Don’t say, “I hope you’ve had a great week!” Maybe this week someone had a miscarriage. Don’t make assumptions about who is there, why they’re there and what they’re feelingĭon’t set a narrow band of emotions and experiences for who is there. We don’t need to know that “That song was very moving” or “That sermon made me think of the time I was cycling in Brazil…” Trust the content of the sermon and help us like a good guide at an art gallery-not by standing in front of the paintings and telling us what they are like, but by standing out of the way that so we can see them for ourselves. Trust the songs, prayers, preaching and so on to do their work. Trust the sermon, songs and prayersĪs I have already said, we don’t need commentary, we need flow. Remember: the key to good prayer is to ask for things that accord with God’s character and promises. Replace the word ‘prayer’ with ‘ask’, and then ask yourself, “Have I asked for something worth asking for?” You have not prayed for the Prime Minister until you have prayed “that the Prime Minister will seek and implement just and compassionate legislation for our nation”. We come together to bring our prayers and request to God. Note that after a song, this means coming to the front before the song has ended. In our church, it is tantamount to a capital offence to shuffle from where you are sitting to do your thing while we all sit and watch. Please be at the lectern, ready to speak as soon as possible. Never leave a gap (unless you mean to leave a gap) Remember: standing for the creed, sitting or kneeling for confession, and doing something for prayer (stand, sit, kneel) are all part of picking your moment.
Sometimes silence, prayer or song is a perfectly good way to pick the moment.) (Note the phrase: ‘is sensitive to’: I don’t mean ‘comment on’. If we have just heard a powerful sermon, sung a moving song, or heard from a missionary in a Jordanian refugee camp, make sure that what you say next is sensitive to what just happened. Part of your job is to keep up with a sense of where things are going. If you are telling people their sins are forgiven, say it like they have actually been forgiven. If you are welcoming people, please look like you actually want to meet new people. If you are praying for women and children killed in Syria, please say it in a way that indicates that you are actually thinking of real women and children who have been killed in Syria, and that that’s a bad thing. Keep your commands in subclausesĭon’t say, “Please talk a seat” when you can say, “While you all take a seat, let me read these words from Psalm 23.” Don’t say, “Please stand as we sing our next song” if you can say instead, “As you stand, let’s declare God’s praises to each other with these words.” 5. Your job is not to provide a running commentary, but to make sure everything flows. Flow is achieved by deliberateness (on your part) so that we hardly notice what’s holding things together. Your big job is to make things flow-flow theologically through thanksgiving, repentance, confession and forgiveness, as well as flow practically as we move from songs to announcements to preaching to conclusions. And preferably use God’s words about God-a psalm, a prayer, a call to worship, and so on.
Whatever else you need to say, begin with God and end with God. People are at church because they are broken, lonely, joyful or serious, and are wanting to give and receive in Christ’s name. Never start with, “Hey, it’s great to be here today!” or “How about those Dockers!” People come to seek God in his word and encouragement in each other. Make your first words and your last words about God Start on time-even if hardly anyone is there. Reward newcomers for believing what our signs say. Don’t reward regulars for being late and don’t hurt the ones you want to love the most. New people, taking our websites and church signs literally, get to church on time, and the time between the advertised start time and the actual start time is the awkwardest time of all for them. Here’s what we tell our service leaders to aim for on a Sunday. Like an orchestra conductor, a leader can determine the difference between whether the parts come together in a beautiful, edifying whole, or dissolve into a chaotic mess. Practically speaking, the person who leads church can have a massive influence, for good or for ill, on the experience. Our regular gatherings should aspire to be rich ( Col 3:16)-a rich feeding together on the word of God in song, prayer, praise and preaching.
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