Is it just me but ......

[Tuckertwo]

Whilst I have faith through Christ I have yet to find a church where I really fit in -I'm a very practical / down to earth personality and often listen to sermons on line from different churches - some are really helpful - but when I've been to a church I find a whole host of things that don't sit well with me like
- overly pious/ demonstrative expressions of faith
- overly happy / clappy
- overly superficial
- overly banging on about worship
What I enjoy most is where a conversation / sermon or forum focuses on the real day to day issues Christians have - the nitty gritty - ebb and flow of faith, reconciling a sinful nature and faith, struggling on the ongoing focus of worship / adoration/ praise aspects in the bible (I'm sure if we were all before God now we would all drop to our knees in awe - but I'm really bored with the day in day out daily grind of it all - I'm praying in my heart a lot during the day to fix unresolved things like this - and reading a lot on line and when I finally get to a landing on an issues it's great - but the ongoing focus on worship and praise is overkill for me at the boredom level) - I would love to find some kindred Christian spirits - planning to try another church this Sunday - have some good sermons / speakers - so thought I'd give it a try - hope I'm not put off by the OTT Baptists
Plus I'm hoping to find out what Gods purpose is for me - the boredom factor again - waiting patiently is hard - not good at doing nothing - and yet when I do things of my own volition I realise I'm doing it for the wrong reason I,e self aggrandisation - most annoying and have to curtail plans so I don't fall into the trap - I'm busy socially and reading theology at present but nothing is enough to at the moment - in terms of purpose in life - answers on the back of a post card would be appreciated

 

[7trees]

Whilst I have faith through Christ I have yet to find a church where I really fit in -I'm a very practical / down to earth personality and often listen to sermons on line from different churches - some are really helpful - but when I've been to a church I find a whole host of things that don't sit well with me like
- overly pious/ demonstrative expressions of faith
- overly happy / clappy
- overly superficial
- overly banging on about worship
What I enjoy most is where a conversation / sermon or forum focuses on the real day to day issues Christians have - the nitty gritty - ebb and flow of faith, reconciling a sinful nature and faith, struggling on the ongoing focus of worship / adoration/ praise aspects in the bible (I'm sure if we were all before God now we would all drop to our knees in awe - but I'm really bored with the day in day out daily grind of it all - I'm praying in my heart a lot during the day to fix unresolved things like this - and reading a lot on line and when I finally get to a landing on an issues it's great - but the ongoing focus on worship and praise is overkill for me at the boredom level) - I would love to find some kindred Christian spirits - planning to try another church this Sunday - have some good sermons / speakers - so thought I'd give it a try - hope I'm not put off by the OTT Baptists
Plus I'm hoping to find out what Gods purpose is for me - the boredom factor again - waiting patiently is hard - not good at doing nothing - and yet when I do things of my own volition I realise I'm doing it for the wrong reason I,e self aggrandisation - most annoying and have to curtail plans so I don't fall into the trap - I'm busy socially and reading theology at present but nothing is enough to at the moment - in terms of purpose in life - answers on the back of a post card would be appreciated

Boredom is something that evaporates if the mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit. Then there is never enough time to think and learn.

Churches however are boring when they are non spiritual- even if emotional.

A person therefore connected to God in mind has a tendency to be transformative and to find times of refreshing in the Presence of God.

In other words the deeper the ongoing conversion the deeper, stronger and more powerful the Christian experience.

Christianity is experience not theory and those who experience are in fact the best and least boring of teachers.

However the non spiritual or carnal believers find what is spiritual boring!

 

[Paidiske]

Different people have different preferred styles of worship. You sound - just from what you've posted - like the kind of person who might prefer worship with its sleeves rolled up; honouring the God who brings healing to our broken world by getting in there amongst the mess of it all and working to make a difference.

I wonder if you can identify what your gifts and strengths are? If you can, finding ways to use them might give you an avenue that can be "enough," at least for a time.

