This morning I am reflecting on this evening's Church Requel worship service. I am preparing my heart and my soul for one of the more difficult tasks pastors must perform: consoling a nation immersed in sorrowful remembrance of the evil attack a decade ago. This morning the television networks and online newspapers are filled with the ceremony in New York City. As I drive up and down the roads I see many church's parking lots filled this morning. I am grateful for our church's decision to conduct its worship in the evening so I have a litte more time for personal devotion today.
Helpful advice came this week from Brian Orme, who coincidentally lives in the same small town as my brother- and sister-in-law: Troy, Ohio. Brian is the general editor for ChurchLeaders.com and SermonCentral.com, two resources I use often. Every weekday morning at 6am I receive an email with good advice for pastors. This past week I think I received the best advice yet from Brian. He wrote about what pastors should and should not do in their churches today on 9/11.
Of the 5 things Brian suggested we not do, here's the one that struck home most for me:
Don't Use A Video Without Personal Reflection - There are many good videos out there about the anniversary of 9/11—these are great tools to help you engage your community. However, don’t use a video as a crutch to do the teaching and reflection that you’re responsible for as a church leader. If you use a video, please provide some commentary at the beginning or the end to help clarify the purpose of the video and how you think your people should respond biblically to the anniversary of 9/11. Short videos are great tools but often poor teachers. Use a video to break into the topic, but don’t let it do all the work.
We make maximum use of video technology at Church Requel. It's the one thing that a small church can do with excellence. The technology is now available that small churches could only dream about a decade ago. However, it is possible to rely upon videos to do our work for us. Brian is right: great tools but poor teachers. Tonight we will be using two excellent videos in our 9/11 Memorial Service. One video, Why We Remember by Steelehouse Media, will come right after our greeting time and will lead into our prayer service. It will provide the perfect backdrop to lead us into praying for family members and first responders.
The other video, Ten Years Ago by Skit Guys, will introduce our sermon today. This is the perfect lead-in to my talk today as a major portion of the talk will come from 1 Corinthians 13:12-13. In both cases the videos become an integral part of the worship experience, not something just thrown in for effect.
The other piece of advice from Brian that I have given a lot of thought to for tonight's service is this:
Pray With Confidence - Use the anniversary of 9/11 as a teaching and prayer time. Pray for those who are suffering today because they’ve lost loved ones. Pray for our country and its leaders. Pray for our enemies—the terrorists still seeking to kill and destroy us in the name of their god. Whatever you do to remember—make sure you wrap it in prayer. Also, be careful not to pray with ambivalence or lack of confidence. Don’t go soft on this one. Remember, you’re a leader—inspire your people with the hope we have in Christ in the midst of dark times. Pray with boldness.
This is more difficult than it seems, definitely easier to say than to do. Leading the corporate prayer for a congregation is something that has taken a lot of focus and thinking on my part. This is not a teaching time - yet people will listen to my prayer to know how to pray themselves. It is not a personal time - yet leading corporate prayers will appear fake if not given with authenticity. Praying for one's enemies is never easy - especially true in front of others. Therefore, I have been praying privately all week that God will give me the right words to pray to Him for my church this evening. Kind of an irony, no? "Lord, help me know what to say when I talk to You."
I want to be a pastor who exemplifies the relevancy of the gospel message for all times and all places. All eyes in America are focused on 9/11 today. God's Word has much to say to the Christ-follower. The Christian worldview will not be seen or heard from our political leaders and from our news sources. God's point of view will come from His Word and from His servants as they preach today. The truth is that God's Message is always relevant - for every day, for every situation. 9/11 is just one more opportunity to demonstrate this. May God stengthen me for my task this evening.
