I walked into the church fifteen minutes before my bible class was to begin. My arms were full with a bible, bible class handouts, bottles of water for a children’s sermon, and my alb and stoles for the next few weeks.
The door was open and I met Robert in a church t-shirt. Anne, the previous but now retired secretary, was there too. I asked, “Where should I put my stuff?”
She said, “Don’t you have a key?”
“Um, no, I don’t.” While I’ve been worshiping here for about six months, this was my first time filling in as worship leader and preacher. I assumed that they would be ready for me. That was not a good assumption.
Anne let me in the pastor’s office with the warning, “The door will lock behind you.” Maybe I should just leave it open. “Another pastor did that; someone came and took all of his stuff.” Ok. Not going to repeat that mistake.
A minute later, Anne came with a key. “Here’s a spare.” Awesome. I’ll take good care of it. I hung up my alb and stoles, then went to get ready for bible class.
I knew there wouldn’t be coffee prepared. That only happens on the first Sunday of the month. This was the fourth of five Sundays. I set out my handouts and got ready for the class to arrive.
After a lively bible class, I put my bible in the pulpit and headed back to the office to get ready. I found the microphone and beltpack, but no batteries. Hmm. I asked numerous people where I might find batteries. No one had a clue. Finally, Anne said, “I think we have some in the office.” She found a couple of AAs, and I was ready to go.
The service went well. Afterwards, everyone quickly left, and I hoped that someone was there to lock up. In the past, as the pastor of a church, I checked doors, set alarms, and was usually the last one out. In this context, none of that was my job.
This congregation has been in search of a full time pastor for three years. In the meantime, interim pastors have filled in. Who’s in charge of making sure everthing that happens on a Sunday morning happens on any given Sunday morning? Elders? Ushers? Anyone?
Sometimes it’s good to be on the other side. Now I can help them make sure they are ready for others who may fill in until they have a full-time pastor.
Waite for it... 