Don't like to sing in church

I don't like to sing in church...church singing drives me up a wall. I love Christian music and hymes but I don't like singing in church.

I think it goes back to high school when we had "line". It was where the whole school would gather together and be forced to say the pledge, read poems out loud, do our multiples, and sing little kid songs, sing a peace song, and finally do peace time (which was where we closed our eyes for about half a minute pretending to think about an assigned "peaceful thought"). I know it doesn't sound so bad but singing yankee-doodle and bingo at age 18 almost every other day and being forced to look happy about it was pure torture.

Also when I look at some of the singers faces it's like...um...weird...like they look soooo in to it to the point it almost looks fake or forced. I get worshiping God is an emotional experience but I don't like how some people look like they are putting on a show. And I say "looks like they are" because I don't know their heart. It's just I saw the same look on Mrs. Glennon's face whenever we sang our peace songs. *shudder*

Mrs. Glennon: *eyes intesnsly looking off in to the distance, mouth in a slight serious but somber downturn and her eyebrows sympathetic* Peeeeeeeeaaaaaace is the woooooorld smiiiiiliiiiing. Peeeeeeeace is a geeeentle dooove. Peace is sharing peace is caring peace is filling the world with love!

Would it be wrong of me to slip out after the offering because I don't want to sing or even look at the faces of the people who are singing? Does anyone else feel this way?

When I was young I felt the same, embarressed, self conscious etc.

Now I don't care anymore I just want to worship God and I'm not bothered what
others think. Having said that everyone around me is also worshipping God
and expressing their praise to him.

Better watch out if you sit next to me in church, i will be one of those bellowing
out at the top of my lungs with hands in the air, or silently sat down in prayer while
everyone else is standing. Depends what God is doing in my life.

Heck I used to DANCE in church but it just kinda stopped helping me...I don't really get anything out of it and I don't feel connected to God when I do it. I just feel annoyed and like I don't want to sing.

Pray the same prayer as I do before the church service - that God will cut out anything negative and that your one and only focus will be on Him and not your surroundings. Think of it less as singing and more of worship.

I don't think so, have you talked to your church leaders about not wanting to sing?

It's not about you, it about HIM. We worship God because He is worthy to be worshipped.

With that said, today's modern worship is not necessarily helpful! You're right in that many of today's worship leaders seemed forced.

Oddly enough, I JUST read a blog that a friend (and former student of mine) posted on her fb page about this very same phenomenon. Please read:

Why They Don’t Sing on Sunday Anymore | Holy Soup

And a blog by Keith Getty (of "In Christ Alone" fame).

Five Ways to Improve Congregational Singing | TGC

Just some food for thought.

I have the same trouble sometimes. It has nothing to do with worshiping God. It just isn't "my song" to Him. And I can really tune out when the song goes on and on and on and on and on and on. And on. With the same 5 words.

I've often wondered if the leaders just love the sound of their own voices. At which point I begin repenting of having a critical spirit.

What I tend to do is just stop and silently worship without words - more of a tuning into His presence. I use their singing more of a background for my own worship.

I would not worry about it. Be quiet or sing. This is your time with the Lord.

I can't sing worth a darned sock anyways so I just make a joyful NOISE unto the Lord regardless.

Sometimes I don't feel like the song being sung relates to me and my relationship with God, or sometimes a song will feel to self focused like "I this or I that" If anyone gets what I mean? So I tend to let the melody help me sing what's on my heart.

(Those are called 7/11 songs.... Songs with around 7 words, sung over and over again.... around 11 times.)

I hear you are making choices about your worship based on feelings. We must never do that. We don't always feel like praising God, but we come together to do so! He loves it when we do. Whenever I don;t particularly feel like singing or dancing beofre the Lord, I make the double effort to do it anyway, rather than give in to my flesh. In the end, I bless God with my being selfless toward God, and He, in turn, blesses and refreshes me---that mood dissipated!

Watching others and making judgments of their outward expressions while they are in wroship is not coming from the right frame of mind or heart. As you said, you don't know what is going on in them. Therefore, you must choose to believe that since they are worship leaders, they are well into what worship is all about and are enjoying their Lord. Please work on not inviting God's displeasure by looking upon them with any form of disdain.

All I know is that when I am worshiping God, I don't have the desire to look around at anyone else. It's all about Jesus!

This whole concept of being concerned with (or even noticing) others in the congregation is one of the reasons my wife and I sit up front.

Love ya, JF, but I feel all those bolded pronouns do bear some consideration.

I am much like you! We'll sing harmony together in the Kingdom! See you there!

I just have to worship God, it's part of who I am, I was born
to be a worshipper. It started when I was young and use to
try to play my school recorder at the front of the church at
christmas. Then played the guitar in the kids meetings.

Then in my late teens I learned how to play the flute and got
all the other teens who could play something together and
we played the music during another Christmas.

I also use to play the piano accordion at the front
of the church along with the pianist. Probably sounded
awful but I just had to do it, it was for God not for men.


Have also had a bash at the clarinet, oboe, piano, keyboard,

At some point I moved to a new church and started to feel
very self conscious as the OP mentioned. It
took me a little while to get over that. I think it was because
it was a bigger church and I knew very few people

Then in my early 30s I taught myself how to play the saxophone.
Then ended up playing in my current church in the worship
team for 10 years.

Sadly I have had to put that to one side for now to look after
my aunt. But praise and worship is part of me and it thrills
my heart to whole heartedly play and sing out to father God
even despite the duff notes!

One or two have mentioned their musicians and the way they
play sing etc. sometimes people lead the church in worship
for the wrong reasons but in my experience, if that is the case
they don't stay in the team for long.

Honestly most singers/musicians just want to worship God and
lead the church into worship. It's almost what they were
created for. I can't explain it, Jesus said even the rocks
would cry out his name. It's like that when you are playing
and singing whole heartedly.

ps if you don't know the words to
"holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty
who was and is and is to come" then
you might want to learn that one as
we will be singing a lot of that in heaven
and new songs!

Interesting. I have not heard anyone at church say they don't like to sing in church at all, but I've heard people say there is "too much" singing in church.

Don't like singing (worshiping God through hymns) in church?

What's next on the agenda?

Don't like praying (worshiping God through conversations with Him) in church?

Don't like preaching (worshiping God through the teaching of His Word) in church?

Well, at least you stay for the collection of tithes............uh, well, hmm, DO you tithe?



I suggest all here read Psalms 150. Great Psalms of rejoicing.

Don't forget the bread and wine (well actually its ribena and crackers in our church )

Where I'm at it is real wine and some funny stuff they say is bread.