Planning a successful event

Events - including weekly services and meetings - are a fact of Christian life.

Not all of us find making them happen easy and how we do events and meetings is changing. Being "decently and in order" still has something to teach us even if it became a disease more than a blessings in some parts of Presbyterianism.

If today things are generally less formal, there is nevertheless an important difference between being informal and being casual. We still need to know what we are doing. Someone has to take responsibility for creating the space and place where good things can happen. There is a big difference between being informal, which helps people relax, and being casual, where no body is taking responsibility and little thought has been given to how the group with process decisions. We seek to bring Christian faith and values to how we meet to do the business of the church, and we want to do things in ways which make sense in our culture.

1) Ask: "What would success look like?"

From one day retreats to week-long conferences there are ways of building in success. Nostalgia for youth group excitement may keep you going to the Bible Class camp-site for years, but more than happy memories are needed to make it happen for another generation today.

Cheryl ahle, "Can this Off-Site be Saved?" Fast Company 51, October 2001, 118-127 suggests:

Ask :  

Key Points:

  1. Agree on a definition of victory that matters ("What would success look like?")

  2. Invite the right people ("Can you tell us why you want to come and what you will do with what you will learn?")

  3. Expose people to mind-blowing ideas from outside

  4. Provide a safe environment

  5. Be real - focus on the business not exercises in denial however spiritual

  6. Go easy on team building games - not everyone likes them, sees their relevance, or benefits from them.

  7. Kill PowerPoint  (?!)

22) Find out what people know and what it is they really want to know

Tom Antion suggested getting hold of some people who are coming and asking them questions such as:  

  1. What are the three greatest challenges to fulfilling your responsibilities

  2. Tell me about a success story

  3. Tell me a story about something that went wrong

  4. Tell me something funny that happened

3. Learn from Maori protocol

Joan Metge, Talking Together = Korero Tahi. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland University Press with Te Matahauariki Institute, 2001.

This is a companion to her book TTalking Past Each Other, which went to seven printings. In Korero Tahi Joan Metge presents a procedure for managing group discussion which borrows from and draws on tikanga Maori (protocol). It is designed for use in settings where Maori from different iwi or Pakeha from different ethnic groups are present and committed to working together. It can also be used in a wide range of contexts such as conferences, workshops, and community discussions.  

 

4. Make business meetings worshipful work

Charles M. Olsen, Transforming Church Boards Into Communities of Spiritual Leaders, Alban Institute, 1995.

Danny E. Morris & Charles M. Olsen, Discerning God's Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for Church,  Alban Institute by arrangement with The Upper Room.

WWhat would happen if people in churches made decisions based on their spiritual discernment of the question: "God, is this your will?" Danny Morris and Charles Olsen hope that individuals, small groups, and religious bodies of all sizes will accept this challenge. They offer a spiritual way to draw wisdom from one another. Using examples of a small group, a congregation and a judicatory (like a presbytery), Morris and Olsen introduce the practice of discernment at work and help religious groups move beyond doing business as usual. See also http://ww.worshipfulwork.org/

55. Get help from books

John Roxborogh