I'll be honest. I haven't been overly inspired lately to blog and so instead of just rambling along I decided to wait until I felt a "breeze" of inspiration. I believe I got it.

All through the years of Legacy I have, on occasion, received input, criticism, suggestions, and questions about the length of time we take in our worship of God on Sunday morning. Sometimes it is even more direct as it relates to the amount of time I take in the teaching / preaching of God's Word. For those of you who may not "watch your watch" (that phrase seemed weird), I will give you a quick breakdown of a typical Sunday morning:

30 minutes of Praise and Worship (Including public prayer and ministry)
5 minutes of Welcome and Video greetings
5 minutes of Praise reports from the Congregation
5 minutes of Announcements concerning the week
5 minutes of Offering exhortation and actually receiving the offering.
45-55 minutes of teaching and preaching
5-10 minutes of invitation and ministry (Altar time)

So, you can do the math and on most occasions it is relatively easy to press the two hour mark in our Sunday morning gathering. I can assure you that I often and regularly review how we can streamline service to make the most out of every minute we have together as a corporate body. I "get" the point that we all live busy lives, can only sit for so long, and need to be at important places. I understand that this is the 21st century and we all have stuff to do, places to go, and people to see. But will you let me put some things out there and let you see into the mind of a pastor who really wants God to be first and a people to be blessed?

I grew up going to a main line denominational church which for me meant one hour in a worship service and one hour at youth group. So, even in a more traditional setting I grew up with about TWO hours of worship and input. However, when I joined the ranks of evangelicals, I found something that was interesting. They took their Christianity seriously. Many of you will be able to identify with this list:

60 minutes Sunday School
75 minutes Morning Worship (about 45 minutes was preaching)
90 minutes Sunday night Service (again, about 45 minutes was preaching)
60 minutes Youth Group
60 Minutes Wednesday night (about 30 minutes of Bible Study)

Now lets add all this up. It looks to be just short of 6 hours a week (if you consider drive time and fellowship, it definitely hits that mark). That was considered "normal". Amazing isn't it? Let's add up just the "teaching" time. I can find about 4 hours represented on this list. Now I recognize that there is no amount of time that can be considered "minimal or maximum", but it just gave me some perspective as to what I always considered normal and grew up experiencing.

But lets look at this another way. Is two hours (maximum on most occasions) really a lot when it's not too long to sit in a theater watching a movie? How many Christians sit in front of a TV or a Nintendo for two hours easily? What about sporting events that last over two hours? What about hobbies (golf and hunting)? What about the amount of time we spend in a car daily? Are you seeing my point? If God is first, then it would seem to me that our worship and instruction would at least attempt to reflect that priority.

Having said that, however, there really is another strain of thought that moves through my mind and spirit and it is, "What would God expect?" I have begun to evaluate things from the perspective of what is "healthy and proper" and not necessarily convenient and expedient. Let me try to explain.

Is it really possible to press into the Presence of God in less than 30 minutes? Can we do that express lane? Does He have to show up because we sing for 12 minutes? Isn't the whole point of worship to solicit His Presence? Isn't coming to church all about experiencing Him in a corporate setting and not just checking off our religious duty list for that week? Do you see what I am saying? I am not suggesting that there isn't a moment you bring singing and worship to a close and move on, but we need to take the time to shake the week off our lives and press into the Presence of God. That takes some time.

I know we have to greet people who are visiting and remind the congregation of events and opportunities. These things are fairly standard. But I also believe there is value in sharing the victories of what has happened in the church and in individual's lives. It builds all of our faith. It makes us root for each other and encourage one another. It causes us to lift our eyes beyond ourselves and rejoice for our brothers and sisters. I personally LIKE to hear what is going on in people's lives and be encouraged by a victory that is going on in "team" Legacy. It shows us in very real and personal ways that God is doing incredible things in our midst.

Now we get to the teaching time. Yes, I can take anywhere from 50-60 minutes. But can I be honest? In our church there is no traditional Sunday School. Some people, at any given time, are going through DISCOVERY classes, but for most of us all we get is Sunday morning and no Sunday night (by the way, I like not having Sunday night and I think everyone else does too.). I have approximately one hour to teach most of the congregation God's Word to last them one week. That is one hour in 168 hours of a week. I just do not believe it is "healthy" to give the people a short devotional and think they can spiritually survive the week they are about to face. The congregation needs solid Biblical precept taught to them to experience victory in a meaningful and consistent way. Doesn't it make sense that a pastor who was concerned about people's spiritual "health" might think in those terms?

I want Legacy to grow and thrive and be a large church as much as any pastor would want that for their church. Size has it's place and I am believing for and we are experiencing consistent growth. God is sending us people and I know many of you are reaching out to your friends and family. Numbers are people for whom Christ died and we want to reach as many as we possibly can. However, when God expands in even larger ways this greater influence, I want to make sure as pastor that the environment they grow in is healthy so they can truly flourish. Yes, we will go longer than some of the more "trendier" churches in our current era. They need to do what God has called them to do and we will bless them and affirm their place in the Kingdom. However, we are who we are as well in the Kingdom. I personally believe that we have struck a good balance and God is honoring His Will for our church.

Hope that trip through my brain was as enlightening for you as it was helpful for me! Love you all!

Planting a CROSS

Pastor Baird