After nearly a year of somewhat dissatisfying, best-we-could-do substitutes, we’re getting back to the real churchiness of church, at least in my part of the world—by which I mean the actual gathering of God’s people around his saving word.
I agree with more training for those who read the Bible up front. I was one of those people and had trouble pronouncing some of the names of territories and Biblical terminology. It would have helped to know what to do if you were stumbling over a word or even just to practice reading the passage to another person. Along with this training, there needs to be training for the rest of a ministry team (for during a service) on how to respond appropriately if this happens. Another area that needs some training is on how to make your guest feel welcomed without embarrassing them. Not all people like to be put on the spot so there needs to be some other ways to welcome people.
Thanks Tony, I really enjoyed this piece. Building upon your head of the household motif, I was wondering what you thought of the role between the service leader and the sermon? While the service leader has not ‘cooked the main dish’ as such, to what extent should they be a forerunner to the sermon? I’ve often seen services led where the sermon has been preambled and it’s been somewhat discordant with what was then preached, which makes for a clash of flavours for the palate, to be sure!
I’ve been gearing away from focusing on the upcoming sermon when I’ve led the service, but I also want the congregation to be eagerly anticipating the main course! I’d be interested to hear how or if you think a balance needs to be struck.
Hi Gareth. You highlight a common problem! You don’t want the service leader to steal the sermon’s thunder, or to over-promise or misdirect. But then again if the sermon comes totally out of the blue it feels like an opportunity lost. The solution brings together two simple but not always easy to achieve factors: the preacher knowing what the sermon is going to be about early in the week; and then the leader and preacher talking together about it!! TP.
Thank you Tony, more excellent, helpful and insightful stuff, especially on 'transitions', something which I have found people either aren't aware of, or simply haven't thought about, yet which are so essential to the flow and 'vibe' of our time together, and thinking about guests, especially as you mention 1 Corinthians 14, where v25 asks the question, will the outsider be able to exclaim "God is really among you" and finally on training, and in particular training those who pray from the front and read the Bible from the front - again, such an important aspect to our meeting together
Thanks John! I really like your point about 'God is really among you' -- that's a great slide-rule to run over our meetings. At the very least, we'd want our visitors to get the impression that WE THOUGHT God was among us. Not sure that would always be the case …
I agree with more training for those who read the Bible up front. I was one of those people and had trouble pronouncing some of the names of territories and Biblical terminology. It would have helped to know what to do if you were stumbling over a word or even just to practice reading the passage to another person. Along with this training, there needs to be training for the rest of a ministry team (for during a service) on how to respond appropriately if this happens. Another area that needs some training is on how to make your guest feel welcomed without embarrassing them. Not all people like to be put on the spot so there needs to be some other ways to welcome people.
Not sure if you've seen it but the Six Steps to Loving Your Church course from Matthias Media is great for training people in how to be welcoming and loving to others at church, particularly newcomers. (https://matthiasmedia.com.au/products/six-steps-to-loving-your-church-workbook)
Thanks Tony, I really enjoyed this piece. Building upon your head of the household motif, I was wondering what you thought of the role between the service leader and the sermon? While the service leader has not ‘cooked the main dish’ as such, to what extent should they be a forerunner to the sermon? I’ve often seen services led where the sermon has been preambled and it’s been somewhat discordant with what was then preached, which makes for a clash of flavours for the palate, to be sure!
I’ve been gearing away from focusing on the upcoming sermon when I’ve led the service, but I also want the congregation to be eagerly anticipating the main course! I’d be interested to hear how or if you think a balance needs to be struck.
Cheers, GT
Hi Gareth. You highlight a common problem! You don’t want the service leader to steal the sermon’s thunder, or to over-promise or misdirect. But then again if the sermon comes totally out of the blue it feels like an opportunity lost. The solution brings together two simple but not always easy to achieve factors: the preacher knowing what the sermon is going to be about early in the week; and then the leader and preacher talking together about it!! TP.
Thank you Tony, more excellent, helpful and insightful stuff, especially on 'transitions', something which I have found people either aren't aware of, or simply haven't thought about, yet which are so essential to the flow and 'vibe' of our time together, and thinking about guests, especially as you mention 1 Corinthians 14, where v25 asks the question, will the outsider be able to exclaim "God is really among you" and finally on training, and in particular training those who pray from the front and read the Bible from the front - again, such an important aspect to our meeting together
Thanks John! I really like your point about 'God is really among you' -- that's a great slide-rule to run over our meetings. At the very least, we'd want our visitors to get the impression that WE THOUGHT God was among us. Not sure that would always be the case …