Does church do it for you?

Question

I consider myself a spiritual person, but I simply cannot stand going to church. I find the sermons boring, the music lackluster, the overall mood something between forced friendliness and plastic-faced serenity, and it just pales to sleeping in on Sunday, drinking coffee and reading the paper. I'm glad some folks enjoy it....but for me and my nearly 40 years on earth, I've never really sat through a service that felt worthwhile.

I take after my Grandpa. He always liked going through the woods, and felt he was closer to God there than he was in some sheet-metal and plywood structure that was isolated from the world the Almighty created.

Answer 1

I don't go to church very often anymore. I used to be there everytime the doors swung open (not always my choice), but I became disillusioned with "fake" ppl who were going just to prove that they were Christian.

I like hearing good sermons, but not everyone knows what they're talking about.

In the Bible it does say to not forsake the assembling of like-minded Christians. I don't necessarily think that means you need to go to church, but it is important to be around other Christians who are seeking Christ because they help you grow and they understand the battles you face.

Answer 2

I gotta tell ya, I know how you feel. However, back in the day when christianity was my thing, I had a wonderful congregation. Everyone was real, no false friendliness. It was truly like a close family. It was a small congregation, everyone knew everyone else and it was beautiful. I sometimes miss that.

However, finding your spiritual center isn't always done by spending time inside a building locked away one day a week with others. Many folks find it there, or find it there for a while, but then have to search for something more. Your heart will know when you have found the right place for you. If its in the woods right now then hang on to that and let it nurture you. If down the road to stumble onto a church and congregation that make your heart sing like the woods, then you will know you have found the right place for you.

But don't feel guilty if you find more friendliness and holy spirit outside with the wind and the trees. Follow your own path and it will lead you where you need to be.

Good luck and Goddess Bless!

Answer 3

I think that if you can fid the right church, going to it will be something that you look forward to. In my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; yeah, it's a mouthful), there is a genuine feeling of comraderie and friendship. Weekly speakers are drawn from the congregation (somone is asked if they'll talk, and if so, they are given a topic to speak on). Our church focuses alot on service to others and states that we should go about "doing good continually." Our church emphasizes that we have the free agency to choose what we do, but that we can't choose the consequences for our actions.

Also, I can understand how you feel closer to God when you're out in the woods. Nature is an example of something God has created that hasn't been shaped and possibly twisted by people exercising thier agency in ways that aren't necessarilly in harmony with God's plan.

If you're interested, feel free to visit the site below. If you're not, that's okay, too. I just hope that you'll work to develop a personal relationship with the Lord and live the best life that you can.

Answer 4

A church that denies the Trinity or Deity of Christ is misguided All church homes wherein the grace of Christ abides and works is in actual (if partial and impaired) communion with the genuine Church of Christ i think and profess that the Catholic Church is the Church that's the mummy Church and the ecclesial physique wherein the genuine Church maximum totally subsists and whose doctrine is the main complete and that i think that the closer a church is to the catholic in doctrine and morality and the place the sacraments are valid is closer to convalescing the fulness of being genuine Church yet all church homes, because of the fact that they're composed of individuals, might desire to be continuously being reformed by ability of Jesus, the way , the reality and the existence,and back to the sources: the Bible, Apostolic custom, organic regulation/ top reason and , extraordinarily God's gracious present of Grace in Jesus by ability of the Spirit

Answer 5

Well I kinda know how you feel about being bored.....it happens sometimes. But it also depends on what you go to church for. Do you go to be BORED? Or do you actually go to hear the word of God and to apply what you learn to the way you live?Or do you just hear the choir songs or do you actually listen and meditate on the words and praises you are hearing? If you feel like you do go for all the right reasons and are still bored then you might try attending another church, there are many different churches and they all have a small or even a large difference in the way the service flows. My church is very exciting, sometimes I'm bored but you're never going to be completely satisfied with many things in life. But for the most part I LOVE going to church. The choirs we have are jammin, the pastor and guests pastors are either speaking a word that makes me evaluate myself, or preachin' about how good GOD is and you can't help but to start clappin when that happens. But overall I enjoy church and like I mentioned before its either the wrong church for you, or the wrong reasons you're going.......evalute YOU before you judge YOUR CHURCH. Sometimes we get caught in our own emotions that we don't give a lot of things a chance, or give GOD a chance to show us the way.Yeah, so just be blessed and I'll pray for you.
Peace Out and God Bless You!

Answer 6

you just have not found the right one yet. I kept searching until I found the one that made me feel like I had come home. Loved and wanted and the faces are not plastic and the friendliness is real, not fake. I would start investigating if I were you. You appear to have a lot of work to do. While it is nice that you feel close to God while in the midst of nature it would be nice if you find a wonderful congregation to feel the same way within.

Answer 7

Yeah I can relate somehow. Maybe you should look for a different church. Some are a bit more lively than others. I know I enjoy our sermons a lot just because our pastor is so hilarious. But we also have to remember that it isnt all about us, part of our purpose there is to learn and to serve.

Answer 8

Ditto. But there is a little guy
on TV that I faithfully watch
every Sunday night at 11:30.
I even have my TV timer set
for him in case I forget.
JOEL OSTEEN. oh my
goodness! He is so humble.
He never mentions money.
He is very uplifting and just
appears to be the sweetest
little guy you ever listened to.
I haven't gone to church in
years, but he fills in that little
blank space that I feel now
and then about learning
something new, or
reassuring about God!

Answer 9

Please don't take this as a burn.
When I was younger I sat in quite a few that didn't do it for me or failed to "charge my batteries", if you will.
I've come to realize it isn't what one gets out of them but what one puts into them. It's an opportunity to worship corporately in Christian fellowship.
Could it be the onus is on you to "wake up" that congregation?
If you don't feel that is the case, perhaps you need to find another one.

I've been in some services that were just electric with His spirit.
In any case, God bless you.

Answer 10

It's because you don't have a personal relationship with the God it is all about. Until you know Him personally, it will seem boring to you because you don't care about Him. It's almost like you are in a foreign country and you are sitting in a movie that is in a language you don't understand. You just don't understand it so it seems very boring to you. But, to people who understand it, it is exciting and enjoyable.

By the way, I don't go to church because it does something for me. I go because I think it is incredible that the God who created all that is has chosen to love me. I want to go and thank Him for all He has done for me.