A quick note this morning for those who plan weekend services… People who talk in the services should identify themselves, should be well-prepared and should remember who they’re talking to. It’s easy to forget that first time guests have no clue who church staff people are. Take the following example: [Warning: Lots of parentheses about to occur] A guy gets up to welcome everyone to the service [his name is “Bob,” and he’s the Groups Pastor]. Everyone who attends regularly knows “Bob” because he’s “been around forever” and because he’s “up there every week.” He seems friendly, but rambles on for several minutes and proceeds to tell an insider joke that relies on knowledge of something that happened at the church 3 years ago. The guests in the service guests aren’t “hip” to his “lingo,” have no idea who “Bob” is, and have just been excluded from the opening of the service.
It’s not that difficult to handle spoken sections of the services in a way that works well for both first-time guests and long-time church members – if you’re prepared. Anyone speaking in the service [with the exception of the pastor’s message] should have read it through out loud several times and should be part of a run-through before the service where they practice doing their part where it falls in the flow.
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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