Friday, February 9, 2018

IS CHURCH BORING?


"Men it's a sin to bore people with the Word of God!"
These were the words growled to a class of potential preachers by Haddon Robinson, our homiletics professor at Dallas Theological Seminary.  Haddon was undoubtedly one of the best preachers I have ever heard.  His voice was gravelly and he seemed to have a snarl when he spoke due to a slight disfigurement which made his mouth a bit off center.

We all held a bit of fear, even reverence for this man, and we took his words of warning seriously.  Of course later, after we'd graduated and entered into our ministries, we forgot them  and proceeded to bore people with the Word.  I must confess that I was among those who disobeyed.
We were required to attend chapel services every day and most of the times we went willingly, as we were fed with messages and sermons by some of the greatest theologians and preachers in the land.  After over forty years I barely remember  3 or 4 of the 500+ chapel messages.  But I do remember the singing!  Richard Seume was the seminary Chaplain and he felt that was his ministry to teach us how to worship.  He introduced us to the grand old hymns of the faith:  Charles Wesley's "And Can it Be?"; "All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name" (the "Diadem" tune) and so many others.  After more than 40 years I still get chills as I recall 700 students and faculty - mostly men - belting the hymns out with gusto, some singing melody, while others sang their parts.  I believe Dr. Seume felt too, that it was a sin to bore people with their worship of God.  But as with Haddon's warnings, we went out and forgot.

Today we search for "relevance."   We've left behind those dusty old hymns and those biblically based sermons (of course with a nod to some Scriptural passages).  We give people "inspiring" sermons.  We sing songs that have few words and yet are easily forgotten - "seven-eleven songs" someone has labeled them - seven words repeated eleven times.
And in this attempt to be relevant, I believe we have made Christianity irrelevant - and boring!  We're afraid to seriously address theological issues because we're afraid we'll frighten or bore our congregations. We're afraid to speak on the moral issues confronting us, possibly because they've been pre-empted by the political parties and we don't want to sound political.

We don't sing those majestic hymns; we don't sing theological hymns; we don't sing hymns that might arouse emotions.
We have become "the bland leaders of the bland."

I retired from full-time ministry a decade ago and have now become one of those who fill up the pews.  Though I confess that I often find church services boring, I also recognize that in those years of ministry I was a contributor to that sort of boredom in my congregation.  Forgive us - forgive me - Lord for that sin that Haddon warned us of.

And forgive me dear reader, for  my curmudgeonly rant.

I do feel better now!
 

2 comments:

Bill Ball said...

This is not meant to be simply a gripe about the church I attend. This is a complaint about churches in general. I have included myself among those whom I criticize. I do believe there is a general trend toward dumbing down in the church in America which I have seen both in my observation and my personal experience.

Unknown said...

Dear Bill,

I was in chapel the day Dr. Evans (Red) gave his last sermon as he was retiring. His topic was that we should read our Bibles. As he got to the close he said something along these lines ... "Men, if I were stranded on a dessert island and could have only one book, one book to read and help me on through the years of lonely isolation to come, one book only to give me comfort and guidance, I can tell without hesitation what book that would be." And here he had his preaching Bible rolled up in his right hand as he grasped the side of the pulpit with his left and leaned way out toward us proclaiming with all his might. "I'd want to have a copy of the Boy Scout Handbook because (holding up his Bible for all to see) I'VE GOT THIS ONE MEMORIZED!!!"

Now that was great DTS Chapel preaching, brother.

Guy Wallace