It is that time of the year again. Conferences, conventions, jubilees, thanksgiving services, annual assemblies, year-end general meetings. The banners are bright, the themes are powerful, the resolutions are inspiring, and every speaker reminds us of “unity”, “renewal,” “change,” and “moving forward.” For a moment, the air is filled with optimism.
Yet, once the lights go out and the chairs are stacked away, a familiar reality returns. Life goes on exactly as before. The same problems remain. The same dysfunctions continue. The same reports will be read out again next year, with only the dates changed.
A major part of the problem is that these events have become predictable ceremonies built around chief guest culture. Instead of focusing on work done, challenges faced, or progress tracked, the spotlight is often on the VIP’s arrival, introductions, speeches, and photo sessions. Politicians and leaders are placed on pedestals, treated as if development flows from their presence rather than from planning, discipline, and follow-through. Applause becomes more important than accountability.
This has become a yearly ritual across institutions, churches, student bodies, community organizations, tribal houses, NGOs and even government bureaucracies. Even worse, we sometimes try to replace action with symbolism. We offer eloquent prayers, quote scriptures, sing hymns, and express hopes for transformation. But once the program ends, we return to the same routines. Faith becomes a ritual of words rather than deeds.
We are excellent at announcing resolutions, but very poor at executing them. We are energized in public meetings, but passive in daily life. Our conferences produce applause, not accountability. Until the day we start asking uncomfortable questions within our own organizations, until reports include not just achievements but failures, and until leaders are evaluated on delivery rather than rhetoric, nothing will change.
Good intentions mean nothing without mechanisms for follow-up. High-sounding themes collapse when there is no system to measure progress. Motivation fades when commitment ends with the last speech of the conference.
Maybe the real issue is this: we want change without discomfort, progress without sacrifice, transformation without confrontation.