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You might be able to have fewer meetings. Churches that are “very congregational” sometimes have constitutions/bylaws which demand monthly meetings. In other cases, it’s just tradition that they are held that often. In the worst cases, congregations are led to believe – by virtue of their frequent meetings – that the “inmates” have the right to “run the assylum.” Some churches have to decrease the number of meetings to change this mindset – and it isn’t easy.
- You might need to have more meetings. No kidding. I like to use a big triangle to illustrate three basic types of church government. One point is labeled “congregationalism” (democracy), another is labeled “elder rule” (oligarchy) and the third point is labeled “episcopal” (dictatorship). My observation is that no church is “purely” practicing any of these three; we are all somewhere on that triangle, between the points. Savvy observers have pointed out that, in truth, every church is at least somewhat congregational. If the leaders pay no attention to anyone outside their ranks, the followers will quit giving and quit following and the leaders will have no one left to lead. The people will be heard, whether we’re listening or not. If your church has only one official meeting a year – and it’s not pleasant – you may need to increase the number of meetings to give your people an outlet for tension and a chance to be heard. One interim pastor has a quarterly update meeting – every time there’s a fifth Sunday in a month – to let folks know how the interim process is going and get their questions answered. Even though I’m uncomfortable with folks making speeches “from the floor” in an effort to sway their fellow members to adopt their viewpoints, I believe there’s a time for this. What we don’t let folks say “from the floor” they will say in some other venue, oftentimes with a more negative attitude. Better yet,
- Challenge your people to re-think the whole concept of “business meetings” as we have practiced them. Think about it. At 10:30 AM we’re in our favorite chairs or pews worshipping God with “reverence and godly fear.” A few minutes later we come back to the same room which has now magically become a town hall. The pastor or other leader up front has become “the enemy” and we now find it acceptable to be disrespectful, cynical and rude. I have found that when I challenge this whole paradigm, God’s people respond, repent and change their behavior dramatically. Instead of just “preaching this” through a prayer at the beginning of a meeting (you know you’ve done this!), take the time to really teach it. Challenge the assumption that there is a time or place when it is acceptable for us to treat each other like political adversaries.
- Challenge the use of “parliamentery procedure” as found in Robert’s Rules of Order. Many congregational churches have constitutions that demand the use of “Robert’s Rules…” so you may be stuck with them for a while. In other churches it’s just a tradition. My view is that Robert’s Rules are fine for the actual town meeting or the Lion’s Club but that they have no place in the church of Jesus Christ. Robert’s Rules, if genuinely followed, allow the newest church member to make proposals from the floor which are then voted on. I believe this is just plain, flat out unscriptural. In the church as found in the New Testament, good ideas can come from anywhere, but leadership comes from mature and godly leaders. Mature and godly leaders may, in fact, love the idea proposed by the newest church member “from the floor” of the meeting, but wisdom dictates that they thank the member for the suggestion and then talk and pray about it carefully the next time they meet as a board. A simple reminder that “in our church, proposals that we vote on in meetings come from the board, but we’re open to suggestions from anyone” is usually sufficient.
- Include prayer, praise, worship, celebration and appreciation of people in the meeting. Try to make your meetings a celebration of what God is doing. “Isn’t it wonderful that we have to buy a larger van for the youth group?” All but the most task driven people in your church will appreciate your “sweetening” your meetings with some of these elements. (Let those “most task driven” people stay home; they aren’t going to be happy no matter how you do the meeting.)
- Do laborious presentations – like the new church budget – in advance of the real meeting. This diffuses tension, gives folks a chance to ask good, hard questions, find errors and make great suggestions. The few folks who are really interested in the nitty gritty details of the budget can attend this meeting; the many folks who aren’t don’t have to listen to the endless questions at the annual meeting. Some people have to find errors and point them out publicly; let them do it at some time other than the official annual meeting.
- Don’t surprise people. In the West they tell us, “Churches are like horses; they are easily ‘spooked.'” Nobody likes having a new idea thrown at them with the idea that they will immediately accept it and vote “yes.” For most of us, when we are presented with a new idea and asked to vote on it at the same session, the vote is going to be a resounding “no.”
- Don’t vote if it’s not going to pass. The experience of the followers rejecting the proposal of the leaders is unpleasant for everybody. Lead by concentric circles. Typically, this means that the pastor has the great idea (I’m assuming a lot here!), he convinces his staff and board members, together, they convince a wider circle of leaders. Informal surveys are taken to guage the readiness of the church to follow their leaders. In most cases, following this methodology, negative votes on proposals just don’t happen.
- Avoid votes that create winners and losers. I should have listened to a wise elder before I engineered a vote on a change of worship service format. This is something we could have simply decided as elders – carefullly, of course – or had the congregation vote on our proposal: 9 AM Worship Service and Sunday School and 10:30 Worship Service and Children’s Church (or whatever). Instead, we had the church vote on several options. We ended up with winners of course, but a lot more people who had voted for the losing options than the winning one – and a lot of grumpy attitudes.
- Don’t let people behave badly. As Cesar Milan, the Dog Whisperer would say, “be the pack leader.” Again, teach people that the business meeting is not a format where it’s okay to act like unbelievers. It isn’t. Teach about how we should treat each other – everywhere and always – and when someone violates this, gently call them on it. Remind them of what you’ve taught and offer to “hear them out” in some other venue. Practice a line or two which you’ll use to stop bad behavior. Almost everyone will deeply appreciate your willingness to do this and your meeting attendance will improve.
- Change your own attitude. First of all, stop seeing the glass half empty and start seeing it half full. You can choose to believe that meeting attendance is low because people don’t care about their church or you can choose to believe that meeting attendance is low because the followers trust their leaders. In many churches the latter is definitely the case. You can thank God that people trust you! Beyond the way you view the glass, following some of these suggestions can greatly improve your meetings and greatly improve your attitude toward them. I’ve come to see the meetings of our interim pastorates as milestones, important, celebratory events where vital, future-shaping decisions are made. Some of the meetings we’ve experienced in interim ministry have left us shaking our heads in wonder and joy over what God has done in our midst. “Can you believe such and such a church just voted unanimously to ___________?” Donna and I exclaim to each other. We’ve come a long way since we were asking “Do we have to have these business meetings?”
