Death By Meeting

Early on in my journey as a leader, I read the book Death by Meeting by Patrick Lencioni. Many of you may already be familiar with this short fable. And if you aren’t, you may be buying it on Amazon right now! Meetings are generally not fun.  Most of us have sacrificed hours of our lives in meetings that we wish we could get back. 

But I have a confession to make. I actually love meetings. Well, most of them. I am grateful for this book and others similar to it that have helped guide me on how to lead and participate in efficient and valuable meetings.

Why do I love meetings? I’m not sure. I’m an introvert by nature. Put me in a closet with unlimited resources and a challenging project, and I will walk out 10 hours later fully charged and fully alive. But I am realizing that what is comfortable for me may not necessarily be what God has designed me to be. He died for me because of the love of the Father. And this same love now lives in me, just waiting to be activated. Not to simply love fulfilling tasks, but to love people through God’s amazing grace! 

This past week I’ve participated in dozens of meetings. Short, powerful prayer meetings with our entire staff. Strategic department meetings with a teaching team. One-on-one meetings with teachers and students. A Leadership meeting with our Principals and Directors. Meetings with coaches. A Finance Committee meeting. Several Chapel services. A Board meeting. And several sovereign appointments at the crosswalk.

What do all of these meetings have in common? The opportunity to be like Christ. A popular T-shirt reads “God loves you, and I’m trying.” Our interactions with those in our respective communities give room for God to grow us more into His image, to reveal more of Him to others, and also to see Him working through others. When I consider the army of employees and volunteers who commit their time, energies, and passions to the Crosshill mission of discipleship training, and the Kingdom mission of the Great Commission, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness. 

And if you are ever stuck in a meeting led by me that could use some refinement, feel free to slide me a copy of Patrick Lencioni’s book. Only do it in love!