Barry Banther had one of the best Alignment4 talks I’ve heard in awhile and kicked it off with this thought:
The great commission is really the great permission.
We have the permission to meet people where they are!
Barry went on to share how the most important person at Wal-Mart’s board meetings is a lady who sits at the end of the table. She’s been in the same seat since 1962. Not one board decision is made without carefully considering her needs and concerns.
Well actually, it’s an empty chair at the end of the table. A chair that represents Wal-Mart’s typical customer. A chair that keeps the board focused on what they should be all about. A chair that keeps them focused outside the walls of the store and beyond their own blind spots, fears and selfish interests.
Is there any surprise that Wal-Mart is one of the few companies thriving during this recent downturn?
Should our church board and elder meetings have an empty chair?
I love this concept. We spent 20 minutes at our church council meeting discussing whether to organize the different activities at our church into “teams” or “committees”.
I believe the point we should have been discussing is: what do the folks who are doing the outreach/projects really need from their leaders?
Thank you for the “chair in the room reminder.”
Should our church board and elder meetings have an empty chair?
Absolutely! It is way too easy for the leadership to get so focused in on programs and the runnings of a church that we loose site of the “flock”… When Jesus was asking Peter if he loved him he told him to “feed my lambs, take care of my sheep and feed my sheep”. We, the leadership of the church, must not loose site of our flock or we end up with programs and committees that will take care of ourselves.
Empty chair is good.
thanks for sharing,
Joe
Another great reminder, Ed. We’ve often used this same image at our house churches — the empty chair symbolic that as much as we value our community, we’re growing and praying and caring so that we can share what we have with others. I’m inspired to remind our folks that the empty chair is more than a symbol — God knows who is in his heart to occupy that chair, so maybe we should not only let the chair sit as an example, but pray for the unknown person for whom the chair waits.
Thanks!
Barb,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Its an important reminder to keep focused on the the real issues. That empty chair idea is such a powerful reminder.
Your thoughts always clarify mine a bit!
Ed
Dan,
I like the thought of praying for the unknown person for whom the empty chair waits. That’s clarifying for sure.
I also like your thought regarding the empty chair propelling us to get outside the walls of the church and share what we have with others.
It seems the empty chair has a more powerful purpose for the church than it could ever have for Walmart!
Thanks so much Dan,
Ed
Hey Joe,
For some reason your post above got spammed. I’m sorry. I didn’t catch it. I’ll keep an eye on it in the future.
Thanks for sharing. I like your Peter example.
Ed