DearMBchurch.ca:
Chairing church business meetings is a big challenge, whether at a congregational, provincial or national level. I think there is always tension between efficiency and discernment.
Efficiency is good; the business gets presented clearly and succinctly, there is minimal discussion because everyone agrees, and we can all go home early. Who doesn’t like an efficiently run business meeting!
Except that’s not the only reason that meetings are short and there is minimal discussion. Sometimes business is presented opaquely, it’s hard to see the real issues. Sometimes the most substantive issues are buried at the end of a long day of presentations, and everyone is exhausted. This can be done inadvertently, or it can be a decision of organizers, who don’t want discussion.
Sometimes leaders are confident of the direction they want to take the church, and they are not particularly interested in hearing divergent points of view expressed. When they are completely set on a certain path, they want meetings where no one questions what they are doing.
But discernment does not just happen at a leadership or committee level, but also at congregational meetings/delegate sessions. The Holy Spirit speaks through the gathered body of believers.
For discernment to happen, there has to be time and space for the members or delegates to confer. I have been encouraging our congregation to change their membership meeting venue from members in rows facing the chairperson, to one big circle format where we talk to teach other.
We give the name “conference” to our larger church bodies. But how much conferring is actually happening? At the MB conferences I have been to, the vast majority of the time is spent listening to reports from staff people and committees, reports that we have already read. Or we spend many hours listening to interesting speakers that are brought in to engage us. But we are making very large decisions about direction and we are spending millions of dollars. Sometimes I think these inspirational talks take away the valuable time we should be spending on discussing substantive business issues.
It’s a conference. We should confer.
Discernment is not always efficient. Sometimes decisions are delayed or new directions are suggested. But the Holy Spirit speaks through all of us, not just through our leaders.
I am praying for our leaders who are organizing our national gathering in Toronto this summer, and I am already praying for all of the delegates who will be going to confer.
Love, Carol Penner, Lendrum MB Church, Edmonton, AB
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