Strangers & Aliens

So, you've been asked to lead a Sunday meeting. OK, it's not doing the preach, but actually, it's still an awesome task. We sometimes explain to visitors that our Sunday meetings have three elements - our ministry to God (prayer & praise); our ministry to one another (encouragement and fellowship) and God's ministry to us (preaching). Essentially the service itself focuses on (1) and (3) and whilst the preacher is responsible for (3), you, as leader, are responsible for (1).

So, never take it lightly. That's why the second post is going to be about spiritual preparation. But this is one is about a few practicalities. I've posted elsewhere about putting together an order of service and how I go about it, so I'm not going to repeat that. But here are five other top tips.

Remember the congregation
Your awesome task is to lead them in worship. I utter a deep inward groan when someone who is leading a meeting introduces it with the words "I love leading; it's great to be able to choose your favourite songs." Leading can sometimes be a sacrifice in this sense: you are serving others (you don't have to sacrifice your own sense of worship, though). This is the best practical (and spiritual) thing to tell yourself as you prepare - I am here to serve others.

Remember the expectation
Different churches work different ways, but generally speaking there are expectations about what will happen. Roll with them. Don't be bound by them; but don't deliberately set out to overturn them for no reason. For example, take the question of timing (see below). Let's say your service normally lasts 1½ hours. Don't plan for 2. You must be flexible enough (that's another post), but even if you're not thinking "Help! The lunch!" or "Help! The toilet!" if someone else is - you're hardly serving them. More on this later in the week.

Remember your watch
When preparing meetings, plan things out. Work on the rule of thumb that things always take longer than expected. Especially notices. Make sure you can see a clock and don't put the preacher under undue pressure. If you are in the sort of church where you must finish by a certain time (or perhaps where parents get jumpy after a certain time), you are helping no one by letting time get away. As a preacher, I know it is incredibly hard to preach for 20 minutes if I have prepared 30.

Remember the boss
I don't like the old fashioned way of talking about the first part of a service as the "preliminaries" before the preaching. However, there is a sense in which you - as leader - must listen to the preacher. I like to think of him as boss. He is the one with the authority of the Word of God behind him. He's been waiting on God for inspiration and a message and you must submit to him. If he's preaching on Job, don't plan a meeting about how easy the Christian life is. Let him guide you and direct you. The old preachers' joke is often true: "What's the difference between an organist and a terrorist?" "You can negotiate with a terrorist."

Remember the Spirit
But that's the next post....