What should I do?

Question

I am thinking about quitting the church I am currently attending. I haven't felt the spirit of God there in a while. I don't know if it is just me or if it is the church. Should I stay in church where I do not feel anything? Please pray for me and I would appreciate your opinions.

I am a Christian and I have no intentions of changing religions. Before I started going to this church I prayed that God would send me where he wanted me, and that is where he sent me. I used to feel the presence of God there but no so much anymore. I don't know if the problem is with me or other people in the church. I used to feel great after a church service, I felt so revived. But now after service, I don't feel any different then before the service.

Answer 1

You have a lot to consider. What exactly are they teaching you? Are they teaching you from the Bible (truthfully)? If you leave, what religion would you join then, and what would they teach you? There's more questions you have to ask yourself, and we can't make that decision for you. Just pray that God sends you the Truth.

Answer 2

Do you feel that your church isn't the same? I'm not the one who should give advice but looking for another religion can't harm, or stay in the same religion at a different church. I have a small church I go to and have been in the same religion all my life and feel like you, that there is something missing. Maybe it's because it wants to keep up with the times but I like the old fashion way it use to be. I've seen other religions and thought that the Russian Orthodox was beautiful but at the same time I feel I'm turning my back on something I was brought on. Good luck I will pray for you.

Answer 3

Maybe you just aren't motivated by your minister. Maybe his speaking style just doesn't hold your attention or something. The church I grew up in has a pastor like this now. I've heard that his ideas are good and all, but the way he talks, he should probably be doing something like teaching theology at a university or something. Maybe it's the way the sermon is presented. Some people like a lot of bells and wistles (lots of music, etc.) and some like more of a lecture-type sermon (more of a lesson-type environment). Maybe it's the people in the church. Do you mesh well with them? Are there people your age there? Don't worry about it. Changing churches doesn't make you a bad Christian. If the people there are upset with you for leaving, that's there problem. They shouldn't be. Remember, God accounts for all Christian denominations (Catholics, Methodists, Lutherans, Pentacostals, Baptists, etc.). Also remember, you don't have to be in a building called a church to be in a church. There is more to the church than a building. Remember what the bible says, "where there are two or three of you...". I don't remember the whole thing, but it's about how you can just gather with your friends and discuss God and it is church.

Answer 4

Spirituallity comes from within, not from a building. If you are not feeling it maybe you should be looking for something else.

A long time ago I got to the point where I can never visit a place of worship more than twice. I just don't feel it the third time, so I don't go anymore.

One advantage is that I have gotten the pleasure to experience many different religions and flavors of relegions from all sorts of different preachers (both men and women) and shamens, and there is somehting unique that each has to offer. Maybe you should expereince some other places.

The thing that makes me not come back is that I have yet to find a religion that does not ask for money at some point during the survice. It just grates on me that they are asking for money in church when in my opinion it should never cross the threashold as it is ultimately the belief in a false idol. Money is only real because we beleive it is real. Can you eat a dollar?

I have found great things in all religions, they basically all agree on one thing. We should all get along. I wonder why we don't.

Answer 5

I'm sure another atheist will suggest that if you start "feeling spirits" you get a prescription for an anti-psychotic drug, because a change of churches is not the solution. But I won't. I'll actually give you Bible-based wisdom.

Jeremiah 17:9 says: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

That's a good reason not to base your beliefs, or the church you attend, on your feelings, because your feelings are almost entirely based in hormones that can change with what you had for breakfast. And if you're looking for God to blow in your ear, remember that Jesus said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:" Mat 12:39.

If you aren't feeling welcome, accepted, supported, plugged in, and you aren't the problem, i.e. you're doing all you can do, move on. Church is about community, not about feeling a supernatural presence.

If your religion can be believed, God is omnipresent, and your ability to feel or not feel God does not affect God's omnipresence. Moreover, Romans 8:9: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." Since the Spirit of God dwells in you, aren't you looking in the wrong place expecting to find that Spirit in a building?

But, what do I know. I'm an evil evolution believing atheist, so you should probably ignore me and ask a fellow Christian for their opinion instead of a Biblical viewpoint. In my experience they always have the former to offer, less frequently the latter.

Answer 6

I can relate to you. When I started having doubts about the church I grew up in, I was really worried about what my pastor would think, and how I would feel in a completely new environment. But let me tell you that with much prayer, and lots of thinking, I decided to start attending a new church. It was the best decision I've ever made, and I feel like I'm on a much more personal level with God. So I suggest switching churches, if its not right for you, then you can always go back, no harm done. =)

Answer 7

The Bible clearly states there is a season for everything. It sounds as though your time there was meant to be only a season. My mom battled with the same issue a while back. She has now found a new church home where she knows she is meant to be at this time. Sometimes God calls us to step out of our comfort zones and into the unknown just to test our faith and to see just how far we will follow Him. If you cannot feel His presence there anymore then it is time to move on and trust that He will lead you to exactly where He wants you to be...
I will be praying for you...

Answer 8

You need to find a church where you can grow in the Word of God. So absolutely, if you do not feel the Spirit of God, find a new church. In the meantime, continue to pray and read your Bible!

Answer 9

What church?
I go to one and not much is there either.
It was about 11 years ago. Something has happened.
Perhaps there is a falling away.
Continuing in their theology taught them in seminary. Not allowing the Holy Spirit to, how should I say this? Quenching the Holy Spirit. I have to listen closely now for the signs of false teaching. When I hear them Away I go.

Do they preach tithing? If so time to go.
Old testament--not new. Under the law. We are not under the levitical law. The pastor is not a levitical priest and has no right whatsoever to collect tithes.

Answer 10

I will pray for you to have God's guidance. I have recently felt the same way. I feel like our Church sometimes puts socializing about worshiping. I think sometimes its good to visit other Church's, you might find one where God really speaks to you and then again you may find you are in the Church where he wants you. Good luck and God Bless!

Answer 11

I felt that way for a long long time and the Lord has now led me to His true Church and I feel like Iam home. The Lord 's presence is truely there. Pray to the Lord and let Him guide you to where He wants and needs you to be. And I will include you in my prayers