FIRST UNITED CHURCH OF TAMPA
extravagantly welcoming  ·  radically inclusive  ·  evangelically courageous
WORDS FROM PASTOR WARREN     DR. WARREN CLARK, PASTOR

APRIL 2008 · "THE BEST CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING I'VE EVER BEEN IN"

Jesus said, “Come to me all you who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Sadly, burnout is a condition that many have experienced while volunteering for the church. Participation on church councils and committees can be deadening to our spirits. Wow! That’s just the opposite of what we want to experience in church.

The church council is making changes in how it is conducting its meetings. We are experimenting! The council has used a formal business/corporate model with lengthy committee reports, up or down votes, and planning being done as a committee of the whole. In our March meeting we began with “Lectio Divina.” We each had copies of the scripture from that Sunday’s service. We asked God to highlight for us parts of the scripture and how they speak to the mission of First United. We slowly read the scripture, and then shared what came up for us. We shared how God was inviting us through the scripture to practice Jesus’ Way as a church. Then we prayed silently for the person sitting to our right to be open to how God was inviting him or her to be a leader at First United.

That set the stage for sharing celebrations and concerns about ways we are seeing Jesus’ mission being expressed at First United. This replaced formal committee reports, but the main things that would have come up from those reports all got covered. We then had a time for actions we wanted to bring to the whole council for consideration. This is like “Old and New Business,” but it seemed much more fluid. It was easier not to get trapped into: who moved?, who seconded?, motions to amend, and motions to table. We were very mindful not to get caught up in doing the work of individual committees by a committee of the whole council. We are requesting committees to work out what they bring to the council with clear recommendations for action before the council meetings.

This is still a work in progress, but one council member said during evaluation, “This was the best church council meeting I have ever been in.” Another commented, “This seemed easier, less confrontational/contentious.” One thing’s for sure: we don’t want to be burdened and burned out by the end of the year. We want to be even more excited about our council experience and First United. We want to be awake to the nudges of God to lead First United, guided by the love and challenge of Jesus’ Way. Congratulations, new council 2008, we’re off to a good start!

Pastor Warren Clark

First United Church of Tampa, UCC · 7308 E. Fowler Ave. · Tampa, FL 33617 · 813-988-4321