You'll thank Dan for this powerful resource. Plus,
. Also, check out the
.
“When was the last time a mistake was owned before the board?”
That’s one of the seven powerful prayers topics (with seven board best practices) in this new book I highly recommend:
That prayer reminded me of the panel discussion I facilitated some years back with four ministry CEOs. The national conference workshop topic:
“What I would do differently in my first five years as CEO.” One well-known leader absolutely silenced the room:
“I wouldn’t lie to my board!” (He shared the rest of the story.
Oh, my.)
Dan Bolin has been around the block (and the world). When leading
Christian Camping International, his board was meeting in Bangalore, India, for their annual board meeting. As you’ll read in
A Board Prayer, Dan was inspired that week to write this powerful prayer that boards worldwide are now reading together at every meeting.
GOOD NEWS! Dan has generously shared this two-page prayer with leaders everywhere—and today the ripple effect is still rippling:
• The prayer is included in at least four books and a board governance toolbox. (See below.)
• I’ve facilitated this board prayer practice in dozens and dozens of board meetings with clients and clergy. Next week, I’m blessing board members again with this prayer.
• You can
download the two-page prayer right here. (And LOL:
read here why Dan had ample time to write this prayer in the hallway—while his board was conducting his annual performance review!)
MORE GOOD NEWS! Wow. Dan Bolin has now blessed-the-socks-off of board members everywhere by adding his inspired color commentary to his original two-page prayer. His new book,
A Board Prayer, features seven short chapters—exploring seven God-honoring board best practices.
This is the perfect book to gift to every board member and senior team member. (If I were still a CEO or board chair, I would personally pay for the books. A praying board is very cost-effective! A no-brainer.)I know. I know. I recommend way too many “must-read” books—but please trust me on this one. This prayer has been pilot-tested around the world.
I’ve read this remarkable prayer hundreds of times, yet each time the Holy Spirit faithfully elbows me about one or more lines in the prayer. (I’m a slow learner.) I’ve also seen board members respond to those holy jabs. What fun and what joy!
Imagine…your board members praying these words together from Chapter 2:“Father, allow me to REPORT HONESTLY. •
Help me to tell the whole truth not just the parts that make me look good.
•
Let me not bury bad news in mounds of data and detail, and don’t let me gloss over painful issues or personal failures.
•
Help me to give credit to others and take responsibility for failure and lack of progress.
•
Don’t let me trivialize serious issues or magnify minor successes.
•
Let me tell stories and provide statistics that represent accurately.
•
Help me remember that good information provides a smooth pathway to good decisions.”
Each short chapter concludes with a
“Personal Reflections” page and a
“Board Discussion” page.
Dan has done our work for us. (Thanks, Dan!)
And yikes. Ask this discussion question from Chapter 2 at your next board meeting:
“When was the last time a mistake was owned before the board? Has that been too long?”Note: If you’re a longtime reader of this eNews, you know I’m pretty good at mistake-making. See the awkward moment I experienced with a board member in Mistake #8, “Incessantly Whining About Being Too Busy,” in
Mastering Mistake-Making. (Thanks to
Jim Brown and
Dick Daniels for helping me learn from Mistake #8.)
Dan writes: “I have worked directly for boards for about 40 years. I have interacted with some of the best people on the planet—
and a few curmudgeons.”
(Can you relate?) As the new and very young CEO of
Pine Cove Christian Camps in Texas, Dan was blessed to have
Bob Buford (1939-2018) on his board. Buford simply asked him,
“What can I do to help you be successful?” Wow. (Another must read:
Drucker & Me, by Bob Buford.)
CONTRARIAN! You’ll appreciate Dan’s wisdom, heart, and contrarian thinking. “Boards are badly mistaken when they think their work is about them. Boards exist to serve their organizations, consider the interest of the many stakeholders connected to the church or ministry, and ultimately to be good stewards of God’s resources."
“The purpose of a board meeting is never about the board.” You’ll love his suggestion that maybe “these gatherings should be called
beneficiary meetings.”
