Committee Meetings

I remember reading years ago that the great preacher G. Campbell Morgan detested church committee meetings. If I recall correctly his comment was they were endless discussions of who could and couldn't have a key to the back door of the church! Well, I don't detest church committee meetings, but I do long for the day when they can operate on an agenda, take less than an hour, and be scheduled some time other than right after I have preached.

How do you accomplish that? Well, I suppose I could come up with the agenda myself and then push through the items limiting the amount of time on each. I could just say when we will have the meeting and do it when I am at my best. The problem with all of this is that I don't really think I have the right to impose the agenda with a pre-designed outcome in view. Why should someone spend their time coming to a meeting if all the decisions have been made before hand? And when it come to me picking the time, people simply will not bend their schedules to my will. In other words, if I want people to come I'm going to have to work with the majority and resign myself to being the most flexible person in the group.

So, does it sound to you like I'm a pastoral wimp? I can see how some of my "pastoral authority" friends might see it that way. I am simply trying to recognize the value of everyone on each of those committees. I do believe there is greater strength in consensus than dictatorship. I suppose you could say that I am trying to have long view of this issue. I just wish we could do it a bit more efficiently.