In my
experience, generally speaking, there are too many people on the board, (I once
served a church with an average attendance at Sunday worship of 65 and a Board
of 66 people.) the group can’t keep on task and stick to the subject being
discussed, many people are immature and tend to attack other people instead of
attacking the problem the group is seeking to solve. At church board meetings I
have endured some of the most hateful personal attacks of my life. In the name
of “church business” I have been demeaned, cursed, verbally attacked and
threatened with physical harm.
There are several reasons why church boards tend to
act in such ways. I will not even attempt to address those issues in this blog.
(If you would like to look at those issues I suggest you pick up a copy of my
book, RENEW
YOUR CONGREGATION; HEALING THE SICK AND RAISING THE DEAD.) Since I
discovered a better way to do church, (Including much smaller boards.) church
board meetings have become pleasant, invigorating and exciting. For years early
in my ministry, as the monthly board meeting date approached, I became
increasingly tense and on the evening of a meeting I was usually nauseated. Now
I look forward to board meetings.
We had one just this past week I really enjoyed. It was
short and to the point, just the way I like them. I have an excellent board
chair who runs a great meeting. We start on time, have some prayer, do the
business of the church, have a few laughs and head for home. Perfect.
This particular board meeting gave me a new experience
I hope I never forget. Church boards do business. That is what they do. A
business item is brought up, it is discussed, a motion is made to pass the
motion and a vote is taken. In the board meeting this week a motion was made to
do nothing. I have known churches that were doing nothing, but that didn’t stop
the board from passing motions – from doing business. The issue we were
discussing was whether or not to change the worship service time for the
summer. We decided not to change the time; just leave it as it is. I thought
that took care of it. But no… someone
made a motion to not change the service time and it passed unanimously. We
voted to do nothing. And it was unanimous.
That says something, but I am not sure what.
Bill McConnell is the Interim Minister at
Norwood Christian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio, and is a Church Transformation
consultant and a Christian Leadership Coach. He is a frequent speaker at Church
Transformation events. His latest book on church transformation is DEVELOPING A
SIGNIFICANT CHURCH and is available at Westbow Press.
He can be contacted @ bill45053@gmail.com. Connect
with him on Facebook @ William T. McConnell or on
Twitter @billmc45053 or visit his Amazon Author Page @ Amazon
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