We've Confused The Soulish with the Spiritual by Michael Catt

I’m an emotional person. I cry at movies or when I hear great stories. That’s okay. Most men are too cold and refuse to cry. Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. If Jesus wept, I can weep. I just need to make sure I’m weeping over things that matter. I need to weep over my sin more than I weep over things that won’t last one minute into eternity.

Because we no longer have a Christian worldview in our land, we have lost our spiritual moorings. We are soulish, but not spiritual.

If it’s a sermon series I like, I’ll make sure I’m there. But, if the preacher is talking about giving, I’m going to the beach to spend money on myself.

If the music is the style I like, I’ll lift my hands. But, if the music doesn’t turn me on, I’ll fold my arms and complain it was too loud.

Soulish churches don’t pray; they just look for their emotions to be stirred. Soulish is looking for a feeling instead of a filling of the Spirit.

A lack of loyalty to a church can be evidence of a soulish believer, while the man or woman of God who is in a deep walk with Him is not easily offended. Soulish people are fickle; spiritual people are faithful. The faithful understand that to reach the world with the Great Commission, it’s not about us or what we like.

Few think through the fact that the church is not, nor has it ever been, about us. It’s about the glory of God and the expansion of the gospel. It’s biblical and spiritual to become “all things to all men that we might win a few.” It doesn’t mean watering down sin; it means reaching people where they are. The world is messy. Life is messy. A spiritually minded church is attractive to messy people who find a safe haven to learn what it means to follow Christ.

Worship can be soulish. There are many songs that may have a great rhythm, but they aren’t theologically accurate. There are even songs in hymnals that aren’t spiritual. To be honest, I’ve preached enough camps and conferences to know that jumping up and down and raising your hands is no sign of connecting with the Almighty. It’s not how high you jump on Sunday – it’s how straight you walk during the week. We are far more concerned in our Christian subculture with emotions and energy than exegesis and exposition. Examine your worship and walk by the Word, not by your feelings.