Well, I’ve been called to serve as the elders quorum president once more.

It’s been about seven years since I was in a formal leadership role, and it feels good to be back in the arena.

This is a refreshing wake-up call for me.

It’s an opportunity to step away from my keyboard; it’s time to move beyond just writing about leadership and actually engage in it.

I’ve transitioned from the press box to the field.

One thought keeps running through my mind: Doctrine cannot be taught until culture is established.

This calling comes in the wake of a ward split, so the entire quorum feels somewhat new.

In my first quorum meeting, I wanted to avoid having a teacher stand in front of the class and attempt to convey a message from General Conference.

Culture must be established first.

Here’s what I did:

We meet on one side of the church gym, and I invited the entire quorum to envision the space as a large ward map.

One side represented the northern boundary, while the other represented the southern boundary.

I encouraged everyone to stand in the location that represented where they live.

After about a minute, we had individuals standing close to their neighbors.

I then invited them to chat for 4-5 minutes.

This approach aimed to stimulate relationships and encourage members to connect with those they are likely to see throughout the week.

Next, I divided the gym space into imaginary quadrants and invited the men to stand in the quadrant that represented their preferred interests:

Corner 1: Sports/Athletics
Corner 2: Outdoors/Hunting
Corner 3: Video Games/Tabletop Games
Corner 4: Movies/Books

After thirty seconds of mingling in their preferred corners, I encouraged them to discuss their interests for another 4-5 minutes.

I incorporated a few more activities like this before taking the last ten minutes to share a spiritual message.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive!

Men opened up and forged connections.

Everyone left the quorum meeting with a new friend.

As I’ve said before, culture eats doctrine for breakfast.

If we don’t establish a culture of community, relationships, and connection, we will never succeed in teaching one another the redemptive doctrines.

What strategies have worked for your quorum or group?

Sincerely,

Kurt Francom
Executive Director
Leading Saints

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