serving ministry vision to restraining it (Brian believes in apostolic vision-casting theology). He warns that a “telltale sign” of this shift is when boards implement policy that limits pastoral authority (34:28–34:55) and then further describes potential board corruption motives, listing:

• Self-preservation
• Offense
• Personal ambition
• Control
• Self-righteousness (12:23–15:52)

While board motives are scrutinized, founder motives are not subjected to similar evaluation. However, what we see in this message is Houston reframe accountability. Houston raises a pivotal question: “Who keeps the pastor accountable?” (7:16–7:23).

However, he immediately asks, “Who keeps the board accountable?” (7:23–7:41). This shift is structurally significant because the accountability discussion moves from the pastor to the board.  (Later, he suggests boards may operate as “a law unto themselves” (32:44–33:09).)

While governance accountability is a legitimate concern, the cumulative effect of this message was to place suspicion primarily on oversight structures rather than on leadership authority. This leads us to Ephesians and the NAR ecclesial structure of ‘apostolic oversight’.

Houston references Ephesians 2:20 (19:47–20:20), describing the church as built on the foundation of apostles and prophets to then elaborate that, “Jesus uses specific people” (21:15–21:56) and then later say the following:

“Who’s overseeing your church? Because it’s the apostolic ministry… that is overseeing the church.”
(24:17–24:36)

He defines apostolic ministry as:

• Pioneering

• Correcting

• Overseeing

• Sending

• Providing vision (23:57–24:36; 25:12–26:29)

Houston does not formally claim the title “apostle.” However, the functional description mirrors apostolic governance language. Oversight authority is located not in plural eldership or denominational structures, but in apostolic ministry.

The YouTube description reinforces this by explicitly stating that the episode explores “the role of apostolic oversight.”

So Brian Houston assumes he is an apostle that should primarily have apostolic oversight over everything. Given Houston’s own history,  including public scrutiny over how abuse disclosures were handled,the omission is conspicuous.

This language echoes theological discussions that gained prominence in the late 1990s through what C. Peter Wagner termed the New Apostolic Paradigm – the distinguishing doctrine that sets someone apart from Christianity and the NAR (Rising Revival, 1998). Wagner defined that paradigm as the belief that apostles and prophets exist today and function in governing roles.

Houston served as National President of the Assemblies of God in Australia beginning in 1997 — during the very period when Australian Pentecostal leaders such as David Cartledge were engaging Wagner’s research, teachings, frameworks and ‘paradigm shifts’. Cartledge’s ‘The Apostolic Revolution’ (2000) documented what he described as an apostolic shift within Australian Pentecostalism, and Wagner included portions of Cartledge’s work in Churchquake! (1999).

Houston’s current sermon does not explicitly reference Wagner or the NAR. However, the functional alignment, apostolic oversight as structural authority above corporate governance, mirrors the governance model described during that era. Furthermore, Houston’s history cannot be detached from this message. Why?

Because Brian Houston served as National President of the AOG (1997–2009), led Hillsong during significant global expansion and was scrutinized by the Royal Commission regarding the handling of abuse disclosures involving his father, Frank Houston, in this time period. He later faced court proceedings regarding reporting obligations. The Royal Commission emphasized the importance of governance safeguards, transparency, and institutional accountability. Against that backdrop, Houston’s repeated emphasis on divine appointment and warnings against board limitation highlight his inability to learn from past mistakes.

Houston states:

“There’s no advice for a board or a committee because they’re not biblical roles.” (30:55–31:06)

While modern corporate boards are not explicitly described in Scripture, the New Testament does describe plural eldership, shared accountability, and mutual submission among leaders. Dismissing governance as merely “corporate” risks undervaluing structures developed precisely to prevent various forms of abuse in positions of authority.

Across the message, several themes recur:

• Divine appointment is emphasized.

• Apostolic oversight is elevated.

• Boards are characterized as potentially obstructive.

• Policy constraints are framed as warning signs.

• Founders are urged to “protect” their position.

