Guidance For Those Hosting Parts of Sunday Worship — Part 10. “In-between bits and pieces”

Today, we conclude our series exploring why we do what we do at a Sunday gathering. Today’s topic is ‘bits and pieces’. https://youtu.be/-ycuQwSAZzM

Links

Sometimes, you find yourself being the link between one part of the service and another. If so, create a bridge between those parts. Something like: ”Now that we have finished our focus on Jesus and the Lord’s Supper, I’d like to invite Steve to come up and lead us in a closing prayer.” That kind of thing. Worship is best experienced as a flow rather than a series of unconnected events.

Formal and Informal

There is a balance between formality and informality, which is more an art than a science. That balance will vary depending on the occasion. Too much formality makes the service stiff, while too much informality may make what we are doing seem frivolous. How do we avoid this? We keep the focus on Jesus.

Gaps

Gaps can be a problem or a help to worship. An unnecessary gap can lead to insecurity in the congregation as people look around, wondering what will happen next. That is distracting. If you are next up to say or do something, be ready. However, do not feel obliged to fill silence. I once had an atheist friend of mine come to church. We had lunch afterwards and I asked him what he thought. He asked me a question saying, “Why is your church so afraid of silence?” Our enthusiasm is good, but our insecurity around meaningful, meditative silence is not.

Hosting

You might like to go back and reread the points I made about hosting in an earlier article. The early church met in homes. Someone was the host. When you serve publicly by speaking in some capacity on a Sunday, you are not ‘performing’. Instead, you are representing God as the host of our gathering. You are speaking for him to his guests. As God’s surrogate host, your role is to represent him well in what you say and how you say it.

Conclusion

What have I missed in these short articles? Do you have a different view on anything I have written? If so, please let me know. These guidelines are subject to revision at any time, but the principles live on.

I am very grateful to everybody who speaks on Sunday, whether for two minutes or twenty. The experience can be intimidating for the speaker, but the opportunity to share about God and inspire other people is a tremendous privilege.

Finally, please contact me if you feel inadequate in fulfilling any of these roles but would like to learn how to grow in confidence and competence.

God bless, Malcolm