Only A Moment
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV
Sometimes, Sunday mornings can feel like someone pushed the fast-forward button. I get to church, and then it’s time for a run-through. After that, we’ve got our Production meeting; and then I find Pastor to get any last-minute change-ups. By the time we say the last amen- I can feel exhausted. Maybe it’s because I feel the need to have my hands on the wheel from the moment I get on campus.
Sometimes, as leaders, we transform into Hugh Jackman’s character, P.T. Barnum in The Greatest Showman- feeling compelled to orchestrate everything that happens on a Sunday morning for our people at our show… I mean… our service. Sorry- misspoke.
The temptation for me often is to feel like I am responsible for the outcome of the service. And at the unhealthy, far end of that spectrum is the lie that I am responsible for hands lifted in worship, offerings in plates, and people in seats. And we’re seeing many leaders these days fall prey to the pressures and expectations they’ve placed on themselves, aren’t we?
As we get behind the microphone in service, we are only one moment in the spiritual lives of our people. We do all we can to plan, prepare, and play well, but at the end of the day, we have to trust that (1) God will take over and bring growth and (2) they will continue to deepen their faith outside our service. While seeing hands raised and hearing people sing is important and a sign that we are connecting with our people- it is not our measure of success. And that means it doesn’t have to be our weight to carry! Hallelujah!
Here are a few thoughts for your week to help you keep from feeling like your Sundays are playing at 2X speed:
Who can you delegate a few Sunday morning tasks to? Try to do only the things that only you can do.
How can you adjust your midweek service preparation to do less on Sunday mornings? The goal is to keep a low heart rate.
When will you walk through your foyer/lobby and talk with your congregation? Have slow feet with those you lead in worship!
Here’s an excerpt from a liturgy by Douglas Kaine McKelvey in his book Every Moment Holy, which will help you keep your heart focused on Jesus before you lead worship. It’s titled “Before Taking The Stage”:
What have I to offer here that might sustain the souls of others? Alone I have little more to show beneath this scrutiny of lights than my own pride and insecurity, my craving for praise, and my fear of rejection. Rather, let me offer something greater in this place, O Christ. As I step onto this stage, meet me amidst the wreckage of my ego and my woundedness, and through me give what I alone cannot.
Take this tiny heap of my talents and my brokenness alike, this jumble of what is best and worst in me, and meld it to the greater work of Your Spirit, using each facet as You will, so that even as sunlight coursing through a cracked prism, Your grace might somehow be revealed upon this stage in whatever gloried and peculiar patterns You have fashioned me to display. Amen.
