Word for Today, Tue, 14 Mar 2006: Effective Meetings

#1 · March 14, 2006, 11:42 pm

Quote from Forum Archives on March 14, 2006, 11:42 pm
Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 14 Mar 2006: Effective Meetings
Dear friends,

Hey, the ides of March are upon us? Does anyone remember what that really
means, beyond the fact that tomorrow is March 15? That is a free digression
from the Word, but now let's apply ourselves completely to putting the truth of
God's Word into practical application in our every day lives.

Most of us work at something, whether in a business or at home, and probably in
our local church as well. Therefore, the message that Larry Davies shares with
us is relevant, regardless of our current position in life.

God tells us to come together as a local assembly of people. At my local
church, we read scripture and interpret those assemblies to be gathering of the
local church, as a church. God intends, not only that we honor Him with our
time, effort, talents, and money, but also that we bring Him praise with our
lips, in song and in deed. We are told in Hebrews to gather together for the
purpose of encouraging one another, and all the more as you see "The Day"
approaching.

Now on one hand, no one knows the hour or the day. But on the other hand, I
can tell you that the "Day of the LORD" is most certainly a day sooner than it
was yesterday. Reading true Biblical prophesy (instead of the nonsense we see
everywhere else) does indicate that we can see many things happening that the
Bible predicted. Now maybe some of those things are just in the forefront of
my mind because the words of scripture are fresh in my mind, but some things
are in my mind because they are hard to avoid and other things are in my mind
because I read the Word, still other things are in my mind because of what my
preacher preaches. I certainly am a person affected by my environment.

What is your environment like? Are your meetings times of productive
activities, or are they times of nonsense? Get into God's Word right now, and
set your priorities straight, then allow God to use His Word deep within your
soul to convict you of sin, draw you to Him, and find effective principles for
living His Way, and encouraging one another... all the more as you see "The
Day" approaching!

Yours in Christ,
Brian

_____________________________________________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"Lord, Please... No Meetings!" Larry Davies

"I hate meetings!" I'm not kidding! One thing I didn't anticipate when becoming
a minister... were the absurd number of meetings that come with church life.
Have you ever been to a board meeting with the main topic being whether to pay
someone to cut the grass or use volunteers? Churches often have hundreds of
committee meetings... each jam-packed with issues. For example:

* Who left the lights on in the men's bathroom last week? (Wasting money)

* Did you hear what happened to Martha last night? (Gossip)

* There's a bunch of spoiled food in the refrigerator. (Clean-up)

* Who's cooking the hot dogs after church this Sunday? (Hey... I like that
one!)

Do you see the picture? It's not pretty! But after many years of ministry, I've
learned an amazing truth! Are you ready? This will surprise you! The issue
isn't about meetings at all. Nope! The real problem is my leadership and my bad
attitude. As pastor, I was the one who needed to mend my ways and fast.

"Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can
be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to
outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together,
as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the
day of his coming back again is drawing near." Hebrews 10:23 - 25

In other words, we gather at a meeting in order to hold tightly to the hope God
has promised us. Meetings should be used to encourage one another to outbursts
of love and good deeds. The idea is not to stop meetings but rather to use
meetings as a source of encouragement, an opportunity for teaching and
especially a call to Godly action. Wow! I was missing the point... so I
changed!

Before any meeting I have learned to ask four simple questions:

* Is God invited? This is about priorities. More than a perfunctory prayer or
devotion, this question is a spiritual challenge: Are we vigorously seeking to
follow God's will?

* Do you know where you're going? This is about organization. What will you
accomplish? Is there a clear agenda to follow? Are you prepared to answer
reasonable questions?

* Are the committee members with you? This is about communication. Does the
committee have enough information? Is everyone participating in a healthy and
creative discussion?

* Will the meeting end with smiles or frowns? This is about encouragement.
Does the meeting end with the anticipation we are following God's will for our
church?

Do you want something more specific? Maybe these questions will help:

1. Do you begin any meeting seeking God's direction?

2. Do you start and finish on time?

3. Is there a written agenda?

4. Are you providing adequate information?

5. Are you making reasonable decision-making progress?

6. Is there an atmosphere encouraging creative thinking?

7. Do you offer opportunities for friendly disagreement?

8. Is there reasonable consensus with the direction of the group?

9. Has the overall atmosphere been encouraging?

10. Do you end seeking God's blessing for your action?

Oh, one more thing... we changed our church structure too. Recently, we
reorganized all of our committees into four teams: Ministry & Missions,
Pastoral Care, Nurture and Administration. Each team focuses on how we can best
fulfill our mission statement: Picture a lighthouse and within the light: "A
Light to Guide You Safely Home." As a church we strive to be a lighthouse to
our community and our world providing a steady and comforting light to guide
the lost into the safety of God's harbor.

Now, after carefully following all the lessons learned... I love meetings! (No
I don't.) We never argue! (Yes, we do.) Our discussions are always relevant!
(No, they aren't.) But we are making solid progress and God's hand is gently
guiding our ministry. Just one more thing: "Who is cooking the hot dogs?"

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our prayer team
today. Check it out by clicking here:
www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds Ministry
partner. Click here: www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Word for Today, Tue, 14 Mar 2006: Effective Meetings
Dear friends,

Hey, the ides of March are upon us? Does anyone remember what that really
means, beyond the fact that tomorrow is March 15? That is a free digression
from the Word, but now let's apply ourselves completely to putting the truth of
God's Word into practical application in our every day lives.

