Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 02:1 (Spring 2004)
Article: The Role Of The Business Meeting In A Healthy Change Process
Author: Steve Echols

JBTM 2:1 (Spring 2004) p. 87

The Role Of The Business Meeting
In A Healthy Change Process

Steve Echols

Associate Professor of Leadership
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
3939 Gentilly Blvd.
New Orleans, LA 70126

During my nearly thirty years of ministry experience, I have often encountered various opinions concerning the value of business meetings in the local church. Unfortunately, some of my early experiences with business meetings were not positive ones. In one church where I served as a youth minister, I saw a heated discussion which resulted in five families leaving the church. In the next church where I also served on staff, the pastor was voted out. Although did not have a direct impact upon me, these events did make me wonder what I would confront when I became the pastor. Thankfully, through the years I have been blessed by an overwhelmingly positive experience with business meetings.

Due to some perceived negatives, a number of churches have moved away from the traditional “monthly business meeting.” This is particularly true among new church starts in recent years. Other larger churches have moved to quarterly meetings that are more informational than volitional. Is this a healthy trend? Are Southern Baptists better off without the traditional monthly business meeting? On the other hand, does having a business session ensure that the church will be mobilized in unity toward fulfilling its mission? Misperceptions can occur either way. Before discarding the business meeting or considering it to be the pathway to

JBTM 2:1 (Spring 2004) p. 88

harmonious progression, church leaders should consider the following issues regarding the role of these meetings for healthy change process.

The Business Meeting And The Stages Of Change

Ken Gangel reflected an image problem with business meetings when he stated, “Herein lies the central problem of business meetings in the church: we have viewed them not as essential service for Jesus Christ, but as a necessary evil to be dispensed with as quickly and painlessly as possible so that service can commence.”1 One way to alleviate this troublesome perspective is to view the business meeting as part of a healthy change process.

Change has always been an inescapable part of life, but in some ways it has been particularly intense in recent years. In his widely heralded work, Leading Change, John Kotter wrote, “By any objective measure, the amount of significant, often traumatic, change in organizations has grown tremendously over the past two decades.”2 The church is not exempt from th...