While driving from Dallas to Austin some time back, I saw a banner with that phrase on it — 30-minute worship. My reaction was, Really? So who’s this targeting? People who just can’t be bothered to give more than 30 minutes out of their busy life to Jesus on Sunday morning?
I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t respond to a “30-minute cross” banner on his way to Golgotha.
If that’s offensive, I assure you I don’t mean it to be, but I would like us to take a look at our priorities.
We hurry home from an after-dinner rush to the supermarket so we don’t miss the beginning of MacGyver.
We have our child at school 45 minutes early for her kindergarten “holiday program” so we can sit in the front row.
We quietly slink out of Sunday morning worship so we can beat the _____ (insert name of denomination) to El Diamante and still make it home in time for the kickoff.
After a late Saturday night, we just can’t get it going the next morning, so we totally skip Bible class and arrive at worship 10 minutes late. We only miss a couple of songs.
We’re on time for Sunday morning worship, but have some things to take care of, so we make a hasty exit after communion. At least we were there for the most important part.
Do I sound cynical in the least? Please feel free to kick me if you’ve never experienced (or been guilty of) any of this.
…infants (and kids of all ages) tend to have schedules of their own, but many times when we’re late, isn’t it because we simply failed to plan far enough ahead?
I understand there are times when there are business trips on Sunday and there are airplanes to catch. Been there. I also understand that there are other things that take us away from worship, and these just can’t be avoided. Most of the time though, isn’t is because of a choice we make? We choose to be on time and to participate fully in the things that truly matter to us.
We choose to hit the snooze 3 or 4 times, and end up being late to worship.
We choose to be in our easy chair when Yellowstone (or The Mandalorian or NCIS, or whatever it is you can’t miss) comes on the tube, and we don’t miss a second of the action.
We choose to have our 10-year-old son at his soccer game 15 minutes early so he can be a “starter”.
Anyone who’s ever had a child knows infants (and kids of all ages) have schedules of their own, but many times when we’re late, isn’t it because we simply failed to plan far enough ahead to get ourselves and our kids there in time for Bible class?
We can just as easily choose to make worship a priority in our lives. If it takes a full 60 or 90 or 120 minutes of our precious Sunday morning, day-off, day-of-rest time, then so be it. What are we here for anyway? How long was Jesus on the cross? (Hint: It was between 5 hours and 7 hours — Mark 15:25, 33-34.) I don’t think showing up on time and staying until the last “Amen” is too much to ask. What do you think?
