One of the issues that I continue to struggle with is the length of the worship service.  I know that some churches routinely plan their worship services to last a hour and fifteen minutes, an hour and a half or longer, but I have most often served churches that preferred a one-hour worship service.  Many of the members of my churches have made it very clear that they get restless and even angry if the service goes much over one hour.  There seems to be an unwritten expectation on the part of many people for a one-hour service.  But I hear from some people who say time should not be a factor and from other people who say time is a serious factor.

There seem to be two schools of thought about the length of worship services. 

One school of thought says that one hour is a natural and traditional length for worship.  Most activities from television shows to college lectures are based on a one-hour time frame.  They emphasize that the mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.  They also say that a well-planned worship service can be effectively done in one hour and anything longer reflects a lack of planning.  Sermons, announcements and other elements of the worship often drag on too long because leaders ramble without carefully planning what they have to say.  This group is often resentful when we sing more than three verses of a hymn or if a praise chorus is repeated too often. 

Some suggest that the workers in children's church plan their activities for a one hour service, and when the service exceeds that, the children get restless and the workers run out of planned activities.  Older people in the congregation have trouble sitting for longer periods than one hour. 

These folks often feel that the time after worship is very important for the fellowship of the church.  Brief services allow people more time afterward for people to linger and build relationships.

This group feels strongly that the worship service should last about one hour.  They do not usually get upset if an occasional service runs long, but they want the typical service to be close to one hour.  During my home visits, many members told me that they much preferred the worship service to last about one hour. 

Another school of thought says that services should last as long as the Spirit leads, and that it is almost sinful to look at the clock.  If we are truly worshipping God, then that is the most important activity we can do and time should not even be on our mind.  They say, "Just worship.  If it runs longer than an hour, so be it.  Don't worry about it, and don't apologize for it."

They argue that if a church member can attend a football or basketball game that lasts for two hours or more, why shouldn't they spend as much time worshipping God?  And in sports, there is nothing better than an overtime game, so why shouldn't an overtime worship service be as exciting?  In fact, a purely economic view says, "The longer the game, the more entertainment value for the ticket price.  If you pay for a two-hour game and get 2 1/2 hours, then you have a bargain."  So the longer the worship service, the more value for our tithes and offerings!

Some in this group would like to have more congregational singing and more special music.  Some want to see skits, dramas or testimonies added to the worship.  A few in this group feel that it is an insult to the hymn writers to sing less than all the verses written.  They argue that the hymn tells a complete story and to sing only verses 1, 2 & 5 leaves out something important. 

Most folks of this school are not really in favor of 2 hour or 2 1/2 hour worship services, as is common among African-American churches.  They strongly feel that people should not get upset if the service runs over an hour, however most of them would prefer that the service not last more than 1 hour 15 minutes except on unusual occasions.

We had a wonderful discussion on this topic after I presented the above information to the Cabinet last night.  In the end, we agreed that we would continue to target a one-hour worship service, realizing that we will occasionally go over.