Loading ...The Worship “Hour”
The worship hour in Waynesboro was typically always an hour. Rarely did we go over the allotted time frame. In fact, I made a point of never going over the hour. People in Waynesboro mostly appreciated this mindset. On the other hand, while I was with Gallatin, the minister regularly went over the hour of worship. I remember mentioning this to a member who thought that it was unspiritual to believe that a worship should be an hour only. How could worship be cut off after an hour? It really does seem unspiritual to confine worship to a man made time of an hour. How can we expect worship to be done within an hour only? But we all have been involved in the run on worship hour. The preacher preaches too long, everyone wants to make an announcement, we sing every verse of every song, and the prayer runs on forever. Maybe we should over look this if it is sincere worship, but sometimes we do not. We feel so unspiritual in wanting to keep the worship “hour.” But, we have to consider the guest to worship, the newcomer to church, because the spiritual might not mind the extended time but the newcomer might not be looking for a long worship period. This might be a turn off, but also a refreshing change for it not to be imprisoned by an hour. Really it might not be about an hour or longer than an hour, it should be about worship being done superbly. The worship should have an intentional flow to it. If the time runs over, it should have been done without much attention being given to it because of the meaningful nature of the worship time. But if the worship drags on, maybe it was done in a haphazard way. I would love some input into this conflict of the worship “hour.”
Related posts:
- Seriousness, Culture, and Worship
- Concern for Unbelievers in Worship
- Dealing with Assimilation and Retention Issues
- Excited About Coming to Waynesboro
- Missional Spiritual Formation
About The Author
What should help guide our minds in this discussion?
I have no idea why this double posted. Can this one be deleted?
The answer to your question is authenticity with purposeful planning that keeps in balance the reason why we are gathered (to worship) and the time. What do I mean by this? Obviously we need to respect the time for the sake of visitors, parents who may have children in a ‘children’s worship’, elderly who live in residences where lunch is served on a schedule, etc… Yet we want the worship to be real, led by God through his Spirit and not led by a schedule that is so rigourously inflexible that worship becomes about just getting the deeds done rather than actually worshiping. The later looses its authenticity and that is something that is very transparent, especially to visitors (Christian or non-Christian). The former keeps the time factor in mind but also realizes that if the worship assembly runs over a few minutes, then it is OK. Also, in my experience, when Christians gather to authentically worship and not just “punch a stamp card”, the promblem of becoming too rigid disappears.
The first congregation I ever preached in (in rural Arkansas), I was asked to keep my sermon length to 10-12 minutes. I was also told that we would have 1 song, a prayer and then communion/offering and another song, then the sermon and one final song. The reason for the breavity was so the members could “beat the Baptists to Pizza Inn buffet.” This was a learning experience for me.
Grace and peace,
Rex
We are always trying to beat those baptist to some where.
Eric, it always double posts, can you write what you stated in your comment, we just have the last section.
Well first we have to stop referring to worship as an hour or something that only occurs once or twice a week when we are assembled. Paul says to be transformed by the renewing of your minds; this is your true act of worship. Then he goes on to describe what transformation really looks like and how it takes place. Notice he does not mention an hour of assembly or a list of authorized religious sacraments or rituals but rather a deep change in the way we think and subsequent actions and behavior like love. Our assemblies need to be more focused on transformation; over coming sin, and becoming like Jesus. Authentic public testimonies of what Jesus has done and is doing in our lives are a place to start. Teaching and preaching on becoming like Jesus in areas of Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness etcetera. Just a couple of things.
As I reflect on the many reasons I have for being thankful, I am definitely moved to give God thanks and praise for your light and life. May God’s richest blessings continue flow through you to enlighten and enrich the lives of others.
Love in the Lord,
Bill Williams
Thank you Bill. Happy Thanksgiving to you.
Well, at least we don’t have to worry about our favorite sports events going over an hour…
I HATE the lie that we have taught ourselves that we can’t possibly sit any longer than an hour for worship. Who gets up and leaves after the 9th inning if a game goes into extra innings? Does the football stadium empty right before OT with those who have had to sit too long? I have personally sat through some pretty long hockey games that have gone into multiple extra periods. What makes worship so tedious for us?
