I have a real problem. I am very fearful of doing things at church eg. reading, exalting, etc. Here is the real problem: if I know that I am going to do something at church or called on without knowing, I do not go church. Honestly, I do not want to be like this. In my heart, I want to serve God and not be ashamed. How can I get through this? I need help.<\/p>\n\t
The only way to conquer fears is to face them. So long as you continue to let your imagination tell you how horrible it is to stand before others, you’ll find the fears overwhelming. Only by experiencing the fact that things aren’t as bad as you thought will you convince yourself to continue trying.<\/p>\n
Congregations can help a lot in this area. Have people take turns reading passages from the Bible, being one of a number doing this makes you realize it isn’t so bad — and you can do it from your own seat. Have prayers offered up in smaller groups by those who don’t often participate? Have singings at someone’s home and invite each man to lead a song. Have men come to help with the Lord’s Supper, but don’t expect them to lead a prayer at first. In other words, have opportunities to start small and build up confidence.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I have a real problem. I am very fearful of doing things at church eg. reading, exalting, etc. Here is the real problem: if I know that I am going to do something at church or called on without knowing, I do not go church. Honestly, I do not want to be like this.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[352,84],"class_list":["post-29076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-fear","tag-worship"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":46284,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-handle-my-contributions-when-i-rotate-between-three-congregations\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":0},"title":"How do I handle my contributions when I rotate between three congregations?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Greetings, I have a question regarding the weekly contribution (I Corinthians 16:1-2). In my city, there are three local churches of Christ that I attend regularly. Normally I'll attend one on a certain week, the next on the following week, and the third the week after that. And then\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-my-dad-to-see-that-his-church-isnt-good-enough\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":1},"title":"How do I get my dad to see that his church isn’t good enough?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a problem I have been dealing with my father, and he simply does not understand. For many years we've been going to this small church. The people are nice. I would describe the church as traditional because it is Baptist. The majority of people who like to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":93053,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-know-you-are-in-the-right-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":2},"title":"How do you know you are in the right church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello there, I am getting on here as I have many questions about God, the church, salvation, and the Bible. I was baptized into Christ just over a year ago, and while I understand that Jesus built one church and when I was baptized the Lord added me to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38151,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-am-simply-amazed-learning-about-the-churches-of-christ-and-their-strong-bible-teaching\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":3},"title":"I am simply amazed learning about the churches of Christ and their strong Bible teaching","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I\u00a0really appreciate your website! I have been reading so much on the Internet about the churches of Christ. I am simply amazed! The churches I grew up with, their way of doing things, are quickly being changed or given up on completely. Where have I been? Strong Bible teaching\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24866,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-finding-flaws-in-my-denomination-and-i-dont-know-what-to-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":4},"title":"I’m finding flaws in my denomination and I don’t know what to do","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 30, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello. As a fellow believer of the true gospel, I thought I'd ask you for some personal advice. I apologize if this gets a little long. This is a problem I haven't been able to receive any real help with and had to battle by myself for years, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10839,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-have-ocd-religion-and-obsess-over-bad-thoughts-is-there-anything-you-can-do-to-help-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":29076,"position":5},"title":"I have OCD-Religion and obsess over bad thoughts. Is there anything you can do to help me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a serious and tormenting question. I am a member of the church of Christ and have been for a while. Four years ago I was diagnosed with OCD-religion. This is a mental illness which produces unwanted and intrusive bad thoughts. 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