(ThyBlackMan.com) There are many aspects to church service. All of them are necessary as they serve different purposes that support one another. Praise and worship are an important part of church; corporate prayer is also important. There is power in coming together at the altar to pray and uplift one another. We never knew who walked into church on edge. Someone needed that prayer, praise, hug, some danced the heaviness of their spirit and heart. This is our culture and spirituality coming together in our place of worship. This is powerful and can lead to transformation within oneself. Then there is the ministering of the Word. Sometimes this can be emotional and in-depth. This is the time where we give our attention to hear God’s word and get further understanding. We break out our bible and notebooks/tablet, so that we can take the notes needed to return to what has been taught in personal study later.
Church is a different kind of classroom, and at some point, it must become one. Too many are able to leave church feeling better, which is positive, but they are not actually able to apply the message to their life. Sometimes there may have been too much crammed into the sermon so it’s difficult to digest. Then there are times there is more of an emotional message and not enough to personally apply.
I cannot speak for others, but I need to be taught at church. There is so much that happens throughout the week. The challenges can be stacked at any time. What can I use to help me battle the spiritual wickedness and overcome the challenges of the week? This is an important question, because there should be something we can go back to other than “God is good”. Sometimes the situation is caused by the believer in some way. That fault may not be intentional at all…it can be something like correcting an area of our prayer life. It could be that we need to work on how we process information or communicate with others. Maybe we need a better understanding of faith so that we can function within it properly. A lack of understanding regarding healing or dominion as a believer can affect how we approach situations and attacks.
Different methods to strengthen self spiritually that can bless other parts of our life is important. Understanding on how to guide our children and family properly in terms of Godly principle is also important. This and so much more can be taught in church, and those lessons can help us dive deeper in spiritually as we study in our personal time.
There is a disconnect that occurs when the teaching element is missing from service. Yes, a sermon will be given but that does not mean a lesson was taught that day. It does not mean the congregation was spiritually fed. Yes, everyone in the sanctuary is on a different level, and requires different things to grow. However, what we should look for is which teaching style is best for us, but the teaching is necessary. Regurgitated sermons with traditional parts that make us feel comfortable won’t always help us when trouble comes. We need foundation and we need to be guided in the word and that should be expected just as much as what we receive in Praise and Worship. The hardest part is the teaching doesn’t always feel good. It can internally chastise, bring about conviction, and even repentance. This is not the feel-good part of service and making it such deprives the believer of the tools they need to function within their faith. Too many of us are walking around not truly understanding the word, what our walk should be individually or collectively, and this can create confusion and discouragement.
As our children sit in the congregation, their foundation is also being built. Their expectations of this aspect of their life is being shaped. They are learning to balance emotion and passion with sound teaching…or not. This becomes important as they begin to navigate life. When situations arise, we want them to be able to pull from what they have been taught biblically and add that to their decision-making process. They will either look back and see that church was able to help them get their dark times, or that it was good for fellowship but did not teach them the foundation of their faith and how to stand in it. Being in a congregation whereby all parts of you are fed is important. Having a pastor that teaches you the word in a manner that gives you something to pull from when you face life’s challenges is valuable and in some space’s lifesaving.
Staff Writer; Christian Starr
May connect with this sister over at Facebook; C. Starr and also Twitter; MrzZeta.
Also via email at; CStarr@ThyBlackMan.com.