Specifically within the NAR where apostles and prophets are regarded as divinely mandated offices, such framing can functionally insulate leaders from meaningful oversight. Institutional abuse inquiries across denominations have consistently shown that unchecked centralized authority creates blind spots, even when spiritually motivated.

When he states, “Protect your position because God appointed you” (35:53–36:07), the theological framing intersects with a history in which his own personal governance decisions were publicly questioned by the Royal Commission and trial.

Houston’s message repeatedly elevates his or a founder’s authority and frames oversight as controlling. He also positions policy constraints as warning signs and continually asserts or suggests that apostolic ministry oversees the church, (thus minimizing boards as closer to deacons than elders (28:05–30:13)).

That imbalance becomes particularly relevant in movements where apostles and prophets are seen as holding divinely mandated offices. If oversight structures are routinely characterized as outdated (old wineskin) while apostolic authority is sacralized (new wineskin), accountability will be diminished.

This debate surrounding apostolic governance has circulated for decades within Pentecostal and charismatic circles. But what gives them renewed urgency is the documented history of governance failures in various movements — not only Hillsong, but in other apostolic networks worldwide like IHOPKC, Bethel, Gateway Church, Potters House, Morningstar, etc. So when Houston says, “Jesus builds His church… but He uses specific people” (21:15–21:56), he truly is implying what he means here to be ‘apostles’ or ‘prophets’, as mentioned in his YouTube description.

In his own mind, he is assigning oversight authority not to a plurality of elders, not to congregational structures, not to denominational accountability but to apostolic ministry. Houston does not explicitly declare himself as an apostle, but alludes and ascribes himself as one based on his past and those five descriptors.

Clearly Apostle Brian Houston still does not understand the bible or the fact that he is still completely out of line in understanding what is required of him when it comes to proper church leadership, governance and accountability structures.

By rejecting the bible for his own musings (despite being corrected by a Royal Commission), this apostle is still apostate and stuck in an old, apostolic paradigm.

– – – – – – – – –

Below is the transcript (please email us if somerhing is wrong in the transcript – and compare what is said in
the video to ensure there are no mistakes.)

TRANSCRIPT

Well, here we are: leadership and other stuff. Brian Houston is my name, and I want to talk to you today about churches. I’m speaking specifically to church founders, church pioneers, senior pastors, lead pastors—what we sometimes call “head pastors.” Some churches use “senior pastor,” others use “lead pastor.” But I really want to talk about church governance and things I’ve learned over the years.

I have been on committees, boards, and executive teams in ministries and churches for well over 50 years. I became a pastor—a youth pastor. It was a voluntary role in a small church after Bible college. I was just 19 years of age; I think I turned 20 during that time. I was on that church’s board—Wy New Yomada AOG (Assemblies of God). From there, after a little while, I was in another relatively small Assemblies of God church in South Auckland in New Zealand. I was a youth pastor again, and again it was a voluntary role—but I was on the church board. I’ve been on boards, executives, and committees for a long time: about 53 years, to be precise.

So I do have experience, and I have watched—both firsthand and from a distance—the way boards function. I think it is so, so important, especially speaking to young pastors—any pastors who are right now pioneering or planting a church. The setup of the governance of your church: I cannot stress enough how important it is. It might not affect you today. It might not affect you tomorrow, or five years, or ten years—but believe me, it may affect you in the decades to come.

So, Galatians chapter one—Paul speaking, verse one and two. He’s going to go on and bring a lot of correction in the book of Galatians to religious leaders—people who are trying to bring things back to law and legalism—and he starts like this. He says:

“This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed —I think this is interesting— by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead. All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.”

He’s making a point. It wasn’t just an introduction to the chapter in the book of Galatians—his letter to the Galatians. No, he’s making a point. He says, “I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father.”

So it’s true, oftentimes when you plant something new—pioneer something—Bobby and I, we started planting in our 20s. I planted before Hillsong. I planted a church in 1980 here in Australia, in a place called the Central Coast, and pastored that for some time. It had a great start, started to grow, and we brought in a couple to pastor it. They pastored it for 17 years.