 

[chandraclaws]

Whilst I have faith through Christ I have yet to find a church where I really fit in -I'm a very practical / down to earth personality and often listen to sermons on line from different churches - some are really helpful - but when I've been to a church I find a whole host of things that don't sit well with me like
- overly pious/ demonstrative expressions of faith
- overly happy / clappy
- overly superficial
- overly banging on about worship
What I enjoy most is where a conversation / sermon or forum focuses on the real day to day issues Christians have - the nitty gritty - ebb and flow of faith, reconciling a sinful nature and faith, struggling on the ongoing focus of worship / adoration/ praise aspects in the bible (I'm sure if we were all before God now we would all drop to our knees in awe - but I'm really bored with the day in day out daily grind of it all - I'm praying in my heart a lot during the day to fix unresolved things like this - and reading a lot on line and when I finally get to a landing on an issues it's great - but the ongoing focus on worship and praise is overkill for me at the boredom level) - I would love to find some kindred Christian spirits - planning to try another church this Sunday - have some good sermons / speakers - so thought I'd give it a try - hope I'm not put off by the OTT Baptists
Plus I'm hoping to find out what Gods purpose is for me - the boredom factor again - waiting patiently is hard - not good at doing nothing - and yet when I do things of my own volition I realise I'm doing it for the wrong reason I,e self aggrandisation - most annoying and have to curtail plans so I don't fall into the trap - I'm busy socially and reading theology at present but nothing is enough to at the moment - in terms of purpose in life - answers on the back of a post card would be appreciated

Hope you find what you're looking for. I think it helps to focus on how you could perhaps be a blessing to the people where you go and not so much on what you don't like about them.

 

[Tuckertwo]

Boredom is something that evaporates if the mind is renewed by the Holy Spirit. Then there is never enough time to think and learn.

Churches however are boring when they are non spiritual- even if emotional.

A person therefore connected to God in mind has a tendency to be transformative and to find times of refreshing in the Presence of God.

In other words the deeper the ongoing conversion the deeper, stronger and more powerful the Christian experience.

Christianity is experience not theory and those who experience are in fact the best and least boring of teachers.

However the non spiritual or carnal believers find what is spiritual boring!

Haha - sound like boredom equates to non spiritual or carnal - most unlike me - I have an overactive mind if it's not well engaged - that's all folks

 

[Tuckertwo]

Hope you find what you're looking for. Maybe more of a focus on ways you could bless others rather than looking down on them could help.

Hiya - didn't think I was looking down on anyone - just find something's going on in church a bit grating - I focus on helping other in my social group - so hopefully not so bad

 

[Tuckertwo]

Different people have different preferred styles of worship. You sound - just from what you've posted - like the kind of person who might prefer worship with its sleeves rolled up; honouring the God who brings healing to our broken world by getting in there amongst the mess of it all and working to make a difference.

I wonder if you can identify what your gifts and strengths are? If you can, finding ways to use them might give you an avenue that can be "enough," at least for a time.

I'm quite good at advocacy and have put my hand up to do elderly advocacy to prevent elder abuse - sent my resume through to two agencies to do voluntary work but no takers as yet - very passionate about elderly - we ll all qualify someday

 

[chandraclaws]

Hiya - didn't think I was looking down on anyone - just find something's going on in church a bit grating - I focus on helping other in my social group - so hopefully not so bad

Sorry, that sounded a little snippy. I guess I was thinking of my own journey in finding a church. I thought I was just looking for what I felt comfortable with, but probably was being a little judgmental too. Finally, I was able to surrender it to God, that I would go wherever He wanted me to go. Shortly after that, I walked into a church which I knew was the one. I've been there 15 years.

 

[Tuckertwo]

Sorry, that sounded a little snippy. I guess I was thinking of my own journey in finding a church. I thought I was just looking for what I felt comfortable with, but probably was being a little judgmental too. Finally, I was able to surrender it to God, that I would go wherever He wanted me to go. Shortly after that, I walked into a church which I knew was the one. I've been there 15 years.

Hiya - hope I find some kindred spirits too - helps with the journey - glad you found yours

 

[FG21]

You may want to ask yourself why you are so involved in criticizing how others worship and what you disagree with. While there may be a certain way worship is done in any one church you will find a huge variety of worship styles in any group. The worship you should concentrate on is your own.

I feel your issue though-I used to have it too. But, I found that my wanting to focus on knowledge rather than worship was a real heart problem with God. I did not know how to worship him and I felt uneasy doing so. God has taken care of that, and I have the resulting knowledge that if I worship God no matter what and no matter how, He knows and I am obedient to His will. Look to the Bible for a guide on how to worship, get the function down (just do it) and that obedience will lead your heart to follow. I had to make myself walk around my house by myself and say out loud "Thank you Jesus!" "Glory to God!", etc., before it started to come natural. Be obedient, the rest will follow.

This verse came to my mind while reading your post-

2Samuel 6:16 "As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart."

Although it may seem like a grind, but being obedient to God will free up the most amazing revelation and give the most joy in your life. Pray to hear God's will for your life, then pray according to His will. How do you know His will? Read and study His Word. Be obedient in the tiniest little things and work toward the bigger things.

