Sometimes we wonder when we should have a church or subdivision business meeting or a committee meeting. Maybe the better question has to do with when you should not have a meeting.

I attend many meetings. Some are necessary and make a difference while others frankly seem to be a waste of time. Knowing when not to call a meeting is almost as important as knowing when to call a meeting.

Here are four suggestions for when you should not call a meeting.

First, don’t call a meeting because you haven’t had one recently. I suppose there are times when people need to get together but simply to have a meeting because you haven’t had one may turn out to be counter-productive.

Everyone I know is busy. They have work, family, personal responsibilities, and civic and church responsibilities. No one needs to have a meeting simply to have a meeting.

Second, don’t have a meeting unless you have a real purpose for the meeting. Every meeting should have a dedicated purpose. It’s much like saying, “we have a meeting to accomplish this one objective.”

If you can’t make that statement and fill in the objective, you shouldn’t have a meeting.

Third, don’t have a meeting if you don’t have a set agenda. The person leading the meeting should have a written agenda with everything that needs to be accomplished in the meeting.

An agenda keeps you on track and helps you respect everyone’s time.

Fourth, don’t have a meeting if an email or phone call will take care of the situation. Many meetings – – especially at church – – are called to disseminate information. Information is vital, but much of the information can be given by other means.

Meetings are absolutely essential, but they should be held only when they’re absolutely essential.

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