In 1981, so by then I was about 27, Bobby was 24. We did the same thing again in an area southwest of Sydney—same thing. The church started to grow. It was going well. We brought in a couple whom I knew, and they took the church on and pastored it for decades. And both those churches became strong churches. Today, they have their own buildings and facilities and run all sorts of fantastic programs.

And so, in 1983, I was 29, Bobby was 26. We started Hills Christian Life Centre, which is what became known as Hillsong Church. And so even after that, we kept on planting churches. I planted churches with my team in different parts of Sydney at different times. And of course, over the years, we planted churches all over the globe, all over the world.

So I planted a lot of churches. I’m not just showing off about “look at me, look at me, look what I’ve done.” What I am saying is I know the importance of setting up the right governance in planting a church.

And Paul’s saying, “You weren’t there. None of you were there. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father.” They weren’t there yet.

And so it’s amazing how leaders get to a point where others are controlling them. That’s really what I want to talk about before I even start. Pastors—lead pastors, senior pastors, head pastors—need accountability. But who you’re accountable to is really what I think is important.

So over the last few years in particular, so many people have come to me—I’m talking about people who were pastors of churches, maybe small churches, often large churches—and their heartbreaking stories when it relates to their treatment from church boards.

And there are times when pastors—specifically lead pastors—have to be dealt with in terms of the future and their position, especially where there’s immorality or where perhaps there are doctrinal problems, false teaching, or maybe mistreating people, abusing people, bullying people—whatever. And so, yes, every pastor needs accountability.

What I’m addressing is not that. What I’m addressing is who you are accountable to. And it all comes down to the way you set your church up. I think it’s so critical. It might not affect you today. It might not affect you tomorrow, five years, 10 years. But believe me, it may affect you in the decades to come, in the long term.

So it’s just my practical advice. You may agree, you may disagree—that’s fine. That’s what podcasts are all about.

But the first question people will ask is: who keeps the pastor accountable? But I want to ask you a different question. We’ll answer that question, but I want to ask you a different question: who keeps church boards accountable?

There are many great church boards out there. They’re serving. They’re doing a wonderful job. Their hearts are pure. They are, in an inspiring way, elevating the vision of the lead pastor and the ministry. And they’re doing a great, great job—usually unheralded. They don’t want the public eye. They’re not even looking for that. They’re not strutting around getting their esteem from the positions that they have. No, they’re just faithfully serving. Thank God for them.

But sadly, oftentimes, when we assume that all church boards have pure motives, it’s just often not the case.

As I’m speaking, I’m just talking about 50 years of experience. I added to what I already said. I was basically on denominational executives for up to 30 years at every level—district level, state level, national, federal level. And for most of those years, I was leading those executives. And so in doing so, I was the chairman of the board.

And not only that, but also in those positions, I had to work with many, many church boards. There are 1,100 churches nationally in what then was the Assemblies of God in Australia. It’s still associated with the Assemblies of God internationally, but it’s now called Australian Christian Churches. And so I had to work with boards specifically about issues relating to their pastors.

So just giving some context. Listen to what Paul says in Philippians two nineteen to twenty two,

“But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may also be encouraged by learning news about you. For I have no one else [like him who is] so kindred a spirit who will be genuinely concerned for your [spiritual] welfare. For the others [who deserted me after my arrest] all seek [to advance] their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know of Timothy’s tested worth and his proven character, that he has served with me to advance the gospel like a son serving with his father.” [AMP]

And Bobby was preaching about this on “Jesus Followers” just the last time she spoke. It says, “I hope and trust”—Paul obviously speaking—“in the Lord Jesus soon to send Timothy to you, so that I may also be encouraged and cheered by learning news of you. For I have no one like him.” In brackets, in the Amplified, it says, “no one of so kindred a spirit.”

Man, when you find people like that and you work with people like that in every area, every level of church life—from the governance and the management all the way through—I’m telling you, that’s where unity is. That’s where momentum comes from. It’s where blessing comes from.

“No one of so kindred a spirit, who will be so genuinely interested in your welfare and devoted to your interests.”

Now listen: “For the others all seek to advance their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ the Messiah.”

