Summary: Meetings in the Church—it's a love/hate thing. Rarely do people enjoy attending meetings but we still discover ways to plan more meetings.<br> <br> This may come across as a blunt message, but meetings are either well done or toxic and it's important that leaders get them right. How you run a meeting has a dramatic influence on how you are loved as a leader. If you run a good meeting, those who follow you will be more willing to serve you. If you run a bad meeting, the only thing to increase is the eye-rolling.<br> <br> I want to use Ward Council as the model in this post, but this information can be applied to most meetings within the church. When I say meeting I am not referring to any meetings in the 3 hour block. I'm talking about council meetings (ward council, presidency meetings, stake high council, etc.).<br> <br> Handbook 2 (<a href="https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/meetings-in-the-church?lang=eng#182" target="_blank" rel="noopener">18.2</a>) tells us that ward council should be held "regularly (at least monthly)." I've heard about general authorities visiting local stakes and encouraging bishops to hold ward council more than just once a month. Some are even mandating ward council to be held weekly.<br> <br> I get it. I don't think these authorities are trying to torture anyone with more meetings. They want the ward council to work together more often and elevate the ward in general; however, I'm not sure if scheduling more meetings is the answer. I'm not saying meeting as a ward council more often is a bad idea; but if you do, make sure you set some clear objectives and rules.<br> <br> Elder David A. Bednar said:<br> <br> If I had the wish of my heart, I would remove from the vocabulary of the Latter-day Saints the word meeting. We have not been talking about a ward council meeting. We've been talking about a revelatory experience with the members of the ward council. And if members of councils, if members of families, as they come together, would think in terms of “I’m preparing to participate in a revelatory experience with my family” instead of going to a meeting—a revelatory experience with the members of the ward council—I think we would prepare and act much differently. In these latter days, given the forces of the adversary and the darkness, no one person in the family and no one person in a ward is going to be the conduit through which all of the answers come.<br> So all of that speaks to the spiritual nature of this work and seeking for the inspiration to do what the Lord wants us to do. (<a href="https://www.lds.org/broadcasts/article/worldwide-leadership-training/2010/11/panel-discussion?lang=eng" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2010 World Wide Leadership Training</a>)<br> <br> So let's agree that you won't hold another meeting unless you have sufficiently outlined it as a revelatory experience. If it isn't, cancel it; it isn't worth holding a meeting that is anything different.<br> <br> In an effort to do this, let's review the 7 Unbreakable Rules of Church Meetings<br> 7 Unbreakable Rules of Church Meetings<br> 1. 60 Minute Limit (seriously)<br> Handbook 2 (<a href="https://www.lds.org/handbook/handbook-2-administering-the-church/the-ward-council?lang=eng#46" target="_blank" rel="noopener">4.6</a>) advises ward council should be 60-90 minutes in duration. This is nice encouragement for those holding 3 hour meetings (you should be ashamed), but in reality there is no meeting that needs to go longer than 60 minutes. Do you disagree? (please comment below) Meetings longer than 60 minutes damage your effectiveness as a leader. Nobody enjoys them and they need to stop.<br> <br> If you can't help but go over the 1 hour mark, then you need more discipline through a timer. If you need help with not getting carried away in a meeting, your next meeting should have a kitchen timer present.
