Conducting Ward Council Meeting

Our fairly new Bishop has a hard time staying with an agenda. After some discussion I mentioned that as an Executive Secretary several years back, the Bishop had me conduct Ward Council Meeting. Of course he presided but let me run the show. The Bishop is now asking me for more info on this. He wants to know if any other units do this and how it has worked out. I would appreciate any feedback.

I have seen a bishopric where the bishop and his counselors shared (rotated) conducting duties. I have seen a bishopric where one of the counselors was assigned always to conduct. I have seen a bishopric where the bishop always conducted.

I have never seen a bishopric where they asked the executive secretary or a clerk to conduct. If the bishop wanders off, perhaps one of this counselors would be more focused and better able to conduct. I think I would try that approach first.

Thumbing though the Handbook, I find "His counselors may conduct ward meetings and may preside if he is absent." Handbook 2: 18.2.

The same language can be found in Handbook 1: 2.1.5.

No mention made of having the Executive Secretary conduct, although he does create the agenda and follow up with assignments.

The Exec Sec should try to act as a timekeeper, and make every effort to move the meeting along and stay on topic, but he does not preside nor conduct.

In my experience, time management in ward and stake leadership meetings is generally very poor. That is why Elder Ballard is increasing emphasis on Counseling with your Councils.

I really hate it when a stake president or bishop talks for the whole meeting, and then asks each representative to return and report with no time remaining in the meeting. He is being very disrespectful to the members of the council by doing so.

One problem I've seen is that when turned over to a quorum or auxiliary, it quickly becomes a report on the last event and how the decoration committee did such as good job and brother smith was so helpful and brother brown made such awesome snacks.....

Even when that doesn't happen, discussion one one item brings up a related issue and the meeting ends up taking a right turn at Albuquerque.