When it is finally time to lay the burden down

Most of us carry burdens that weigh us down and cripple us from being all that we can be. They are heavy, and they are exhausting. This is nowhere more true than when we have blown it, been grievously wrong, hurt someone, or been guilty of grave sin, and the load we carry is guilt, shame, and a desperate attempt to hang on to our dignity. Some carry this load for years, some for decades, some for most of their lives. And it only gets heavier.

And heavier.

What keeps us from laying it down? To admit our fault, take responsibility, and seek forgiveness? Only one thing: Our Ego or pride. To realize is to say, "I am the one." To take responsibility is to say, "I did it." To seek forgiveness is to say, "I was wrong; will you forgive me?" Our pride and ego keep us from all three of those actions. They are too hard, and yet the burden carried is far weightier.

And each time we deny our guilt, the weight gets heavier.

The greatest enemy to our burdens is our pride. We are not meant to carry this weight. It is why Jesus came and died. We don't have to pretend we are better than we are, as our goodness is that of Jesus living in us, not who we are by ourselves. The Apostle John says, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." We are sinners. It is who we are. It is why we do what we do. It is the human condition. Yet John says, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-9).

But it is hard, and we are used to carrying the weight.

But to lay it down, we must fight the battle with our egos and pride to get from "I am without sin" to "I need to confess my sin. I did it. I am guilty. I need forgiveness." It is the battle that says, "I must retain my dignity," so I cannot admit it. Ironically, our dignity has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Jesus who imputes his righteousness to us. Our dignity reflects Him and the fact that we are made in His image. We have inherent dignity in Jesus apart from our good works - or wrong. He gives us dignity. He gives us worth. He gives us love.

Wow. I don't have to worry about my dignity. Jesus gives me dignity.

Much of the Christian life is a journey from pride to humility. We all think we are humble and the more we believe that, the more pride we possess. We all think we are better than we are, and the more we believe that, the more deluded we become. Pride stands in the way of a life of followership because pride is about us, and followership is about Jesus. For many, humility comes hard. But the Father loves us enough to keep chipping at the façade of pride until the man or woman God made us to show up. Humble, unpretentious, and with a nothing-to-prove, nothing-to-lose, and nothing-to-hide attitude.

Jesus tells me to let go of my pride.

Ironically, when we let go of our pretense and pride, it is then that we can lay our burden down. Because then we can say, "I am the one, I did it, I was wrong, will you forgive me?" And with that, the burden can be laid down at the foot of the cross, paid for by Jesus, and we can stand upright again, purified of our unrighteousness. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

We can have rest for our souls. 

Is it time for you to lay a burden down? When we do, we go from weary and burdened to a place of rest and peace. And Jesus models the spirit that is necessary when He says, "For I am gentle and humble in heart."

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Church boards and their interminable meetings! Eleven tips

One of the most frustrating aspects of church leadership is the tendency of boards to deal with minutia and present-day details rather than the genuinely significant issues that drive the ministry forward. Leadership boards are not supposed to handle all rocks and pebbles, only the big rocks.

Big rocks are values, mission, vision, ministry initiatives, the spiritual leadership of the congregation, policies, and church health. What characterizes the big rocks is that they affect the whole church, have to do with the spiritual health of the organization, and are more related to how we can do ministry more effectively (future-focused) than they are to day-to-day management.

Pebbles and sand are day-to-day management issues, staff management, the development of specific ministry plans or strategies, and details of church life that can be delegated to others. These are important, but they are not the responsibility of the leadership board. 

When boards think of their work, there are always more rocks than they can effectively handle in the time available. But here is the good news. Leadership boards are not supposed to take all stones and pebbles, only the big rocks. The greatest gift to a board is a leader who will differentiate between the rocks, gravel, and sand and plan board meetings around the critical issues that the board is responsible for cutting through the minutia and focusing on the important ones!

Some principles for effective board work include:

Build agendas around significant issues, not small ones.
Some issues are board issues; many issues that come to boards are not. When building agendas for board meetings, it is essential to ask, "Is this a big rock or a small rock? Is this an issue that others can deal with, or does it need to be a discussion of the board?"

Concentrate on direction, spiritual health, and policies - not management.
Boards do not exist to manage but to exercise broad leadership for the congregation. Full-time staff members or volunteers address day-to-day issues of church life - not the board. When management issues arise, before they become board issues, ask, "Is this a management decision? Who should be empowered to deal with these kinds of questions? And do we need to develop a policy so that others can decide in the future?"

Spend more time on future plans than on present issues.
Leadership is about the future and leading your congregation into greater ministry effectiveness. Leaders think ahead of the congregation. Suppose you are spending the majority of your board time on day-to-day issues. In that case, you are probably deep into management rather than directional issues, spiritual health, values, mission, vision, or ministry initiatives. Keep track of the time you spend in a month on current issues compared to future plans and opportunities.

Delegate regularly
Here is a general rule: Don't do as a board what others could do. We give staff members and volunteers far too little credit for what they can do. If an issue arises that others can figure out, either delegate it outright or, if necessary, ask someone to come up with a proposal and bring it back to the board.

Boards don't design, they refine.
Boards don't design proposals but respond and refine them. If an issue needs thought and work, delegate that to those gifted in that area and ask them to bring a recommendation to the board for consideration. Starting from a proposal will save you more time than starting from scratch. Boards are not meant to design but to refine.

Always use a written agenda for board business meetings
Boards use agendas as a tool to prioritize their work. A carefully written agenda provides a road map for board work and requires the discipline to place big rocks first and pebbles later. Agendas are the key to focusing on the important rather than the trivial.

Stay within agreed-upon time parameters.
Church board meetings can proceed endlessly. When you ask leaders to serve, you ask them for their most precious commodity: their time. If your meetings regularly run longer than 2 1/2 hours, you probably need to exercise discipline in the conduct of your meetings or the size of the rocks you are dealing with.

Meet twice a month - once for business and once for prayer.
One of your gatherings should be a business meeting where decisions are made and the church's business can be conducted. With rare exceptions, the company of a church should be able to be done in 12 scheduled meetings per year. Because the spiritual level of the congregation will rarely rise above the level of its leaders, wise leaders invest half of their time in praying for one another and for the church, studying Scripture together, and dreaming about the future. 

Agree on principles of decision-making.
Healthy boards are made up of individuals who can engage in robust dialogue, resulting in creative solutions. Boards often make one of three mistakes: (1) They don't honestly engage in creative conflict due to conflict avoidance; (2) they engage in healthy conflict but don't seem able to resolve that conflict, leading to difficulty in decision-making; or (3) they allow one or two board members to create and perpetuate conflict that holds the rest of the board hostage from moving forward. I recommend the adoption of a board covenant that clarifies how the board will work together.

Communicate board work to your congregation.
The trust of a congregation in its leadership is essential for a healthy church. Too often, the work of a church board is shrouded in secrecy or mystery. While some issues must remain confidential, most work should be regularly communicated to the congregation, especially general directional issues.

Evaluate every board meeting on a one to five scale
At the end of each meeting, take five minutes and have each individual answer three questions. How would they rate the meeting on a scale of one to five, with five being high and one being low? What do they think could have been done better? What was done well? It is a way to continuous improvement of your meetings.

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