Thank you for expressing your feelings and offering your counsel. I want you to know I've listened and have given it serious consideration (conducted a debate in my own mind).
Steven, I realize the Saturday meeting is a sticking point for you. And I'm sorry. I wish there was a better alternative. I remind us that this meeting is replacing a meeting that took an hour out of presidency meetings once a month and, in my opinion, wasn't very productive. It was an OK reporting meeting, but nothing we said or directed went anywhere.
I realize there's a possibility that maybe the training we're giving now isn't going anywhere either, but at least more people involved in missionary work are hearing us and maybe causing them to consider a better way. Hopefully something is sticking, though the attached document shows, as a stake, we are really faltering again (along with 2016) in the number of baptisms (we're headed for another under-20 performance for the year). I fully understand that the number of baptisms is not an indication as to whether we are or are not a good stake, but we at least need to try and keep a focus on missionary work in some way if we want things to change.
As for the Saturday meeting, I'm not sure what else to do. We've learned in the past that WML just won't come on a Sunday morning and we constantly run the risk of competing with an early ward council meeting. I believe one of the great values of this one-hour-a-month meeting is it puts WML and full-time missionaries in the same room where they are directed by the stake presidency. Hopefully everyone comes out of the room inspired to be a little more diligent in their calling just because they see the stake presidency concerned enough to meet with them and train them every month.
Steven, if you feel there's a better alternative to the when and where of this meeting, I welcome your suggestions.
As for the question of whether or not to invite ward leaders to this meeting...
I feel so strongly about it mostly because I feel the Lord blessed us with a productive meeting on June 14. Ward leaders in great numbers heard the message that, as part of the new ministering initiative, the ward council is to reduce the load of the bishop by taking on more responsibility. Knowing that (1) missionary work, (2) temple and FH and (3) teaching the gospel are three of the five elements of the Work of Salvation, they're not just going to go away. In short, someone has to increase their load in order to reduce the load on bishops.
In other words, we need ward councils to know that the reduce and simplify right now applies to helping bishops reduce and simplify so they can focus on the very matter that must weigh on prophets tremendously today--families and youth. The rest of us may not get the same "luxury" right now. It may mean more discussions outside of meetings, more training and, at times, more meetings for the ward council to learn their new duties. As ward councils begin to feel and respond to the increase in responsibility, hopefully they, too, will find ways to reduce and simplify their load. I believe most wards have already reduced their frequency of ward council meetings from three or four a month to two.
It breaks my heart to hear an EQ president is "buried" on a Saturday with so many demands from his calling. It should raise a flag to us, as the stake presidency, that we need to improve our training on delegation.
In the meantime, as you can see, despite your wonderful and appreciated counsel, I feel we need to bring all ward council members into our Stake Missionary Training meeting at least once to help them better understand how they—arm-in-arm with these outstanding FT missionaries, WML and ward missionaries—can move forward this vital aspect of the Work of Salvation in their callings and organizations.
I wish we could feel confident the High Councilors will train and teach this adequately. But where we consistently have a 2-5 HC missing in every meeting, the water just doesn't get to the end of the row. I feel the Brethren have given us a sense of urgency in changing the multi-generational traditions of home teaching, the role of ward councils, the bishop-directs-all, etc. That's why I am asking that we temporarily expand the missionary training.
Paul, I felt your concern about the ward YMYW leaders coming out of (or maybe still into) youth activities that makes an August training not the best timing. As a consequence, I plan to invite the ward SS and Primary presidents (or a counselor) to attend the Aug. 11 training. We will invite the ward YMYW presidents (or a counselor) to attend the Sept. 8 training.
Paul, will you please plan to set the tone for the training with a message at the beginning of the meeting on Aug 11 on the why and how SS and Primary presidencies can utilize the ward missionary force, including FT missionaries, to further the Work of Salvation in their callings and organizations.
Steven, will you please plan to do the same for the training on Sept 8 with the ward YMYW leaders.
My apologies for unloading so much. Hopefully it's an indication that I took your counsel seriously and weighed it heavily to make sure that I wasn't just doing "my thing" and that I felt a true confidence the Lord is behind our efforts.
Thanks for your patience and your support,
Crismon
No comments:
Post a Comment