By Paul Johnson
Church Strengthening Team Leader
Few aspects of church life are more volatile than business meetings. Baptist ones are infamous. Here's Thom Rayner's list of 10 most wacko happenings at a business meeting. Let's not add more! As the story goes, in 1876 Henry Robert was asked to chair a church business meeting. He made a fool of himself (can you identify?). That's why he wrote Robert's Rules of Order. It's worth a long look.
What to do? They're necessary evils, this pastor laments. Rainer says stop it! Having so many meetings, he means, giving seven reasons you should go to quarterly or semi-annual business meetings.
Lifeway has nine steps to a successful business meeting, including get outside help with controversial issues and present motions clearly and professionally. More, 17 tips, including one I like best, End meetings at the agreed time. More simple suggestions, including always have "the meeting before the meeting." Interesting.
In my resource I came across "unfortunate" and "hellish" to describe business meetings, but fun? These folk think so, with 11 ideas for having fun, like take all the chairs out and conduct it, everyone standing. Ah, maybe not...
