A number of years ago, I realized that Sunday morning was a stressful time for me. With two young children, it was quite the task to get ready, let alone roll into church on time. And as a pastor, the stress was only compounded by the reality of needing to arrive at least a few minutes early so that I could turn on lights, unlock doors, and get the building ready and welcoming for everyone who would come.
I’m not quite sure what the tipping point was, but one day a very simple thought occurred to me: “what if I arranged my family’s schedule – including when we get up – so that we could arrive at church a bit earlier?” That extra bit of intentionality changed everything: no longer was Sunday morning such a stressful time of rush and hurry, but instead I could relax, spend some time in prayer before anyone else arrived, and give a genuine greeting to others when they came in the doors rather than a rushed and hurried “hi!” as I ran from one last-minute task to another. While emergencies still occur, and sometimes we don’t make it out the door quite when we hoped, I’ve found that being intentional about wanting to arrive early in and of itself helps us to actually arrive earlier than otherwise.
Tim Challies recently pointed to a piece written by Jacob Crouch about this very idea of being intentional about when you arrive at church on a Sunday morning. His words are helpful, encouraging – and also challenging; yet this is a challenge we need if we are to make the most of our weekly worship. Read, note down a few ideas to put into practice, and prepare to be amazed at how the Lord works in your heart and mind as you arrive on Sunday morning.
