Hospitality
07/06/14 04:30
There is an art to a worship service that took me some time to learn. The initial temptation for a new preacher is to try to say too much in worship. Not every worship service has to have everything in it. The people who come to worship are moved by particular moments. Perhaps it is a song that touches deeply, perhaps it is a reading of scripture, perhaps it is the sermon, perhaps it is a prayer. Different things touch different people at different times. When I first graduated from seminary, I tried to demonstrate to the people that I had a complete theology, that I had studied the whole Bible, and that I could grasp complex ideas. The result was that I tried to pull together more than could fit. The worship services seemed crammed and over-filled even when they didn’t consume too much time, which often was the case.
That tendency is exaggerated when a group of ministers get together. Even when assigned a simple piece, some pastors have a tendency to elaborate - to length and to add a few words or a bit of commentary. I’m sure that this happens at gatherings of lawyers and doctors and all sorts of other professions, but the arena with which I am most familiar is that of the clergy.
We are hosting the 144th Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ this weekend. Yesterday was day one and it went fairly smoothly. The opening presenters respected the time frame and we kept to our schedule. The opening worship ran a little long, but I have known that it would do that for some time. As I worked on it, there kept being more and more little things that we needed to add in. The initial suggestions were about worship elements: we need to use two different song books, we should have the Conference Minister preach, we should have some drummers, we should add this and that. Then there were suggestions about people: invite so-and-so, and what about showcasing ministers who are new to the conference? The requests kept mounting and I tried to listen carefully. Even last night the requests kept coming in. As we gathered to run through the service a half hour before it started, I was asked to allow two additional people to speak.
Here is a quick guide to translation for non ministers so that you might understand what ministers say:
When a minister says: “Just a few words. I’ll be very brief. It will be less than 5 minutes.” It means: “A minimum of 12 minutes. I wanted 20 minutes, but I’ll shorten from that a tad.”
When a minister says: “A short prayer.” It means: “I feel a need to demonstrate the correct theology after some other speaker said something with which I disagree. God bless all these people for listening to the truth - for listening to me.”
When a minister says: “We are a diverse people.” It means: “Most of these people aren’t as smart or as well-informed as I am. I’ll let them speak first so that you will see how smart I am when I speak.”
The list could go on and on. One of my colleagues in another denomination put it this way: “You need a big room when you get a group of ministers together. Most churches are too small for all those egos.” Another colleague who is not a member of the United Church of Christ said, “That’s why the ceilings are so tall in sanctuaries - some people simply have really big heads.”
I went to bed proud and happy last night, however. What I have witnessed in the last two days is a demonstration of the faithfulness and dedication of the lay members of our church. When it comes to hospitality, our congregation really shines. It has a lot of people who don’t need to be the star - who are willing to pitch in and work. Furniture is moved without commotion. Dishes are done. People are given the resources they need. Changes in schedule and venue are accommodated gracefully. We can even adjust to the weather. Last night’s indoor barbecue showed no signs of tension or problem when it had to be held indoors because of the weather.
Some of the pastors who are attending the meeting may feel a need to show off their intelligence with the words they say. Some may feel a need to demonstrate their brilliance by raising their voices. I don’t have to do or say anything. The people of our church make it evident how privileged I am to serve such a hard-working congregation. By the time I left the church last night, the dishes were done, the fellowship hall was cleaned and ready to go for this morning’s activities. The communion service was clean and put away. The extra cookies were carefully wrapped to keep them fresh for today. Lay people checked the locks and turned off lights. The bathrooms were cleaned and fresh paper products were put out. Bulletins for tomorrow’s service were printing. In short the “behinds the scenes” people had been working very hard and were doing what needed to be done to make our church a place to which our guests will be happy to return today.
I know that the church of Jesus Christ is not a competition. And I know that competition between ministers isn’t particularly attractive. Still, I can’t help but feel like some kind of winner when I think of how good my congregation must look to our guests. There is no conflict, no bickering, no big egos getting in the way as we set up, provide food, and respond to the needs of our guests. We have been given the gift of showing our hospitality, and when we do it is obvious that this is a spiritual discipline at which our people have had lots of practice.
