Guiding Principles of Lansdowne Alliance Church

1. MISSION & VISION PRINCIPLES
1.1  Comprehensive Mission Statement - In order for Lansdowne Alliance Church to glorify Jesus Christ by making disciples thru Gospel-Saturated WORSHIP(UP), Gospel-Saturated COMMUNITY(IN), and Gospel-Saturated MISSION(OUT) we will…

  • WORSHIP JESUS WITH ALL OF OUR LIFE

  • LIVE IN COMMUNITY WITH OTHER JESUS FOLLOWERS

  • BE ABOUT THE MISSION OF JESUS IN THE WORLD

1.1.1  The Rhythms of Discipleship – LAC will prioritize making disciples by living into the three rhythms of WORSHIP, COMMUNITY, and MISSION. The Pastor and Elders will guide this effort by creating space for and seeking the following in the life of each member at LAC.

1.1.2  Worship

  • A commitment to outwardly express worship for God with other disciples by gathering regularly for corporate worship. (Psa 149, Eph 5, Col 3)

  • A growing desire to walk in holiness with Jesus as Lord by spending daily time in prayer and Bible study.(1 Peter 1:14-16, Luke 5:16, Psalm 119:103)

  • A growing desire to submit all of life to Jesus in obedience to Him. (John 14:15, Matthew 28:18-20)

1.1.3  Community

  • A growing desire to be known in the community of faith at LAC. (Ideally, as a part of an MC. Acts 2:46)

  • A growing knowledge and practice of one's individual spiritual gifts in order to serve the church family(Eph 4:11-16, Rom 12:6-8, 1 Cor 12: 8-10)

  • A growing practice of care, hospitality, and stewardship for those in the community of LAC(Ideally as a part of an MC. Gal 6:10, John 13:34-35, Rom 12:10)

1.1.4  Mission

  • A growing desire to see others who are far from God but close to them come to trust in Jesus. (Phillip and Nathaniel in John 1)

  • A growing interest and desire to see the nations come to faith in Jesus thru Alliance missions(Matt 28:18-20).

  • A growing practice of Biblical hospitality towards those far from God but close to them(Luke 14:12-14).

2. BOUNDARY PRINCIPLES. A healthy community welcomes and encourages healthy boundaries. A healthy church sees boundaries as a gift from God intended to ensure an environment where all can flourish. The following is intended to lay out the boundaries that will guide LAC to be a place of flourishing for all. 

2.1.1  Comprehensive Boundary Statement - The lead pastor shall not cause or allow any practice, activity, decision, or organizational circumstance that is unlawful, imprudent, unethical, or unbiblical.

2.1.2  Component: Biblical and Moral Integrity - With regard to the teaching, leadership, and of the church, the lead pastor shall not fail to uphold high standards of biblical teaching and morality.

2.1.3  Component: Financial Planning and Budgeting - Financial planning for any fiscal year or the remaining part of any fiscal year shall not deviate materially from LAC’s mission, risk financial jeopardy, or fail to be derived from a multi-year plan.

2.1.4  Component: Financial Condition and Activities - With respect to the actual, ongoing financial conditions and activities, the lead pastor shall not allow the development of fiscal jeopardy or a material deviation of actual expenditures from Ministry Board priorities.

2.1.5  Component: Asset Condition and Activities - The lead pastor shall not allow the assets of the church to be unprotected, inadequately maintained, or unnecessarily risked.

2.1.6  Component: Treatment of Constituents - With respect to interactions with constituents or potential constituents, the lead pastor shall not cause or allow conditions, procedures, or decisions that are unsafe, undignified, unnecessarily intrusive, or that fail to provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy.

2.1.7  Component: Compensation and Benefits - With respect to employment, compensation, and benefits to employees, consultants, contract workers, and volunteers, the lead pastor shall not cause or allow jeopardy to fiscal integrity or public image.

2.1.8  Component: Treatment of Staff - With respect to the treatment of paid and volunteer staff, the lead pastor may not cause or allow conditions that are unfair or undignified.

2.1.9  Component: Communication and Support to the Ministry Board - The lead pastor shall not permit the Ministry Board to be uninformed or unsupported in its work.

2.2.0  Component: Emergency Lead Pastor Service Continuity - In order to protect the Ministry Board from the sudden loss of lead pastor services, the lead pastor shall have no less than one other ministry staff member or lay leader familiar with the Ministry Board and lead pastor issues and processes.

3. ACCOUNTABILITY PRINCIPLES

3.1  Comprehensive Accountability Statement - The responsibility of the Ministry Board before God and for the eternal good of all people in the surrounding community is to see that Lansdowne Alliance Church, through the leadership of its lead pastor (1) achieves the fulfillment of its mission, and (2) avoids violation its principles.

3.1.1  Component: Stewardship to Christ for Those He calls Us to Serve - The Ministry Board shall maintain an active connection to Christ, who is the head of the church, and to the people he has called his Church to serve.

