I have watched a troubling shift take place in churches across North America. Many pastors no longer see the careful, patient, week-after-week exposition of Scripture as the main task of Sunday worship. Instead of revering the inerrant, perfect, sufficient Holy Word of God, and opening the text and explaining what God has said, they are instead more concerned about creating an atmosphere. They craft an experience. They build a service that feels exciting, motivational, or emotionally charged. The fog machines warm up. The lighting shifts. The stage is prepared for a show. Everything, from the music (where they often play “atmospheric” and “moody” keyboard pads) to a message that either seems tailored to get their heart pumping, or they try to be “relevant” by having the theme of the messages be pop culture heroes, is geared towards exciting them. And somewhere beneath all of that noise, the Bible, the very spiritual bread of life, sadly sits closed.
Something tragic happens the moment a church decides that the Word of God is too slow, too demanding, or too heavy for the modern Christian. The people are left with spiritual junk food. It may taste good in the moment, but it cannot nourish the soul. It cannot anchor a man in suffering. It cannot convict him of sin. It cannot strengthen a weary believer who is trying to walk in holiness in a world filled with temptation.
Paul warned Timothy that a day would come when people would not tolerate sound doctrine. They would want teachers who scratch their itching ears. He said they would turn away from the truth and wander into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4). When a pastor refuses to exegete Scripture, he becomes exactly the kind of teacher Paul was warning about. He may not intend to be, but sincerity does not protect anyone from drifting into error.
This slide never happens overnight. It usually begins with a desire to be more relevant. Less Bible. More stories. Less doctrine. More life tips. Less clarity about sin. More encouragement. At first, it feels harmless. Then it becomes normal. Eventually, the people are trained to expect a service built on feelings instead of truth. They are inspired for an hour, but they remain unchanged.
Let me speak plainly. A pastor who will not exegete the Bible is not feeding his flock. He is entertaining them. He is giving them a spiritual high without giving them the only thing that can sustain them. He is sending men into battle without weapons. A sermon that avoids the text will never produce disciples who can stand firm, resist temptation, or lead their homes with conviction.
The church does not need better production value. The church needs shepherds who tremble at the Word of God. Men who open the Bible, read the passage, explain the meaning, apply it to the lives of the people, and do it again next week. Churches thrive when the Scriptures are opened, not when the stage is polished.
Some pastors fear that if they preach verse by verse and call their people to holiness, the crowds will shrink. Let them shrink. Jesus never adjusted His message to keep a crowd. Faithfulness has always been costly. A small congregation rooted in Scripture is far healthier than a large auditorium shaped by entertainment.
If you are drawn more to hype than holiness, ask God to reawaken you. If your family’s spiritual diet depends on a polished weekly performance, you will not be ready when storms come. You need truth. You need doctrine. You need the Word of God explained with clarity.
When the Bible is faithfully exegeted, marriages heal, addictions lose their grip, pride gets crushed, repentance becomes normal, worship becomes real, and Christ becomes precious. Entertainment can never accomplish that.
The church of Jesus Christ has always been built on the Word. If we want strength in our homes, conviction in our lives, and revival in our churches, we must return to the simple, old-fashioned, Spirit-powered task that God has used for two thousand years. Open the Bible. Explain what God has said. Trust the Spirit to work. And watch what He does when His Word is honored.
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