Meetings?

"It is possible for business decisions to be made under a sense of the corporate leading of the Holy Spirit.  Quakers have done so for years and have demonstrated the feasibility of such an approach.  Business meetings should be viewed as worship services.  Available facts can be presented and discussed, all with a view of listening to the voice of Christ.  Facts are only one aspect of the decision-making process and in themselves are not conclusive.  The Spirit can lead contrary to or in accord with the available facts.  God will implant a spirit of unity when the right path has been chosen and trouble us with restlessness when we have not heard correctly.  Unity rather than majority rule is the principle of corporate guidance.  Spirit-given unity goes beyond mere agreement.  It is the perception that we have heard the voice of God."
--Richard Foster, "Celebration of Discipline"

How many meetings have you been to - church or otherwise - where this has been the way things work?  How often do we listen for the voice of God in a meeting - rather than rushing in head first to force our own agenda?

At church especially - when meetings take time out of our busy schedules and personal lives...  Do we take the time to view all sides of an issue?  Hear everyone's thoughts and concerns?  Or do we plunder ahead...

Next time you're at a meeting, try to view it as another way to serve and worship God in our midst.  How will this change the way you view the other people at the meeting?  Their thoughts and opinions?  The decisions made?

Take time to open the meeting with prayer and ask for guidance.  Take time to close the meeting with a "thank you" to God and asking for a blessing on the conversation...  Take time to see the others as children of God and the task at hand as a way of sharing God with others...