As a worship service producer, I was always on the lookout for “leaks” – things that let the air out of the service. In my experience, there are two common culprits that cause service leaks:
1. A lack of preparation;
2. Trying to pack too many things into a single service.
Today, let’s discuss number 1.
This weekend is Easter, and it’s likely that the Easter services will be well prepared. However, I don’t always see evidence of that kind of preparation in the weekly services of churches I visit. There are sometimes unavoidable reasons – someone gets sick, a piece of gear goes down, something happens in the world or in the life of the church that needs to be unexpectedly addressed, etc… Sometimes, though, the leaks are completely avoidable – let’s use the cheesy acronym T.I.C.K. to describe what might be missing…
TIME – It takes time to prepare. If you’re throwing something together on Sunday morning, it’s not likely to be great, for reasons that should be obvious.
INTENTIONALITY – The elements of the service should be thought through so they make sense in the order they’re in [rather than appearing to be a bunch of random pieces thrown into the mix]. How the elements flow together is also important – transitions matter.
COMMUNICATION – Everyone needs to be on the same page with what’s going to happen, and – just as importantly – why it’s going to happen.
KNOWLEDGE – This one ties in with communication… There should be a clear takeaway – the congregation should think or act differently after the service, or be reminded of God’s truth or His characteristics. EVERYONE on the team should know what that takeaway is each week.
We’ll hit #2 tomorrow…
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