3.1.1.1  Detail: Devotion to Prayer and the Word of God - Under the teaching and guidance of the lead pastor, the Ministry Board will continually seek the wisdom and leading of Christ as the Lord of the church.  To this end, attention will be given to prayer, reading, and study of Scripture as a group.

3.1.1.2  Detail: Community Research and Public Relations - The Ministry Board will invest resources each year to enhance its understanding of the needs of people in the community and to enhance the church’s reputation of service to the community.

3.1.1.3  Detail: Church Feedback and Assessment- The Ministry Board will collect input and feedback from members, attendees, visitors, and community members at large to better understand their needs.  

3.1.2  Component: Disciplining the Process of the Ministry Board - The Ministry Board shall conduct itself with discipline and integrity with regard to its own process of governance.

3.1.2.1  Detail: Ministry Board Style - The Ministry Board will govern with an emphasis on the following:

  1. Strategic leadership more than administrative detail

  2. Outward vision rather than internal preoccupation

  3. Future rather than past or present

  4. Proactivity rather than reactivity

  5. Collective rather than individual decisions

  6. Encouragement of a variety of viewpoints

  7. Clear distinction of Ministry Board and staff roles

3.1.2.2  Detail: Ministry Board Job Description - The essential job outputs of the Ministry Board are linkage to the people served, definition of guiding principles, and monitoring of lead pastor performance.  In addition to these three essentials, the Ministry Board shall exercise authority granted to it in the bylaws and not delegated to the lead pastor.

3.1.2.3  Detail: Ministry Board Member Code of Conduct - The Ministry Board commits itself and its members to the following code of conduct:

  1. Members of the Ministry Board must represent unconflicted loyalty to the interests of Christ regarding those whom he has called his church to serve (Matt. 28:18-20).  This loyalty supersedes any personal or group interest among or outside of the church. A member must disclose any fiduciary conflict of interest and withdraw from any decision-making affected by it.

  2. Members of the Ministry Board must honor the principles and decisions of the Ministry Board acting as a whole.  They may not foster dissent or attempt to exercise individual authority over the pastor, the staff, or the organization except as explicitly stated in the guiding principles.

  3. Members of the Ministry Board must respect the confidentiality of sensitive issues, and must avoid facilitating gossip or other “triangulation” against the practice of direct, biblical resolution.

3.1.2.4  Detail: Responsibility of the Vice Chairperson for Integrity of Process - The vice chairperson enforces the integrity and fulfillment of the Ministry Board’s process including the monitoring of lead pastor performance.  The vice chairperson is authorized to use any reasonable accountability principles as he acts to ensure the integrity of the Ministry Board’s process.

3.1.2.5  Detail: Responsibility of the Lead Pastor for Visionary Leadership - The lead pastor has the responsibility, authority, and accountability to serve as the primary leader of the church at every level: congregation, Ministry Board, and staff.  With respect to the Ministry Board, the lead pastor will envision the Ministry Board on all actions except for monitoring of lead pastor performance.  If a question of process arises with regard to the bylaws or guiding principles of the church, the lead pastor will defer to the judgment of the Ministry Board vice chairperson.

3.1.2.6  Detail: Use of Ministry Board Committees - Ministry Board committees, if used, will be assigned so as to reinforce the wholeness of the Ministry Board’s job and never to interfere with the delegation from the Ministry Board to the lead pastor or with the work of the staff.

3.1.2.7  Detail: Cost of Governance - The Ministry Board will invest in its own governance capacity through training, outside expertise, research mechanisms, and meeting costs.

3.1.3  Component: Monitoring the Performance of the Lead Pastor - The Ministry Board’s sole official connection to the operating organization of the church, its achievement, and conduct shall be through the lead pastor.

3.1.3.1  Detail: Unity of Control - Only decisions of the Ministry Board acting as a whole are binding on the lead pastor.

3.1.3.2  Detail: Accountability of the Lead Pastor - The lead pastor is the Ministry Board’s only link to operational achievement and conduct, so that all authority and accountability of staff, as far as the Ministry Board is concerned, is considered the authority and accountability of the lead pastor.

3.1.3.3  Detail: Delegation to the Lead Pastor - The Ministry Board will instruct the lead pastor through written principles that prescribe the mission to be achieved and establish the boundaries to be avoided, allowing the lead pastor to use any reasonable interpretation of these principles.

3.1.3.5  Detail: Performance of the Lead Pastor - Systematic monitoring of lead pastor job performance will be solely towards the only expected lead pastor job outputs: church accomplishment of the church’s mission and operation.

3.1.3.6  Detail: Annual Goals of the Lead Pastor - The lead pastor will be required to write measurable goals each year that correspond to the church’s mission.  These goals shall be presented to, and ratified by the Ministry Board before the lead pastor shall be held accountable for their accomplishment.

3.1.3.7  Detail: Annual Review of the Lead Pastor - Each year, the Ministry Board shall review the results achieved by the lead pastor on each of the annual goals.  Any actions taken as a result of the annual review (expressions of praise and/or concerns; increased remuneration; request for resignation, etc.) shall be based on these results achieved. Such actions, positive or negative, shall be verbally communicated directly to the lead pastor.