Submission by Dr. Glenn Mollette
Is church a waste of time? Is it a waste of time for you to refuel your car? If you don’t stop occasionally at a convenience store or fueling station, your car will just become a piece of metal sitting beside the road. Your automobile requires gasoline or charging to keep going.
It also won’t run efficiently if you don’t have it serviced from time to time. Wheel balancing, alignments, brake pads—these are all part of routine maintenance.
Gathering with our faith groups is critical to refueling and recharging our spiritual engines and batteries. Scripture reminds us not to forsake assembling together (Hebrews 10:25). Worship brings us together to hear encouragement, gain scriptural insight, receive teaching, and enjoy fellowship with others who are on the same journey. An ember soon loses its glow, but when stirred back into the fire, it burns brighter and hotter.
I’ve been in and around church worship my entire life. My life is better because of Christian people and worshiping with others.
However, I’m not alone in saying I don’t want to feel like my time has been abused—or wasted. I don’t mind a 90-minute worship service if the music is great and the message is well prepared and meaningful. But I don’t want to sit through 90 minutes of bad music and an off-the-cuff, unprepared sermon. I also don’t want to hear the same announcements, appeals, and promotions Sunday after Sunday. Put the announcements in a bulletin, on a screen, or on a website. Use worship time for strong music, scripture, prayer, and a solid message.
My hometown pastor had this word of wisdom for ministers: “Preach about God, and preach about twenty minutes.” Most people can handle 25 minutes, but after that, the minister starts losing people—unless the sermon is truly exceptional. Many ministers think all their sermons are exceptional and love to hear themselves for 40 to 50 minutes or more. Stop doing this to your people!
A good worship service can easily be done in an hour. Twenty minutes of well-prepared music sets the tone. Ten minutes for prayer and scripture is plenty. That leaves 25, maybe even 30 minutes for the message. I’m not saying this is the golden rule, but it’s a good silver rule.
There’s nothing inherently spiritual or godly about keeping people in a church building for 90 to 120 minutes. Chances are, if this is your church’s practice, you probably have a small congregation. I know someone will write to me with an exception—there are always exceptions—but not many in this case.
When you refuel or service your car, you don’t want it to take half your day. When it does, it’s a tiring and aggravating experience. Church was never meant to be that way.