Most of us work at something, whether in a business or at home, and probably in
our local church as well. Therefore, the message that Larry Davies shares with
us is relevant, regardless of our current position in life.

God tells us to come together as a local assembly of people. At my local
church, we read scripture and interpret those assemblies to be gathering of the
local church, as a church. God intends, not only that we honor Him with our
time, effort, talents, and money, but also that we bring Him praise with our
lips, in song and in deed. We are told in Hebrews to gather together for the
purpose of encouraging one another, and all the more as you see "The Day"
approaching.

Now on one hand, no one knows the hour or the day. But on the other hand, I
can tell you that the "Day of the LORD" is most certainly a day sooner than it
was yesterday. Reading true Biblical prophesy (instead of the nonsense we see
everywhere else) does indicate that we can see many things happening that the
Bible predicted. Now maybe some of those things are just in the forefront of
my mind because the words of scripture are fresh in my mind, but some things
are in my mind because they are hard to avoid and other things are in my mind
because I read the Word, still other things are in my mind because of what my
preacher preaches. I certainly am a person affected by my environment.

What is your environment like? Are your meetings times of productive
activities, or are they times of nonsense? Get into God's Word right now, and
set your priorities straight, then allow God to use His Word deep within your
soul to convict you of sin, draw you to Him, and find effective principles for
living His Way, and encouraging one another... all the more as you see "The
Day" approaching!

Yours in Christ,
Brian

_____________________________________________________________

Sowing Seeds of Faith...

"Lord, Please... No Meetings!" Larry Davies

"I hate meetings!" I'm not kidding! One thing I didn't anticipate when becoming
a minister... were the absurd number of meetings that come with church life.
Have you ever been to a board meeting with the main topic being whether to pay
someone to cut the grass or use volunteers? Churches often have hundreds of
committee meetings... each jam-packed with issues. For example:

* Who left the lights on in the men's bathroom last week? (Wasting money)

* Did you hear what happened to Martha last night? (Gossip)

* There's a bunch of spoiled food in the refrigerator. (Clean-up)

* Who's cooking the hot dogs after church this Sunday? (Hey... I like that
one!)

Do you see the picture? It's not pretty! But after many years of ministry, I've
learned an amazing truth! Are you ready? This will surprise you! The issue
isn't about meetings at all. Nope! The real problem is my leadership and my bad
attitude. As pastor, I was the one who needed to mend my ways and fast.

"Without wavering, let us hold tightly to the hope we say we have, for God can
be trusted to keep his promise. Think of ways to encourage one another to
outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together,
as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the
day of his coming back again is drawing near." Hebrews 10:23 - 25

In other words, we gather at a meeting in order to hold tightly to the hope God
has promised us. Meetings should be used to encourage one another to outbursts
of love and good deeds. The idea is not to stop meetings but rather to use
meetings as a source of encouragement, an opportunity for teaching and
especially a call to Godly action. Wow! I was missing the point... so I
changed!

Before any meeting I have learned to ask four simple questions:

* Is God invited? This is about priorities. More than a perfunctory prayer or
devotion, this question is a spiritual challenge: Are we vigorously seeking to
follow God's will?

* Do you know where you're going? This is about organization. What will you
accomplish? Is there a clear agenda to follow? Are you prepared to answer
reasonable questions?

* Are the committee members with you? This is about communication. Does the
committee have enough information? Is everyone participating in a healthy and
creative discussion?

* Will the meeting end with smiles or frowns? This is about encouragement.
Does the meeting end with the anticipation we are following God's will for our
church?

Do you want something more specific? Maybe these questions will help:

1. Do you begin any meeting seeking God's direction?

2. Do you start and finish on time?

3. Is there a written agenda?

4. Are you providing adequate information?

5. Are you making reasonable decision-making progress?

6. Is there an atmosphere encouraging creative thinking?

7. Do you offer opportunities for friendly disagreement?

8. Is there reasonable consensus with the direction of the group?

9. Has the overall atmosphere been encouraging?

10. Do you end seeking God's blessing for your action?

Oh, one more thing... we changed our church structure too. Recently, we
reorganized all of our committees into four teams: Ministry & Missions,
Pastoral Care, Nurture and Administration. Each team focuses on how we can best
fulfill our mission statement: Picture a lighthouse and within the light: "A
Light to Guide You Safely Home." As a church we strive to be a lighthouse to
our community and our world providing a steady and comforting light to guide
the lost into the safety of God's harbor.

Now, after carefully following all the lessons learned... I love meetings! (No
I don't.) We never argue! (Yes, we do.) Our discussions are always relevant!
(No, they aren't.) But we are making solid progress and God's hand is gently
guiding our ministry. Just one more thing: "Who is cooking the hot dogs?"

Read Sowing Seeds of Faith... everyday! Click here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/Devotions.htm

Are you receiving prayer concerns from around the world? Join our prayer team
today. Check it out by clicking here:
http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

How can I regularly support your ministry? Become a Sowing Seeds Ministry
partner. Click here: http://www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/ministry_partner.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world -- like a city on a mountain,
glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light under a basket!
Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all." (Matthew 5:14-15)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: http://www.geocities.com/masinick/

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
mail.yahoo.com