My issue
 

Here's the dealio. I'm bored at church. EXTREMELY BORED! I love the people. Don't have a problem with the preacher. He sticks with the word. Here's the/my problem. I Think that I am used to prophetic preaching. Preaching that speaks directly to me. Ya know, when something is going on in your life and the preacher has NO idea, and he nails it in the sermon (specifically). I'm not talking about generic stuff like "the Lord told me that someone is having a bad day." What should I do? All comments are welcome. All attitudes are not.

Re: My issue
 

houston...

:)

Get into the Word on your own time. Isn't it prophetic? It always speaks to me. Don't depend on the preacher to find meaning in the Word or to shore up your personal relationship with God.

My pastor always says that if something's bothering you, maybe God is trying to speak to YOU about it. Maybe you need to volunteer to be on the teaching staff and come up with some "fresh bread" yourself.

If, on the other hand, your pastor is just plain boring (one of those dry, monotone guys), that can't be helped. It's just that...exciting isn't all it's cracked up to be. Go looking for excitement, and you may find a lack of depth; go looking for depth, and you're going to have to make room for the occasional dry professor. You can't have it all, except when you make God your main source of "it."

Re: My issue
 

I'm not sure I can help. For about a second I thought that was my problem too but while I did find MANY services very boring that isn't my issue. Rather it is the cold sweats I get while sitting in a church pew hearing the same old songs I remember being sung 15-30 times. The "amens!!!!" to whatever the man-o-god said which soon became law in our house since my parents dared not go against him. The service after service after service that we attended because we WERE a "whenever the doors are open we are there!" sort of family.

I made my vow as a teen that once I was an adult I would be free. Now here I am at age 41, and true to my word!

"Raise up a child the way they should go and if you are in error, they WILL depart from it!"

Re: My issue
 

BRATT: I get so much out of reading the word. I have not been to church since August. Before I left I sat with the pastor and said that I'm available in whatever capacity. He said that I'd be elevated in due season. Then, a week or two later they divided a sunday class in two, gave one class to someone who is not Spirit filled per the UPC doctrine.

RANDY: I am entertaining the thought of just walking away. I don't want to go to another "movement" and I'm not looking for the world and sin. If I walk, I'm just going to consume myself with life.

Re: My issue
 

If you do, just remember to continue to support those who are continually reaching out, financially. Remember, for every priest there is a king!

Re: My issue
 

What meaneth this? (kjv)

Re: My issue
 

Me too. I'm bored. Snow has kept me prisoner in my home for too long. Out here in the boondocks, there are no salt trucks or snow plows. Its up to me to break the dull, boring routine that has imprisoned me and has given me a clear case of cabin fever. But, as bored as I am, I'm not forsaking my home.

People are bored with their jobs. But, in most cases, they don't quit. Sometimes they find ways to break the routine and spice things up.

I've heard parents say they are bored with being parents. Or couples who were bored with marriage. Then there are people like me who are boed of the single life.

But walking away? Just because you are bored? Not meaning to sound critical but it seems its not church you are bored with. You wrote that if you choose to walk away, you'll just consume yourself with life. You, my friend, seem to be bored with the very thing you seek to consume yourself with. Life. And, well, church just seems to be the easiest thing to walk away from.

You seem to be chasing rainbows, seeking greener pastures. Looking for that... that something which will fill your life with whatever you think you need. I suspect others around you, including your pastor, has sensed this spiritual wanderlust that seems to be drawing you to seek life elsewhere. Thats why you're not advancing as you think you should.
Heres an idea: Instead of seeking advancement, seek humility by submitting to the Holy Spirit. Seek life by seeking Him. Paul said it best, "It is in HIM, that we live, move and have our being...". But you think there should be more life in church. There should be. And there is, but you'll never find it walking away. You'll never find it seeking to advance. But you will find it by humbling yourself to the Lord. Don't try to find whatever you think is absent in your life through your church. Don't seek 'promotion' through your pastor. Its God who raises up and brings down low. And, in your case, I think the Lord is trying to bring you down low so that, when you are ready, He will raise you up.

Re: My issue
 

You could follow OneAccord's advice..

