surveys and questionnaires

I often ask myself when wondering how to fill a volunteer gap or how to plan ahead for an event, “What about a survey and/or a questionnaire? Do they work? Do they get read? Are they returned? Are they informative?” To all of the above the answer would be appear to be a resounding “no!” They are seldom returned. So we are not informed and they obviously don’t work. Whether they are even read or not cannot be determined due to my woeful lack of omniscience.

Recently, I included an “Is there any way I can serve…?” bulletin insert. Not one was returned. We ran it again a week later and I received seven out of the three hundred printed and place in the weekly bulletin. For five months off and on we have been trying to compile a church e-mailing list. To date about 25-30 of our 250-300 families have provided the information we requested.

It probably sounds like I’m griping…but I’m not. I am wondering aloud why people don’t want to respond to a survey or fill our a questionnaire? The government has to hire a legion of census takers each year to go door-to-door based on the fact a significant number will not fill them out. They will either protest “I forgot”, “I lost it”, or, “It’s really none of your business…”

I am not sure which of these best describes my dilemma as a pastor. All I have, I argue with myself, is a legitimate “need to know”. So, where do I go from here?

Joab, a commander in David’s army, responded to the Ammonites who seized some of David’s men shaving them, and cutting “off their garments in the middle of their buttocks…”, and thus humiliating them. David was angry, and the Ammonites sensing this, gathered a large army together, along with the Arammeans, hemming in David’s forces in front and behind. Joab said, “Be strong and let us fight bravely for our people and the cities of God. The Lord will do what is good in His sight”. They won a great victory that day as the enemy fled before them—from both sides. Almost 50,000 were killed on that day! (Read I Chronicles 19) Not much strategy in those words, but a total reliance upon God.

“The Lord will do what is good in His sight”. I think that was a huge testament to Joab’s faith in the God who had proven Himself throughout Israel’s history. I am guessing I want to have better control of situations by seeking to fill in all the blanks, preparing for the exact circumstances, etc. That, in and of itself, is certainly not wrong, but it does reflect a tendency on my part to want to have better control of what is going on a round me. So a survey to fill the gaps or a questionnaire to help me prepare better gives me a better sense of what to expect…or not.

I have not sent out my last questionnaire nor have I inserted my last survey into a Sunday morning bulletin. But I am learning that God is in control, and though my information-gathering efforts may continue—with mixed results at best—in the end I must agree with Joab, “The Lord will do what is good in His sight”.

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