I spend a lot of my time in meetings – I mean a lot of time! As a pastor I find myself in multiple meetings every week of my life. However, there are two types of meetings that always make it into my weekly agenda. Every week I am in at least one large group worship meeting and one small group Bible discussion meeting. These two church meetings are a staple in my life.
I have discovered that not all meetings are as meaningful as others. In fact, sometimes I walk away from a meeting feeling like I got nothing out of it or put anything in to it. Sometimes I wonder why we met to begin with. All these meetings have brought me to a few key conclusions about my personal goals for the meetings in which I’m present. Let me share them with you.
First, meaningful meetings need the right message. Let’s face it, meetings without the right content are usually a big waste of time. However, meetings with the right content or information are usually meaningful meetings. The right content gives a meeting substance and makes you leave feeling like it was worth being there. Meetings that lack good content feel like a waste of time. I enjoy fellowship but I want small group meetings with more than just “hang time” to make a meeting feel meaningful. This is why I want my small group meeting to be Bible-centered meetings. I want to be in small groups where we talk about what God says, not just what we think.
Secondly, meaningful meetings are meetings that have a message connected to the mission. Meetings that are not driving the mission of Jesus really are meaningless meetings for me. I believe every meeting Jesus ever had was intended to drive His mission of making disciples. When Jesus drew a crowd or got away with His twelve, He did so for a specific purpose. Jesus saw meetings as a means to and end, not the end in itself. Imagine what might happen if all our church meetings were focused on driving the mission of making disciples. We could probably get rid of half of our meetings, and the other half would produce far greater results.
Meetings + Message + Mission = Meaning
The New Testament Church had meetings. They met in the Temple court as a large group and they met in homes as small groups. Both of these meetings were purpose-filled. They contained the right messages and they both were driving the mission of making disciples of Jesus. Maybe we need to take a lesson from the early Church and get our meetings back on track. Maybe it is time to evaluate all our meetings and make them what God expects them to be.
Impact Discipleship Ministries exists to help Christians and churches be and build disciples. If we can help you realign your church and small groups so that you are making the most of your meetings, please contact us. We would love to provide a free consultation to help you become a church pursuing the Jesus’ mission.