Today and tomorrow will be long days. Through God’s grace I am spending them with some of the best people in the world. If you can’t find me, don’t look at the speaker’s podium. I’m more likely to be hanging out with the folks in the kitchen.
That tendency is exaggerated when a group of ministers get together. Even when assigned a simple piece, some pastors have a tendency to elaborate - to length and to add a few words or a bit of commentary. I’m sure that this happens at gatherings of lawyers and doctors and all sorts of other professions, but the arena with which I am most familiar is that of the clergy.
We are hosting the 144th Annual Meeting of the South Dakota Conference of the United Church of Christ this weekend. Yesterday was day one and it went fairly smoothly. The opening presenters respected the time frame and we kept to our schedule. The opening worship ran a little long, but I have known that it would do that for some time. As I worked on it, there kept being more and more little things that we needed to add in. The initial suggestions were about worship elements: we need to use two different song books, we should have the Conference Minister preach, we should have some drummers, we should add this and that. Then there were suggestions about people: invite so-and-so, and what about showcasing ministers who are new to the conference? The requests kept mounting and I tried to listen carefully. Even last night the requests kept coming in. As we gathered to run through the service a half hour before it started, I was asked to allow two additional people to speak.
Here is a quick guide to translation for non ministers so that you might understand what ministers say:
When a minister says: “Just a few words. I’ll be very brief. It will be less than 5 minutes.” It means: “A minimum of 12 minutes. I wanted 20 minutes, but I’ll shorten from that a tad.”
When a minister says: “A short prayer.” It means: “I feel a need to demonstrate the correct theology after some other speaker said something with which I disagree. God bless all these people for listening to the truth - for listening to me.”
When a minister says: “We are a diverse people.” It means: “Most of these people aren’t as smart or as well-informed as I am. I’ll let them speak first so that you will see how smart I am when I speak.”
The list could go on and on. One of my colleagues in another denomination put it this way: “You need a big room when you get a group of ministers together. Most churches are too small for all those egos.” Another colleague who is not a member of the United Church of Christ said, “That’s why the ceilings are so tall in sanctuaries - some people simply have really big heads.”
I went to bed proud and happy last night, however. What I have witnessed in the last two days is a demonstration of the faithfulness and dedication of the lay members of our church. When it comes to hospitality, our congregation really shines. It has a lot of people who don’t need to be the star - who are willing to pitch in and work. Furniture is moved without commotion. Dishes are done. People are given the resources they need. Changes in schedule and venue are accommodated gracefully. We can even adjust to the weather. Last night’s indoor barbecue showed no signs of tension or problem when it had to be held indoors because of the weather.
Some of the pastors who are attending the meeting may feel a need to show off their intelligence with the words they say. Some may feel a need to demonstrate their brilliance by raising their voices. I don’t have to do or say anything. The people of our church make it evident how privileged I am to serve such a hard-working congregation. By the time I left the church last night, the dishes were done, the fellowship hall was cleaned and ready to go for this morning’s activities. The communion service was clean and put away. The extra cookies were carefully wrapped to keep them fresh for today. Lay people checked the locks and turned off lights. The bathrooms were cleaned and fresh paper products were put out. Bulletins for tomorrow’s service were printing. In short the “behinds the scenes” people had been working very hard and were doing what needed to be done to make our church a place to which our guests will be happy to return today.
I know that the church of Jesus Christ is not a competition. And I know that competition between ministers isn’t particularly attractive. Still, I can’t help but feel like some kind of winner when I think of how good my congregation must look to our guests. There is no conflict, no bickering, no big egos getting in the way as we set up, provide food, and respond to the needs of our guests. We have been given the gift of showing our hospitality, and when we do it is obvious that this is a spiritual discipline at which our people have had lots of practice.
Today and tomorrow will be long days. Through God’s grace I am spending them with some of the best people in the world. If you can’t find me, don’t look at the speaker’s podium. I’m more likely to be hanging out with the folks in the kitchen.