Podcast Episode #156
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We discuss a recent post on church committees and why they often impede progress in many churches. We also provide alternate methods to a committee structure and ideas on how to best communicate a change to the committees in your church.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Not all church committees are bad. Not all church committees lack purpose.
- You will likely get some level of pushback or anger when you change a church committee’s purpose or structure.
- Think diligently before starting a committee. It is a lot easier not to start a committee than to kill a committee.
- Committees conform to the doctrine of the perseverance of committees.
- Nomenclature matters with church structures such as committees or ministry teams.
- Doing away with committees is not the solution to the ills in a church, but they are symptomatic of a church’s ills.
- Churches overly focused on committees are often in decline and inwardly focused.
The five problems many church leaders have with church committees are:
- The committee has forgotten its purpose.
- Some committees meet even if they don’t have a reason to meet.
- Some committees attract control freaks.
- It’s hard to kill a committee.
- Unnecessary committees and committee meetings replace ministry.
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My take on committees is similar to Winston Churchill’s take on democracy: they’re the worst way of doing things – except for all the other ways!
That being said, I readily agree some churches overdo it. I used to be in a church that had 46 standing committees. You read that right: FORTY-SIX! It was once a large inner city church, but its attendance had declined through the years. A new pastor came in and led the church to consolidate and trim down the number of committees. Man, did he get some flak over that!
Some committees are used to give people the perception that they have some leadership position when they really have none. (Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.) Some committee appointments are given out as gifts. Other committees are used to kill any new ideas by studying them to death but give high (real) leadership a way out so that they never have to tell someone their idea will not be considered. Some committees are stocked with people who have caused trouble so that they will be perpetually frustrated.
If anyone who reads this thinks that I am describing the actions of Greek and Roman gods or legislative committees and not church committees, there are significant similarities between Mt. Olympus happenings, legislative committees and church commitees. I’m not sure which was patterned off the other.
I was the elder of a church that eventually rewrote its constitution after I led meetings that discovered there was a lot of frustration in the church due to how people had expectations that committee recommendations, decisions and directives would be implemented and followed through on the by the church paid staff. The senior pastor was passive-aggressive, completely lacking in vision, and controlled the staff to ensure they acted according to his way of “not doing the things the committees thought were being implemented.”
Committees can work when these things are accomplished:
1) people who are on the committees have the gifts of the Spirit that are consistent with the committee’s stated mission and purpose. For example, the gift or calling of evangelism is a suitable gift for missions committee members to have. Keep in mind that all committees require the gift of administration, so someone has the ability to synthesize the committee’s purpose with the larger church’s mission and purpose..
2) The church and committee members are on the same “Mission, Vision and Values” page. Values drive behavior and they identify behavioral expectations. Appropriate training programs help all church participants to get on the same MVV page, which is essential of unity.
I was the elder of a church that eventually rewrote its constitution after I led meetings that discovered there was a lot of frustration in the church due to how people had expectations that committee recommendations, decisions and directives would be implemented by the church paid staff. The senior pastor was passive-aggressive, completely lacking in vision, and controlled the staff to ensure they acted according to his way of “not doing the things the committees thought were being implemented.”
Committees can work when these things are accomplished:
1) people who are on the committees have the gifts of the Spirit that are consistent with the committee’s stated mission and purpose. For example, the gift or calling of “evangelism” is a suitable gift for missions committee members to have. Keep in mind that all committees require the gift of administration, so someone has the ability to synthesize the committee’s purpose with the larger church’s mission and purpose..
2) The church paid staff and committee members must be on the same “Mission, Vision and Values” page. Values drive behavior and they identify behavioral expectations. Appropriate training programs help all church participants to get on the same MVV page, which is an essential focus that drives unity.