Ridiculous that we even have to have this discussion.
Jimbo
I have sat with great intense anticipation through many religious assemblies and ceremonies. Let’s be honest with ourselves we have all sat through church services that we wished would hurry up. Usually because the speaker didn’t have much to say but talked a long time or we sing the songs that we have sand for years and so slowly that the original tempo and tune are not even close. Rick Atchley at the North Richland Hills church of Christ “goes over” in his preaching regularly and no one gets up and leaves because it is too long. He is currently on a new series called “American Idols” you can go to their website and listen. Also before he speaks someone gives a public testimony about what Jesus is doing in their life related to the specific subject that Rick speaks about. Then the invitation is about becoming like Jesus and there is opportunity to respond with pray partners about overcoming greed or envy or whatever the subject is about. You will probably listen to the whole thing. Then go to another cofC website and listen to a preacher talk about “rightly dividing the word of God”; one would be bored in the first two minutes.
Great thoughts from everyone on this matter. I agree that going over once in a while should not be cause for mutiny and it won’t as long as it is only once in a while. If we are going to announce/post/advertise a starting time and ending time for worship services then we need a plan to start on time and end on time. People don’t mind going over a few minutes if there is a purpose behind it i.e. a response for baptism or prayers. Since no one else has admitted it in the comments here I guess I will, I get a little frustrated when the worship goes over because there is usually no good reason for it. We have all been to or preached at congregations where the starting time was jokingly called called “merely a suggestion.” In one such congregation where I used to preach some it was nothing to start at ten minutes after the hour, in fact it had become the default start time. The problem with that is if you are ever really late you don’t get started til fifteen after. There is no good reason for not starting on time. A planned and purposeful worship that respects the people’s time can be just a spiritual and meaningful as one that runs over twenty minutes. For most people the timely one is more meaningful because there is no frustration with an apparent lack of planning.
So… who posts an ending time for worship?
Just asking.
I have seen only one or two places where there was actually a posted end time, however many places advertise in pamphlets to newcomers that “the worship service usually lasts one hour, we also make it known in the language we use like “Speaker of the hour,” and “worship hour.”
I wish we began (years ago) with a starting time for our assembly and never began to condition ourselves to stop in an hour. We have conditioned ourselves into a mess. We rush to do everything and (sometimes-not all the time-but sometimes) do nothing.
Worship is to wonderful to tie to time. I realize that we are not going to be there all day. But if we wanted to wouldn’t that be alright? if someone had to leave that’s ok. I agree that we don’t post an ending time but it is “understood” if you begin at 10 AM you get out at 11AM. Now, I say this but how do I/we change it? I think I am going to begin to work on this. I can see us continuing getting out in an hour but change our mindset that we will leave when we are through with the assemble
I love reading everyone’s thoughts because of the new outlooks on this topic.
I posted on Wednesday, saw a double post, and tried to delete one of them. I finally got a chance to come back and repost.
My thoughts are that I don’t believe there is a set method for the corporate gathering of believers for all of God’s people across all cultures and times. I agree with Joe above that we have to stop thinking of worship as an hour. Worship is something that we are to do at all times. We are also to gather together, but where does it specifically say how long that gathering should be or what the order of service is? I personally love going to the first service at my church. It’s generally not as crowded, and the events are confined into the schedule. This arrangement benefits both me and the church, as it’s known that I attend first service I can be scheduled to serve in the varying capacities or Power Point, Sound Tech, Head Table, prayer, etc.
Just as we all have different spiritual gifts, we also have different preferences for how our corporate gathering should be. Some people would prefer to sing and pray for an hour and have a short, devotional style sermon. I’d rather have two songs, a quick prayer, and a longer, in-depth sermon that will teach me something.
I don’t see a problem with a local church body setting aside only an hour for a scheduled church gathering. I think the problem lies in members of the body seeing the Sunday morning corporate gathering as the only time for them to worship or consider Jesus Christ.
Sonny,
I love what you said… “Worship is to wonderful to tie to time. I realize that we are not going to be there all day. But if we wanted to wouldn’t that be alright? if someone had to leave that’s ok.”
