Vance Havner, that clever Southern Baptist evangelist of the past century, famously said, “A committee is a group of the unfit appointed by the unwilling to do the unnecessary.” His view of committees is shared by more than a few Baptist preachers these days. I have been frustrated by these, uh, drafted volunteers.
The complaints about committees are not unfounded. Finding a time convenient for a group of five to seven people to meet can be challenging. Merging multiple opinions into one common idea isn’t easy either. Finding a leader to keep the committee on track is never a guarantee. Let’s be honest, there are times when committees struggle to follow through with what the church appointed them to do.
Despite all the difficulties, the Bible is filled with examples of God’s people selecting a small group to carry out a task they cannot accomplish as a whole. You may not call it a committee, but Moses sent 12 men to spy out the Promised Land because the whole multitude couldn’t do it in secret. The church in Antioch sent a committee to Jerusalem to settle a doctrinal dispute. Paul told the church at Corinth to appoint a group of men to carry their mission offering to Judea.
I could fill this page with examples of committees in both the Old and New Testaments. Although you will not see the word “committee,” you will clearly see the principle. The early church, the king, the Sanhedrin, the apostles, and even the Lord Jesus Himself sent small groups to carry out tasks. The serious Bible student will also see that these committees often failed to achieve their objective. Consider the 12 spies Moses sent out. Their report concluded that they were as grasshoppers in the sight of giants, by a vote of 10 to 2. The Gospels record an account of the apostles being unable to cast out a demon. Paul sent several people to Corinth but eventually concluded that he must come himself.
The modern pastor often views committees as so last century and as the root of everything wrong in his grandparents’ church. He feels his church is much better equipped with a 21st-century approach. He chooses to work with teams, boards, and task forces. I personally don’t care whether you call them a think tank, a brain trust, or church commandos — the same problems will persist regardless of the fancy name.
Committees are not a cure-all for the church’s problems. They are simply a smaller subset of the church. We may at times resonate with Vance Havner’s statement, but a church of any size would benefit from a well-staffed committee. Simply put, a smaller group can do certain things better than the church at large.
I have long been a champion of congregational church government. I have also witnessed a business meeting discussion that dragged on for over 20 minutes about changing a lightbulb. If the church had a “building and grounds” committee, the bulb could have been changed in half that time. Committees are not meant to stifle the church; they are tools to streamline her tasks.
Allow me to offer some practical solutions to keep our committees (teams and task forces for you cool pastors) functioning properly. Odds are, you already have a plethora of committees in your church. Start by reevaluating each committee’s necessity. Do we need a dedicated group for this task? Is this something one person can do well? For example, the “flower committee” is really just Aunt Berthie, and she isn’t going to take advice from anyone else anyway. When you eliminate the flower committee, those four other ladies are now free to serve elsewhere. Just be careful not to offend Aunt Berthie in the process.
It is never healthy for the same person to serve on multiple committees. If your church is small, scale back the number of committees. If your church is large, limit the number of committees an individual can serve on. Hard workers often over-volunteer, which leaves little room to develop new workers. When we fail to diversify our workforce, the old folks complain that the young people don’t serve. To avoid these troubles, include both the young and the old on each committee, if possible.
Rest assured, some of these veterans of church affairs will also holler when we try to make room for new blood. Make these moves as delicately as possible. I almost got fired for trying to provide relief to an aging group that asked for help. They didn’t really want help — they wanted sympathy. The discerning leader must move forward prayerfully and peacefully.
If your title includes “pastor” or “elder,” it falls to you to ensure these committees meet and carry out the duties the church commissioned them to perform. Pastors are overseers and should generally avoid serving on most church committees. Most pastors do serve on associational and educational committees outside their own churches. My personal approach is to ensure these committees function as commissioned. Usually, the pastor can do more for the church by caring for all the committees rather than chairing a single committee.
While we have many examples of committees in the Scriptures, we don’t have any clear commands about their establishment or maintenance. Each church, being independent and autonomous, can do as it sees fit under the headship of Christ. Some churches operate under strict bylaws, while others are more like a Wild West town without any law. I am simply offering some suggestions based on my observations.
Call them what you will — the Body of Christ needs these small groups to carry out the Lord’s work. The church is one body made up of many parts. When each gifted part is properly attached to the body, the glory of the Lord is revealed to the world. This should be the aim of each of us.
