THE PRESIDENT

Imagine a meeting without a president. It requires little effort to capture the scene, for we have all experienced the occasion when the president's chair was empty while the congregation were ready with anxious glances over the shoulder, followed by whispering at the back of the room indicating that arrangements had gone awry. Had someone forgotten his duty? Was someone late in arriving? Had someone who could not attend failed to find a substitute ? Whatever the reason the service suffered from an unfortunate start: perhaps it never fully recovered from its lack of preparedness.

It is true to say-and this is not always appreciated as it should be-that the most important servant at many of our services is the presiding brother. He makes or mars the worship of many. His contribution is considerable, and both he and his work are worthy of serious thought by all the members of each ecclesia.

The president represents the authority and order of the meeting: he sets and maintains the spiritual tone: he gives unity and continuity to all that is done. No president should consider his duties to be negligible or mere routine not requiring careful preparation.

Let us look at the matter a little more closely. The choice of presidents is an ecclesial matter-we elect our presidents. Do we select them? Small ecclesias often have little choice, but many ecclesias are large enough for there to be scope for wise selection between those who are able to perform this exacting service and those who are not. Let us exercise thoughtfulness when next we have the opportunity to elect our presidents.

A responsible presiding brother will arrive at the meeting in good time. He will fit himself to the nature of the meeting-Breaking of Bread, Bible Class or proclamation of the gospel. His first prayer will be at home, for thus he will arrive with an awareness of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. If he is to help his brethren to worship he should practise such worship himself. Only by spiritual awareness will he find the key to acceptable chairmanship before God.

Because he is a servant to his brethren the president will be observant of those who are present and note those who are absent: he will learn about the sick and remember those who are in special need: he will welcome new faces and give such information as will help all to feel at ease. He will be ready for the unexpected and take decisions when it is necessary to do so. The rest of us will give him attention and respect his directives.

The secret of good work is good preparation. Many seemingly easy accomplishments are the result of careful effort beforehand. Here are some very simple rules.

Be fully acquainted with the exact order of the meeting: write it down together with the names of the brethren upon whom you intend to call for reading or prayer and the numbers of the hymns. Many a president has caused needless anxiety to himself and others simply by trusting his memory. Even the keenest mind will sometimes lose the name of a brother, the number of a hymn or the purpose of the second collection. Be ready, have a sense of time, of order, of occasion, and think ahead.

The Bible is the visible sign of God at all our meetings. Check and re-check the readings for the day. If you are presiding for the evening meeting, get to know the reading from the speaker as soon as the morning meeting is over. Read it thoughtfully at home and read it well in public. Choose your readers having regard to their ability, their age and the kind of reading they have to do. Make sure the reading Bible is ready for use at the right place. When a speaking brother is turning up quotations make sure that you do the same-he might need your help quite unexpectedly when a verse or a book eludes him.

The choice of hymns is something to which sympathetic thought should be given. What is the purpose of each hymn ? Do we choose hymns only because of the words or the music ? Or do we keep in mind the place of the hymn in the development of the service ? Hymns should follow the theme of the meeting by giving accent to the readings for the day, the subject matter of the lecture, the theme of fraternal addresses, or the nature of the service of which they are a part

. A good president knows his hymn book well and will devote time to the choice of the right hymns. He will announce them clearly and read the opening verse with understanding, thereby giving some direction to the congregation in the way of thoughtful singing. Hymns are mirrors to reflect the spirit of our particular devotions-praise, confession, consecration, patient waiting for the kingdom of God.

A president is on the platform for the whole of the meeting and his appearance and manner should contribute to the sense of occasion. His appearance should be wholesome and unobtrusive. He should seek neither to attract attention to himself nor to detract from the properness of things by his dress or manner.

He is a leader. His will be the first voice to be heard: let it be pleasant, firm, distinct and helpful. As he sat quietly before the meeting began, thereby making others aware that the time for silence had arrived, so when he rises to his feet he will approach the desk with simple confidence, look out into the room and seek to invite and to inspire the many members to be one body in praise.

The meeting should flow, neither hurriedly as though out of control, nor disjointedly or lethargically as thought each part had a separate and unconnected existence. When the president wishes the congregation to sit down after a hymn he should give them a clear lead by doing so himself. If he remembers that he is not simply a chairman but also a pattern he will be increasingly helpful. Let him be aware of the listeners: when he announces a reading he should give others time to find it. When he calls upon the reader he should do so clearly by looking in his direction, and he should make sure that the reader knows precisely what he is expected to read. In this connection some presidents like to warn their readers beforehand that they will be called upon.

The president should be a good host. At many of our meetings we have guests-visiting brethren and sisters, the invited speaker or the invited listener to the Truth each Sunday evening. On behalf of the ecclesia the guests should be made welcome, to feel at home and at ease. If we are to ask a visiting brother to read let him know beforehand and tell him where the Bible is placed. The invited speaker should not be left in doubt about the order of the service or whether or not to accompany the president to the platform. He should be greeted, asked whether the selected hymns and readings are suitable, told politely if there is a time limit set to the exhortation, and informed how many collections there will be. It is good to let the visiting speaker know items of information which affect the life of the ecclesia-a bereavement, a baptism, receiving into fellowship. The manner in which the chairman links the meeting together and draws the speaking brother to his place in the service lends aid to both hearers and speaker alike.

The visitors to our lectures are guests. They are not intruders, enemy aliens or simpletons. We have invited them and we should accord them a warm welcome. As guests they should not be made to feel that they are sitting targets for arrows in our remarks or, worse still, in our prayers. A difference will become apparent, the kind of difference which exists between a guest in a home and those who live there. It should be made plain that we are seeking understanding and owing help that whosoever will might come to the Truth.

There is no more difficult task than presiding at the Breaking of Bread service. It is here that our devotions are deepest, where both private and communal meditations abound and where the president is both necessary and self-effacing at the same time.

How can we best serve in this capacity? Private contemplation is a wondrous help. Think of the First President at that first Last Supper, and let him be both example and Lord. Catch the spirit of the readings for the day, seek out some simple, central theme directly related to the feast of remembrance: let the hymns blend with and echo the thoughts: seek to lead naturally to the word of exhortation, and with equal ease to the moment of partaking; here let your words be few and apt: let the life, the death, the power of the resurrection pulsate through the whole.

Special tasks require special preparation. Business meetings, baptisms, arranging meetings, all make differing demands. The secret of lifting the duty to the place of service for Christ lies in knowing exactly what you are expected to do and doing it in the spirit of our Master.

To preside is to be a link. Be strong: be secure. Remember always that the true President is in heaven and you are to act on his behalf in willing humility. 