..or you could just download some cool games to your Iphone to play during church.

Re: My issue
 

I think people go to church for the wrong reasons. Church shouldn't be all about us. It should be about community, about reaching out to others, about ministering to those around us, not just being concerned about what we're getting out of it.

But I don't have time to talk about it right now, need to get out the door. :D

Re: My issue
 

Dear Houston,
Bro. OneAccord has given you some good, sound advice.

Do you have a regular prayer life! How can you feel close to God without
ever talking/communicating with Him. How can you do His Will if you never
read His Will (Word). Not trying to be critical. If we are not connected or
plugged into the Source of Power, how can we expect to feel any power.
How can our light (lamp) shine out to others, if our lamps are not "trimmed"
and burning. I read that "if you're bored, your boring". There are many good
people who are not bored, but things are not well with them either. They
have health issures, many problems, but are looking to the LORD for HIS help
just to make it through one more day, or week, etc.

Berk, I mean Houston, why not, in the quiet of your home, get down and
humble yourself before the Great Lord God, and tell HIM all that's in your
heart. Tell HIM what you are telling us. Ask Him to help you get out of this
mindset. The boredom trap. Humble yourself under the Hand of the Almighty.
Go back to church, or ask the Spirit to lead you to where you can find what
you need. I have an idea you'll find what you really need, down on your knees,
and in the Word of God. Try reading the Words of Jesus, in the red.
Blood red!
Houston, I will be praying for you!

Falla39

Re: My issue
 

Houston, I've found myself in your position a number of times along the way. I wasn't raised in a stable church environment growing up (you and I are almost the same age, btw). So, I found it on my own. Has it been easy? No. Have I been blessed? Yes. I'm just taking a guess, but you might be in a dry season right now. It doesn't mean you're any further away from God than if you were deeply moist in Him. It's just a part of life.

As for the church scene, there is a certain message of preaching that speaks to me as well. Prophetic/encouraging preaching has put a lot into perspective for me, and so has the opposite...the hell, fire, and brimstone. Either way, do what you know, not what you feel -- I heard an evangelist a few years back preach on that very statement; what a concept and what a difference it has made for me! And to extend on what AQP said above, church is about community and reaching out to one another. Make no mistake I'm not decreasing your concern for exploring a change for you. Just want to help you kind of put things into perspective. Whatever your testimony is, someone is waiting to hear it whether you know it or not. I read a thread on here recently that mentioned a bood titled "Mere Churchianity" by Michael Spencer. It talks about church in such a non-traditional way it's unbelievable.

Nevertheless, we're all here for you. Sometimes going back to sqaure one and analyzing everything is good as long as God is in the center of it.

Re: My issue
 

Year ago, I attended a church that was in a rut. No, it was more than a rut. Every service was exactly the same. Same songs. Same sermons. It was the Pentecostal equivilant of the Bill Murray movie "Ground Hog Day". All we lacked was Sonny and Cher singing, "I got you babe". The church had a radio broadcast and every braodcast was exactly the same. Nothing changed. Ever. No new people joined the church. No one left. It was if we were in spiritual limbo. We had several peachers in the church but, they weren't preaching. Th pastor did the preaching. The pastor conducted the radio broadcast. The pastor did the teaching (what little there was).

I began to prayer. I said, "God, we're in such a rut. We're dying, Lord, please show someone this. Speak to someone...." And God seemed to answer.... "I AM speaking to someone. I'm speaking to you...."

What you, my friend, are experiencing is God speaking to you. You see a problem? FIX IT. Don't abandon ship until you have, at the very least, tried to plug the leak. If you can't fix it, then, by all means, go to where God sends you. But, before you walk, put forth an effort. If you don't, then you are no solution... you are the problem.

Re: My issue
 

What a world. Too much teeevee and we expect to be pumped up at church.

The gospels promise salvation

They do not promise,
career fullfillment
job security
sunny days
health
absense of boredom
a handsome man and marriage for every woman
clean and obedient children
self actualization

King David spent many years running from King Saul. That is not what he signed up for. He may also have preferrered sitting on a pew bored to tears than hiding and running.

I wonder how much my boredom comes from not taking inventory of all we have and being gratefull?

