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The 5-Minute Rule
The Five-Minute Rule
I Corinthians 14:23-25 says, “If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you” (ESV).
Since the early days of the church, the congregational assemblies were used as soul-saving tools. Just like today, unbelievers attended the assemblies of the saints. Therefore, Paul demonstrated that the assembly needs to be conducted in a way that convicts the guest God is present. That includes what goes on in the assembly and what happens surrounding the assembly. Interestingly, this suggests that in some ways we need to be more concerned about what the outsider is thinking about our assembly than what we insiders think. It is amazing how easily we can overlook all kinds of things because we have gotten used to it or because we have developed our own pet ideas and elevated them to Gospel status. We need to do things in a way that outsiders are impressed with God’s presence in what we are doing.
There are a number of issues we could discuss regarding how the worship itself is conducted. We could talk about honoring God with our best, relying on the Word, active participation, etc. However, in this article, I want us to think about the time surrounding the actual assembly—the time when we are either getting ready to start the assembly or leaving the assembly.
If we want our guests to know God is with us, we have to act properly during this time too. In James 2:1-4, James talked about how we treat our guests during these times. Some guests we honor; others we may dishonor. In this text, it was about finances, but that can happen over any issue. If we want our guests to know God is with us, we must honor, welcome, and enfold them impartially. We must help them feel at home, that this is the place where they can find the Shepherd they need and fill what is missing in their lives.
You can help with this. During the time before and after the assemblies, make sure you are demonstrating love to our guests. Talk to them. Anticipate their needs. Guests need to know where the classes are for them and their children. They need to know if we meet in the auditorium or in one of the other rooms. They need to know where the restrooms are. If they have small children, they need to know where the cry room is. But most of all, they need to know that we care about them and they are important to us.
One rule we ought to implement is “The Five Minute Rule.” When our assembly is concluded, instead of being caught up in getting to Los Toros, catching up with friends, or conducting congregational business, let’s stop, take a look around, and spend the first five minutes talking to our guests. Let them know how glad we are they joined us. Invite them to join us again. Get to know them a little bit.
Don’t worry, your friends in the congregation will stick around for you to catch up with them. We can always use the phone to complete the congregational business. But our guests are about to leave and we may never see them again.
When you hear that final “amen,” don’t look for the door, don’t look for your best friend, don’t look for the preacher or one of the elders. Look for a guest. Your love may be the one thing that opens our guest’s heart to God’s word.
To our guests who might be reading this, thank you for being with us today. I hope you felt at home and loved. This is not a duty to us. This is a work of love. However, at times we have to remember how easily we get sidetracked and remind ourselves to focus on what is important to us. And you are important to us. We hope to see you again soon.
--Edwin L. Crozier
