Disciples habitually arrive early, consumers keep turning up late. (Health issues and family circumstances aside.)
Joe Thorn provides a good word about why to come to church well before it’s scheduled to begin.
Here’s a part.
For example, a consistently late arrival may contribute to the leadership’s felt need to postpone the start of the service. Or, when a lot of people are arriving late visitors are more likely to feel uncomfortable and isolated. And if you are frequently late to worship you may be missing the opportunity to meet new people. These things (and many more) are true, but I don’t want to come down on people for being late, as much as I want to encourage everyone to get to church early. Why?
Well, if the opening of your worship services feature a pastor flying in on a zip-line, or some such nonsense, feel free to be late. Or find another church. Otherwise, you should be careful to get there on time because the beginning of the worship gathering is not a throw-away of announcements (which you should pay attention to anyway). Rather, at least in our case, the beginning of our corporate worship is thoughtfully put together with the aim of directing our thoughts toward God. From the opening Scripture to the closing benediction every piece of the liturgy is a piece to a puzzle that, when assembled, gives us all a fuller picture of the gospel.
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