"I have a new bishop in my ward as well. Having served as a
bishop
myself, I can offer some thoughts about what to do and what not to do:
What to do
- Please let him know that you support and sustain him even if
(particularly when) he does something you may not understand or agree
with
- Please remember him, his dear wife and his children in your
prayers
- Please be patient when it seems like some of his other
responsibilities around perfecting the saints take more priority than
your requests do. Bishops deal with a plethora of concerns that easily
might seem and often can be more urgent than your request.
- Invite him and his family over for dinner one night - no strings
attached
- Have him register @priesthood.familysearch.org
- I would ask him for the names and birthdates of his
grandparents, and return back to him in a couple of weeks with a
temple
ready disk of his ancestors names to take to the temple. I am
confident
that if he goes and experiences the joy of doing ordinance work for the
dead, he will want to do it again and again, and will want the same
blessings for others in the ward. He will seek you out to help build
the family history program in the ward, rather than you waiting on him
or the high priest group leader for assistance
- While you are at it, I would do the same thing for the high
priest group leader. This is an act of service and love that turns
hearts in a unit to each other, and builds the perfect bridge in
propelling fh work forward. I had the high priest group leader over to
my home on Sunday, and the bishopric is coming over with their
wives
this Sunday to review their work. Open up your home!
- I would ask to have the bishop's wife and / or high priests
group leader's wife also called as a family history consultant
(only
halfway kidding about this one...)
- Leave the bishop out of the discussions to some extent. Ask
/ Involve the high priests group leader which families
the priesthood
executive committee meeting and / or ward council meeting recommend for
you to go work with
- Politely ask to attend ward council meeting once or twice a
year to read out on your progress with the families they have
identified. Understand and be kind if the answer is no.
- Help resolve two of the bishop's greatest concerns in
reaching out to new members (have them in your home, help them get to
the temple within 2-3 months of their baptism. A family history
consultant can easily fulfill President Hinckley's expectation for all
of us in supporting new members by offering new ward members a friend,
nourishment by the good word of God and a responsibility by involving
new members in family history work) and the youth (coordinate with the
YW / YM leadership indexing involvement and / or family
history library
visits)
What not to do
- Become frustrated or impatient if you aren't seeing as much
progress as you would like
- Remind him of his duty or obligation to family history work (
The Savior didn't save us because it was his duty or obligation, he did
it because he loves us). Similarly, family history work is done because
of our love for our ancestors, and should not be carried as a burden of
obligation. Focus on the joy and love inherent in family history work,
do not mention the shoulds or the ought to's...
- Complain about the bishop or high priest group leader
about lack of attentiveness or direction. Rather, form your own
strategy and go to work.
- Wait - don't wait around seeking direction, look for those in
the ward that need the help only you can offer (new members,
prospective elder families, individuals that have enjoyed the blessings
of the temple previously)
You're great for being so conscientious about working with the
bishop. They need a lot of help and support. Hope some / any of
these
ideas work..."