Tardy to Worship, Early to Leave

My spiritual journey began at what most refer to as a “mainline, liturgical, denominational” church. There were certain things you could count on (right or wrong) if one attended there. The entire worship service would be one hour and it would start and end “on time”. I can’t ever remember a lesson, sermon, or announcement made about being in your seat when the service began, but I can tell you that our household and just about everyone else’s household who attended that church were in their seats at least 5 minutes before the choir entered and the first note was played. It was the culture of that church and denomination for everyone to be ready when the service officially started. Candidly, it was almost unthinkable to be late for church. In fact, if you were late, ushers would hold you at the back door until an appropriate, designated time arrived where late-comers could be seated and even then you were ushered to a designated area in order to minimize any potential distractions. My parents would have been mortified to have been chronically late. I suppose the special times and seating sections underscored the lesson that this church culture was “be on time”.

Years later, after participating in Charismatic/Pentecostal circles and churches, I noticed the informality and laxity concerning starting times and ending times. It wasn’t exclusively unique to some pastors and churches, but I noticed that the people demonstrated that same flexibility with regards to when they arrived and when they left. I will confess, after enduring the lifeless religion and meticulous order of my former denomination, the informality and relaxed atmosphere of my new circles had a refreshing and liberating affect upon my spirit. It initially gave me a “family” vibe and provided a sense of informality and spontaneity which felt conducive to the moving of God’s Spirit amongst us. Who could critique that goal?

Through the years, however, the legitimate goal of churches fostering a relaxed, family atmosphere has, in my opinion, deteriorated into a familiarity which may be disrespecting the Lord and the priority of gathering in His House. Listen to me carefully at this point. I do not believe my concern is simply the hardening of the arteries which has transitioned me to curmudgeon status. I pastored for enough decades to understand that nitpicking is no spiritual gift and the church is not required to be either inflexible or ungracious. I am suggesting that our chronic tardiness in arrival and our lighting out before the service officially concludes may indicate something deeper than simple informality.

I have a theory on why I believe Charismatic churches, almost across the board, have a culture which struggles with this dynamic. Through the 1960’s and 70’s most charismatic gatherings happened in conference settings. Spirit-filled people would travel to retreat centers and auditoriums to listen and be feed by those early Charismatic ministers who would affirm and give foundation to this new experience of the Spirit-filled life. It was here, untold thousands of freshly filled believers would find support and teaching concerning this new world of Spiritual Gifts, Signs and Wonders, and the walk of faith. Often times, the foyer of these venues would be filled with exhibits and ministry tables to help facilitate people’s spiritual life after the conference or set of meetings ended. Obviously, there was much fellowship and conversation taking place. The worship music would begin and that was the signal to end the conversation and find your seat. For some, that could take at least two songs. But the culture of that time and in those places was very informal and loose. The auditorium would never be still until the moment came for the teaching of God’s Word. Now this dynamic of culture wasn’t necessarily wrong or irreverent. A strong case could be made to it’s necessity to challenge the dead religion and stoic culture of many evangelical churches of that era. My point is simply sharing what I believe to be the open door to what would follow. After the conference ended, these folks would go back to their regular churches and participate in the culture and ministry which had been established; usually opposite of what they had just experienced.

As these newly Spirit-filled people left these conferences, the question naturally arose as to why these glorious moments had to be restricted to only once or twice a year? A hunger developed to unite with other believers of like-faith and understanding and suddenly Charismatic churches were springing up all over the landscape. What these folks had experienced only on a weekend or two throughout the year, was now possible on a weekly basis at their new church. The same messages, ministry, and culture could now be replicated on a consistent, weekly basis…

And boy was it….

As a Church historian, much more could be said regarding the evolution of non-denominational churches over the last 60 years, but let me succinctly say that this culture of tardiness and early-exit, combined with certain traits of this era, has led me to the conclusion that now might be a good time to ask the question of our movement, “Are we disrespecting God in how we are handling the Sunday morning worship service?” Now I understand and make space for the occasional tardy and the need to leave early. Things happen which can cause a curve-ball to anyone’s schedule.

…Traffic was horrific getting to church.
…There was an accident on the interstate and it took an extra 20 minutes.
…The alarm clock legitimately didn’t go off…
…I’m on call this weekend and someone needed my assistance so I had to leave.
…There was an emergency which I had to respond to.

…and potentially others.

There is always grace for the curve-ball. The problem has become that either there are exponentially more curve-balls getting thrown people’s way these days or we have allowed a culture to develop which thinks being tardy and exiting early on the Lord really isn’t that big of a deal. That dear reader is called, familiarity, and the Bible indicates that is sin. The sin of familiarity is when we treat something that should be regarded with respect and even holy (uncommon) as common. For example, when the Lord instituted plans for the tabernacle and the various parts of it’s function, He would ask that certain pieces of furniture and utensils be sanctified and set apart for use ONLY in His service. In other words, you weren’t allowed to borrow the Brazen Altar and use it as your personal barbecue or the sacrificial knives and utensils to start your own butcher shop. To do so would “make common” with what was designed to be holy before the Lord.