And this: “God loves the people served by the ministry, the campers, parishioners, students, patients, hungry, homeless, addicts, artists, scientists, athletes, clients of every stripe. And he loves the
board members too. In fact, he loves the board enough to entrust the work of caring for his people to them, for better or for worse."
“In a sense, they are not board meetings, or beneficiary meetings, they are
God’s meetings.”
I’m gonna borrow that line! Brilliant.When your board members read this book—their vision will be enlarged and enriched. I predict your board meetings will be less
ho-hum and more
hoopla! (in the best sense of the word). Dan writes, “Boards count inputs and outcomes: volunteer hours, meals served, beds filled, Sunday attendance, offering size, and any number of actions that tend to be measurable.
We love to count, and that is not a bad thing, just not the only thing."
Then Dan asks,
“What then, does honor God look like? (You’ll appreciate why “speaking with one voice” requires that “debate, opposing opinions, and candid deliberations stay in the room.”)
And this: “Probably the least considered and yet most significant stakeholders are the people of the future. Someday, many years downstream, people’s lives will be influenced by the decisions made in the boardroom today.” (See Idea #5 below, "The Board and the Bachelor Farmer.")
You don’t need any further commentary from me—so just bless your board and order one copy of
A Board Prayer for
every board member. (See below for creative ways to then leverage the learnings.)
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for
A Board Prayer: Explore Seven God-Honoring Board Practices, by Dan Bolin.
P.S. Dan Bolin and I go way back and in my review of the book,
Succession, by Peter Greer and Doug Fagerstrom, I mentioned that years ago, over lunch in Dallas with Dan, we were discussing the possibility of his serving on the board of Christian Management Association (now
CLA). We were good friends and I wanted an honest answer from him. If he were on the board and sensed that it was time for me to exit—would he have the guts to…?
Dan interrupted before I finished my question. “You’re asking, John, could I fire you—if needed? No problem!”We both laughed—and I believed him! Gratefully, I was privileged to serve 11 years (without a pink slip) as the CEO of that national association now celebrating 50 years—but I’ll never forget that succession conversation with Dan!
10 IDEAS FOR ENRICHING FUTURE BOARD MEETINGS HINT! Delegate your reading! Appoint a “Leaders Are Readers Champion” and begin each board meeting with “10 Minutes for Governance.” [ ] IDEA #1. Download the two-page PDF, “
A Board Prayer.”
[ ] IDEA #2. Order the book,
A Board Prayer, by Dan Bolin, for
every board member and senior team member (and prospective board members).
Order from Amazon.
[ ] IDEA #3. Deputize a “Leaders Are Readers Champion,” per the book,
Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom.
Read Chapter 38, “Great Boards Delegate Their Reading.”
Read the blog by Kent Stroman.
Order the book.
[ ] IDEA #4. Begin the practice of investing “10 Minutes for Governance in Every Board Meeting” per the book,
Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom.
Read Chapter 39.
Read the blog by John Walling.
Order the book.
[ ] IDEA #5. Pray about planning for the next generation and read “The Board and the Bachelor Farmer,” per the book,
More Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: Effectiveness, Excellence, Elephants! Read Chapter 1.
Read the blog by Wayne Pederson.
Order the book.
[ ] IDEA #6. Pray about what to measure—and much more. Read the book,
Effectiveness by the Numbers: Counting What Counts in the Church, by William R. Hoyt.
Order the book. (
Read my review.)
[ ] IDEA #7. Read why a board chair insisted
Jeff Lilley bring the two-page board prayer to
every board meeting at Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission! See “Prioritize Prayer Over Problems: Create space for prayer—serious supplications for a serious work.” From:
Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom.
Read Chapter 10.
Read the blog by Jeff Lilley.
Order the book.
[ ] IDEA #8. You’ll appreciate Dan Bolin’s writing style and heart for God.
Visit his website to see other books by this gifted and prolific author, including:
•
Blueprints: Biblical Designs for Christian Camping Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. (
Read my review.)
