Nothing can bring joy or fear to church staff than a church board meeting. I have yet to meet many pastors, staff or church leaders who always look forward to these meetings, yet they are important and can be meaningful. I have been in some that have last 45 minutes and one that was over 6 hours! Leading a healthy meeting is not easy, and while meetings may be necessary, we must be good stewards of our time in meetings. I have served churches where meetings were fun, others where there was a lot of crying after (not the good kind) and yet others that required a stiff drink afterwards just to get to sleep!
One of the greatest challenge in any church leadership meeting is making good use of your time. Don’t vote on anything you do not have to vote on. Spend very little time on reports (ask the members to read them ahead of time so its only a matter of questions and maybe 1-3 highlights of items from the report or something not on the report). Limit the business of the meeting to those things you must do, simply giving out information.
The more time you spend in these meetings on the bigger picture items, the more healthy the meetings, your church leadership, staff and church will be. If half or more of the meeting is spent in prayer, the scripture, devotionals, and big picture discussion and decision making, the better. While every church board has tasks they must complete, move through those quickly and focus on the big picture. Expect your staff, ministry teams and volunteers to handle the day-to-day work and decisions of the church. The more your board meetings are focused on moving forward, the more energy they, your staff, you board and your church will have to do just that-move forward! Board meetings do not have to be bad, long, a drag, suck the life out of you or make you drink. They can be meaningful and life giving with some thoughtful, intentional effort.