“Excuse me, that’s my seat, can you move over?”

“Excuse me, that’s my seat, can you move over?”

Not such a welcoming way to be invited into a new worship space. Yes, those words have been spoken at my church. When I first heard it, I stood in disbelief. I mean I know we joke about how we are creatures of habit and often sit in the same area, but to ask someone to move?

This past week, as I was walking down the aisle prior to worship I was stopped by two regular worshippers as they were getting their seats. I greeted them and they said, “We had to come early this week because other people were in our seat last week.”

I questioned, “Did you ask them to move?”

“Of course not, but we did come early this week.”

Is this because we know what we like? We want the right view, close to a speaker, near a fan, far from an A/C vent. It really is about comfort – I know on my couch at home I have a certain spot I like to sit in. Comfort is great – but it seems there becomes a point when comfort becomes a hindrance.

I was talking to a friend of mine who will occasionally attend an organized church service. I encouraged her to worship this week since it is Holy Week. She responded, “Well, I fear I’ll sit in someone’s seat.”

The visitor is showing empathy for the regular worshipper’s comfort – now that – blew me away. I never thought of it that way before. Then I realized that Jesus and his disciples never really had a chance to get comfortable. They were always on the move and in a new place. Maybe a reality we face in our current culture is that the church today has become too comfortable. And if that’s the case then is this a reason why so many don’t attend organized church services? People don’t know how to get in the club? or People don’t want to be a part of a club and therefore worship on their own?

Whatever the answer’s I cannot deny there is so much more behind, “Excuse me, that’s my seat, can you move over?”