Leaders often struggle with how much information they should provide to constituents whether that is employees, members of the congregation, or those outside the church. This is a cultural issue and is established by the tone at the top. That means the expectation set by the pastoral staff and governing board is the attitude that will permeate throughout the rest of the church staff.

Two definitions of transparent provided by Merriam-Webster are: 1) free from pretense or deceit and 2) characterized by visibility or accessibility of information especially concerning business practices.

The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) has Seven Standards of Responsible Stewardship for churches and ministries. Standard Five is the Transparency Standard. In part, the explanation of the standard says, “Financial transparency is not only an accepted, expected, and required form of accountability in society at large, but it also represents the even higher standard of openness for Christ-centered organizations.” This standard would suggest we should certainly operate in a way that is free from pretense or deceit.

What about visibility and accessibility? It’s much easier to operate from a position of transparency. We don’t have to constantly think about what we can say or what we told others to “keep our story straight.” One thing I like to keep in mind is that information should be a tool, not a weapon. If people do not have the necessary background to understand the information you share with them, it can be misunderstood or misused.

I recently took part in a board chair training, and the topic of transparency was discussed. I really appreciated how they highlighted the idea that transparency doesn’t mean absolute disclosure but applicable disclosure. Let me challenge you to consider how that may apply in your congregation as you determine what information should be shared.

Within the operational realm, there are several areas to consider:

Finances – When we are transparent with financial information, good decisions are made, and trust is built. The information that is provided will depend on the audience. Typically, financial information will be provided to the congregation at a high level. Reporting might include an overall budget and annual results compared to that budget.

The board would receive more information than the congregation at large, but not in any granular fashion. The board will likely monitor things such as reserves and management of restricted gifts and balances in addition to overall financial performance. The finance committee will need to be more involved in detailed budget versus actual results, though that would still be at more of a departmental level. Leadership would likely look at those same results possibly all the way down to line items by department to understand the budget in detail.

I am aware of a church where, several years ago, the executive pastor withheld information from the board because the results were poor. He had good intentions to not worry people needlessly, expecting the results would improve. Unfortunately, the truth didn’t come to light until it was almost too late. Poor decisions were made for the church because the necessary information was not available when those decisions were made. The church actually ran the risk of becoming insolvent before the situation was made known. It took years to recover and had far-reaching consequences.

Personnel – Obvious caution is due here because you are talking about personal information or performance matters that should be confidential to a broader audience. Make sure individuals on staff with access to information about employees are well-trained in confidentiality practices. Transparency comes into play in this arena by understanding who may need access to such information. An example would be to make sure a supervisor understands any special accommodation an employee requires or the documentation of poor performance.

It is also important to communicate decisions that are made related to personnel policies very well. Keep in mind that matters such as benefits and expense reimbursement requirements have a personal impact on employees, and they will be highly invested in any changes or new decisions. Being transparent about the reason for the policy will keep people from ascribing motives that may be inaccurate.

Information Technology – Not only do we have a requirement to protect digital information as a matter of best practice, but there are actually laws and regulations that require us to protect personally identifiable information. You should understand what information must be protected, the laws surrounding it, and how you are protecting that information. Procedures will vary depending on whether you maintain all systems in house or use vendors for cloud storage.

Operational matters – Whether it is ministry decisions or discussion surrounding facilities, remember that people will care and will want to feel involved. That doesn’t mean they should be informed of all information about every decision, but consider when you are withholding information, whether it is because there is a need to protect something such as personal information, or negotiating positions, or if it is simply being withheld for simplicity or power purposes.

Record retention – Your church should have a current record retention policy which identifies all types of records, how long they will be maintained, and how they should be destroyed. While this may not seem to be specifically related to transparency, it certainly can be because it will help you understand the type of information you maintain and how public it can be.

People won’t always agree with the decisions of leadership, but when we are transparent about how decisions are made and why, there is generally greater acceptance of the result. I like to tell my team that if you say no to a request, you need to explain the why behind the no. Additionally, I suggest they need to understand what the purpose of the request was to see if there is something else we could say yes to that would accomplish the same thing. I see transparency in providing information the same way. If leadership is not going to be transparent about something, be sure you understand why and provide as much as possible.

The last idea I will leave you with is to consider the concept of transparency as it relates to your personal leadership. We’ve discussed the impact of transparency within the church itself, but what about how you lead? Approaching leadership with personal transparency will make you more relatable and build trust within your team. People appreciate knowing you have struggled, and you don’t have all the answers. Individuals are looking for people to follow. Are you one of those people? Your transparent leadership may be just the thing that will help develop a new generation of leadership within your church. That’s an investment that will yield results for a long time to come.