Can a manual about meeting processes be a thing of beauty? No? Just me? I was reading The Uniting Church Manual for Meetings the other day when I noticed how beautifully it sets out the consensus procedure.  It’s a process that allows everyone who wishes, to have their say and contribute their wisdom – the Body of Christ in action.  By following this process, a spirit of community is built, and this reduces the likelihood of rancour and nastiness.  You can find the manual in all its glory here.

The secret to the smooth running of formal consensus-driven meetings is inviting the Holy Spirit into the proceedings.  So, why do we so often forget?

We’ll take it from here, God. You wait over there.

Unfortunately, we often fail to invite the Holy Spirit into church meetings. Discord and bitterness often ensue even though the majority of the participants may be sincere Christians.

John joined a new church and eventually stood for Church Council. At his first meeting, he wanted to contribute to the discussion and offered his opinion. The Council Secretary contradicted everything he said. What’s more, others on Council – people he normally got along with – either backed up the secretary or said nothing. In the ensuing weeks and months, everything John said at Church Council was greeted with the same response, thus, shutting him down. He eventually resigned.

Everyone present at this meeting was a sincere Christian, and yet the group was not functioning well.

You’re Christian, I’m Christian – Why can’t we get along?

It is not enough for individuals to have a personal faith.  The group needs to invite the Holy Spirit into its life as well. In this way, the community life is energised and all relationships reflect the loving nature of Jesus.

Remember the story in John 20:19-23 when Jesus breathed on the group of the assembled disciples and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’. Again, in Acts 2 we read the story of the Holy Spirit who came first upon the group of Jesus’ followers as they prayed together. This is how the church began.

Lessons from the early church

However, the early churches were not perfect, and had their share of difficulties just as we have today. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians reveals his displeasure, even anger toward their behaviour.  In 1 Corinthians 1:10-17, we read about the cliques that had formed in the Corinthian church and how they were at one another’s throats.  Paul does his best to calm them down, and then goes on to write his beautiful treatise on love in 1 Corinthians 13.

In my opinion, he was inspired to write about the nature of Christian love because the Corinthians needed to hear it.  He also frequently writes that the same Spirit, i.e. the Holy Spirit, is to be the basis of their interactions with one another, especially with respect to the exercise of various gifts (1 Corinthians 12:4-11).  Other writers of the epistles also frequently plead with the early Christians to behave lovingly toward one another (1 John 3:11-23).  It is the presence of the Holy Spirit that makes this love possible.

The Holy Spirit also needs to be present in the relationships between church members when they meet together informally. Gossiping, backbiting and exclusion of newcomers is seen too often in church life.  When the Holy Spirit is present, we find that we can relate cordially to people we may not particularly like.  The exercise of agape love makes this possible.  This kind of love is not about liking or affection but a commitment to seeking the highest good of the other person.  In this way we can cope with difficult people.

Extending an Invitation

In conclusion, let’s remember that the Holy Spirit is not just revealed to individual Christians but is part of group relationships as well.  However, the Holy Spirit does not intrude into formal or informal meetings but waits to be invited in. An example of this approach being successfully applied can be found in this blog post (scroll to the bottom). Members’ relationships with one another were completely transformed; such is the power of the Holy Spirit.

For more on church meetings, see:

CHURCH MEETINGS: their role in church life. (Love ‘em or hate ‘em, we have to have them, but how do we survive them?) – Part One

CHURCH MEETINGS: How to get formal and informal groups working cooperatively – Part Two