Preaching this ‘wonder’ of worship is one way to change some of the time locked culture. Another way, if for those of us who call ourselves leaders to never be seen or heard complaining because worship ran over time a few minutes.
——–
I wonder where the hearts are of those who are the loudest complaintiffs when it comes to the worship time. I am not condeming anyone for ever raising a concern or suggesting a change, but in my experience those who complained loudly without any patience seemed to think the assembly was about them in the first place (which is problematic).
Grace and peace,
Rex
I also appreciate the various comments, and hope that it reminds us that worship isn’t something to do (or to go to), it is something to participate in and be part of. We have carried the idea of ‘church’ being something to ‘go to’ and an event to ‘do on Sunday’ to the point of losing touch with the fact that we are to be worshiping in every thing we do, in every waking hour.
Maybe we need to have a little more first century church in our own reality… you know, some preaching to midnight, meeting in homes, selling all that we have and having all things in common. I am afraid that we fall way too close to the side of the rich young man (who went away sorrowful because he had much) and not enough to the side of the widow who gave all that she had while putting her trust in the Lord.
God help us if we turn ‘church’ into a small part of our lives instead of realizing that it is our lives… we are ‘called out’, not for an hour or two on a day or two, but we are called out to give our souls, lives, and hearts to our creator. When ministry becomes a job, then it is time to get out. When church becomes a scheduled hour, we have lost it’s desired and intended effect. We will have become the Pharisees that we abhor, worrying about the outside of the cup.
Jimbo
Jim said:
“We will have become the Pharisees that we abhor, worrying about the outside of the cup.”
With all due respect to all, I believe that this is what the theology in the churches of Christ has already led us to become. That is why to this day that churches are splitting and arguing over every little issue. In my mind we are the equivalent of the modern day Pharisees. If you read the book “12 steps for a recovering Pharisee” you will see the irony of it all. The Pharisees of Jesus day thought they were doing what God wanted them to do; “Enforcing the religious law”. And not only enforcing the religious law but enforcing it at all costs even when it was obviously against the character of God. Take for instance the people who did this recently during a church split in a church of Christ. They had to call the cops out to break it up.
http://www.newschannel9.com/news/church_973455___article.html/service_outside.html
Each side thinks they were doing what God wanted them to do. Paul or Saul at that time was killing people in the name of religious law and doctrinal purity until Jesus revealed himself to him. So reality #1 is very few Pharisees modern or ancient will ever come the realization that they are Pharisees. A Pharisee is one who enforces what they believe to be religious law even if it contradicts the obvious character of God. A Pharisee is one who is publicly pious and privately chaste but Jesus reserved his most scathing rebuke for them. Jesus constantly called them hypocrites. Why? They were not hypocrites in our modern vernacular; they did not say one thing but do another. To our Lord the worst form of hypocrisy was to follow the letter of the law, but not the Spirit. The phrase “worship hour” is ironic n it’s self to this conversation because it suggests a religious law that we have adopted and attempted to enforce instead of looking at the Spirit and making sure that our assemblies are entertaining, uplifting, encouraging, spurring one another on the good works, you know all that stuff it says after Hebrews 11:25. If we spent half as much time on these things rather than the time frame the physical and time format and so on then people might want to go longer or stay until midnight.
The book I suggested “12 Steps for a recovering Pharisee” at the link below is essential reading for anyone who was brought up in a traditional church of Christ doctrine and church culture.
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?r=1&ISBN=9780764222023&ourl=12%2DSteps%2Dfor%2Dthe%2DRecovering%2DPharisee%2FJohn%2DFischer
Right or wrong, my home church pretty much has to wrap up the first worship time on Sunday mornings in an hour so that folks can get Bible classes started on time … those have to finish on time so that second worship hour can begin on time.
Of course, one of our neighboring community churches has introduced The Rock Creek Thirty for folks who want to wrap it up in a half-hour … “Designed with YOU in mind” … “YOUR time is valuable” (my emphasis).
*SIGH.*
So much for sacrificial living as our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1-2).