How to do church Part 20: honouring God in our church services

Everything must be done so that the church may be built up. 1 Corinthians 14:27

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people. 1 Corinthians 14: 33

Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way. 1 Corinthians 14: 40

Here are 15 ways in which I feel we can honour God in our church services today.

1. Be ready. Take the necessary time before the service to make sure everything – and everyone – is in place and working properly. eg. do sound checks, check the Bible readers are there, make sure there’s water ready for the Christening and the coffee machine is turned on… Have a checklist to run through every single week
2. Get the welcome right. Everyone needs to feel welcome and treated with respect from the moment they walk into the church to the moment they leave.
3. Make every part of the space tidy and ready – toys out, toilet roll out, doors wide open, candles lit, screen on – before people arrive.
4. Start on time. Every time. People have made the effort to get there on time – don’t keep them waiting.
5. Do what you do well. Make sure everything is well-prepared – properly practised. Lines are learnt, the band well rehearsed. Give of your best every time.
6. Have a running order and stick to it. Everyone involved in the service needs to know what they’re doing when.
7. Sound like you mean it. Every word spoken and every line sung needs to be uttered as if you mean it. Understanding it is the first step! Nothing should be spoken as if you’re going through the motions.
8. Speak in a language that people can understand – in the songs, the Bible readings, the liturgy, the prayers, the sermon…what’s the point in people coming if they haven’t got a clue what’s going on?
9. Treat everyone equally. This has to be the underlying vibe of the whole time together. Don’t big up some people and ignore others. Don’t encourage in jokes that leave some people on the outside or the rolling of eyes when another starts to speak.
10. Expect order from the congregation too. If this service is worth doing, then the service itself needs to be respected. Have some expectations that people will turn up on time, concentrate on what’s going on, put mobile phones on silent, keep disruption to a minimum – not chat among themselves or come and go or fiddle with equipment or wash up! Of course, disruption is sometimes necessary – and disapproval is not helpful – but let’s face it, it often is not!
11. Don’t fall into a rut. Each service can be different according to the theme. Don’t fall into a hymn sandwich just because it’s easier. And don’t have the same faces doing everything all the time. Shake it up!
12. Prepare new people well before they take part. Everyone needs good training for whatever they are asked to do in a service. Never make any assumptions that people know how to introduce a reading or wrap up the prayers or use a microphone. Don’t push people into a role before they are confident they know what they are doing. Give good support and feedback.
13. Allow space in the service for real lives, real people. We don’t talk enough about what God is doing in our lives right here, right now. And yes, there’s a structure but allow God to move within that structure as the wind blows the branches of an oak tree.
14. Don’t use the pulpit for your own agenda. There are speakers out there who manage to twist any passage to mention their personal burning issue. And use the pulpit to promote their own personal opinions and doctrine.
15. The service does not end with the final song. Don’t gather in cliques to grumble about the service or the sermon. Don’t let anyone leave feeling ignored or unseen or unheard. Don’t let anyone overhear you gossiping about someone or speaking negatively about another.

This message for us as church today was based on 1 Corinthians 14: 26-40