Meetings, Meetings, Meetings

In day camp when I was younger we would always have a small part of our day for announcements,

It was an important part of the day in order to communicate the next day’s plans, information that needed to go home to our parents, reminders about this or that and so on.

But prior to a day of fun and games or following a day of fun and games announcements were always seen as:

So much “Blah, blah, blah!”

So our day camp staff tried to make even this part of the day’s schedule fun and usually began this portion with a single line song with this single word:

Announcements, Announcements, Announcements.

And, our part, as the campers?

We had a refrain that went like this:

What a terrible death to die,

What a terrible death to die,

What a terrible death to be talked to death,

What a terrible death to die.

While it was a humorous routine we followed each day in camp; I think many of us have grown up with the same feeling toward meetings we jung ‘ens had toward announcements.

We just plain don’t like them!

Many times meetings are only slightly more enjoyable than a root canal.

And some might even prefer the root canal!

Listen to what some have said over the years concerning meetings –

“A meeting is an event where minutes are taken and hours are wasted.”

James T. Kirk

“Meetings are indispensable when you don't want to do anything.”

John Kenneth Galbraith

“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.”

Thomas Sowell

I think we’ve all experienced that one. Someone is put in charge of a project and the only thing standing in the way of accomplishing it are all those meetings the boss wants to have to ‘check progress’.

Even our churches are not immune from meetings with poor outcomes. This is something Paul wrote to the church at Corinth –

In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good. I Corinthians 11:17

The Bible even suggests a meeting to avoid in Proverbs 17:12:

“Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.”

Avoid meetings where fools are (as the Message Bible puts it) hell bent on folly. 

Ahhh - Meetings; We all have them - at work, at school, at home, at church as well as in other clubs and organizations we belong to.

And you always, always, always love them; right?

Of course you do!

But I want to talk with you this week about three types of meetings that are a regular part of all of our lives as believers. I want to share the purpose, the benefits and some of the outcomes of each of those meetings.

So, exactly what type of meetings am I talking about?

There are many different types, but I want to look with you today at three in particular.

Three types of meetings; (and Admittedly, I may be stretching the use of the word ‘meetings’) but the three types I want to look at with you are:

A meeting between a Christ follower and the Lord

A meeting between two Christ followers and –

Finally, a meeting between a Christ follower and a non-Christ follower.

As we look at each of these types of meetings we will ask (and answer I hope) three questions:

1.        What is the purpose or motivation of the two meeting together?

2.        What is the attitude of each as they meet together?

3.        What is the result or the outcome of the meeting?