3 Kinds of Committees

'Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil'--Ecclesiastes 4.9

When did ‘committee’ become a dirty word in the church? It brings up feelings of frustration. It is equated with ineffectiveness and is seen as the opposite of a ‘Spirit filled’ ministry.

Our negative view of committee work goes back to a deeper problem. The church lacks the passion and motivation for ministry. When the church gets into a maintenance mentality then committee work degenerates into inertia and nay-saying. The problem is not the committee structure per se, it is the spirit in the machine. You can dress it up and call it something else—‘team’, ‘task force’, ‘work group’ (I prefer ‘cabal’ or ‘fifth column’)—but if the spiritual mood of the congregation is lethargic it does not matter what the label is.

Let’s be very clear: Just because a lone individual feels the passion to do something does not mean that he or she is motivated by the Holy Spirit. We are too quick to equate emotionalism with spirituality. The Holy Spirit works through our relationships and makes our ministries stronger through good processes of discernment and planning. If you believe that the Holy Spirit can speak to an individual through a vision then why can’t the Spirit also speak to a committee through its regular business meeting? To deny this is to limit the work of the Holy Spirit. So, yes, the Holy Spirit can and does work through committees if the committee members are led by the Spirit.

There are three kinds of church committees:

1. Dead Committees—This is what we have all experienced. They do nothing except talk it to death and act like a boat anchor.

2. Friend Committees—They don’t get a lot of work done, but that is not their real purpose. They are a gathering of friends to share one another’s burdens. They just happened to have another title which is very frustrating to the pastor or a newcomer who assumes that this is their business. However, one should be patient with them because they are creating community. The real trick is to make sure that the work gets done.

3. Spirit-Led Committees—Being Spirit-led does not mean that you do not have an agenda or keep minutes. It means that you seek the guidance of the Spirit in everything you do. And if you believe that the Spirit is working through your committee then you will honor the Spirit by being as organized and efficient as possible.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit with your disorganization.