25May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 6 – The importance of good Chairing

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
Skill Chairing meetings is a skill; effective chairing is measured both by the outcomes of a meeting and the fulfilment of those attending. What I shall share here is for the more formal type of meeting and will need to be interpreted appropriately into different settings. Who should chair a meeting? Often the ‘senior’ person assumes he or she should chair the meeting. But there may be several reasons for this not being good. Particularly, a) They may not be skilled in chairing. b) They may be the major contributor (e.g. the Lead Elder or visionary) and can dominate because they also chair. Many meetings I attend are chaired by someone whose primary role is to handle the dynamics of the meeting, leaving those who are the major players opportunity…
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17May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 5 – Agendas. A practical example

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning, Zimbabwe
International eNews Before continuing this series on Effective Meetings, and looking at Agendas, I want to commend the International eNews of Newfrontiers. Through this you can receive a monthly update of news around the world (see extract from the current one below) and have food for prayer for yourself or the church. To subscribe Click here>> Agendas To many people an agenda is just a list of topics you plan to discuss in a meeting. But it can provide so much more if you give it a little fore-thought. This can really serve you and save you a great deal of time. A well constructed agenda can also make a meeting much more fulfilling as it ensures everyone knows where you are going and it guides you to the essence…
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10May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 4 – making an Agenda work for you

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
Meeting with purpose Meetings should be purposeful and all attending must be clear about the purposes. To assist with this an agenda is essential. This may sound a bit formal for some meetings but even if it is constructed on arrival due to the meeting’s spontaneity it helps focus the minds of those attending on what it is intended to accomplish. In a Newfrontiers context we would see relationship as a high priority. This can lead to an informality which, although enjoyable, may lead to an inefficient use of time. Agendas help to give direction to the meeting. Constructing an agenda An agenda is a list of items to be covered during the meeting. If provided only as a list of topics it gives only basic information. However, it can…
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04May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 3 – Types of meeting

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Conference Administration, Equipping, Meetings
In the last blog we looked at some of the core characteristics that are common to all meetings. Now we shall look at the different types of meeting. Types of meeting The types of meeting I attend fall into three categories: 1. Informal and often spontaneous 2. One in a defined series towards a particular goal 3. On-going for the purpose of conducting ‘general business’ Informal and often spontaneous These describe many of the meetings which I attend and may number just 2 people or a few more. Called to discuss a particular point they do not carry the need for agendas and minutes, about which I will say more in subsequent blogs. However, it is important that everyone knows the purpose and expected outcomes, as discussed previously. One in a series towards…
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26Apr 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 2 – Characteristics of a meeting

Administration in the Church, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings
I am involved in many different types of meeting. Not all have the same structure or importance but listing them may give you a point of identity from your own scene, so I will discuss them briefly in the next blog. First, however, all need to have certain characteristics or questions answered. Characteristics 1. What is the purpose? 2. What are the expected outcomes? 3. What is the status e.g. does it have a legal standing as part of the management of the church/charity? Purpose This defines the structure on which to hang topics to be handled. So, the purpose of one group could be ‘to govern the church’ (i.e. elders’ meetings), ‘to organise a conference’ (e.g. the annual Newfrontiers conference ‘Together on a Mission’) or ‘to manage and strategise for the family…
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19Apr 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 1 – Overview

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Biblical Administration, Christian ministry, Equipping, Meetings
The future of Time Management I still have one more Time Management posting to make about PDAs but am not yet ready to do so. In the meantime I want to begin a new series on meetings. I hope you will find it helpful. Meetings in abundance Do you ever feel that the Lord got it wrong?! When he says he came to give life in abundance do you sometimes feel that he must have meant meetings in abundance? We all seem to attend so many! I am sure that many in leadership feel that their lives consist of attending meetings. I don’t mean worship meetings, but planning and strategy meetings, finance and administrative meetings etc. It is obviously vital that such meetings take place in order for your church…
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