Church Service is Boring.... sorry

[Chris]

I'm just being 100% truthful. I don't mean to hurt feelings. This has nothing to do with faith, as I love sitting in groups of people discussing theological points, about God, and mostly I love serving the Lord and spreading his perfect message of salvation.

My intent is to get help or suggestions - or at least comradery of some sorts....

But I just have to level. It's a truth I'm afraid to reveal. It's an honest reality in my existence. I DON'T know if it's just me. I'm life experienced enough to state this isn't some whim of youth, but a life long experienced reality.

I'm nearly completely bored with church services. They are painfully boring at times. I'll make number points.

1) For whatever reasons, there is an eerie silence before church. People mumble and talk quiet before service start times. There is no reason for this really. There isn't joy before the service, and way less smiles, but more joy after the service on people's faces. This is the start of the process.

2) The singing is always nice. This is about the only thing I truly enjoy consistently in the service.

3) Devotions - This varies. At this point the service is 15ish minutes in or so. It's often a youth mumbling (where I can barely hear) and it is a topic I've heard at least 30+ times. I am not being ugly, just a reality. The scripture reading if I can hear it is okay, but often the pre-programmed devotional "tiny sermon" is rather elementary. After they read the scripture, you pretty much know what the concept is and the next 15 minutes of them talking you probably already know what they are going to say. Outside of the reminder of the word itself, the commentary is very boring to me.

4) Sunday School - This is also very pre-programmed. Because you either have a booklet or a set of scriptures that are "pre-set". Some Sunday School teachers barely let any brothers talk. Others may let them talk and then while rarely it's interesting, mostly it's deviation or digression. I would get much more out of just reading the word as God draws me to it, and allowing his spirit to minister to my heart. While Sunday school isn't "that bad" its simply not what I would call "fun" and often is uninteresting and elementary. For instance, somebody saying "We are saved by grace through the blood of Jesus Christ..." Yes that's right. I agree. I've agreed for decades. It's 100% a blessing. But it's over and over and over and over again. I understand it very well. I'm blessed by it. In my heart I feel it daily. I LOVE Jesus and what he has done for me daily. I get it. I know it.

5) Announcement time - My back is hurting in the pew. I know announcements are important, but seriously, at this point my physical back is aching. I'm listening sometimes that the kitchen floor will be laid out next week so keep children out of the kitchen while my back is aching and the seat God built into me is also hurting in the benches. Some announcements are exciting that said, like when CAM is working somewhere. But the rest is nails on a chalkboard boring and my back is hurting.

6) Sermon time - Back is still hurting. Preacher typically reads the word (and this is good). I enjoy hearing the word read. Often the first 15-20 minutes is impactful but almost all preachers start to digress. Sometimes it goes into a scripture hunt (45 passages to hunt for and turn to for their point). After the first 15-20 minutes the digression leads me to sheer boredom. On rare occasion, it's better.... After 15-20mins Bladder begins busting. Do I go? Do I stand up and do the potty dance to the bathroom? Is it irreverent? Blah I'm going. Finally back relief too. Come back to the sermon (he was talking about the Pharisees) and somehow he's now talking about the dog that went around the horse. (What?)

7) After sermon - Final song. Back hurting again. Do you have comments? Then there's always that one brother who needs to go on.... and on... and on... for 5 minutes. I'm croaking. The final prayer is nice.

8) After church everybody NOW can somehow talk a bit louder. Children jump off the pulpit and run free. "How was your week brother" - "pretty good, just working".... "I had an interesting customer who was one of those Arabs....".... ... ...


Let's do it again next Sunday.


I'm so sorry. What can I do? I love the Lord. I love his word. But I have to be honest every Saturday I somewhat dread the thought of sitting through another 2 to 2.5 hours of this. It's just honestly Boring. I've even question if God is bored with it. It's so scheduled, lacks spontaneous worship, way too structured, just weird. The format seems off.

I can read Jesus's sermon on the mount in about 30 minutes. The savior of the world's most famous sermon in his life! But our sermons ever Sunday are an hour long(ish). I don't know what to say.

What can I do? I almost can't help this. I feel like I just embolden myself and suffer through it each Sunday. Do I need help? Do others feel this way or similar? I know to say it I'm putting myself on a limb. It's taboo to speak of I know (sort of like discussing fat people with an obese person - you just "don't" say it). How can this be helped, or is it just a reality that the services are very boring?

[Soloist]

I choked on my food reading this

Often I find similar experiences to you. I dislike Quarterlies immensely… often the person goes almost verbatim over the questions which are relatively empty questions that are very obvious from a cursory glance at the text.
When we can compress 2-3 chapters in 1 30 minute at best in Sunday school and then then drag out a dozen scriptural references for 50 minutes and call it a sermon… most sermons I’ve heard could be far more impactful and remembered if they took 10-15 minutes to do.

Most of the time when the routine of Sunday school is changed from an awkward silence for a minute or two after asking a pre-made question before an answer… is when a seeker opens his mouth.

I’m torn on it often as Sunday school can be a favorite time for me but it just sometimes feels stifled and constrained by doctrines that the text actually doesn’t agree with or a general “we all already understand this” Those verses get skipped in the quarterlies or ignored.

