This is what turns off many Christians That want to go to church for worship and instead get a fast food, watered down, telling people what they want to hear in order to not offend them type of experience. I will say back in the mid 90s when I was in my mid 20s, I wanted to seek out a church after I spent time reading the bible on my own and finding God as real as I had ever known or experienced as a child growing up in Catholic church. After I had this new realization about God I felt it would be important to have a place to worship and to be around other like minded believers. I met a friend and they recommended this church I had never heard of. We were to meet that Sunday. I never saw my friend there but I had a great time despite no idea what to expect. It was a high energy praise and worship which in itself was foreign to me as all I ever experienced was Catholic services. After being there for a few years I started feeling that this was becoming mundane and after doing research on what our pastor was teaching it was the name it and claim it and prosperity messages which is part of the word-faith movement which is basically a cult and not of God. Fast forward to today and most of the churches are like this now.
For me the congregation has to be friendly not standoffish clicks, the pastor’s message hold my attention and touch on the full Word of God over the course of the year, you should learn and understand the context of the passage, and music be uplifting and fill your heart with God’s love. Where the Holy Spirit or Ghost is taught and his role in your life is taught and the peace He brings into your every day life. Where you leave the service feeling refreshed, fed on God’s word, to sustain you for the coming week.
Nor is the focus on one generation, as church as a body has to serve it’s members from cradle to grave. Today’s churches are focused on the youth, and totally ignore their senior members while asking more out of them money wise and time wise to provide activities for the youth. The Holy Spirit is only given lip service. Praise hymns that don’t have a message with a bone thrown a couple times a year to the old songs that are and still serve a purpose of uplifting and have a message in them. Now its about choirs and contest for music. No more just singing from the hymn book by the congregation, they removde for the most part that experience. Where even those with no or little talent can sing God’s praise.
There is more than Peace, Love and Give; End Times and understanding of Revelations has to have a place so Christians know to stay the course and stay ready and go forth and spread the message, live as we are taught to live, that Christ will return and Rapture His Church when God deems the time right. God’s time is not our time, and He always answer’s prayer, in His time, His way which may not be the answer we want, but God answer is always right.
You are correct it’s become fast food, not the feast that feeds the soul.
I remember the first time I went to a Protestant service. It was like a rock concert. I was mystified. I felt like any minute people would whip out their bic lighters.
The best ever: Traditional Latin Mass. There is no doubt that it is 100% about God, and 0% about the people in attendance.