Re: My issue
 

I have no idea what you should do. I guess if I was you and thinking about leaving, you just need to be sure you're doing what you're doing for the right reasons. I don't even attend church and feel just fine, but, you don't want to end up as a trainwreck. I think some people do when they leave.

Re: My issue
 

So it comes down to me not praying or reading the bible. RIDICULO!! The only fulfillment I have is when I'm pouring out of myself to build someone up. Plug leaks? I already tried that. Don't look to the pastor to promote? He promoted someone who does not have the holy ghost per the upc doctrine. Everyone else, thanks for your words. I mean that.

Re: My issue
 

too much tv? coadie, please see your way to an exit. thanks

Re: My issue
 

So you're bored because you are not being used, and not receiving nourishment? But you're not bored with your personal walk with God? I don't mean to over simplify.

Re: My issue
 

Yes. You get it!

Re: My issue
 

Just go to church. Never whine or complain about being bored. Just go hopping and jumping glad that God included you in the number of the saved of earth...whether anyone else is excited about it or not. You and I should be at all times. After all, Jesus is coming back for the CHURCH...bored or un-bored.

Now, ask God to forgive you for complaining. :D

Luff ya....

Re: My issue
 

houston,

If you like outreach, don't limit yourself to doing it through the church. There are TONS of opportunities you can involve yourself in. The other day I was searching for some things teenagers can be involved in (for Hannah), and I found:

* A local hospital that needs volunteers to sit with hospice patients.

* A local literacy program that trains volunteers and assigns them to students

There are boys and girls clubs you can volunteer with; hospitals that need volunteers; soup kitchens that need dishwashers; etc. If you're more interested in something involving evangelism, then start a weekly bible study group in your house.

If you are most fulfilled when you're serving, then by all means, look outside the church walls for opportunities to serve.

Re: My issue
 

...and besides,

if you need someone to dig you up and expose all your short comings and failures, just listen up. There's a lot of folks around who are perfectly willing to do that for you. You need no prophet for THAT!

:lol

Re: My issue
 

We do feel kind of useless when we feel we aren't allowed to contribute. Or if someone else comes in and does, and everyone gets so excited. It is very discouraging.

Re: My issue
 

Houston, attending church (assembly with believers) is a part of ones Christian experience. I seriously doubt you are ready for leadership in said church assembly if not being appointed resulted in a six month withdrawal. Sorry for the bluntness, but that is what comes through in your posts.

I am not one that gages your spirituality by church attendance, but I would encourage you to either go meet with an assembly or meet with fellow believers in your home.

All of that aside, I too get "bored" at church sometimes, and I am sorry to say, fall asleep from time to time.

Re: My issue
 

Excellent post! While I am not in church leadership I do contribute to several community outreach type organizations. It is very rewarding!

I very often believe we are doing the work of Jesus through easing pain and suffering and providing positive entertainment and mentoring in the community.

Re: My issue
 

:thumbsup

Re: My issue
 

hoover,

Not being appointed did not result in a six month withdrawal. I was vacationing in Houston. I'm "home" now. Just not sure it's in the best interest of the church or myself if I return.

Re: My issue
 

So things changed while you were away? Or you changed, or maybe both?

Re: My issue
 

Right, right! Everyone is a part of the body, blah blah blah. Some people get along fine with a missing to or a missing finger.

Re: My issue
 

No. Nothing has changed.

Re: My issue
 

Okay, got it!!

Re: My issue
 

houston: boredom is the catalyst for creativity. Use it accordingly. ;)

Re: My issue
 

Start an Apostolic Forum..oh, wait, nm.

Re: My issue
 

show ya self to da exit. danx.

Re: My issue
 

become an associate in missions. evangelize africa.

Re: My issue
 

Sounds like great fun and a challenge! Seriously.

Re: My issue
 

I would say evangelize america. America is desperately in need of the gospel

Re: My issue
 

u tawkin ta me, bruh?

Re: My issue
 

Agreed. No doubt I support foreign missions. Keep those missionaries abroad as they feel called, but America is a mission field of its own even though it's different from many countries. We can be the best and most blessed country to live in, but still many people here have no idea who Jesus is...