Managing the Church
For council chairs, trustees, and others with
gifts of administration
Putting soul in your committee
By Jason Kuniholm
My journey into finding practical ways to add soul and spiritual depth to committee meetings began two years ago after a particularly uneventful leadership meeting. The chair, our Administrative Elder, asked me after the meeting: “I see what is needed in our meetings, but I can’t get us there. Would you help?” This began a two-year trial and error period of finding practical ways to create soul in our committees.
We had a church vision, including a mission statement and core values. We even had an articulated committee vision to ensure that every meeting be a time of connecting with God and with each other. We based this on 2 Thessalonians 1:3 and a desire to grow in faith and to grow in love. This relational theme guided our efforts to discover something more in our committee meetings.
At the first meeting when we began to change, I told the group that what I was after was depth. I wanted each leader to be energized by this meeting. I wanted the leaders to connect with God and each other. I had no idea where this was going to take us, but I was going to try some wild things because it was that important.
At one of our first meetings we made WWJD [What would Jesus do?] bracelets with beads. This slogan became our guiding motto for the first year of this experiment in creative leadership. We kept trying new ways of holding meetings until at one meeting a committee chair said: “I feel like we are in a sacred place.”
Energizing our committee meetings is an evolving process. We still have some “downer” meetings. But I am learning to evaluate the process, by asking: Where did energy lag or pick up? We are learning that creating a healthy group process is what leadership is about.
Creating soul in committee work takes time and a spirit of discovery. Some things won’t work in every context. But here are five practical skills I’ve found helpful in the risky task of leading committees in a soulfilled way:
1. Check-in with each other at the beginning of each committee meeting.
One way is to ask each committee member to share what is primary on their minds. This validates the importance of the day, sets a tone of compassion, and frees the members to be more attentive to the tasks of the meeting.
2. Begin with the sacred reading of Scripture, also known as lectio divina (see resources section).
This skill in reading Scripture as formational rather than only informational shapes the committee and increases the depth of meetings.
3. A good question is a great leadership tool.
A well-thought-out question on the issue under discussion makes room for creativity. Once when a meeting was feeling heavy and unfocused, I simply asked, with little emotion: Do you want to grow? It was the creativity tipping point as discussion turned to goals and priorities in light of our church’s history. Good questions bring surprises. Be ready.
4. Take time to pray in the middle of a meeting.
Praying for a specific issue reminds us that we are sharing our perspectives in an effort to bring them under God’s direction. This practice gives God access to your meeting.
5. Keep a “Leadership Nugget” notepad.
I distribute a small notepad to each leader and ask them to jot down at the end of a meeting one leadership nugget they’ve learned. These insights function like a personal leadership development course.Jason Kuniholm is pastor of Frazer Mennonite Church, Frazer, Pennsylvania.