Sunday Afternoon for a Pastor
I often write on Sunday afternoons to sort of let my mind release all the good and bad things that happened in the morning, so that I can refocus for the evening service.
Some stuff happened today that just epitomizes the life of a pastor so I'll share.
First both my kids have small fevers so Laura, Jake and Anna stayed home. It was a bit sad leaving home without the family to go to worship.
I arrived (as usually) about 2 hours ahead of the service. When I got into the sanctuary I found the chairs set up wrong. Problem 1. This happens almost every Sunday. I've tried for 4 years to get a consistent set up. It's exactly right about 1 time a month. Being a perfectionist - this is hard for me. But I know it's mostly MY problem. Anyway - today's blunder was more serious than most. The chairs weren't centered! :) I know it seems like a small thing, but you try preaching to a room that's leaning. Fortunately the nice sound technician who was there early humored me. Not only did he help move some chairs around, but also calling the guys who'd messed it up and explained the problem.
Problem 2 - we've been trying to get a stronger (and heavier) banner stand. Last week, there was no worship banner because the new improved stand was under construction. Nice worship banners really DO make a difference in rented space. So the good news was the new stand was there this morning. The bad news... it was exactly like the old ones. No heavier base. And made with the same material that bent under the weight of the banner before.
We did adult education at 9am. There were 7 of us. That's 4 more than I expected. So that was a blessing.
Our music leader returned from holiday. That was a blessing. He is a great soloist and with the choir on vacation he sang. I think everyone enjoyed it. He also makes a great difference when he song leads.
The worship service attendance is still suffering from the Intl School vacations. It will pick up by mid-August. I hope. Every year I wonder though. Maybe the church shrunk 25% over two months. It won't hit its stride until mid-September. I don't know why. It takes people a few weeks to settle in and get to a church service. I always find that sad. Finding a community of faith should be our first priority, shouldn't it?
Despite the vacations though - the sanctuary is not empty. The vibe when I got up to preach was pretty good. And there are some days when you just feel God's Spirit in a strong way and go for it. It was a very "fun" Sunday to preach. Everyone was tracking. I could feel it. We could all feel it. Just a great Sunday morning.
Now I'm wondering if anyone is coming this evening. Church starts in 1 hr. I'm here by myself. We have averaged about 30 people at the evening service. Many weeks have been between 35 and 40. I would have never guessed attendance would be this strong. But there have been a Sunday night or two when the crowd was small (10 people). Bangkok is hard to ministry like that. Getting consistent "critical" mass can be hard. But God is good and I remind myself that it's not about the numbers. It's about what God is doing. So I'll spend the next 20 minutes or so in prayer and then start re-setting the chairs that have been set up incorrectly. :)
And I know that I'm privileged to be able to do it.
Some stuff happened today that just epitomizes the life of a pastor so I'll share.
First both my kids have small fevers so Laura, Jake and Anna stayed home. It was a bit sad leaving home without the family to go to worship.
I arrived (as usually) about 2 hours ahead of the service. When I got into the sanctuary I found the chairs set up wrong. Problem 1. This happens almost every Sunday. I've tried for 4 years to get a consistent set up. It's exactly right about 1 time a month. Being a perfectionist - this is hard for me. But I know it's mostly MY problem. Anyway - today's blunder was more serious than most. The chairs weren't centered! :) I know it seems like a small thing, but you try preaching to a room that's leaning. Fortunately the nice sound technician who was there early humored me. Not only did he help move some chairs around, but also calling the guys who'd messed it up and explained the problem.
Problem 2 - we've been trying to get a stronger (and heavier) banner stand. Last week, there was no worship banner because the new improved stand was under construction. Nice worship banners really DO make a difference in rented space. So the good news was the new stand was there this morning. The bad news... it was exactly like the old ones. No heavier base. And made with the same material that bent under the weight of the banner before.
We did adult education at 9am. There were 7 of us. That's 4 more than I expected. So that was a blessing.
Our music leader returned from holiday. That was a blessing. He is a great soloist and with the choir on vacation he sang. I think everyone enjoyed it. He also makes a great difference when he song leads.
The worship service attendance is still suffering from the Intl School vacations. It will pick up by mid-August. I hope. Every year I wonder though. Maybe the church shrunk 25% over two months. It won't hit its stride until mid-September. I don't know why. It takes people a few weeks to settle in and get to a church service. I always find that sad. Finding a community of faith should be our first priority, shouldn't it?
Despite the vacations though - the sanctuary is not empty. The vibe when I got up to preach was pretty good. And there are some days when you just feel God's Spirit in a strong way and go for it. It was a very "fun" Sunday to preach. Everyone was tracking. I could feel it. We could all feel it. Just a great Sunday morning.
Now I'm wondering if anyone is coming this evening. Church starts in 1 hr. I'm here by myself. We have averaged about 30 people at the evening service. Many weeks have been between 35 and 40. I would have never guessed attendance would be this strong. But there have been a Sunday night or two when the crowd was small (10 people). Bangkok is hard to ministry like that. Getting consistent "critical" mass can be hard. But God is good and I remind myself that it's not about the numbers. It's about what God is doing. So I'll spend the next 20 minutes or so in prayer and then start re-setting the chairs that have been set up incorrectly. :)
And I know that I'm privileged to be able to do it.
