On Going Debate on Where to Meet

I've been having an ongoing debate in an organization I belong to about where the board should meet. The President has been very disparaging of our current meeting spot, which is adequate and centrally located because it happens to be a room at a long-term care facility. Her argument is that younger members won't want to come to a meeting in such a facility. Hello!!!! I'm one of those 'younger' members! I don't know why this bothers me so much except that rather than use the term long-term care facility (or nursing home) or retirement home the term 'old folks home' was used which for some reason didn't sit well with me as a social gerontologist. Ageism is still alive and well in our society and the last acceptable prejudice.

The argument that we need to meet in a location where 'younger' people will go, doesn't sit well with me for a number of reasons. It is the same argument used by the faulty church growth people who have forever advocated building a church building and the people will come. The literature shows that this doesn't work. It is also based on a scarcity model and a model that says we need to build program around where we think we are weakest rather than build on our assets. I'd be much more ready to assist my services and less critical is I saw some asset based planning going on rather than strategic planning that focuses on weaknesses.

Out reach and building an organization and attracting the population for your membership is transferable from the world of the church and its evangelism and outreach literature and to the marketing of secular organizations. I've been thinking a lot about this lately and hope to do some more writing and reflecting on these ideas and I read more materials on this topic. As much as I hate to admit there are some marketing ideas out there that work for evangelism and outreach. I've been thinking about WORD OF MOUTH marketing lately and how that might apply to the church. I'm currently reading a piece I found because of my participation as a Buzz Agent called The Word of Mouth Manual Volume II. Here is a link to get the book for your own reading pleasure in PDF format from The Social Consumer Manifesto blog

Now some would think it smarmy that I am a pastor and a Buzz Agent (buzzing is one of my hobbies...I like to try new stuff and as a Buzz Agent I get to try new stuff and then talk about it both good and bad) I have to admit that I like getting free stuff and enjoy trying new things.

What really annoys me about this ongoing debate is that I am not being heard. Instead it is suggested that I become part of the membership committee. If I wanted to be part of the membership committee I would have volunteered to be on the membership committee. I was once the membership vice-president and resigned from that position because I don't like to have tasks assigned to me without first being asked if I will undertake a task and that was happening. I went back on the board after being away from it for six years and I see the same stuff happening again.

I have only a limited number of hours in my day. My primary task is to pastor a congregation. The work I do in this social organization is part of my community service work. IF these ladies would jump into the 21st Century and grasp the importance of a web presence and the power of social networking they might be able to attract some of the younger demographic that they believe is missing. I use to be one of the younger women...I've now become one of the middle aged women, but I do see the value of facebook, blogs, and other social networking sites for getting connected, building coalitions, etc. and I've attempted to keep up with the technology.

So out of this debate on where to meet has come a philosophical debate on the need to attract younger members. It's a old debate and some helpful suggestions on how to go about it are being ignored and that ticks me off a bit. It has nothing to do with meeting location, it has everything to do with listening to and valuing the opinions of those around the table and trying new technologies even if you aren't comfortable with them. It's a philosophical debate and I'm not feeling heard and I get really annoyed when the conversation gets shut down because older members of this organization don't want to discuss it and farm the work off to a membership committee that will then have its ideas squelched in the general meeting.

My DH has asked me why I am wasting my time and I'm beginning to think seriously about that question. I think I will be looking for someone to take over these duties so I can concentrate on other things I find important, but I do enjoy the basic philosophy of the organization, my friendships with some members, but this moot debate on where to meet and the reluctance to try new technology just gets in my craw.