In my years of ministry as a pastor, some of the most important things I was a part of were meetings about the Bride of Christ. Working with committees, teams, staff, deacons to determine God’s will for the situation strongly influences the future of churches. Taking the time to Pause and follow God’s plan is so important. Yet as leaders in the church, many times we just show up with no prayer, no plan, no forethought before the meeting. We must do better.
In Discovering Relational Wisdom 3.0 by Ken Sande, he gives a strong acrostic called PAUSE. Here is a quick recap of the first three steps:
The first thing is to Prepare: We prepare and spend adequate time on studying for a message. Meetings also deserve preparation.
The second thing is to Affirm Relationships: John 17 includes Jesus praying for us to have unity so that the world will know that Jesus is Lord. Meetings are important to show respect and affirm relationships. Even if someone disagrees with you, one can show respect and concern. Romans 12:18 says as much as it depends on me, live in peace with all people.
The third thing is to Understand Interests. The other people in the meeting are also believers in Jesus Christ, they also care for their church, and quite often they want Gods will. We are hopeful they will agree with us, but sometimes they don’t. Sometimes they have better ideas than us, or they see something in a different way.
After these three that we talked about last time, the next letter of pause is S. SEARCH FOR CREATIVE SOLUTIONS.
If we really want to work with other people, we must together search for creative solutions. 1 Corinthians 12 emphasizes the Body of Christ working together, and this should occur in this situation.
James shares that if anyone lacks wisdom he should ask from God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. We should be people of prayer to ask him to give us beautiful solutions.
The statement that there are no dumb solutions should be employed. The Holy spirit will eliminate, add, put together and tear apart ideas to come up with beautiful solutions. Be people of faith to come up with beautiful solutions.
It is easy to like your own ideas while not giving others’ ideas even a thought. It is good to remember to listen twice as much as we talk. Two ears and one mouth are not by accident.
The final letter in Pause is E which stands for Evaluate options objectively and reasonably. Be fair to evaluate the good and bad in all without preconceived ideas. Don’t argue but instead speak the truth in love. If one part of the body does not support and work with the other part of the body, soon the body will break down.
Meetings can be some of the most important parts in the history of the church. Yet many times we take it another way and hardly prepare in any way. But when we are willing to be prepared and willing to work together in seeking the will of God, beautiful things can happen. So Pause, take a breath, and give God the glory!
Griff Henderson is the Northwest Regional Ministry Partner for Oklahoma Baptists.
He can be reached at ghenderson@oklahomabaptists.org