Ushering: Is It Your Calling?

USHERING:  IS IT YOUR CALLING?

USHER’S DAY 2019

Mount Hope UMC

Sunday, October 13, 2019

1 Corinthians 15:58 New Living Translation (NLT)

⁵⁸ So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

1 Corinthians 15:58 The Message (MSG)

⁵⁸ With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

             Since ushers stand at the door and other strategic places in and outside the Sanctury, they are often the first contact society has with the organized services of the church.  Ushers play a critical and strategic, albeit underrated, function in the church.  Ushers operate in hospitality, they facilitate order, but ore of all they celebrate Christ!

             The work of Ushers is best encapsulated by two words – hospitality and order.  So celebrating Usher’s Day is celebrating acts of hospitality such as the divine welcome extended to those entering the house of worship and the order that results from an Usher’s attention to detail.

             Back in the day, and even in African American churches today, if you attend an Usher’s Day Program, you will experience the procession of the Ushers from various churches march in with their special step.  On First Sundays here, you will see Sister Nina and her special shuffle step leading the choir during the Offering.

             How many of you went to see the story of Cecil Gaines in the Lee Daniels film, “The Butler” when it came out or on cable?  Do you remember the training he received from the man at the elite hotel and then again when he is hired as a butler at the White House?  He was trained to be invisible in a room full of people.  When he was summoned, he appeared.  When he wasn’t needed, he was in the background and invisible.  He took in everything going on around him.  His perception and peripheral vision was sharp as a tack.  But he never said a mumble word unless asked.  Gaines was totally committed and dedicated to his job.  He took pride in the service he provided.  He didn’t care who the President was or what was going on in the White House.  His focus was on providing excellent client service to whoever sat in the Oval Office.

             This made me think about the role of Ushers in the church.  They stand at the door welcoming all who enter.  They are always at their posts.  Our ushers are committed and dedicated just like Cecil Gaines was.  They say very little and, truth be told, we often forget they are there because in their own way, they have become invisible, too.  They are so invisible sometimes that when someone comes through the door and the Usher tries to show the to a seat, they ignore the direction of the Usher and go sit where they want to sit.  Yet the Usher does not challenge them or correct them.  They just drift into the background and stand at the door of the Sanctuary or other strategic places within the Sanctuary until they are called into service again.

             How many of you know our Usher Board?  We have Brother Glenwood Adams, Brother Timothy Morsell, Brother James B. Kent, Jr., Sister Dale Morsell who is head of the Usher Board, Sister Alana Bell, and of course, Sister Nina Reid.  We could use some more Ushers, but is it your calling?

             Paul tells the church at Corinth to be strong and immovable.  Paul is saying “stand your ground”.  Be committed to the service you provide.  Be dedicated to carry out the office you are called to fill.  Not everyone is called to serve like this.  Some of are not humble enough to serve others.  Anything could happen in a church service.  Someone could get ill – call the Usher.  Someone could get filled with the Holy Ghost – call the Usher.  Someone could….well, call the Usher.

             Sample Usher Pledge – I pledge by the help of God to do my best to serve my church with a pure heart and clean hands.  I further pledge to abide by the rules and regulations of the board and my superior officers to attend meetings and to serve when called upon unless I can give sufficient reason why I cannot serve, and to keep my financial obligations to the board in good standing.

             Most Usher Boards meet regularly.  I have never seen an Usher Board meeting on Mount Hope’s schedule.  Maybe you don’t need to meet monthly, but quarterly.  Why meet?  What about recruitment?  There may be some people God is calling from the pew to Usher.  They need to be trained and know what the process is for welcoming, when to keep the doors of the church closed and when to open them during certain parts of the worship service.  Is Sister Nina the only Usher with a “step”.  When you go to other Usher’s Day services, how to march in in unison.  When your hand goes behind your back, when you wear your white gloves, when to wear white, when to were black.  What about continuing education – training events?  There are any number of reasons to meet – sometimes just to fellowship beyond the day you celebrate being an Usher.

