One of the duties of the Moderator of presbytery's General Council is to give a devotional at the beginning of the meeting, or see that the same is given by someone else. Some previous moderators have followed the "Word/Share/Prayer" model.
I find the "share" portion problematic because it's difficult to control the discussion and keep the rest of the business agenda on schedule--particularly since the Million Dollar Problem reared its ugly head and demanded our full attention. We allow two hours for GC meetings and since they are scheduled at mid-day, I think it is important to honor the time the members are giving out of the middle of a workday.
This month I had some hope that we could spend a bit more time on the devotion and use a format that would include discussion. HA! Fool that I am. Suffice it to say that a couple of proposals surfaced that could consume the entire two hour period if discussion isn't carefully focused.
So it's back to the scripture/brief reflection/prayer mode for tomorrow's meeting. And I've got nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Bupkis. *sigh*
I find the "share" portion problematic because it's difficult to control the discussion and keep the rest of the business agenda on schedule--particularly since the Million Dollar Problem reared its ugly head and demanded our full attention. We allow two hours for GC meetings and since they are scheduled at mid-day, I think it is important to honor the time the members are giving out of the middle of a workday.
This month I had some hope that we could spend a bit more time on the devotion and use a format that would include discussion. HA! Fool that I am. Suffice it to say that a couple of proposals surfaced that could consume the entire two hour period if discussion isn't carefully focused.
So it's back to the scripture/brief reflection/prayer mode for tomorrow's meeting. And I've got nothing. Nada. Zip. Zero. Bupkis. *sigh*
I'm hoping a good devotional idea will come to me in a dream tonight.
2 comments:
Dear QG,
Here's something, maybe:
From C.S. Lewis "Mere Christianity" (my devotional book for Sept. 18), the excerpt is pages 140 to 141. "Faith in Training". Which would fit with Luke 15:3-10 (lost sheep parable, and the lady with the missing coin) I think anyway.
Just a thought.
I've used devotions from Don Griggs' "Meeting God in the Bible " quite frequently. It's a book of 60 devotions specifically for groups, and most of them have a limited participatory aspect. They include responsive readings, Lectio Divina type things, participatory prayers. I've found the book a good resource, because I get very tired of listening too and giving monologue devotions. But the interaction in these devotions tends to be short yet still meaningful.
If interested, here is a link:
http://www.kerygma.com/courses/elective/meetinggod.htm
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