This one's a re-post from 2008, about the minister's role in the (Congregational) Church's highest executive body, the Church Meeting. "One of our members came to see me in the vestry after a Church Meeting, effusive in his praise: 'I want to thank you for your considerateness, your tenderness, your compassion ... [and more].' He said this, I think, because I ran a genuinely 'inclusive' or 'organic' meeting. I do get tough, though, when people disturb the democratic framework. One must preserve a 'safe' environment for participation. For instance, if someone turns on the pressure to get a decision through, or lobbies inappropriately, or tries to circumvent the processes of the Body (and so on), a minister needs to take them on -- for the sake of a truly inclusive process." OBSERVATION: In other words, the minister is non-directive as far as issues are concerned, but directive in keeping the dynamic truly inclusive or Congregational.
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