             Usher’s Motto: Ready to Serve.  Always at the Post.

             Every Sunday morning I look for Sister Nina to be sitting by the door when I come in.  When she’s not there, I get concerned.  She is committed and dedicated and she takes her calling as an Usher seriously.  Sister Nine is always ready to serve and always at her post.  It is her calling.  Is it yours?  Or do you Usher because grandma or granddad was an Usher and they raised me?  Or Momma or Daddy was an Usher and that’s what I think I am supposed to do to honor their service to the church.

             The hospitality and order of Ushers sets the initial tone of the worship service.  The Usher greets those entering into the Holy of Holies with a smile and a handshake or hug.  They offer a Bulletin so that the person entering can follow along with the various elements of the church service.  They invite you in with an extended hand to an aisle or a seat, then they stand at the door and wait for the next opportunity to welcome the next person into the service.        

             You have to have the heart of Christ to be an Usher.  You have to truly love to be the first face people see when they enter the church house.  God bless you, because sometimes folk come in with all the attitude the world has placed on them – good, bad and indifferent.  Some folk come through the door with the weight of the world on their shoulders.  They are mad at everybody and a warm welcome by an Usher could be the only pleasing and pleasant thing that has happened to them all week.

             “Always work enthusiastically for the Lord.”  Good Ushers perform their calling with enthusiasm because they know that what they are doing is for the Lord.  They get no accolades, no glory, no honor for opening the door and letting you sourpusses in the door to get your weekly fix – I mean, blessing.  Some of you come in and go out the same what you came in, but that Usher who greets you with a smile coming in will be at the door greeting you with a smile as you leave.  They pray for you, even though you don’t know it.  They intercede for you because they see and feel your spirit as you come through the door.

             If you ever see a sour-faced Usher or a rude Usher – that’s not their calling!  Yes, there are those who take up a spot at the door as an Usher, but God ain’t called them to that ministry.  They’re in the position because they were either Voluntold, or they thought it would be a position where they wouldn’t have to do much, but still participate in the ministries of the church.  In other words, they could put it on their ministry resumes.  I ain’t playing, church!  If you find an Usher like that, please let the Head Usher know.  Prayerfully, it’s not the Head Usher.  But if it is, let the Pastor know.

             “For you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”  Nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.  Now, let’s just break that down because we could get that twisted.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man o God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  I don’t care where God has called you – and in this case, it’s into the Usher ministry – you have to be in the Word of God, you need to be in Bible Study and/or Sunday School.  You have to have the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and the breastplate of righteousness in place, and your feet shod with the Gospel of peace so you can take up your shield of faith so you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the enemy and put on the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.  You have to put on the full armor of God to be an Usher.  If you don’t do that – Ushering is not your calling.  Be steadfast, firm, immovable and fully vested in your calling as an Usher then the work you do for the Lord will not be one in vain.

             You can’t let one sour face attack your post.  You can’t let an oversight offend you.  You can’t let your invisible cloak of your calling fail you.  If you do, Ushering is not your calling.

             Matthew talks about another critical role of Ushers in Chapter 21:12-13.  “Then Jesus entered the temple and rove out all who were selling and buying in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves.  He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer, you are making it a den of robbers.’”  Ushers are the protectors, the security guards of the Sanctuary.  Ushers make sure that, other than the offering that they are responsible for collecting, no other barter, trade, sale, or secular activity takes place during the worship.  They protect the worship service so that the participants in the service have their minds and hearts turned toward God.  Ushering:  Is it your calling?

             Lastly, this is not just for Ushers, but for all of you – If God didn’t call you to it, it’s not your calling.  Be in prayer; listen for God’s still small voice in the middle of the night; feel the tug on your heart even when you are questioning if it’s you.  I read a quote the other day that reminded me of whose voice to listen to – know your Savior’s voice because salt and sugar look the same.

             Know who’s calling you and you will know if it’s your calling.  Be blessed.  Amen.