God So Loved the World...

I have chaired hundreds of meetings of various organizations over the last 30+ years: university fraternities, social work teams, non-profit organizations, church conference divisions, even a city commission that I chaired. I consider my experience and knowledge as a leader well above the average. However, all of my experience and know-how has not prepared me for chairing meetings of the association of churches for which I am president.

These meetings seem to get away from me time after time. It first happened last march. The agenda was well-thought-out, the points inclusive, and the time allotted seemed to be more than adequate. Yet, it went in a direction that all of the planning and anticipation did not foresee. A pastor from another area had asked to make a presentation. I agreed and allowed 15 minutes in an agenda for his discourse. He talked for 35 minutes! And I, as chair of the meeting, was reluctant to yank him out of the pulpit. I had never before faced such a situation.

Until tonight’s meeting of the governing board of the association. I announced at the beginning of the meeting that we did not have a long agenda and that we could be finished in an hour or less. The bloody meeting lasted over two and a half hours! Again, I felt that I lost control of the meeting and it took quite a while to get us off the tangents and back to the agenda.

So, what is it about this association? It is as if we are all in a row boat and each of us is rowing in a different direction and the boat is going no where. If I were an inexperienced leader, I could say that my lack of practice and skills were at fault. As an experienced leader, I would like to say that these meetings that go hay wire are learning experiences for me. But I can’t figure out what I am being taught!

Next month is the most important meeting in the association’s year. I think that the agenda is well-thought-out, the points inclusive, and the time allotted is more than adequate. Still, I know there is something I am not taking into account. And, as with much of life, if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong and at the worst possible moment. I suppose I must simply do the best I can and trust the rest to God!