The Committee Conundrum
Are church committees disappearing? Should they disappear? Last issue of our Congregational Life newsletter we brought attention to the number of people “playing down if not outright denigrating the role of what was once the quintessential heart of congregational life — the standing committee.” We quoted authors like Edgar Stoesz, whose book we review in the current newsletter: “Committees … kill more ideas by their cautious scrutiny than they generate.” A local pastor, Marv Ziprick, told us: “They are called standing committees because they stand in the way of good ideas.” When they need to look at something, they appoint a task group to research it. When the task group has done their work, they pull together an implementation group to "make it so."
What do you think? Should churches do away with standing committees and rely on task groups? Or is a combination more helpful?
What do you think? Should churches do away with standing committees and rely on task groups? Or is a combination more helpful?
posted by Clair Woodbury | 8:45 AM
2 Comments:
I am ambivalent about committees. I haven't been on a committee for years, and would not want to be on one. But they have their place.
Committees carry out the work of the main body. They are the workhorse of the parent Board, and they make the work of the Board much easier because they put everyting into a nutshell, something easy to digest for the parent Board.
Post a Comment
<< Home