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 Service InterruptionsWhat to do when emergencies and outbursts bring your worship service to a halt.
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"All 1,000 people filed out," he said. "And it was the quickest exit I've ever seen." He then invited her to share with him what she wanted to share with everyone. When it turned out that her message was that Brad Pitt was the prophet of God, he was able to get her help and then invite everyone back in. When he explained what happened, the congregation was accepting. While asking everyone to leave a service is rarely necessary, the point is that his calm and decisive improvisation kept a bad situation from getting worse. He led. Provide DirectionSome simple coaching to others may be all that is needed. When a homeless man wandered down the center aisle midservice and stopped to kneel at the feet of the senior pastor, the pastor turned to an usher and said, "Could you please help our brother. Take him into the lobby and pray with him and see what he needs." When a man suffered a massive coronary near the first pew of The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, the pastor stopped his message and said, "There obviously is a problem here in the front rows. If you are a doctor, we invite you to help. And we need an usher to call 911, but for the rest of us, let's do what we can, and what we can do is to pray." By suggesting a calm and loving next step, you help others process what is going on, and you also prevent others from rushing in, which can make things worse. At the end of a service several years ago, a disturbed man challenged me to a debate on the question of immortality. I said I'd be glad to talk with him about that afterward, but he wanted a public debate, and he wanted it now. He became increasingly agitated and started swearing at me. I let him go on a bit too long before I realized that some of the men in the church were about to swoop in and remove him forcibly. Things were about to go from awkward to ugly, when I finally escorted him away myself. I should have taken control of things earlier and not allowed so many people to grow uncomfortable. A leadership vacuum during a crisis opens the door for anyone to step in. Either the senior pastor or the worship leader needs to be prepared to calmly reassert control before things get out of hand. Learn from the MomentThe real opportunity a crisis provides is the teachable moment that follows. After the communion elements were scattered on the floor and several ushers had led the woman away, my friend turned to the congregation and said, "Well, Jesus told us to love our enemies. We have an opportunity to do just that right now. This woman is obviously not well. As the ushers reset the table, let's pray for her." At a church in Hawaii, a drunken man stumbled in a side door of the church and walked out on stage before anyone had the presence to stop him. He looked at the senior pastor, who had stopped his sermon, and then looked at the congregation and said, "Hello." The senior pastor greeted him and asked how he could help him. The discussion led to a spontaneous interview that the pastor was able to weave into his sermon. If we can keep our wits about us, the unexpected can be a great opportunity to model mature Christian living. |             |
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