First, apologies for the clickbait – but you’re here, so I want to bring something to our attention.

Here’s a photo of the first service, 9:00am on the dot.

Here’s a photo of that same service ten minutes later.

And here’s a comparison between the two (use your mouse or finger to swipe across the picture).

 

Here’s a photo of the second service, 11am on the dot.

Here’s a photo of that same service ten minutes later.

And here’s a comparison between the two (use your mouse or finger to swipe across the picture).

 

I hope you can see some stark differences in those photos. It’s quite obvious that we have a lateness issue across the board.

Why is that? Well, there are many reasons why we run late for church.

Some things can be out of our hands. For instance, any time it rains in Brisbane the roads to church can be blocked by flash floods or traffic accidents. It happens all the time. Other times it’s because something unexpected comes up that needs our immediate attention. I also know that for families with young children it can be quite a mammoth task to wrangle the kids out of bed, to the breakfast table, then to get dressed and into the car – I know the stress!

But there are other things that are in our control but also make us late. Perhaps chronically late for church. Now, I don’t want to just address what you should or shouldn’t do – let me first address issues of the heart.

Getting to the heart

Is lateness a sin? I’ve been reading quite a few articles online about the issue of lateness and church. And boy, some articles are harsh! I’ve been surprised that so many articles just simply address the practical concerns of lateness, but when the heart is tackled it’s simply to condemn. I think the gospel addresses our hearts in far richer and more gracious ways that can properly compel change.

So, we’re going to start by looking at the heart before touching on some practical tips.

Coming back to that question just before – is lateness a sin? I think the answer depends on what is going on in the heart. At the heart of every sin is some form of a lie. The lie at the heart of the original sin in the Garden was that God was withholding something good from Adam and Eve, that God was not as good as they thought he was. So, let’s start by asking what lie, what untruth, and perhaps what fear is in the middle of lateness.

I wonder if the biggest lie is ‘my time is my time’. We believe the lie that we are in control of all the time that we are given and it shows in how we organise and spend our time. We believe that we are sovereign over the seconds, minutes, and hours we are awake. So, we take our time because we do not like to be rushed or we get caught up doing our own activity. For instance, we make a choice to head to breakfast on the other side of the city because we want to check out that new café – that was our time to be with friends, and so we run late to church because of that.

But the truth is God is the only one who is sovereign and in control. Time is not something we own. The time we have is for us to steward. Part of good stewardship is recognising that everything we are given is to be used to serve and glorify God.

Time is not something we own. The time we have is for us to steward.

Another reason we may be chronically late is that we say, “I don’t want to be legalistic about my schedule…” but really we’re just disorganised (or a bit lazy). We’ve taken grace for granted and used it as a license or an excuse for other unhelpful behaviour. So we run late because we haven’t given thought to our day ahead and everything catches us unprepared.

Here again, the truth of God’s word is meant to be liberating. On this issue of lateness, I’m not being compelled to do better under some burdensome command. I’m reminded that I’ve been liberated from legalism and freed to love and serve others sacrificially. That also means I’m given grace – grace for when I’m disorganised and running late, and the same grace to help me get organised so that I can arrive at church at a good time!

Another untruth that some of us may have succumbed to is that there are too many things out of our control, we’re helpless and at the whims of circumstance – especially our children! For young families, this experience is not limited to Sundays but is often a daily battle. We feel that we are controlled by circumstances rather than living under the sovereign control of God – or perhaps we believe that God is sovereign but daily life feels like we’re constantly living under someone else’s control.

The good news is that there is grace and encouragement to keep going. We do have a sovereign God who is in control over our lives. Our circumstances may often feel like they have the upper hand, but God is good and nothing takes him by surprise. Keep being encouraged to trust God and be faithful to him in those challenging times. As a reminder for us all that the grace we receive is the grace we give each other – so when we see the frantically assembled family coming in late to church we care for them by welcoming them in, helping them find a seat and encouraging them with our words and prayers during and after the service.

We do have a sovereign God who is in control over our lives. Our circumstances may often feel like they have the upper hand, but God is good and nothing takes him by surprise.

Practical Tips To Get To Church Early

I think we should start with our hearts and mindset.

First, we should want to come to church eagerly and expectantly. Why?

Partly because there is something utterly unique about the gathering each week. When you think about it, each Sunday you gather at church with others is going to be a unique experience. The people you meet might be familiar, but they will not be the exact same person as the week before. They may have grown in the week, they may have struggled – but they will not be the same. So the opportunity to hear how people have grown, how they have been challenged, and what hurdles or obstacles or stumbles they had along the way should enthuse us for our weekly gathering. On top of that is how God’s word will interact with each of us that morning. What a thrilling thought that as we gather together we will hear God speak to us to challenge, grow, comfort, or rebuke us. All the more reason why we should grow an eagerness and expectancy!

Second, we must check whether we are coming as servants or spectators. Do we come with a mindset of loving and serving others by getting to know them, praying for them, and encouraging them with the sermon we hear? Or do we come as spectators – those who are there just to get our spiritual fill for the week, unwilling to invest in the lives of others? Lateness can be a sign of a growing spectator mindset.

So, what other practical suggestions might there be?

Maybe we need the reminder that preparation for church begins on Friday night. Yes, Friday – not Saturday. I say this because I often hear of the big things people get up to Saturday. It’s understandable to a degree. We work all week and when that’s over we rejoice and celebrate! So we make big plans for Saturday to have heaps of fun – and there are always things to do! We fill up our schedule and end up feeling proverbially ‘smashed’ by the end of Saturday night. But that has a big impact on Sunday morning making getting up for church difficult and slow – and hence we may end up late… and probably so low in energy that we look forward to each moment of prayer in the service when we can close our eyes to take a micro-nap (still others just sleep through the sermon!).

So, here’s an encouragement to think through that Saturday plan on Friday evening. It’ll be great to have a good night’s sleep before Sunday so that we’re not carrying over exhaustion into the Sunday morning service.

Maybe we need the reminder that preparation for church begins on Friday night. Yes, Friday – not Saturday.

On top of this, we might need a refresher in that ‘6 Steps to Loving Your Church’ study series that most of us finished only earlier this year! Getting a good night’s sleep is one suggestion for preparing for church. Waking up early to prepare is also good. We prepare by getting a good breakfast, reading the passage beforehand and asking ourselves what might be the main point/purpose of the sermon. We come early to church, praying about where we might sit – so that we can have a conversation with a newcomer or friend before the service begins.

A final challenge is to those who are chronically late. Especially those who are late because of their packed schedules. Consider taking some time to properly reflect on your priorities. This is especially important if you have a family. Consider asking your children if they think church is the biggest and best priority of the week – or simply another weekly activity alongside school, music lessons, swimming lessons, etc. If they give the ‘right’ answer, consider following up and asking how they see church as first priority playing out in your family life. For others, it may be wise for us to reconsider how many commitments we have – so that we can make coming to church early the best commitment in our week.

Conclusion

Coming early or on-time to church isn’t about making the leaders or your pastors happy. It’s about our mindset and hearts. It’s about our Christian faith and how we are demonstrating that gathering for church is our highest priority. There are always things out of our control (I’m writing this from next to my father’s bedside in hospital on a Sunday!) but by the grace of God we can grow in this area. Let’s check our hearts, check our priorities, and look forward to gathering on Sunday with eagerness, with great expectations of hearing God speak and enthusiasm to encourage each other.

And let’s get there early and on time.