On Meetings

I always thought we should change the words from: Like a mighty army moves the Church of God” to “Like a might army meets the Church of God.”

Why is it that church meetings seem to take forever and go nowhere?

As a pastor or lay leader you better get good at meetings.  You will have a lot of them:  Elders, Church Council, Sunday School teachers, staff, local clergy, worship team, and so on and so on and so on.

Length

I have heard it said that nothing good happens in a meeting after an hour and a half, and not much good happens after forty-five minutes.  Keep an eye on how long your meetings last.  Unlike rock concerts shorter is better.

Determine before the meeting starts when it will end.  The ending time is as important as the beginning time.  Hold to the determined ending time.  Budget the use of time in accord with the length of the meeting.  A clock in the meeting room helps keep things on schedule.

Be especially sensitive to the length of evening meetings.  Remember, the folks sitting at the table have already put in a long day and have things to do at home.

Agenda/Purpose

Don’t have a meeting without these!  Never.  These serve as a contract with and between the participants.

And stick to them.  If something comes up at the meeting that begins to lead the group toward non-agenda issues, gently, but firmly lead the group back on track.  If there is an issue that must be dealt with, find another time to consider it.  If in fact you must deal with the unexpected item right now,” take something else off the agenda by mutual consent.

Make sure that participants know in advance of the meeting what the agenda and purpose  are.  Equip them with information in advance that will be helpful in completing the agenda and following the purpose.

Devotions

While meetings ought to begin and end with the participants seeking God’s direction and blessing through prayer, let me encourage you NOT to include a Bible study devotion at every meeting.

Devotions that are given at the beginning of meetings tend to be more perfunctory than edifying.  Generally, they are hastily prepared.  You will find that such devotions encourage participants to straggle into the meeting.

As long as your meeting has a legitimate agenda and purpose, it is a legitimate gathering of the people of God to do the work of the Church even without a Bible lesson.  Although you can’t get too much of a good thing, a Bible study is not “necessary,” especially if neither the agenda nor the purpose of the meeting is Bible study. 

As congregational leaders you should already be in the Word.  You should be Bible readers.  A meeting is a meeting, not a study.  This is the time to put the Word into action.  It should be the Word at work.

Decisions

When making decisions at a meeting, keep in mind the following:

• Make sure that those affected by the decisions have been in someway included in the consideration.  Don’t let the Elders make decisions for the Sunday School without the Sunday School people somehow involved.

• The more decisions that can be made by consensus rather than by an actual vote the better.  Votes lead to winners and losers.  The fewer of those in the congregation the better.

• Once a decision has been made make sure that all stick with it and support it.

Socializing

Arrive at meetings a little early and plan to linger a bit afterwards.  Socializing and conversation preceding and following a meeting build camaraderie in a group.  During the meeting, while there should be light hearted give and take, keep the off-topic conversation to a minimum. 

Chair

Not everyone has the knack to chair meetings.  When you find people in your congregation who can chair meetings effectively, treasure them.  Develop some kind of training or information sheet for all new chairs of boards and committees.  Time invested in training chairs of boards and committees pays tremendous dividends for more significant meetings.

Robert’s Rules of Order 

Church meetings, because participants feel so passionately about their congregation and because the Enemy does too—from a different point of view, often careen toward the chaotic!  They need order.

You may be aware that U.S. Army Major Henry Martyn Robert devised his Rules of Order in response to difficulty he met in running a church meeting.  Others have experienced the same situation at church meetings.  (Note:  This is an understatement of extreme proportion!) 

Most congregations use Robert’s Rules of Order to some degree.  Often their use is stipulated in organizing documents like constitutions and by-laws.  Their greatest benefit is that, properly applied, they keep one item on the table at a time so that conversation can be focused.  You must have a working knowledge of these so that you can use or, when necessary, ignore them.

When using Robert’s Rules of Order, keep in mind the following:

• They are a tool; do not let them become a master.  They are to keep a meeting under control; they should not take control of the meeting.

• And don’t let them become a club either.  Too often a participant at a meeting will invoke Robert’s Rules of Order in a way that circumvents a healthy give and take and at the same time clubs a dissenter to silence.

• When people begin to invoke Robert’s Rules of Order, the disorder is already at the door.  Be careful.

Number Two

Preaching/teaching is the number one demand on a pastor’s time.  Meetings are number two.  Mastering the art of conducting good meetings will lead your congregation toward significance.