I love the church I am currently attending. The pastor is in his own personal revival and it is spilling into the life of the local church. I know he is a good man and God is helping him lead this church in some important truth (Jeremiah 6:16). I have enjoyed watching this church (which is now our church too) navigate these special days. He has used the term “sacred space” which is to indicate that God has decreed certain times and places HIS. They are not to be treated as common, but rather respected and consecrated for His uses. I know it must be incredibly challenging to reshape a culture which has decades of establishment behind it and is prevalent across America, but to his credit and God’s glory, you can see the turn in so many areas. It is encouraging. The one area which I am praying to see consecrated is the respect for the worship time. From the first note of the worship team to the last benediction of the pastor, the people of God are there and engaged in the worship of God. Let me suggest why this may be important.

FIRST…You demonstrate the sacredness of worship.

Worship is not an “event” in the same vein as an athletic contest, concert, or show. Worship is a time of corporate connection to the true and living God where we can express our love for Him and His Spirit can minister to us. That is not to say that worship cannot “look” like an event to the natural eye, but at its foundation that is not the primary function. Rather, it is a moment for me to respond to God in adoration. This moment is sacred. I do not clap because I like the performance, I clap because it is a biblical way to praise the Lord. I do not shout because I am excited or pleased concerning the song which is being sung, but rather it is a biblical way to express my praise to the Lord. I raise my hands to HIM. I close my eyes to meditate on His Word and His goodness. These are sacred moments which call me to timeliness and my priority of attendance. To be habitually late or disrespectfully escaping early is to impugn that sacredness.

SECOND…You demonstrate that the Lord is as respected in your life as other important things.

Truthfully, there are numerous areas of life that simply would not accommodate our tardiness or early departure. Your boss (in most situations) would not tolerate this from an employee long. The school your children attend has without doubt a policy concerning tardiness or departure. People stand outside the doors of auditoriums for a concert hours before entering in order to get the best seat available. We are timely, if not early, with regards to reservations at restaurants and tee times on golf courses. Our on time arrival demonstrates a sense of priority and importance regarding these things. We would never consider making a politician wait on our arrival. Why would arrival at a worship service demand any less respect? We will honor a Broadway show with timeliness in order to respect the actors, yet the very Lord of the universe gets our tardiness? This needs to be seriously evaluated in our circles.

THIRD…You respect the people who prayed and labored to assist your worship.

There is a part of me that recognizes there are numbers of people who have prayed, planned and are participating in a worship service that is designed to assist me in experiencing and hearing from God. They put their heart into that worship service. They labored over song selection and practiced faithfully to be excellent in their presentation. To trip into this moment habitually tardy is to, at some level, disrespect their labor and ministry. I know that they are here to help me, but I can help them too, by singing that first note with them and being a face they can see which encourages them week after week. It also includes being ready to receive the Word of God the pastor has prayed over and prepared. I watched one Sunday recently, as my pastor preached a powerful sermon, which was obviously convicting numbers of people, When he asked for us to stand and as he began to give an invitation to receive Christ, numbers of people got up and bee-lined it to the exits. The picture was literally hundreds of people walking to the altar at the front, while hundreds were walking the opposite direction to get out of church. They were literally impeding people desiring to get to an altar to pray. The pastor asked (out loud), “Could everyone please wait one moment as these people come forward?” I’m not sure anyone stopped. That picture needs no extra commentary except to say, “What’s wrong with that picture?”

FOURTH…You respect your brothers and sisters in the faith by your timeliness.

I’m glad to see every person in the House of the Lord on Sunday. There is a part of me when I see people come in late that says, “Well, better late than never. Who knows what challenges they had getting here today. Be glad they are here”. However, to be almost an hour late and climb over me with your cappuccino in hand to catch the last 15 minutes of the sermon does me nor you any service. Truthfully, I can move my legs and smile as you slide by and then easily reconnect with what the pastor is teaching. The problem is that I have years of pastoral experience enabling me not to disconnect while most people don’t. Your tardiness has a likelihood of being used to rob a person of an important “God-moment” in their life. I understand that is not your intention, but functionally it is a reality. You are disrespecting the assembly of worshippers by drawing attention to your tardiness.

FIFTH…Your seed of promptness to God will reap God’s promptness to you.

One of my favorite verses is Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”.

Years ago that word, “whatever” caught my eye. It literally means…whatever. It means that you and I are constantly sowing things whether we realize that or not. I want to suggest that for many people their “sowing” of tardiness towards the things of God is reaping them a harvest of tardiness in experiencing God’s blessing. If you are slow and lackadaisical towards God, what are you surprised that certain blessings seem slow coming to you? What we sow (and dare I say, HOW we sow), is what we reap.

If you find yourself reading this blog and this topic resonates in you whether through conviction or agreement, then let’s start a new movement. How about we prioritize our commitments to being at the House of God on-time and staying until the pastor releases us. Let’s not be the reason someone disconnects or gets distracted from an eternity-changing moment in their life. The Lord should be our number one priority. Our faith walk should be as important as the job.

Years ago, when I was a very young boy, my mom would make dinner and when ready she would call us in and we would all sit down together. It did not matter if I was outside playing and the game was almost over or my dad was working in the garage and needed another 20 minutes to finish, we were all expected to sit down together. We ate the meal together and when completed we sat there until everyone had finished their meal. That was what family looked like years ago. I believe we need to get to the House of the Lord together. We need to sit down together as a family and receive the bread from heaven. Finally, no one leaves until everyone is done and dismissed.

I honestly believe this will restore the Lord’s pleasure.