Is that a problem? Is that an issue often with church leaders—specifically those who serve in the governance of a church? Listen to it again: “For the others all seek to advance their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ the Messiah.”

“But Timothy’s tested worth you know—how as a son with his father he has toiled with me zealously in serving and helping to advance the good news.”

Serving and helping to advance—that’s a great word—taking the ministry forward.

So I think we can make a mistake. I think we can assume—and again, I’ve talked about boards generally and so many wonderful people serving, and I’m certainly not speaking about you at all—but I think a question to be asked of church boards, the governance of a church, is this:

Is the best interest of the congregation their greatest priority?

Because sadly, from all I’ve observed and seen over a long period of time, it’s often not their top priority. There are so many agendas and motives that can come into boards that end up in heartbreaking stories.

And I’ll just give you some of them.

The first one is self-preservation. That’s right. In a situation where maybe there’s disunity and the board themselves are under attack, and maybe the board made missteps and they should resign—but the first thing they’re going to do is protect themselves. So in protecting themselves, self-preservation—that is a big, big motivation that is less than putting the congregation first and really wanting the best interest of the people and the ministry.

I’ll just read them, and then I’ll maybe go through and comment a little bit.

First one: self-preservation.

Second one: offenses—offenses among the people who are on that board. Maybe getting offended with the pastor. And when you pastor a long time anywhere, hopefully you have phenomenal relationships. I mean, Bobby and I—we had decades, decades, where our key team stayed together. Not for a year, two years, five years—decades—where so many of our wonderful department heads and key team stayed together.

But amongst all of that, you get people who get offended. And I’ll tell you, when someone gets offended, their spirit changes. Maybe they were once generous. Maybe they were once full of faith. They become mean-spirited, and it reflects in the way they’re dealing with situations—specifically the way they’re dealing with people.

Personal ambition—that’s a big one. I’ll get back to it.

Self-preservation, offenses, personal ambition. And maybe a very big one is control.

And there is one more: self-righteousness.

I talked about self-preservation—basically, you’re going to look after yourself. That’s human nature. And throw someone else under the bus.

Second one is offenses—I said about that already. When someone is offended, their spirit is changed. They’re affected, and it will impact their judgment—especially when it comes to their judgments on other people.

And so the third one: personal ambition. Has anyone in that room declared that they are going to potentially personally gain a promotion, a new title, cementing themselves in their role—whatever it is? Personal ambition cannot be there when it comes to addressing issues that relate to dealing with the lead or head pastor.

And so the next one’s control. That’s a big one—controlling the assets, control of the organization and the ministry. A lot comes with that. I think I already mentioned how people’s esteem can get caught up in it, and it’s very alluring, especially if there are lots of assets for people to want to control.

Sadly, I think you’ve got to be looking at these things and asking yourself the questions about whether that’s potential danger.

And I mentioned the last one: self-righteousness. Man, just people generally—Christians generally—self-righteousness. It’s amazing how we judge other people with a different standard than we judge ourselves. So a lot of hypocrisy comes into that as well.

So think about those things.

And then maybe after all of that, I’m up to number six: the best interest of the congregation. Because this is not about the best interest of the board. It’s about the best interest of the people—that’s right—the church.

And today’s juggle is this: there’s a need for corporate governance. It’s 2026, and in different countries there are different regulatory bodies and different levels of accountability and responsibility. But you can’t avoid it. It’s true.

And so you have to have people in place who are committed to proper governance, due diligence—sometimes saving us from ourselves. We need to have those people in place.

And you’ve got to add to the juggle that with what the Bible says. Is your church’s board opening the Bible and using it when it comes to very significant decisions? Or is it all corporate? “This is the corporate expectation. This is the corporate understanding.”

And so I’m just stimulating thought. The two can coexist. In fact, I think they need to coexist—governance and New Testament church leadership example.

So I think, honestly, that good governance comes from people who are serving, not people who are controlling. Good governance comes from people who are serving the ministry and the vision. The moment that becomes control, everything changes.

