Chaffee, Accountable Leadership

Share this:

Paul Chaffee, Accountable Leadership: A Resource Guide for Sustaining Legal, Financial, and Ethical Integrity in Today’s Congregations. Jossey-Bass, 1997.

Referenced in: Tax, Legal, and Risk-Management Issues

LifeandLeadership.com Summary

Although this was published over a decade ago, and one may need to update some of the legal material (resources on church and law have a brief shelf-life), the level of sound advice Chaffee offers in this accessible single volume gives it enduring value. Chaffee combines legal, administrative, and ethical insights, making it a helpful supplement to the more specialized resources in each of these areas. The book is divided into three sections:

Becoming an Accountable Leader
Accountability, Administration, and the Shared Life of the Congregation
Tending to Invisible Wounds of the Congregation.

Part 1 addresses the courage to initiate accountability measures in congregations, the various legal requirements for churches, and how to equip a governing board for administrative dimensions. Part 2 discusses the larger vision and direction of the congregation as the basis for good administration and stewardship. It also talks about responsible financial management, employment practices, and dealing with service providers. Part 3 takes up the issue of how to work with congregations that have been wounded by sexual misconduct, describing both preventive and restorative measures. A helpful feature of this volume are the frequent resource suggestions for one to learn more about each topic.

From the Publisher

With reports of financial impropriety and clergy misconduct making headlines, accountable leadership and sound management practices have become priority concerns in congregations of every faith. Accountable Leadership speaks to congregation leaders, both clergy and laity, and to individuals who love the worshiping community and seek the tools that can enable everyone in it to better care for one another.

This is a practical compendium of resources for creating and managing a sound, effective, and fair congregation. This new edition has been extensively revised and updated to include contemporary topics such as disturbing trends in reduced giving, new church-state issues, clergy misconduct and troublesome members, and legal issues associated with the congregation’s role as employer and provider of pastoral counseling.

Editorial Reviews

“This book filled an important gap in congregational studies when it was first published, and four years later this much enlarged edition is even better. In a world where church finances, law, and ethics are so much more complicated than ever, leaders can’t afford to be without it.” – Loren Meade, founder, The Alban Institute

“This book is a plea for congregational leaders to be competent, informed, accountable, and in touch with contemporary reality. Reading it will enrich both the life and the ministry of every leader who accepts the need to be accountable. It is an ideal study book to be read by every member of the governing board.” – Lyle E. Schaller, Church Consultant

“Chaffee is thorough, reasonable, and pastoral in his approach to an important subject rarely covered adequately in a seminary.” –Your Church

About the Author

PAUL CHAFFEE, a minister in the United Church of Christ, is executive director of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio in San Francisco, California.

***For additional information on this resource, including reviews, click the bookstore links. Check the reference at page top or the links below for resource guides on related topics.***

Other Ministry Resource Guides on Church Administration:

See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Ministry Leadership:

Ministry Resource Guide Index

Church Administration