It was a Sunday morning service like no other. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. Don’t think for a moment that I am exaggerating. For example, the audio team could not get the squeaking and feedback corrected.
The worship team took a new song out of the oven before it was fully cooked. The congregation was as lost as a ball in the tall Alabama weeds trying to learn the song.
The guy doing the announcements was having a bad day and appeared to have the love and compassion of Osama Bin Laden.
I also contributed, getting lost in my sermon notes 3 different times and going on to preach my longest sermon of the year. Not my best to say the least.
At lunch, I remember looking at my wife and saying the following words: “That was the worst service we ever had, what a train wreck.”
So how do you rebound from a service that really is a train wreck?
Here are 10 things to do:
- Learn from it.
- Talk about it. Laugh! The fact that anyone comes back the following week is proof of God’s sovereignty.
- Get clear on what you want.
- Get clear on what you don’t want.
- Be sure everyone on the team has the right tools to do the job. Ask, make sure!
- Remember God can change lives, even in so-called ‘train wrecks’.
- When in doubt, don’t tell them, show them. Model to your team what ‘good’ looks like.
- Re-evaluate if all team members are in the right spot. If not, make changes.
- Encourage your team.
- Ensure your team gets back on track immediately!