Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Meetings of Value
Recently my wife and I purchased a used minivan. Our old van, a 1989 Plymouth Voyager, had over 230,000 miles and needed some major repairs, but it wasn't worth fixing. When a couple of my friends saw me driving our "new" van, they remarked: "You really got your money's worth out of the old van." We all like value. We don't like to spend money on something only to find that it isn't worth the money. Our time is important too. None of us like to waste time. One of my seminary professors had a good way of encouraging us to make every meeting worth the time. He said that if we were to charge money to attend a meeting would they, after the meeting was over, ask for their money back? Our time is precious, but I think too many of us preachers and church leaders expect people to come to meetings out of obligation and not because of a genuine need or purpose for the meeting. Yes, every meeting, no matter how boring or seemingly unnecessary, will achieve some mundane purpose, but after the meeting, when the lights are turned out, and the people drive home, can they honestly say that something of genuine value was accomplished or was it just another mindless spin around the old hamster wheel--lots of talk about nothing. Pastors and church leaders have the responsibility of keeping the ministries of the church moving forward. Board meetings and committee meetings need to be forward looking. To wrestle with the issues of today, tomorrow, next week, next month is a far wiser use of people's time than looking backward. Reports are necessary, but most of our time should be spent in planning for the future. When we plan for the future, we will better sense our need for faith. When we look at the challenges of tomorrow, we will be forced to fall on our knees and seek God because the challenge is too great for us. When we spend time planning for the future, we will pray for wisdom. When we look at the needs of tomorrow, we will see that in our own strength we can't possibly meet those needs, and we will draw close to God because he is the only sure source of power. As we prepare for our annual congregational meetings coming up in December and January, let's make them events that will be worth everyone's time. Let's plan our meetings so that when all is said and done the people will feel as if they have participated in something of substantial value. Let's share our dreams for the future of our church. Let's set goals for our ministries that are not just reasonable--achievable in our human effort--but goals that cause us to trust God--goals that are honoring to God because we believe that he can do great things. Let's ask God to give us a vision for our church that will give us a purpose and a passion. Let's pray for each other that God will revive us and fill us with his Spirit so that our congregational meeting will be positive, uplifting, and encouraging. Time is short; time is valuable; let's make the best of it. As Paul said: "Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil (Ephesians 5:15-16)."1 Trying to get the most out of my time, Pastor Steve October 26, 2007 P.S. Don't forget annual reports are due next month.Footnotes 1 Ephesians 5:15-16, NASB (New American Standard Bible). Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
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