The other problem comes in when we spend so much time pontificating about what was really meant when the verses likely just meant exactly what it says. Wow…

[steve-in-kville]

What can I do? I almost can't help this. I feel like I just embolden myself and suffer through it each Sunday. Do I need help? Do others feel this way or similar? I know to say it I'm putting myself on a limb. It's taboo to speak of I know (sort of like discussing fat people with an obese person - you just "don't" say it). How can this be helped, or is it just a reality that the services are very boring?

This will depend on the congregation, I have found. I've attended (or was a member) of a few groups, all over the Brethren spectrum. My only "taste" of the Mennonites was a KMF setting and that is a story for another day.

My current fellowship is quite a bit looser in these areas, or what many here on MN would refer to as "liberal" or "progressive." But that's fine. We all manage to get along

I would like to think the dynamics of a church service could evolve with the times, but that is a double-edged sword. "Throwing out the bath water with the baby" is a saying that comes to mind. I also think the pandemic has changed the way we worship as well.

You have many valid points, most of which I can relate.

[Soloist]

Ultimately, we need to ask, are we going to church to be entertained? Or to worship God?

My wife suggested to bring a seat cushion

[Ken]

2) The singing is always nice. This is about the only thing I truly enjoy consistently in the service.

I am one of those people who cannot carry a tune and has never been able to sing in any way that is not painful and cringeworthy to all who are around me. And so ever since I was a child, church hymns were something torturous that I have had to fake my way through. Even singing "happy birthday" at a party is something unpleasant.

I do very much enjoy church music when it is a church choir or instrumental piece of the sort that is common in some denominations like Episcopal. But that is something you rarely ever see in Anabaptist circles.

So for me the less forced singing in church the better. I expect I am very much in the minority in that, but not alone.

[Sudsy]

In my experience when a church has a fairly constant flow of new people getting saved and eager to learn about their new life, church is far from boring. We may still be doing some of the same things but the focus is more on these new believers. When a church grows stagnant it can become very boring. The secret to exciting Christianity is when the lost are being reached and they are excited about their new life. Find a soul winning church and you won't be bored.

[cooper]

This brought a smile to my face...brought back memories of when I attended a conservative Mennonite church. I now attend a Lancaster Conference church which has a service that lasts an hour...which can also be a bit boring. Sometimes we have Sunday school afterwards but usually it's just the older folks who stay. The sermon is usually 25 minutes and is often good. I do worry about the lack of catechise. Doctrinal sermons are very rare. Newer attendees probably don't know about the Anabaptist peace position.

I think the conversation after church is the most valuable part of Sunday mornings. It reminds me I'm part of a Body that loves me.

[RZehr]

If you aren’t holding a small child, try taking copious notes. And try turning to verses and reading along.
I find that I get more out of the service. And if not, for those services where the sermon or whatever is truly subpar, at least it breaks the boredom and makes the time go faster.

[Chris]

Ultimately, we need to ask, are we going to church to be entertained? Or to worship God?

My wife suggested to bring a seat cushion

Seat cushions do not help. Back gets sore from sitting. Sitting in itself is systematic in a sense.

I can worship God from home, at work, in my car, and it's not boring. I was singing praises to God in my heart while chopping trees the other day.

Boring is for many reasons. Partly not being intellectually challenged and/or repetitive systems of worship. I love worshiping God, but I don't think we have to drag on with systems and mostly elementary teachings drug out for hours to do so.

I heard a sermon the other day. "Do you know that Jesus really can save you". Understand, it's not the beauty and wonderment of what God did for me. It's hearing somebody go on an hour about it AGAIN, covering no new topic, no new concept of it, or anything. I felt like I was wasting time sitting there just to "do my time and get through it". I was thinking about possibly telling somebody that doesn't know Jesus the same thing. But we've all heard it. Over and over and over again. And over.... Did I say over? Yep once again over again.

I read the NT apostolic church and their church and activities did not seem boring.

[ken_sylvania]

Ultimately, we need to ask, are we going to church to be entertained? Or to worship God?

My wife suggested to bring a seat cushion

Seat cushions do not help. Back gets sore from sitting. Sitting in itself is systematic in a sense.

I can worship God from home, at work, in my car, and it's not boring. I was singing praises to God in my heart while chopping trees the other day.

Boring is for many reasons. Partly not being intellectually challenged and/or repetitive systems of worship. I love worshiping God, but I don't think we have to drag on with systems and mostly elementary teachings drug out for hours to do so.

I heard a sermon the other day. "Do you know that Jesus really can save you". Understand, it's not the beauty and wonderment of what God did for me. It's hearing somebody go on an hour about it AGAIN, covering no new topic, no new concept of it, or anything. I felt like I was wasting time sitting there just to "do my time and get through it". I was thinking about possibly telling somebody that doesn't know Jesus the same thing. But we've all heard it. Over and over and over again. And over.... Did I say over? Yep once again over again.

I read the NT apostolic church and their church and activities did not seem boring.

According to the book of Acts Paul's sermons could get long-winded and boring sometimes - to the point that it put a guy to sleep and he fell out the window.