•
Jesus: Camp Director: 5,000 Campers, 12 Interns, 0 Kitchen Staff (
Read my review.)
•
Valentine’s Day Idea! Wives, here’s a gift suggestion for your husband:
How to Be Your Wife's Best Friend: 365 Ways to Express Your Love, by Dan Bolin and John Trent. (
Order from Amazon.)
And speaking of Christian camping, read my very personal—but poignant—story recently published on the
God Reports website (a prayerful God moment!).
[ ] IDEA #9. The two-page board prayer is included in the following books and resources: •
Lessons From the Nonprofit Boardroom: 40 Insights for Better Board Meetings (2nd Edition), by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2018) -
Order from Amazon.
•
*Lessons From the Church Boardroom: 40 Insights for Exceptional Governance (2nd Edition), by Dan Busby and John Pearson (2019) -
Order from Amazon.
•
TRUST: The Firm Foundation for Kingdom Fruitfulness, by Dan Busby (2015) –
Order from Amazon. (
Read my review.) Read more about
Dan Busby (1941-2022).
•
The 8 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board: How Leaders Enrich Their Ministry Results Through God-Honoring Governance, by John Pearson (Oct. 14, 2025) –
Order from Amazon.
•
ECFA Governance Toolbox Series No. 3: Conflicts of Interest - Addressing Board and Organizational Conflicts of Interest—Avoiding Trouble, Trouble, Trouble with Related–Party Transactions. (
Order from ECFA.)
*For more resources for church board members, see the three books/manuals I reviewed in 2023 on the Pails in Comparison Blog.[ ] IDEA #10. Now that you’ve already inspired a board member to be your “Leaders Are Readers Champion” (see Idea #3), check out the mini-reviews of “
Best Board Books: Index to 18 Governance Stimulators” at ECFA's
Governance of Christ-Centered Organizations Blog. (And oops! Please add Book #19,
The Board and the CEO. And another oops! Please add
A Board Prayer as Book #20!)
[ ] BONUS IDEA. Read sample pages. It was my privilege to write the foreword to
A Board Prayer. I meant every word and ChatGPT did not write it!
Visit Amazon here to read my foreword and Dan’s introductory chapter.
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic BooksYou have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read this the first time!Book #40 of 99: The Secret to a Good Meeting…For your team meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10 Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #40 of 99 in our series, “Second Reads.” The big idea:
REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how your favorite books still have more to teach you and the people you’re coaching and mentoring.
The Secret to a Good Meeting
Is the Meeting Before the Meeting
(Lesson 18 from Leadership Gold)
by John C. Maxwell
In just 16 quick-reading pages in Lesson 18 of
Leadership Gold, the leadership guru John Maxwell builds the case for turning routine meetings into productive action-oriented gatherings. Following the counsel of
Olan Hendrix, he writes that the meeting before the meeting: 1) helps you receive buy-in, 2) helps followers to gain perspective, 3) increases your influence, 4) helps you develop trust, and 5) avoids your being blindsided.
• Lesson 18 reviewed in Issue No. 367 (Aug. 30, 2017).
•
Read my review on Amazon.
• Order the
Kindle chapter on Amazon.
• Full book reviewed in Issue No. 84 (April 14, 2008).
•
Read my review on Amazon.
•
Order the full book on Amazon.
• Management Bucket #20 of 20:
The Meetings Bucket Maxwell preaches:
“If you can’t have the meeting before the meeting, don’t have the meeting. If you do have the meeting before the meeting, but it doesn’t go well, don’t have the meeting. If you have the meeting before the meeting and it goes as well as you hoped, then have the meeting!”
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY JOHN
Mistake #8 of 8: “Making Decisions vs. Discerning God’s Voice.” Read more in the new workbook, The 8 Big Mistakes to Avoid With Your Nonprofit Board——and leverage the action steps on page 97 about spiritual discernment and mission drift.
MORE RESOURCES:
Issue No. 658 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Oct. 3, 2025) features a new book coming Oct. 7—describing the four seasons of a CEO. The “...
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