There is nothing sacrosanct about any certain length of time for church services. The disjuncture I experienced with the article has to do with the unexamined assumption behind the so-called express service. A member of the congregation observed that the short service was a good idea for the younger people who have to be out of church in a hurry. Worship is here not seen as a destination with its own end and purpose. It is only something done along the way, a necessary nuisance best kept to a minimum so as to present the least delay and distraction to some more important objective or destination.
Movie theaters have more confidence in the services they offer.
They would not think of paring down their features to 45 minutes so their patrons could get out earlier. The point of coming to a theater is to see a movie, and the patrons expect to get their money s worth. Surely the activity of worship is of no less importance. We should come to church because we want to be in church. A nun once pointed out to me that prayer takes time and one needs a certain measure of leisure for its practice.