WORSHIP LEADERS
STOP SIGN WORSHIP : 5 PRACTICAL WAYS TO KEEP YOUR SET FLOWING | Jon Nicol
I hate four-way stops . There ’ s one I drive through everyday a few blocks from my house . The typical driver ’ s IQ drops an average of 19.7 points the moment they arrive at a four-way stop . ( OK , I just made up that stat . But it ’ s gotta be true .)
It ’ s not that a four-way stop makes people dumb . It ’ s that no one pays attention : Wait . Who got here first ? Did I get here first ? Did you ? Who ’ s got the right-of-away ? Do any of these 3 other people even know what ‘ right-of-way ’ even is ?
The issue is compounded by the fact that I live in a fairly polite area . Not “ rural Iowa polite ,” but close . Even if someone clearly gets to the intersection first , there ’ s a good chance she ’ ll wave you through . But not after an awkward exchange of , “ Is she going , is she not going ?”
So here I am … foot off the brake — foot on the gas — oops , now back on the brake — now back to the gas — BRAKE !
<< Wave >>
This is what I do . => Polite smile and wave from me as I cross the intersection . We both could have been to our destinations 11 minutes ago !! Enough with the politeness .
Before my blood pressure has a chance to return to non-fatal levels , a few blocks down I encounter another maddening traffic confuser : the roundabout .
The roundabout near my house is the first one they built in my area . And they put it next to retirement apartments . ( You can see how that might be a problem , right ?)
I ’ m sure you ’ ve seen a roundabout – so you know the whole purpose is to keep the flow of traffic moving . But just in case , here ’ s how it works . ( Sorry , I ’ m about to mansplain .)
If one approaches the intersection and no one else is in the roundabout , one doesn ’ t need to stop . Except someone always does . They treat it like a four-way stop ! When I get behind people like this , my spiritual sanctification and natural progression as a decent human being are in serious jeopardy .
We had our friends , Mike and Joy , over for games and pizza . When the pizza was ready to be picked up , Mike offered to drive since he was blocking my car in . That ’ s cool . Until we got to you-know-where .
Mike stopped . At . The . Roundabout !!
Our friendship ended that night . I got out of the car and walked home . ( With the pizza , of course .)
Alright , I ’ m kidding . I mean , Mike did stop at the roundabout . But I kept my mouth shut and we ’ re still friends .
So why am I ranting about roundabouts and four-way stops ?
One , just to have a little fun . ( And maybe to vent some semi-real frustrations .) But two , to get you thinking about the flow of a worship service in a different way . Just like people who don ’ t understand the rules of a roundabout disrupt the flow of traffic , worship leaders who don ’ t plan transitions disrupt the flow of a worship service .
Arrggghhhh !!! <= That ’ s what I ’ m feeling .
But the other night , it got personal . WHAT DISRUPTION LOOKS LIKE Here ’ s the “ stopping at a roundabout ”