A Better Way

One of the most difficult tasks in a local church is that of the annual Nominating Committee.  Because of the way many churches are organized, there are certain "jobs" that call for people to tend to either alone, as officers of the church, or in committees.  Some of the committees are called "Standing Committees".  That doesn't mean that they hold their meetings standing up (although that might not be such a bad idea)  It means that each member serves for a specified period of time from 1 to 3 years and then "rotate" off.  Other committees call for annual service.  The Nominating Committee is faced with the daunting task of seeking people to fill all the open slots on the committee chart, getting their permission for their names to be presented to the church and then bringing their recommendations to the church for a vote.  This calls for extensive prayer, time, phone calls, visits and meetings. Invariably there are hurt feelings, bruised egos and overwhelmed committee members.  What if there were a better way of accomplishing the task of organizing a church?
Imagine the following scenario.  The local church body becomes aware of something that needs to be done and presents this need to the body as a whole.  Someone steps up and says, "I'd be happy to work on getting this done, but I will need some help."  The pastor, or leader of the church then asks, "is there anyone who would like to help Jim with this task?  Several respond, the body agrees to task them with the job and everyone goes home happy.
I know of a church with a Ministry Village covering several city blocks and offering everything from a Crisis Pregnancy Center to a Rescue Mission to an Abused Women's Center to a Medical Center for those without insurance.  The buildings alone for the Ministry Village are worth between 5-10 million dollars.  Every ministry in the village started in the heart of one or two people.  Other like-minded people joined with them, funds were raised (not from the church budget) and the ministry was born.  It is maintained by volunteers.  The difference in this approach and the Nominating Committee approach is that each ministry/task is born in the heart of an individual, not from a chart with empty lines that need to be "filled".  Perhaps the time has come to take a fresh look at the way we do "church".

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