Is it the time

Over the next several days I'll be working through the first paragraph of my initial Lenten post; what is keeping folks away from churches. I'm no genius, just trying to offer ideas...

Is it the time?

Our church is considering whether to add an additional worship service to the site where I am assigned. Of course, one of the first questions we ask ourselves is, "what time should the service be held?". As important as that question is for those who already gather for worship, it is more important for those who are not yet worshiping with us.

Is it the time of our services which causes new people to stay away? Possibly. In an era where 2nd jobs are more common, and when family time is more scarce than ever, perhaps the clock-time of service does matter more than we think. Perhaps gone are the days when people woke up on Sundays and thought, "man, it is probably TIME to go to church...". Perhaps time, sleep time/spare time/rest time, has become more important. So, will we simply stand on a soapbox and scream "get your priorities right and get to church on Sunday morning!!"? Back to that in a sec.

Is it that there are just more things to do during "church time"? This feeds into the last paragraph, but I've noticed that sports/club leagues/swing choirs/etc (my context) often take us away from our weekends (or old weekend routines) season after season. After a while, we get so used to being away/busy on the weekend that it becomes routine and we look to fill our weekends with more of whatever has become familiar.

Is it the time...in our lives? "I'm young/old/busy/etc, and I'll go back to church when I get the time...". I really think that this might make up a large and ignored "category" of what we would classify ignorantly as "unchurched". Those who are at least interested in the idea of God,Jesus, and even church, but have priorities which keep them away from church until it better suits their time. And WE in the church have fed them all of the insight needed to back up this theory about ignoring what we call "church". "Your relationship with God is personal, not social. God loves you, and no matter what you do, as long as you say you believe in Him, you're golden...".

In the right context, I believe the above statement has truth in it. But we've robbed a generation of an important truth regarding TIME. Time is an offering. It is a demonstration of priority. So when I ask "is it the time" that keeps you away, it is both an apology in behalf of the church for not acknowledging how much time it does take to follow Christ as it is a question about whether the 830am service is too early for you to wake up and come to church.

So, what is the answer... How arrogant would I be to suggest I had it!! But here is an idea. CHURCHES and church leaders, we can't assume the world will know about Christ if we don't offer people opportunities to come back (on the time we've given them) and hear the message of Christ. Start "church" (sharing the message of Christ and serving others as a community) at different times, in different locations, with different activities, etc. Make it worth their time so that you can teach them about how much their time matters to Christ. Maybe once we all sense the importance of worship in community and in action, serving the world and supporting each other, we'll be more apt to sacrifice a few more hours a week to enjoy the worship of God which does come with in the gathering labeled 'church'. (maybe even on Sunday? If that is important in your context...)

It is all about the time. Speaking of which, my daughter just fell asleep on my lap, so it's time to get some chores done while she sleeps!

If this post made any sense, share the idea with others. If it made you mad, or if you disagree, share that too! At least we'll be talking!

I'll be praying for you... please pray for each other.