 

[Tuckertwo]

Hiya - appreciate your reply - not seeking to criticise just I feel very uncomfortable with some churches - it's almost a grating feeling - hence I'm looking for one I fit into and Kindred Christian spirits - and also the need to be mentally stimulated - I guess I'm made the that way - hopefully God will find a use for it all - thanks

 

[FG21]

Oh He will! For sure!

Praise God for that. I mean, really praise Him!

 

[graceandpeace]

Whilst I have faith through Christ I have yet to find a church where I really fit in -I'm a very practical / down to earth personality and often listen to sermons on line from different churches - some are really helpful - but when I've been to a church I find a whole host of things that don't sit well with me like
- overly pious/ demonstrative expressions of faith
- overly happy / clappy
- overly superficial
- overly banging on about worship
What I enjoy most is where a conversation / sermon or forum focuses on the real day to day issues Christians have - the nitty gritty - ebb and flow of faith, reconciling a sinful nature and faith, struggling on the ongoing focus of worship / adoration/ praise aspects in the bible (I'm sure if we were all before God now we would all drop to our knees in awe - but I'm really bored with the day in day out daily grind of it all - I'm praying in my heart a lot during the day to fix unresolved things like this - and reading a lot on line and when I finally get to a landing on an issues it's great - but the ongoing focus on worship and praise is overkill for me at the boredom level) - I would love to find some kindred Christian spirits - planning to try another church this Sunday - have some good sermons / speakers - so thought I'd give it a try - hope I'm not put off by the OTT Baptists
Plus I'm hoping to find out what Gods purpose is for me - the boredom factor again - waiting patiently is hard - not good at doing nothing - and yet when I do things of my own volition I realise I'm doing it for the wrong reason I,e self aggrandisation - most annoying and have to curtail plans so I don't fall into the trap - I'm busy socially and reading theology at present but nothing is enough to at the moment - in terms of purpose in life - answers on the back of a post card would be appreciated

I also don't like the emotional, performance-based, happy-clappy expressions of Christianity.

Perhaps exploring a liturgical church would be the right path for you. If you could share more about your beliefs or preferences, specific suggestions could be offered.

 

[ValleyGal]

OP, I totally get where you're coming from. I've been to some charismatic churches where most people seemed genuinely enveloped in their worship and it was real. I've also been to charismatic churches where most seemed caught up in the emotion and came across as disingenuous. There is nothing wrong with charisma, but it's a sense of whether it is mostly genuine or mostly emotional. For me, when they get caught up in the emotional throes of righteous group-think, it comes across to me like they are not being of sound mind, as the Bible calls us to be. It's hard to find a church where worship is alive and yet genuine.

What does it mean to be genuine? For me it is about humility, and when there are a lot of happy-clappies, I wonder what their real life is like outside the church. How many of them are actually addicted to porn or to their cell phones, how many are struggling with a spouse who is ignoring them in favor of porn or cell phones, how many of them have other addictions, mental illness, disabilities, are living in poverty or nearly homeless, or are dealing with horrifying diagnoses, or abusive homes, etc. What are they really like, and who are they really, when you strip away the happy-clappy moments on Sundays when they are in denial about the nitty-gritty of life itself. Would those same people still be happy-clappy if they just miscarried, found out they were pregnant out of wedlock, had no food in the cupboards to eat after the service, had no home to go to after the service, had no family to care for them, had to go to the hospital and visit their sick parent, spouse or child after the service, had to prepare for a funeral, had no money for their next hit after the service, etc.

If people are not always happy-clappy outside of church, they shouldn't be happy-clappy in church either. Why do so many Christians think they have to wear a happy mask? It's to cover up and deny their own painful reality and innate character defects. They are that way because they think that is how Christians should be - full of joy and happiness and always positive and upbeat. They don't get it that God wants us to come to him - and to Jesus' representative body of believers - with all their genuine "stuff" of life.

So... what can you do about it? You can keep checking churches out until you find one that fits you. Or you can attend one and teach them what it means to be genuine, to be real, to count on others in the body to be real too, to strip off their happy mask and show the real person, the one whose desperation for Jesus is still in there, acknowledging that the emotional high in the church is not a solid foundation for daily Christian life because it is a wave that is eventually going to crash.

