coc Services Starting On Time

[Lev]

Does anyone else remember the deacons dimming the auditorium lights about a minute before services began to signal the end of chatter time and the impending start of 'worship'?

Lev

[Ivy]

The service start times are holy and sacred, since they are set by the "elders". Therefore, it follows
that for a service to start late leaves the congregation vulnerable to the fires of hell.

[B.H.]

The service start times are holy and sacred, since they are set by the "elders". Therefore, it follows
that for a service to start late leaves the congregation vulnerable to the fires of hell.

You know, a kid that attended the one cup church I used to visit actually said "The elders took away so-and-so's salvation" when they disfellowshipped the young man for being gay.

[GuitarHero]

Does anyone else remember the deacons dimming the auditorium lights about a minute before services began to signal the end of chatter time and the impending start of 'worship'?

Lev

I do! I do! Right before the men marched in, the lights would be turned off and on. It was the signal to shut up and sit down.

Whether or not the church started on time depended on the size, usually. If it were smaller, they'd usually wait five or ten minutes to "see if more people will show up." Rarely do I recall church ending on time. Most preachers that I knew prided themselves on being long-winded. "I'll finish when I'm finished!" they'd say. Anybody who seemed bothered by the service running over 15 minutes or half an hour was viewed as petty and not loving God enough. After all, you should want to be there.

Disciples of Christ ALWAYS started on time, with the countdown thing described in an earlier post.

[MusicMan826]

We were usually pretty good about starting on time, maybe a minute or two late. However, I remeber on more than one occasion the preacher going on about, "Where did we come up with this 'ending on time' thing? There is no 'end time' to our service to God, and we should all WANT to be here!" Thankfully on Wednesday nights some man who was just as ready to get out of there as the rest of us would do the invitation, so it would always be short and sweet.

[Ivy]

The service start times are holy and sacred, since they are set by the "elders". Therefore, it follows
that for a service to start late leaves the congregation vulnerable to the fires of hell.

You know, a kid that attended the one cup church I used to visit actually said "The elders took away so-and-so's salvation" when they disfellowshipped the young man for being gay.

LOL....because they are just that powerful.

[B.H.]

The service start times are holy and sacred, since they are set by the "elders". Therefore, it follows
that for a service to start late leaves the congregation vulnerable to the fires of hell.

You know, a kid that attended the one cup church I used to visit actually said "The elders took away so-and-so's salvation" when they disfellowshipped the young man for being gay.

LOL....because they are just that powerful.

If they are so powerful why didn't they just *take away the kid's gay* instead of his salvation?

[margin overa]

You know, a kid that attended the one cup church I used to visit actually said "The elders took away so-and-so's salvation" when they disfellowshipped the young man for being gay.

LOL....because they are just that powerful.

If they are so powerful why didn't they just *take away the kid's gay* instead of his salvation?[/quote]

Touche! "Whatsoever you bind on earth...."

[B.H.]

You know, a kid that attended the one cup church I used to visit actually said "The elders took away so-and-so's salvation" when they disfellowshipped the young man for being gay.

LOL....because they are just that powerful.


If they are so powerful why didn't they just *take away the kid's gay* instead of his salvation?

Touche! "Whatsoever you bind on earth...."

Maybe they were afraid if they ordered the gay to leave the boy in Jesus's name it would start flying around and land on one of them.



That's when I quite going to one cup church. They just kicked him out but didn't do anything to actually help him. He lives up in Missouri now and to be honest was a good kid. He's probably around 28 now. He came back down and visited his relatives here about a year ago. When I saw him I gave him a big hug. And I did it right there in public were two members of the church who kicked him out could see me do it.

He says being kicked out of the church was no big deal. He didn't like going there anyway.

[singing with drums]

To the best of my Ready Recollection, we started At The Appointed Time, in each of the several CoCs I attended.
Sometimes, if the Song Leader was impatient or eager, we started early, but he would usually do that part by singing from his seat, as the congregation joined in, most singing from memory, some fumbling for hymnals, and the young families frantically trying to get all of the kids seated.
The ending of the service was not so punctual, which delighted the kids on a Wednesday night, because we got to be up way past out bedtimes, and still got to play outside for a while.
Once i was a mom, that bothered me. Now that I am a grandma, and evening worship is not a part of their lives, I wonder what the kids would think...