Just watch my hands. Here, my palm and my fingers are pointing upwards. And this is the vision of the church. This is the ministry. This is the leadership of the church. And you get a board with servant hearts, and they are all about elevating the ministry, the leadership, the vision. They want to see their pastors excel. They want to see their pastors doing well.

I can name people all the years who had that spirit when it comes to Bobby and me. And so they are content to lead like that.

What happens when you go from a board-governed church to a board-controlled church? Oftentimes, that’s what happens. All of a sudden, the pressure changes. Now the pressure’s pushing things downwards, ultimately. And that can come with something as simple as a change of leadership on a board. It can come in various different ways.

I’ll say it one more time: huge difference between a board-governed church and a board-controlled church. And once a board decides they take control, you’ll see it. You’ll see it in different ways. And you will understand then—yes, the senior pastor is in charge as long as he doesn’t step out of line with the board.

Listen to Um listen to Ephesians chapter five verse twenty and 21, talking about the church, specifically having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building—there’s a metaphor of a building here—being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

People say, “Well, Jesus builds his church,” and they use it as a way to basically say, “Well, it’s not you. It’s Jesus who builds his church.”

Let me just say it right now. I’ve never seen Jesus opening the doors on a Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m. I’ve never seen Jesus playing the keyboard, leading the worship. I’ve never even seen Jesus preaching the sermon. Hopefully the sermon is exalting Jesus. But he’s always used people.

The church is built. Jesus builds his church. How does he build it? Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So he’s the chief cornerstone. Everything else builds on that. But he uses people, and he has always used people.

And I think that is important. And not just anybody—Jesus uses specific people. That’s right. He appoints specific people.

When I think about an apostle, I think of someone who is pioneering. It’s a biblical example—planting, pioneering churches all over the then-known world. Missionary journeys, planting churches, pioneering churches, instructing churches, correcting churches—that was the role of an apostle. And then sending—pioneering, sending, overseeing.

That’s right. Who’s overseeing your church? Because it’s the apostolic ministry in the Scriptures, with the prophetic, that is overseeing the church—just leading. That’s not a biblical word; that’s my word. Although I think in many translations of the New Testament you will find the word “lead” and “leading.” But it’s keeping the church, the team, the believers on track.

I’m just talking about the roles of the apostolic ministry—whether it’s spiritually or doctrinally or when it comes to mission and vision, prophetic edge.

I know for us, when we were pastors at Hillsong Church, we were a very missional church. That’s right. We had a mission that we set way back at the beginning, and that was to reach and influence the world by building a large Christ-centered, Bible-based church, changing mindsets and empowering people to lead and impact in every sphere of life.

And so, yes, we were a missional church, but we served that mission with a vision.

In 1993—the story is kind of legendary inside our world—I sat down at my desk and just dreamed and talked about the church that I see, and penned it. And miraculously, over the next 20 years, rather than just an outrageous vision that was way out there, it became a description of Hillsong Church.

So I’m a huge believer in vision.

After all of that, you’ve got the saints—the people, the believers. And they’re all in ministry. When it talks about apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers—it’s for what? The building of the saints, the maturing of the people for the work of the ministry. So it’s not just apostles and prophets who are in ministry. Everybody is in ministry.

That means with apostolic anointing, especially, that people are killing it—they’re excelling in whatever is in front of them. And it’s their ministry. It’s a kingdom business, or it’s all about God’s purposes, calling, and purpose.

So when I think about that, they’re either nailing it in business, or in the corporate world, or in hospitality, or maybe the professions—the various professions or trades—in medical, technical, music, entertainment. You can just keep going on and on and on.

But for a believer, it’s your ministry. It’s not just a job.

So all believers, I believe, are called to ministry. But not all believers are called to church leadership—governance, basically.

I just don’t believe that whether it’s builders and plumbers and electricians, or whether it’s accountants or lawyers or doctors or anyone else, I don’t believe that those people are the people spiritually equipped with the ministry gifting to actually control churches. Yes, they bring governance, but it’s a serving role.

