The Senior/Lead Pastor has the ultimate responsibility for the worship services. It’s the job of the church staff to bring to life the vision that is cast – not to create competing visions. One of the things that sticks in the craw of many weekend service staff members is when elements in the service [usually songs] get cut last minute because the service is going long. That’s understandable – the team worked to prep the song [or whatever], and you hate to disappoint volunteers [especially if one of them is leading it].
You know what, though? It happens. I heard a wise saying once: “Flexibility is the key to ministry.” You need to have a team player attitude. If it only happens every once in awhile, it’s no biggie – don’t blow it up into one. If stuff is regularly getting cut at the last minute, it’s a problem with planning, not implementation [ie too much is being planned for the service in the first place]. If you know that the pastor is going to usually preach for 45 minutes – even though you only scheduled 35 – then change it to 45 and plan accordingly. Big picture thinking and team-centered hearts will make it a win for everyone.
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