|
The
Lightstand Magazine
1985
• September • FEEDING THE FLOCK OF GOD
by Bro. Robin Lamplough
|
|
|
|
How
often, one wonders, does a presiding brother think of himself
as having a role to play in feeding the flock of God? How
many members of the ecclesia would put the presidents among
those who have that special responsibility? Yet we all know
that there are presidents who make a real contribution to
any meeting over which they preside and that there are others
who contribute little.
MAXIMUM BENEFIT It is possible to see the function of the
presiding brother as necessary but insignificant: an announcer
who tells the congregation what is going to happen next. In
reality, however, his office carries a far greater burden
than that. His true task is to ensure that as far as possible
every person in the congregation gains the maximum benefit
from every prayer, every reading, every hymn, even from the
main address itself. A good president, therefore, is sensitive
and adaptable. He has to blend together the different elements
of the service to make a cohesive entity. If he does his work
well, the whole will be infinitely greater than the sum of
its parts.
PREPARATION The key to success is careful and prayerful preparation.
There is no place here for impromptu performance, although
circumstances may suddenly demand impromptu action. Only by
spending time beforehand and by asking God's blessing on the
work is it possible to choose hymns which will add to the
meaning of the readings or thoughts for the prayer which will
complement both readings and hymns.
|
|
Page 1
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The
choice of brethren to pray also requires forethought. Some like
to be warned before being called upon; some have a flair for drawing
together in conclusion all the various strands of a meeting; some
are better at asking a blessing on the emblems. Many
tend to be neglected for weeks and the president who prepares carefully
will remember them and draw them into the service where his less
well-prepared brother will forget them yet again. A wise president,
furthermore, will have written notes before him as an aid to memory
just in case! It can so easily happen otherwise that, in the stress
of the moment, one forgets either the order of service or even the
name of a speaker. (This writer, lest any reader should be incredulous,
has been asked by a president whom he has known for twenty years
(on two successive evenings) to supply his name to a lecture audience)!
FLEXIBILITY
But even though he has prepared thoroughly and has made his notes
well in advance, a president needs as well a degree of mental flexibility.
He must be able, as the saying goes, to think on his feet and to
adapt quickly to unusual circumstances. A good president listens
carefully to the address and judges whether or not it needs rounding
off. Often, by a few well-chosen words in conclusion, a president
can turn a mediocre exhortation or lecture into a memorable one.
Conversely, a president who insists on referring afterwards to some
of the points in the address may totally upset the speaker's carefully
planned ending. So a good president is both sensitive and flexible,
striving to help create a service which leaves every person present
in some or other way enriched. That Is the way to feed the flock
of God.
R.L.
|
|
Page 2
|
|
|
|
