Southeast Wyoming | If you get to my church "after Gary, you must be late". Our service is scheduled, I guess, for 10:55 am. That schedule was set many years ago so that people would have the visiting done and be settled in by 11:00, and be dismissed by noon. When they established this policy, the sermon rarely began until 11:40 and on more than one occasion was interrupted/preempted by someone "lead" to speak to us about what God had put on their heart. The extra scheduled time was almost always filled by something other than the sermon. I drifted away from the church as it appeared there was discomfort with preaching from the Word of God. But I had a real sense of loss without the church and the fellowship with believers. I returned to the church, with effort made to get there by 11:00, but often I'm a couple of minutes later than that (but I'll work on it). I skip the battles over whether the girls wear dresses or jeans, what font is displayed on the screen, what color the walls are painted and whether boyfriend's with a tattoo are welcome. I really appreciate a sermon from the Word of God, I've not heard a bad one. I like to visit after the service, and I like joyful noise during the service - not that a baby crying is joyful noise but that infant is the future of the church. |