The Problem with Worship

Flickr CC via Aikawa Ke

I recently went to a church service at a church we stopped attending years ago. I was expecting to feel refreshed, filled with God's word and ready to worship. I came with the right heart, but I must say that I left feeling dead inside.

The Lack of Worship in Worship

The worship service was what really saddened me. The songs were shallow and the lyrics repeated over and over again. I felt myself longing for a soul filling experience. Now this isn't to knock those who do feel worshipful with this style of music. There were obviously people there truly worshiping God.

There were also dozens of people scrolling through their phones and texting, or half heartedly muttering words they didn't seem to feel. It was like a dead man singing. The worship leader even got up and gave a moving talk about the beauty and richness of the old hymns, reading a few verses of Joy to the World to the congregation. But no, they still weren't sung.

The heart is what matters when it comes to worship, absolutely. I came there seeking God with my whole heart, ready to worship and instead, I felt let down. We're supposed to be passionate and on fire with the holy spirit! What happened to true worship?

Feeling Dead Inside

For the 3 years that I attended a Christian college and attended mandatory chapel, I felt more dead inside than I'd ever felt in my life. I can't really explain it, but maybe you've felt that way too? I have however worshiped with other believers in someone's living room, on a front porch, seated around a dining room table and in a church with a thousand people and felt God moving.

When you truly feel God's presence, it changes everything. I've felt such an indescribable joy and peace. I've felt like laughing and crying at the same time. I've heard God speak to me and felt the warm protection of His presence.

Many, many people my age I've talked to have felt this way about church services. That they're a hollow shell of what they're meant to be. Jesus says "I am the way, the truth and the LIFE." We need to put some life back in church!

And no, that doesn't mean strobe lights, more electric guitars and a pastor who is "relevant" because he wears t-shirts and jeans. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with those things, but when you forget to invite God to church, everything else is meaningless.

Plant it

The other thing, is that sitting in church is only a small part of the equation. In James 1:22-25 we're told to not just listen to God's word, but to obey it. That our faith is proven by our actions, and that faith without deeds is worthless.

Beth Moore, one of my favorite speakers, had described it this way. When we hear the word of God we're given a seed, and we're supposed to plant that seed. Instead, we just eat the seed and the fruit never manifests itself. We don't see a harvest when we're only hearers of the word and not doers.

 ^"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:26

So if you're feeling dead inside when it comes to your spiritual life, no matter how much you pray, listen to sermons and sing praise music, then it's time to get up and do something! Go bake cookies for your neighbor, or shovel someone's sidewalk, or volunteer at your local pregnancy center.

Go plant some seeds.