Pastors, Get Rid of the “Countdown Clock”!

One of the joys I have is the privilege of preaching in churches all across the country.  I have seen the inside of dozens and dozens of sanctuaries.  It is common for large churches to have a “traditional” service in the sanctuary and a “contemporary” service in a gym or some other multi-purpose space.  I have had many experiences of preaching in a robe in one service, and then running to the second service while I stripped off my robe and tie.   One time, a very large church I preached in had three morning services:  Traditional, blended, and contemporary.  In the first service I was in a robe in a sanctuary with stained glass windows, pipe organ and a 100 member choir, all in silk robes with white sashes.  The second “blended” service, met in a smaller chapel and I wore a collared shirt and a sports coat.  By the time I got to the third service, which met in a gymnasium, I had changed into blue jeans and a T-shirt.   I felt like Superman in reverse, I went into the “booth” with a robe and eventually came out with a T-Shirt and blue jeans:  From Kal-El to Superman to Clark Kent!

I have learned to preach in whatever setting I have the opportunity.  If Wesley could preach in the brickyards, certainly I can preach in a gymnasium.  I am not scandalized by churches which meet in gymnasiums with low lights, no pulpit (or only a music stand) and an open stage.  I understand the missional purpose of all of this and it is hard to deny the impact these services have had on millions of people around the world.  But this blog is about the insertion of “time” into the service.  I will explain what I mean, but please hear that I am speaking as a sympathetic friend of contemporary pastors and contemporary services in the country.

Here is my admonition to pastors of contemporary services:  Get rid of the “countdown clock”!   For those who may not know what I am talking about, you will know that it is common in the wider culture to have “countdown clocks” before the start of a concert or some major public event.   We all know the “countdown clock” on New Year’s Eve which brings the ball down in Times Square.  (Times Square was named after the New York Times – notice the emphasis on time!)  These “countdown clocks” are, of course ubiquitous at all sporting events.  Baseball was the one “hold out” but the MLB now has a “countdown clock” for pitchers (15 seconds between pitches, 20 seconds if a runner is on base).  These clocks keep things moving along and, in a time conscious culture like the USA, this is highly valued.  They made their debut in churches beginning around 20 years ago, and have grown in popularity all across the country.  In churches, they appear during the “pre-service” period and it is a “countdown” to the time when the service “starts.”  It is supposed to create anticipation and a calm assurance that the service will start on time and (more importantly) end on time, usually precisely at the one hour mark.  What rank and file members may not know, is that “time” has fully taken over worship planning.  The “countdown clock” is just the visible tip of the iceberg.   Those leading the service typically gather in room known as the “green room.”  The church has borrowed this term from the theater world, reinforcing that we are about to go out on stage for a “production.” Typically, those leading the service are given a spreadsheet which breaks the service down by the minute.  Here is a typical example:  Opening greeting, 1 minute; first worship set, 7 minutes; video clip about the upcoming women’s retreat, 3 minutes; Apostles’ Creed, 2 minutes; second worship set, 7 minutes, offering, 5 minutes, special music, 4 minutes; preaching, 26 minutes, closing worship set 4 minutes, benediction 1 minute:  total:  60 minutes.  I have had several occasions where I was sitting on the front row preparing to go up on the stage and start preaching, when the pastor or the “worship design manager” passed me a note which said something like this: “We are running about five minutes behind schedule, could you cut a few minutes out of your sermon?  It is important to our people that we end ‘on time’.”   So, because the service has been framed around the precise allotment of time, the “countdown clock” holds everyone accountable to start the service at the right time, so we can “end” the service at the “right time.”

But, the “countdown clock” deserves more scrutiny.  When we enter into the presence of God, we are supposed to be entering a new “time.”  We are entering Kingdom time.  We are entering into sacred time.  We are entering into the “presence of God” time.  If you ever walk into an Eastern Orthodox Church you are immediately hit by strange sites, like icons of Jesus or the saints.  These are not regarded as “pictures” but, rather, “windows” into another time and space where the saints are there as the “great cloud of witnesses”.  You might also be met by the smell of incense, which (as per Revelation 5:8) represents the intercessory prayers of the saints.  The whole worship space is meant to re-orient you to divine realities.  I am not advocating that we cover the walls of our sanctuaries with icons, or have lighted incense on the altar.   But, I do think we need to be more reflective about how deeply we have been influenced by the culture in how we regard time and space.  We need to remember afresh that coming into the presence of God is to enter a sacred, Trinitarian space which is full of mystery and possibilities which emerge as we celebrate His presence and the inbreaking rule and reign of God.  The invasion of ordinary “time” into worship planning is certainly worthy of discussion.  But, the insertion of the “countdown clock” is a visible reminder that we are all on normal societal time.  This is precisely the opposite message we want to send, especially in a contemporary service where so much of the traditional symbols have already been lost and when you look up, you don’t see a cross, but a basketball hoop.  So, this is a simple way to reclaim something which has been lost.  The “countdown clock” publicly declares that we are still “in time.”  Instead, let’s recall afresh that in the presence of God, at least for those fleeting moments, we are not “in time” or “making time” or “thinking about time,”  but recalling the original Sabbath day where we cease from all of that preoccupation and we remember the greater truth that we are not merely “in time” but we are “in Christ.”

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