In †he Moment

Time For A Time-Out

Can we get to the place of meeting with God during a typical Sunday morning worship music service?

It can be done. But it’s a bit like having a nice meal and quality family time at a McDonald’s. If you’re in a hurry, eat at McD’s. If you want a more nutritious meal and quality family time, have all the gang prepare and share a meal together at home.

Here’s my rule of thumb as a worship leader: if I’m given thirty minutes, I will worship the Lord my God in spirit and in truth with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. If I’m given twenty minutes, I will worship the Lord my God in spirit and in truth with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

If I’m asked to do just 2-3 songs to “open up” the meeting or event, then I will worship the Lord my God in spirit and in truth with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I just might do the long version of each song…

Psalm 119 has 176 verses; Psalm 117 has 2 verses. They are both in the Bible. Psalm 119 was not taken out of the Bible because it was too long, nor was Psalm 117 because it was too short.

If you’re in a hurry, read Psalm 117. If you want to soak in the word of God, read Psalm 119. If you’re in a hurry, do a quick song service. If you want to soak in the presence of God, have a worship service.

Author Marva Dawn, in her insightful book entitled, “A Royal ‘Waste’ of Time: The Splendor of Worshiping God and Being Church for the World,” writes the following:

“To worship the Lord is—in the world’s eyes—a waste of time. It is, indeed, a royal waste of time, but a waste nonetheless. By engaging in it, we don’t accomplish anything useful in our society’s terms. Worship ought not to be construed in a utilitarian way. Its purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful. Rather, the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it. Moreover, it isn’t even useful for earning points with God, for what we do in worship won’t change one whit how God feels about us…Worship is a royal waste of time, but indeed it is royal, for it immerses us in the regal splendor of the King of the cosmos. The churches’ worship provides opportunities for us to enjoy God’s presence in corporate ways that take us out of time and into the eternal purposes of God’s kingdom. As a result, we shall be changed—but not because of anything we do. God, on whom we are centered and to whom we submit, will transform us by his Revelation of himself.”

We are so chronos minded we often miss the kairos moments. Both these Greek words are used in the New Testament in reference to “time” but with a distinct difference. “Chronos” perceives time quantitatively, as a period measured by the succession of moments and events. It is a period of measured time, not a period of accomplishment as is “kairos.” “Kairos” considers time qualitatively as a period characterized by the influence or prevalence of something. It is a period of opportunity (though not necessity). It is a critical or decisive point in time; a moment of great importance and significance; a point when something is ready or favorable.

How many chronos moments does a kairos moment take? We have decided that on Sunday mornings, between the music and the message, a kairos moment should not take more than about sixty minutes worth of chronos moments to manifest. If God has something He needs to speak or accomplish during a service, those are the general parameters.

Our priorities and our thinking have become chron-illogical and kairos-challenged. In the process of being sensitive to the busy lives of our church members, we have taught them that their time is such a precious commodity we dare not spend too much of it when we gather together to worship God. At the same time we try to balance that by saying it’s important for believers to tithe their time to God as well as their money. But when it comes to chronos time, God seems to have a different measurement: He says one out of every seven days is His, not one out of every ten. How exorbitant of God: ten percent of our income but over fourteen percent of our time every week! And of those twenty-four hours that are His each week, we can’t seem to invest even a tithe of that time in corporate worship.

Perhaps the next time we remind our overly time-conscious congregations to “please turn off your cell phones,” we could add this: “Please remove your watches and timepieces and put them away.” Do we really have more important things to do with our time than being in God’s presence on His day each week? Why are we in such a hurry? Have we forgotten how to be still and know that He is God, and to know that our life and our joy are found in His presence?

It’s chronos for more kairos moments in God’s presence.

In †he Moment

In His presence--here and now. Be there.

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