Meetings...Who Needs 'Em?

Meetings. Everybody hates ‘em. Here’s a few quotes that would bear this thesis out.
· A meeting is a gathering where people speak up, say nothing, then all disagree.
· The best meeting is a group of three with one person sick and another out of town.
· A meeting is indispensable when you don’t want to accomplish anything.

Funny stuff. Taking a swipe at meetings is almost like arm wrestling with your grandma. It’s really no contest. Or is it?

I’m a radical. I believe in meetings. I believe in them because I believe in the power of teamwork. Great teams use meetings as a playing field upon which their excellence is displayed.

Why don’t we like meetings? Here’s what I think. It is because we don’t believe in the power of teamwork. Instead we believe in the power of “Me, Myself, and I.” The only reason for a meeting is if we can do more together than we can apart. If I disdain meetings, maybe it is because I believe that I can accomplish more on my own.

God has gone on record frequently in Scripture to affirm the priority of teamwork and synergy (Exodus 18:17-19; Leviticus 26:8; 1 Samuel 14:14; Ecclesiastes 4:9; Mark 3:14; Luke 6:12). We see the principle of teamwork built into God's nature, His creation pattern, and the assignments He gave to men and women. Even some of the great heroes of our faith--David, Daniel, Moses, Paul--served God and His mission in conjunction with others.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t love all meetings. I don’t love to meet for the sake of having a meeting. I do believe in effective meetings as the way to get things done.

Meetings are the way things get done. And if we want to move forward in advancing God’s kingdom, we must improve how we do meetings. Essentially, an effective meeting takes into account three things: purpose, people, and process.

Purpose: Every meeting needs to have a clear purpose that in turn relates back to the purpose of the church, which is making disciples. This is accomplished through a written agenda, built around action verbs, such as “decide” or “review” or “brainstorm”. At any point in the meeting, a team should be able to tell if they are “on task” or “off task.” Getting off task is why many people hate meetings. And they should.

People: Not every meeting has the right people there or, as Good to Great puts it, “the right people on the bus.” Make sure everyone who needs to be there is…and not one person more. If someone only needs to be there for part of the meeting, let them make a cameo appearance. They’ll love you for it.

Process: Every meeting worth having needs a written agenda. It should have a timed schedule, defining how long the team will spend on each agenda item, and include the aforementioned action verbs.

It is true that some meetings cause more harm than good (1 Cor. 11:17). However, that’s not because meetings are intrinsically bad. It is because we don’t really believe in the power of teamwork and leverage its synergy. Like the old saying goes, “Don’t curse the darkness. Light a candle.” Shine some light on teamwork through effective team meetings.


For more information about hosting a workshop on High Performance Meetings at your church or organization, email me at bselby@bgco.org.