Featured Is a 1 1/2 hour Sunday morning service to long ?

Especially the music portion.

 

It isn't about being fed--our Lord does that just fine with His Word and Presence all week long.

Again, in our situation it is not long sermons, it is time wasting blather when it isn't the sermon, or running rabbits during it.

We have watched a vibrant church of around 35 members dwindle now to around a dozen.

The leavers did not leave church, they left our church. Leadership castigates everyone for not being spiritual enough to endure. Blames an intensely close loving congregation for not being warm enough to win new people. We do, they come ONCE and find another church. Perhaps when the lights are turned out for the last time he will listen.

It is sad, but some have to understand not all are interested in emulating everything the Puritans did.

And yes, some have life outside of church and refuse to let church ruin their relationship with Jesus.

 

What are ya gonna do?!?Speechless

 

Maybe it's the polar bear in the pulpit, not the people in the pew?

 

First of all referring back to Nodak's post #23 and #63 I can understand where he is coming from... I also witnessed my own home church thrive, dwindle and die... It was over a period of 70 years but it happened... Which bears this question how big are your churches?... I come from a small family church and unless the proceeding generation is willing to take the reigns of those who came before the church dies... I go with my wife to hers and her church has about 150 to 200 members... Before my church disbanded 10 years ago there were 3 members left... Me at the age of 60... One church sister 85, and another church sister in Florida age 85... I know from stories handed down from others our church began with house church... A few met, studied the word of God and prayed that God would send a preacher and thereby they could constitute a church... They did!... God answered and a church was founded... Can it work again?... Brother Glen

 

Squire..., sarcasm. The goal of sarcasm is to belittle the victim and elevate the speaker.

 

Like in..., if I were to ask you what's the going price for a pound of non sequitur..., that would be, non sequitur?

...gotcha'.

 

Not in heaven!​

 

It can be if you've something pressing to do afterwards. But generally this is an odd question to me now. 'The service' entails the entire experience of 'meeting with the saints', not just the sermon. The hymns are precious, the prayers are precious, the feeding from the word is precious; we linger before and after the service and relate about our everyday mundane lives. The service that could only be 1 1/2 hrs usually pans out to be to be 2 or longer, 3 or more if we're potlucking dinner.

 

At my church, we start singing around 11:00. We sing about 20-30 minutes. We even line a few old hymns from the Sweet Songster or Thomas Hymnal. I am the one who usually lines, but another Brother or two are really good and lining them, too. After the last song, our Pastor, or asst.-Pastor welcomes everyone and either the clerk or I(I am the asst.-Clerk) read the prayer list. We then sometimes have someone introduce the service and sometimes we have prayer. If someone introduces, after he preaches a 'sermonette', we sing a song, have a friendly handshake and hug and then have prayer. Then there are usually 2-3 more who preach and then we close with a dismissal prayer. Takes about 2 hours.

I find that the ones who squabble over a service going too long have zero problem sitting on wooden bleachers in a driving rain or snow watching their son play a HS football game.

Or they will set in front of their TV and watch a Nascar race for three hours, or a NFL game for 3+ hours, or go home and stretch out on the couch and nap for 3 hours and do nothing.

But God forbid the Methodists beating them to the buffet because the service was too long. Rolleyes Cautious Redface

 

'The service' entails the entire experience of 'meeting with the saints', not just the sermon.

That is so true and make it a communion with foot washiing and that just enhances the beauties of being with the Lord and his saints!... So glad you brought that up my brother!... Brother Glen

 

Currently we are staying put and trying to make things better.

Technology may help us out as we use cell phones to record the entire service.

20 minutes rambling about a Home Depot purchase, having nothing to do with Jesus, or the sermon, etc, before beginning to preach is just time wasting rambling.

Having to tell us before every song where you first remember hearing it, with details about that day, but not related in any way to the song's message or to anything related to the faith, is just wasting time.

Yes, we can sit longer for movies or sports but do we really? During those we get up for the restroom, or to walk a cranky baby, or get food, etc. And if we have guests or plans after those events we get up and walk out if they run too long or get boring.

Recently we went to CrossChurch in Springdale. It ran only about 10 minutes less than we normally do. Not a minute was boring or wasted and we walked out wondering why it was short.

So maybe if people are leaving or complaining about a service being to long, the leaders should listen. Might be the quality of the service.

 

I hadn't paid attention before, then I decided, Who Cares. I'm not there to fit the service into the football, or NASCAR schedule. However long it takes, is just the right time.