The Five Minute Rule

      I Corinthians 14:23-25 says, “Therefore if the whole church assembles together and all speak in tongues, and ungifted men or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are mad? But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”

      Since the early days of the church, the worship assemblies were used as soul-saving tools. Just like today, unbelievers would attend the assemblies of the saints. Paul demonstrated that the worship needs to be conducted in a way that convicts the guest that God is present.

      There are a number of issues we could discuss regarding how the worship itself is conducted. However, right now, I want us to think about the time surrounding the actual assembly—the time when we are either getting ready to start worship or getting ready to leave the worship.

      If we want our guests to know that God is with us, we have to act properly during this time too. Jesus said in John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” That “one another” includes not only brethren, but also our guests.

      During the time before and after the worship 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 the 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 nursery 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 worship assembly is concluded, instead of being caught up in  getting to O’Charley’s, 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.

Edwin L. Crozier