Biblically, are they elders? Are the board elders? There may be elders on the board. But I’ll tell you what the Bible says about elders. Elders are apt to teach, and they are shepherds. They pastor, and they can teach the Bible. So people with the gift of teaching and people who are committed to—and maybe have the gift of pastoring, loving and caring for the people—that’s a qualification for elders.

Now, we can call a group “elders.” I’ve done it. But are they really elders in the true biblical sense? A board of elders? I’ll say it one more time: there may be elders on the board, but a board is a serving position. And I’m very adamant about that.

Are they deacons? Deacons are servants. So in <Acts 6:1–6 – NIV>, there were disputes arising in the church, and they made adjustments, which was fantastic. And they put in place the kind of people—deacons—who would look after, wait on tables, and do all those things that released the ministry—the apostles and the prophets—to prayer and to do what God’s called them to do.

And I just believe boards are a serving ministry. They’re not a controlling ministry. They are a serving ministry—so closer to deacons than elders if you’re just talking about a church board who are dealing with issues like true governance, proper governance, dealing with the various regulatory bodies—whatever it is. It’s a deacon role.

Without trying to push down church boards—and hopefully you get the spirit of that—there’s no advice in the Bible for a board or a committee, because they’re just not biblical roles. They’re corporate roles. We have to have them. And depending on where you are in the world, there are various rules for that.

So I asked: who keeps the board accountable?

Can the congregation have any input or say into appointing the board? I’m not commenting on what should be or what shouldn’t be. I’m just asking you a question. Should they? And do they?

Do the congregation have any say whatsoever on who are members of the board? Because if not, a board is not actually accountable to a congregation. They may bring a report, but in reality, it’s not the congregation who hire and fire them. And they can fire the pastor.

If they’re in a position where they can fire the pastor, then the senior pastor, lead pastor, head pastor—he’s not the person, or she’s not the person, who ultimately can fire them.

So who actually does?

They’re a law unto themselves<FLAG>. And so that can kind of get very incestuous.

That’s why my question is: people are quick to say, “Who keeps the pastor accountable?” That’s a question I’ll address. But who keeps the board accountable?

Put it out there. Have a look at it in your neck of the woods, your scenario. If you can answer that easily, great. But I think oftentimes boards are a law unto themselves<FLAG>.

There’s a church here in Australia that I’m aware of. They had to deal with an issue with the senior pastor. I don’t think necessarily that they had any choice in the way they handled that particular issue, although they shouldn’t have been the ones, in my opinion, making the decisions.

Then after that, they have just never appointed another pastor. They decided they were going to lead the church themselves. And so these guys are tradesmen. I don’t know exactly what they do, but they’re tradesmen. And I’m sure they’re probably very good tradesmen, and they’re possibly even very good believers and Christians, but that’s not the qualification for leading a church.

So it can kind of get crazy if we don’t have things in place that keep a board accountable.

One of the things that you’ll see that is a telltale sign when a board goes from this to this is they’ll start putting policy in place that starts to shrink or limit the authority of the pastor—the senior pastor, the lead pastor. Sure sign of going from a board-governed<FLAG> church to a board-controlled<FLAG> church.

Who do I think should be—or what do I think should be—the makeup of a board? I’m going to go on to that next time around.

Who or what do I think should decide the makeup of the church board? In other words, who’s on the board?

Join me next time, because I’m going to have a part two to this.

And all I’m doing, really—I want to remind you—is I’m talking to church planters, pioneers, founders. Whether you just started a year ago or you’re a long-term founder of a church, I’m talking to you about protecting yourself, ultimately, and your position—because God appointed you.

Paul said it already. There was no man or human authority when he was called to be an apostle.

So one last time, to make sure you understand: I think pastors do need to be accountable. The question I’m going to address—and in my opinion answer—is who should make vital decisions about the head pastor?

So join me next time. It gets exciting.

Email all comments and questions to c3churchwatch@hotmail.com

“Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?” Galatians 4:16

Categories: iHOP

Tags: ACC, Assemblies of God, Australian Christian Churches, Brian Houston, C Peter Wagner, Churchquake, cover-up culture, David Cartledge, Hillsong, Wayne Alcorn