Go to Church By Tim Phillips T


he pandemic of 2020 caught all of us by surprise, but for pastors and elders, it pre-


sented several difficult challenges for which few of us were prepared. Many, for example, chose to shut down church services and record or livestream sermons and/or wor- ship services. Our own session de- cided to shut down for six weeks, reopening the first Sunday in May. Knowing what I know now in 2022, I would have probably handled the situation quite differently (under- standing that some might disagree with me here). However, this is not the focus of this article. Rather, I want to discuss the current state of worship in our churches nearly two years later. It should go without saying, at


least among Reformed believers, that a high view of the Lord’s Day


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is critical to Christianity, not only theologically, but especially practically. Romans 12:2 warns against being conformed to this world, and the Lord’s Day (or Christian Sabbath; WCF 21.7), is a great barometer for analyzing just how worldly the modern church has become in its thinking and its praxis. Sunday has, for many, become little more than a second Saturday. Many professing Christians will show up for the morning worship service as long as it is convenient for them to do so. The afternoon is often spent do- ing exactly what the world likes to do -- engaging in the two great idols of American culture, entertainment and consumerism. And the evening wor- ship service? That has long since gone the way of the dodo. As an example of this last issue, October 31, 2021, fell on a Sunday. Many local towns and communities in our area decided to celebrate Halloween on Sunday, rather than moving the activities to a different day of the week (such as Satur- day, October 30th). What did many local churches do? They followed right along, deciding to host Trunk-or-Treats and Fall Festivals on Sunday eve- nings. Keep in mind that most of these are also churches which long ago stopped having Sunday evening services, yet they managed to follow the world’s schedule because the day happened to be Halloween. In the interest of “outreach,” the Lord’s Day took a back seat. These things should not be. A recovery of the Lord’s Day -- setting apart the day (not just an hour) for


the worship of Almighty God -- is vital for a recovery of biblical Christian- ity in our country. This goal brings me back to the point of my article and how it is related to the pandemic of 2020. Unintentionally, in many of our


The Associate Reformed Presbyterian


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