Bored Meeting?

This afternoon, I attended my first Board Meeting ever. MAN, it was so weird to consider my presence at such an event during the days leading up to it. I've never been one to sit on committees of any sort, though I do see the need & wisdom in group brainstorming, discussion, collaboration, etc in many arenas of Life Outside School. So I agreed to attend the Board Meeting and introduce myself & the Sunday School ministry in general to the other Board Members. A learning experience awaited...

Growing up in a church with Boards and hearing about Boards from other similarly-structured churches, I harboured the stereotypical impression that while Board Members are compassionate, kindly individuals, Board Meetings imply nothing less than circular, insufferably long debates over trivialities laced with politics.

Perhaps that is indeed how some experience it, unfortuately. But oh, how ignorant I was to make my own assumptions based on hearsay.

A fool finds no pleasure in understanding

but delights in airing his own opinions.

-Proverbs 18:2

Granted, today's meeting lasted over 4 hours ... granted, 75% of it was in Mandarin (me being the only 1 out of 11 who couldn't understand) ... granted, many of the issues discussed did not have any direct bearing on my personal spiritual life or on the Sunday School ministry. I guess I could've left halfway through, when I finished presenting my report.

I didn't, and was rewarded with some precious epiphanies; nothing brilliant, just clarifications for my own wee brain:

- A Board Meeting does not necessarily mean a hodgepodge collection of frumpy old men & women sitting around with nothing better to do than argue away a Sunday afternoon. Au contraire! They are extremely passionate individuals who desire to see God's good and perfect will carried out in the specific areas they are passionate about. Sometimes, disagreements arise due to differing personalities and points of view, but nothing to get passionately upset about. Thank the Creator we are not all the same! Love & respect for every single servant-leader is of utmost importance.

- Board Meetings seem to cast Board Members in an intimidating light...but in fact, they are extraordinarily ordinary, with strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us. It was news to me that most of the Board Members care deeply about the children's SS ministry because they have a kid in it! At least one kid per class has a parent on the Board. One of the challenges facing many Chinese churches is a communication/generation gap. It is easy to ignore the "other" congregation, and hard to initiate conversation with "others," especially when there are no set times to meet & chill. So (for us English CBC's), unless we have parents who are very involved on the Chinese side, or vice versa, the "others" often remain a nebulous mystery. I am thankful to have had this opportunity to get to know these Board Members (all in the Chinese congregation) as PEOPLE. Over the course of the afternoon, I became acquainted with, among others, a cancer research health scientist & father of 2 who used to live in Ottawa, a grad student in military history with a heart for the residents of John Orr and An Clachan, and a Ph.D. candidate who immigrated from China and is without his wife for a few weeks while she returns to China. All are very busy with loads of legitimate cares & concerns --but what is truly admirable is their heart for serving the Lord and the sacrifices they make to do so.

- You can laugh in a Board Meeting. While not everything is fun and games, a meeting does not have to be silent and sombre as a wake! There were good laughs with each other and at each other. Most of the time the jokes went over my head (my incentive for learning Mandarin is growing daily..), but then they would laugh at how I didn't understand! Not in a mean way, of course; the laughs were followed by genuine encouragement & offers of help to learn "Gwo Yu." :)

All in all, I was definitely not Bored at the Meeting. Of course, perfect agreements were not always reached. There are still many (many!) wrinkles to be ironed out of the Bride's dress. But I believe that being on this journey together, working/sharing/growing together, will mean that we get farther along, together.

"...God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it,

so that there should be no division

in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern

for each other.

If one part suffers, every part suffers with it;

if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

-1 Corinthians 12:24-26

I blab on in hopes of shedding light into the dark & mysterious West Wing of "the Board Meeting." Hopefully, you are compelled to do away with simple misconceptions. Change any critical attitudes. Get to know your leaders; encourage them and pray for them --pastors, chairmen, teachers, committee members, cell group leaders, mentors, ... -- because "they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you" (Hebrews 13:17).