In April 2024, a new concept was introduced for the first 15-minute micro service at a church in Swansea, South Wales in the UK. The news report stated that “Regular worshippers were joined by commuters and families who had popped in to sample the first micro service being led by… John Gillibrand the vicar of Pontarddulais with Penllergaer. The aim is to make church more accessible by drawing in people with busy lives for whom an hour-long service doesn’t fit into tight schedules.”
“‘We’re very mindful of work pressures on family and working life in contemporary society,’ he said. ‘So the idea is to provide people with an opportunity to have a full engagement with the church, but within 15 minutes.’”
It was interesting to read how this was accomplished. “Gillibrand propped up an office clock against the front pew facing away from the congregation and he was off. The reading was from the Gospel of Mark. Gillibrand said Jesus was a ‘very busy bloke’ and in the episode he focused on [that He] had got up early, gone off to a ‘solitary place’ and prayed. When the disciples found Jesus, they told Him: ‘Everyone is looking for You.’
“Gillibrand said the feeling Jesus must have experienced was familiar to busy people. ‘It’s coming at you from all directions.’ He asked the congregation to ‘keep silence together … still ourselves … if thoughts pop into our heads, turn them into prayers.’ There were a few moments of deep quiet before the clock ticked to the hour and Gillibrand declared: ‘Fifteen minutes bang on. Thank you God. Mission accomplished.’”
There are those, this gentleman included, who feel that this is appropriate in this day and age of hustle and bustle. But does this approach have the approval of God? The phrase “people with busy lives for whom an hour-long service doesn’t fit into tight schedules” is an interesting one.
The problem with this approach is that God has to fit in with all of the other demands on a person’s life. We’ll squeeze Him in with a short prayer here or a micro service there once a week or maybe once within a few weeks. That’s not good enough as the Bible clearly reveals.
Putting God first means just that, and it is not achieved by just squeezing a 15-minute micro service in a day when most of the waking time is involved in many other matters. Loving God more than anyone or anything else is what He expects of His people. He must be the most valued relationship that we have in our lives.
In Matthew 22:36-38, we read Jesus reply to a question a lawyer asked Him: ‘“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment.”’” That is not manifest in a person’s life just by attending on occasion a micro service. Putting God first in our lives should be our most important consideration and concern as true Christians. God must be at the top of our list and first in our lives. Our lives must be centered on both the Father and Jesus Christ and only then are we fulfilling this most important Commandment.
The outcome of this approach can be seen in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” God has to be first in our lives, not just an addendum to our normal routine. In Matthew 6:21 we read: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
How much can anyone learn about God and His Ways in just 15 minutes? It may temporarily “salve” some people’s consciences but such micro services, fitting in with other people’s schedules, is not the worship that God expects.
In the Church of the Eternal God, we conduct weekly Sabbath services which are also broadcast live. They last approximately 2 hours. In addition, we have the Holy Day season which we are instructed to keep. In Leviticus 23:2, God tells us: “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.” We keep the days that God says are His!
On our annual Holy Days, there will be no 15-minute micro services during these most important times in God’s calendar. It will be a time of real commitment for members and their families with these days highlighting what is to happen in the foreseeable future in God’s Master Plan for mankind. We are conducting daily worship services during that time which again last at least 2 hours.
How blessed are we to have been called by God at this time and to have the Truth fully expounded in due season. Let us always look forward to the weekly and annual Holy Days and make the most of them at a time when the true knowledge of God and His Ways are simply not understood in this world.