Good governance is a gift from God

 “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock”. (1 Peter 5:1-4)

I am a believer of God in all aspect of my life. I believe in, not only the existence of God, but also that He delights in those who emulate His leadership and authority. God has a specific kingdom in heaven from where He governs His general kingdoms which include the earth.

 In my Master’s Degree dissertation, I did a research on the effects of corporate governance on organizational performance: a survey of Anglican Church of Kenya Dioceses within Nairobi Region. I used the study to critically evaluate the relationship that is there between corporate governance and organizational performance. In general, the results of study provided an opportunity for the Church as a non-profitable organization, which has a significant role to play in the society, to restructure its existing structures and processes in order to achieve its mandate effectively and efficiently in the contemporary society.

Time is changing and it requires the church to adapt to these changes in a manner that is not going to dilute the word of God. This calls for embracing of corporate governance principals as a way of enhancing the performance of our churches and other related organizations. Every time organizations are created, we must be ready to take responsibility. Furthermore, church related organizations should focus in embracing good practices in their governance systems including how recruitments, promotions, elections and allocation of equitable resources with a view of sustainable development and investment are concerned. It is the name of God that is at stake in Christian organizations. As Psalm 11:3 says, “When the foundations are destroyed, what will the righteous do”

Churches are facing challenges of ownership, and commitment, among Christians as large youthful population are joining cult-oriented societies. This is as a result of what is attributed to weak leadership in some church departments and weak transition of leadership.

 Leadership is all about having ability to communicate the potential that people have in them in order to influence them towards achieving set goals and objectives. The study, therefore recommends that as a tool towards achieving organizational objectives, corporate governance must be nurtured within the hierarchies of church leadership for the betterment of the holistic growth of churches and societal trust in the said institution.

Accordingly, there is enough evidence that there are no clearly defined roles between the boards and management. As a matter of good practice, the line should be drawn clearly in order for each one of the arm of leadership to exercise their responsibilities with decorum for effective management of the resources. There are clear indications that those given responsibilities to manage the boards do not have requisite skills and knowledge hence poor management of the churches. I strongly recommend that those in the leadership be selected from a pool of skilled people with special expertise in various fields who are competent in their areas to join the boards and management of the churches.

This study also revealed that there is no independence of the boards as they discharged their duties. It is therefore recommended that structures be put in place to have separation of duties so that the boards can have clear oversight role to play in their policy formulation and advisory while the management should be left with its responsibility of implementing the policies and ensuring there is success and optimum income for the church.

 I also strongly recommend that there is need to strengthen control structures within the church set up. This will create conducive environment for developing confidence among the faithful. Installing proper mechanism for corporate governance will not only establish effective performance but also efficiency. This in turn will glorify God in heaven because as we pray in our lord’s prayer, “…may your kingdom on earth as it is in heaven…”

In addition, leadership of the Churches should be able to change tact as per the dynamism in our cultures and societies, and decisively embrace the spirit of openness in its structures so that there is transparency in how they handle the resources, appointments, promotions, electoral processes and recruitment. This will eventually glorify God who is full of justice.