There is a really good program for this kind of discipleship called Freedom Session. You could attend one of these kinds of churches and then offer to host a small group in your home, and you could work through the program. It is a down-to-earth, get-real kind of discipleship program that when participated in by a whole community, will draw that community closer to each other and closer to God in a very real and genuine way.

www.freedomsession.org

 

[Kit Sigmon]

There be 7 days in the week an a body can praise, sing and worship the Lord in they own fashion.
How much time do a person spend at church...usually an hour? sometimes less? and usually 10 maybe 15 minutes set aside for singing songs...at my first old church, you'd spend 4 or 5 hours at church on Sunday, it was the only day the church gathered in a building...nowadays people be ready to jump ship if they church lasts longer than an hour! I still miss the old church of mine...
back when people had little material possessions but were rich in faith and the love of Jesus.

 

[chandraclaws]

There be 7 days in the week an a body can praise, sing and worship the Lord in they own fashion.
How much time do a person spend at church...usually an hour? sometimes less? and usually 10 maybe 15 minutes set aside for singing songs...at my first old church, you'd spend 4 or 5 hours at church on Sunday, it was the only day the church gathered in a building...nowadays people be ready to jump ship if they church lasts longer than an hour! I still miss the old church of mine...
back when people had little material possessions but were rich in faith and the love of Jesus.

Church is never long enough for me either.

 

[Paidiske]

Folks, if we could stick to the OP's topic, try to be helpful, and avoid personal comment about one another, that would be really helpful...

 

[7trees]

Folks, if we could stick to the OP's topic, try to be helpful, and avoid personal comment about one another, that would be really helpful...

That's exactly what I'd expect you to say! - Thanks for saying it.

 

[Kit Sigmon]

1 Corinthians 4
1 People should think of us as servants of Christ and managers who are entrusted with God’s mysteries. 2 Managers are required to be trustworthy.

3 It means very little to me that you or any human court should cross-examine me. I don’t even ask myself questions. 4 I have a clear conscience, but that doesn’t mean I have God’s approval. It is the Lord who cross-examines me. 5 Therefore, don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord comes. He will also bring to light what is hidden in the dark and reveal people’s motives. Then each person will receive praise from God.

6 Brothers and sisters, I have applied this to Apollos and myself for your sake. You should learn from us not to go beyond what is written in Scripture. Then you won’t arrogantly place one of us in opposition to the other.

7 Who says that you are any better than other people?
What do you have that wasn’t given to you?
If you were given what you have, why are you bragging as if it weren’t a gift?

8 You already have what you want!
You’ve already become rich!
You’ve become kings without us! I wish you really were kings so that we could be kings with you.

9 As I see it, God has placed us apostles last in line, like people condemned to die.
We have become a spectacle for people and angels to look at.
10 We have given up our wisdom for Christ, but you have insight because of Christ.
We are weak, but you are strong.
You are honored, but we are dishonored.
11 To this moment, we are hungry, thirsty, poorly dressed, roughly treated, and homeless.
12 We wear ourselves out doing physical labor. When people verbally abuse us, we bless them. When people persecute us, we endure it. 13 When our reputations are attacked, we remain courteous.
Right now we have become garbage in the eyes of the world and trash in the sight of all people.

14 I’m not writing this to make you feel ashamed but to instruct you as my dear children.
15 You may have countless Christian guardians, but you don’t have many spiritual fathers.
I became your father in the Christian life by telling you the Good News about Christ Jesus. 1
6 So I encourage you to imitate me.
17 That’s why I’ve sent Timothy to you to help you remember my Christian way of life as I teach it everywhere in every church. Timothy is my dear child, and he faithfully does the Lord’s work.

18 Some of you have become arrogant because you think I won’t pay you a visit.
19 If it’s the Lord’s will, I’ll visit you soon.
Then I’ll know what these arrogant people are saying and what power they have.
20 God’s kingdom is not just talk, it is power.

21 When I come to visit you, would you prefer that I punish you or show you love and a gentle spirit?

 

[FG21]

Not pretending, but overcoming. Not disingenuous, but trusting and obeying God by thanking and praising Him in all circumstances as he commanded. Many Christians may never go deep enough with God to comprehend this.

What I'm talking about is not "pretending" that you are not suffering, as you see it, but being willing to trust God enough to look beyond the pain and obey Him with praise, even if you don't feel like it. Life in God is about so much more than our temporary suffering.

Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
I Thessalonians 5:17-18

It's easy to worship and praise God when things are going the way we like them to be. It is much more difficult yet still required by God when we are suffering.

Do you think calling other believers petty names really glorifies God?

Beautiful post.