For more than 40 years, I have worked with and assisted several successful FBOs, government agencies, and businesses to work productively together.

The key to establishing successful working relationships among these groups is what I term “Neutral Authority.”

It is based on the understanding that FBOs are vision-driven and therefore reluctant to develop partnerships with individuals or organizations not led by the same vision or who attempt to subjugate the organization's identity to conform to their own. The foundation of Neutral Authority is to bring houses of faith and FBOs together to work successfully with local, state, and federal agencies and businesses through a common, non-threatening, neutral third party.

Most houses of faith and FBOs will accept and function well within this dynamic and under the oversight of a neutral government authority. It is my experience that when government organizations understand and establish this kind of platform, the working union of government, the faith community, and business is successful and productive.

Because houses of faith and FBOs are mission-driven, they perceive their organization’s vision as critical to their survival. One could say their vision is their DNA and makes their existence worthwhile. These groups invest a great deal of time and effort communicating their vision to members and supporters, and most believe that, without it, their organization would perish.

A critical component then, for government agencies striving to work successfully alongside houses of faith and faith-based groups: Agencies must recognize the vision and identity of houses of faith and FBOs is paramount and, therefore, no attempt should be made to blend them into the agency, submerge their identity or change them in any way.

Ignoring this vital principle has resulted in significant fallout for government agencies in developing working relationships with houses of faith and faith-based groups. A common issue highlighted by government agency leaders is that when assistance has been requested of FBOs, members typically do not respond in significant numbers. The simple reason is the partnering of government agencies with houses of faith, and FBOs often spelled loss of identity for the faith-based groups, resulting in the loss or blending of their unique DNA into the overriding identity of the government agency or other third party. Applying the Neutral Authority principle prevents this identity loss and creates a successful, harmonious union in which enthusiastic participation is restored.

To aid government agencies and businesses in better understanding the principle of Neutral Authority in government, incorporated in our training seminars is the image of a flagpole on which a number of flags are flying. Each flag possesses a unique identity but is connected with the other flags by the centrality of the flagpole, thus communicating a strong, unified statement and conveying the overall mission. The flagpole represents the neutral authority, which provides an overseeing protection and guidance while allowing each flag to maintain its own identity without attempting to merge them into one.

A good example of a strong and successful flagpole (Neutral Authority) is a law enforcement agency. Houses of faith and FBOs have historically been positive toward cooperating with law enforcement for the benefit of their communities. In this neutral environment, they have been willing to work with other groups, businesses, local councils, commissions or agencies, provided they are recognized as a working component of the program or partner of the police agency. In many American cities where Strategic Community Policing and the principle of Neutral Authority in Government has been embraced, hundreds of diverse FBOs have been empowered to work successfully with law enforcement and harmoniously with each other, as well as other agencies, thus promoting the mission of serving the citizens and creating prosperous, safe, and resilient communities.

In a successful neutral authority system, because relationships and reliable resources for reciprocal communication between houses of faith, FBOs, businesses and the neutral authority is already functional, rapid dissemination of information in times of community crisis results in effective response from all three.

 When houses of faith and FBOs work under a neutral authority, competition among their leaders is resolved. Neutral authority administering a program also eliminates competition among individual houses of faith and other FBOs to be the lead organization. Further, nearly all houses of faith and FBOs are non-profit, sustained by fundraising. But a neutral authority is supported by tax dollars, so competition between the two entities for funds is also eliminated.

Though law enforcement is the most visible and trusted component of government to act as a neutral authority, emergency management under the leadership of a Faith-Based Cabinet (FBC) can also function as a successful neutral authority. (See National Incident Management System—NIMS, Dec. 2008.) And some communities have established a Mayor’s Faith-Based Cabinet (MFBC) operating out of the mayor's office—a neutral authority—comprised of faith-based community leaders who can provide resources and volunteers when needed. However, the current trend of community partnerships and outreach have already predisposed most law enforcement agencies to look toward the community for information sharing and the building of citizen volunteer programs that marshal support and mutual effort toward a prosperous, safe and strong community. Local law enforcement agencies, then, are the most logical and visible choice to act as the neutral authority in working with houses of worship, faith-based groups and businesses.

What is the primary criteria to determine the proper neutral authority to bring government agencies, houses of faith, FBOs and businesses together to accomplish a common mission or community goal? The flagpole analogy provides a simple checkpoint: Are all the flags flying harmoniously on the flagpole? If not, the neutral authority is not providing the support and protection for all participating entities to join the team and flourish.

This kind of system can, and has been, successfully implemented in local government. An essential requirement is for the leadership of local government, houses of faith, FBOs and businesses to come into a working agreement on how to set up and maintain a neutral authority system in their communities. Faith-based and business resources and influence are valuable and powerful assets to their communities. All entities making the effort to reach out to, understand and collaborate with each other can develop a strong interactive team that can help the community survive the most severe natural disasters and incidents and can forge a dynamic ongoing link to build strong prosperous, and resilient communities.