Men’s Business Meetings
These events scare me. The men’s business meeting is sometimes not for the timid soul. I remember in a small Texas town, I was a new Christian and was not allowed at the men’s business meeting. It was conducted to deal with the elders. Fortunately, the family that I was staying with had enough wisdom to keep me from seeing Christians at their worst. I remember the first men’s business meeting I ever attended as a new Christian. About an hour into the event, two of the men got into a shouting match with one another with one of the men storming out with a slam of the door behind him. These events scare me.
Fortunately last night in Waynesboro, we had a highly positive men’s meeting. The elders had a agenda to address with the men. There were various opinions on various topics, but everything was conducted with Christian maturity. After I left, I felt uplifted and inspired for future work in the congregation. It seemed that we were asking the right questions and dealing with the right issues. A lot of progress was being made in Waynesboro. Being at Waynesboro, I am no longer afraid of these events.
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About The Author
Also, on my podcast I have last Sunday’s sermon. Check it out if you have time.
I prefer a congregational meeting, which at the Ithaca Church of Christ we have once every two months. It allows every member an opportunity to hear from the leadership, the elders and evangelist (me), and give back feedback. There are no final decisions made there but it allows us leaders to have a conversation with the congregation, guage there feelings for different things, here some suggestions or concerns, and even answer some questions in a public format. For example, we recently had out video projector and screen installed. But before we start using this technology for all of the possible ways it could be used, we want a chance to speak with the entire church to share with them what we hope to accomplish with this technological tool and get their feedback prior to actually doing something.
Rex
Ithaca Church of Christ
Ithaca, NY
I love congregational meetings too.
Matthew,
Could you explain why a church with elders has men’s business meetings rather than congregational meetings to inform and gather information from the entire congregation? I’m not trying to cause a problem, but I’m a little confused. I grew up in a congregation without elders and we had men’s business meetings. But in congregations with elders, we always had congregational meetings in which the elders would provide information and ask for input from all members.
I was going to say much the same thing as Terry… I understand that there are business things that have nothing to do with spiritual leadership (elder’s stuff), and these items need to be discussed, but wouldn’t it give the congregation a better feel for why decisions are being made if it was done in a congregational setting?
I grew up in a rather smallish congregation in the Northeast and we went through periods without Elders. During those times we had business meetings, but whenever we were able to establish an Eldership and appoint Deacons, well outside of of quarterly Elder/Deacons meetings anything that was going on was brought before the congregation (usually then followed by those quarterly meetings).
I think that sometimes groups micro manage to the point that men put in charge of things are constantly looking over their shoulder when they would be better off dedicating that energy to the task at hand.
I spent many years in management, and a good manager knows how to give empowerment to capable people, then stand back and let them do their tasks.
Jimbo
Why does the Waynesboro congregation have men’s meeting, probably because we have always had men’s meetings. I really do not know the background of this desire, I have only been with the congregation for 4 years, so I guess I will ask the elders about this. But I do not believe that it is because we do not feel that women have a say in the congregation, or that women are not important to us. Probably, this is done out of habit. I certainly see the need for all people to have a say in congregational life. Probably some of these comments are coming from the desire for women to have more of a say in congregational life. It has been in the past that the men made every choice and the women did most of the work. I hope we are not doing that. As for the mirco-managing, I have seen this a lot and certainly hope that churches across America are overcoming to weak leadership model. I have been guilty of this before, but I am growing past this habit. I think any great eldership desires to give the work to the congregation and have it done, so that they can focus not on light bulbs but on the souls of the congregation. The elders are too important for micro-managing a congregation.
Matthew
It sounds like you’ve got a good group of men there. I just recently finished reading Ken Sande’s “The Peacemaker”, which deals with Christian approaches to conflict resolution. I was impressed by the book’s obviously well though-out position (theologically) on Christian peace-making. When I hear of past men’s meetings (like those at places other than Waynesboro) I feel they would benefit from this book.
I read The Peacemaking Pastor, which was another good book on this role. Thank you for the comment, and we do have some good men here, not perfect, but men with good hearts.
Thanks for the response, Matthew. By the way, I am not advocating feminism. I support male elders/pastors/overseers. I was simply curious about having men’s business meetings when a church has elders. Also, I am teaching many of Ken Sande’s ideas in my Peacemaking for Families class at the Contact Church of Christ on Sunday mornings. He has a good grasp of biblical concepts.