Friday Five--Meetings

Here is the RevGalBlogPal Friday Five!

1. What's your view of meetings? Choose one or more, or make up your own:
a) When they're good, they're good. I love the feeling of people working well together on a common goal.
b) I don't seek them out, but I recognize them as a necessary part of life.
c) The only good meeting is a canceled meeting.

a) I actually like meetings. I have heard that 20% of the population enjoys meetings. I am one of those 20%. This makes me need to be aware of the other 80%!

2. Do you like some amount of community building or conversation, or are you all business?

I like a mix of community building and business. Again, different folks have different needs and desires, so when I moderate a board meeting, for example, it is important to be sensitive to those different needs. One of the guidelines is that we have an end time. We may need to go over, but that is becoming more and more rare. That gives people freedom to converse as they know it will not drag out.

3. How do you feel about leading meetings? Share any particular strengths or weaknesses you have in this area.

I like it; I love it: I can't get enough of it! A strength is that I am able to get the views of those who generally don't speak too often. A weakness is that I sometimes let conversation go a little too long on occasion.

4. Have you ever participated in a virtual meeting? (conference call, IM, chat, etc.) What do you think of this format?

We do some of our session business via e-mail. It is fine if there are no objections or conversation needed about the issue at hand. But the rule is now that if someone has an issue of any kind, we hold it until we can meet face to face.

5. Share a story of a memorable meeting you attended.

The last meeting I attended was our presbytery meeting. My current presbytery, Holston, has the best format for meetings of any presbytery of which I have been involved. The agenda is very carefully outlined. People come prepared. It has a sense of community-building, always a time for thanks, an open-mic for people to share in 30 seconds or so what is happening in their congregation, and we end on time. This last meeting was warm and positive, filled with great mission activities that our presbytery sponsors. I don't have a dramatic story, but I left the meeting, as I have others in this presbytery with a positive hopeful feeling about our church.