Church business meetings can be stressful and high stakes. Whether you’re talking budgets, attendance numbers, metrics, building projects, strategies, staff transitions, staffing needs, or many other important topics, church business meetings can create tense moments with different opinions and voices weighing in. This is especially true when there’s a major decision that needs to be made. Most likely, the people at the table are high-level leaders with various experiences, viewpoints, and opinions. When you have multiple strong leaders at the table, it’s normal for there to be some friction and disagreements. That’s not a bad thing! However, it is important, no matter what is being discussed, that we fight to maintain unity in those meetings. With that in mind, here is how you can maintain unity in your church business meeting:
Pray at the Beginning and at the End
Prayer isn’t the only thing you can do in a Church business meeting, but it’s the first thing you should do. Prayer has a way of uniting the attendees and reminding everyone that the church exists to Glorify God and to help people. This keeps the main thing the main thing and helps start the meeting with the right perspective. Prayer also brings peace to our minds and emotions, which may be needed if the meeting’s topics are challenging, heavy, and potential for heated arguments. It’s also a good way to include God in the conversation. Everyone might have great ideas, thoughts, or strategies, but at the end of the day, churches need to be obedient to what they feel God is asking them to do. Prayers remind us of this. Ending the meeting in prayer, no matter how the meeting went, reminds everyone that we are all on the same team trying to accomplish the same thing. Praying at the beginning and the end of meetings is simply stating that this starts and ends with God and that we need Him.
Share Your Honest Opinions and Thoughts Freely
Church business meetings are not a place to hold back on what you think. This is the place to be fully honest and open about what you think and what decisions you think should be made. If you disagree with someone, say so. Don’t hold your opinions and thoughts in. This will only build up and cause unresolved tension, resentment, and possible offense between you and other members in the meeting. Even if things don’t necessarily go your way, you can have peace of mind knowing that you spoke the truth. The team needs your honest feedback and thoughts. Ideas are meant to be shared, not kept. Someone else’s idea or opinion may spark a solution or strategy that no one considered. Create an environment where honesty is valued, cherished, and celebrated. At the end of the day, everyone wants things to go well. Even when there are differing opinions and viewpoints, your honesty helps keep the meeting transparent and avoids the resentment trap. Remember, you would rather the truth come out in the meeting, not in the hallway or a side meeting.
Check Your Volume and Tone
When unity is the goal, paying attention to your volume and tone when speaking is vital. It’s OK to be passionate when sharing your thoughts and opinions, but there is a fine line between passion and aggression, and unfortunately, most people have a hard time distinguishing both. You should feel the freedom to share your thoughts but do so with a tone
and volume that is calm and respectful. Your volume and tone are the difference between a conversation becoming an argument versus a discussion. Things can quickly turn into an argument when there’s a ton of disrespect, belittling, or if someone feels unheard. When emotions get hot, and disagreements occur, it becomes difficult to reel things in and have meaningful dialogue. Keep your tone calm, even in the middle of disagreements. This will help create environments of discussions where you can talk through tough stuff without there being heightened emotions. Hot emotions often cause people to say hurtful things in meetings. Avoid this by keeping your tone and volume in check. This leads to the next point…
Be OK with Pausing the Conversation
When dealing with important topics that have big implications, it’s normal for emotions to get high and things to get tense when there are differing opinions. If and when this happens, be OK with pausing the conversation and giving everyone some time to cool off, calm down, and collect their thoughts. Pause the conversation, have everyone stand up, take a short walk, and drink water. This will help ease everyone’s strong emotions and help everyone involved to come back more level-headed and clear-minded. It’s OK to take a break and can be necessary if and when things get a little heated. Don’t let the meeting get out of hand to the point where there is a blow up, hurtful things are said, or quick decisions are made out of emotion. You want the team to be unified and together, which requires keeping your emotions in check and avoiding a possible blow up. Be OK with pausing the conversation.
Seek to Understand More than to Be Understood
You may have heard this term before, but it’s not just a cliche. When attending church business meetings, you need to make sure to come ready to listen attentively to everyone. Take notes. Look at the person speaking. Really consider what they’re saying. Try to understand where they’re coming from and what they are sharing. Yes, we want people to hear our thoughts and opinions, and we need to be honest about that. However, suppose we don’t take the time to really understand why someone feels a certain way or is bringing a certain perspective, especially when it’s different from our own. In that case, we risk dismissing what’s being shared and may miss out on important information or strategies that can add a lot of value to the church. There’s a reason why James wrote, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” (James 1:19 NIV). Be quick to listen and slow to speak. This will help bring unity to the meeting.
Bring the Chips and Salsa
Meetings can be tense and difficult, but they don’t always have to be. It’s OK to joke around and have fun in business meetings. Bring the chips and salsa. Or cake. Or Doughnuts. Or anything delicious that gives your brain a quick healthy dose of dopamine. Sometimes having your meeting outside the office and in a different setting like a restaurant or coffee shop will help lighten the mood and create a safer environment that fosters unity. When people have fun together and enjoy one another’s company, unity becomes much more attainable. So make sure to take the time and have moments of fun and laughter in your church business meetings. Business doesn’t always have to be serious.
When church business meetings are conducted, everyone ultimately wants to do the right thing and make the right choices. This is a lot easier to accomplish when there’s unity within the meeting. It’s important to keep the points above in mind when you have your next Church business meeting. And don’t forget to bring the chips and salsa!
