Bored At Church?

I’ve sometimes heard that people are bored by church, and in particular, with sermons. OK, I haven’t just heard that, I’ve researched it and there are a number of article and blogs about people feeling that sort of way. Ok, yeah, I’ve obviously have felt the way myself at times. To fight that, I have a book in my library entitled “A Manuel in Non-Boring Preaching” (and yes, I’ve actually read it).

Most of the time we are bored in church it’s because we are not connecting with what is going on. We aren’t connecting in a mental, much less a spiritual way with the songs, the prayers, the rites or maybe most likely of all, the sermon. 

It may be that those things are being dully performed, as if by rote, by people who are not themselves connected it. But one thing for certain when we’re bored —is we are not in any way feeling or finding the presence of God. 

In the scripture there were a number times people encountered God or His holy angel: Moses at the burning bush (Ex. 3:6), Gideon (Judg. 6:22,23), Samson’s dad (Judg. 13:22), or Isaiah (Isa. 6:5), the apostles with Jesus when He displayed His miraculous power and when He was transfigured (Matt. 8:27; 17:7), or Saul on the road the Damascus (Acts 22:6,7), John on the Lord’s Day on the Isle of Patmos (Rev. 1:17). Boredom was never the reaction of anyone in God’s presence. 

Now there’re other places than church to find God’s presence: in the glory of nature, in the dangers of a foxhole, a hospital waiting room, beside the deathbed of a loved one, but in church—through His word, His praise, His rites, and humble prayers offered to Him—this is the normal, regular place He’s given for us to seek, and to find, and encounter Him. When we’re aware of the presence of God we might be convicted, comforted or awed, but we’ll never be bored.