20 MANNERS TO AVOID IN CHURCH – By Bola Adewara

Fellow Christian, to remain steady in your Christian race, there are some manners you should avoid in Church, particularly during service or wherever people meet in Jesus’ name. These are moral standards expected of all believers. 

1. Know the doctrines of your Church. If just one of the many doctrines is not agreeable to you, leave the Church. It is needless to be in a Church and start contending with the leaders over doctrines that have been in place probably before you were born.
2. Regular lateness to Church services and meetings proves that your love for the Kingdom has grown cold. You don’t go to your office late. Going to Church late smacks of disrespect for God.
3. Don’t be in the opposite. Sitting down while others are standing without any medical or health reasons marks you out easily as a renegade, odd and non-spiritual.
4. Facebooking, whatsapping, selfies, receiving/making calls, fiddling with your phone during Church service show you are unruly. Switch off your phones or put them on silence once you enter the Church.
5. Respect the ushers and the sitting arrangement. The respect you accord the pastor should be accorded to them. Ushering is a ministry. Ushers are ministers of God.
6. Watch your manners: Chewing gum in Church is a rude behaviour!
7. Stop focusing on the clock or your wristwatch during service insinuating the Church is wasting your time. Please walk quietly out of the Church if you must go.
8. Sleeping during service is unruly. If you are on drugs that would make you sleep, it is better you stay at home rather than being a bad example to others.
9. The habits of leaving the Church before official closure has a way of making other congregants feel they are wasting precious time in Church. Stay in Church till it closes. Organised Church should have opening and closing time so members could plan their time.
10. Don’t be a loner in the Church. Learn how to greet others. Be prepared to introduce yourself and what you do to others. Wear a smile. Frowning gives a negative image of an unfriendly person.
11. Be respectful to every member. Using sir/ma even for a younger person will not diminish your status. Your next step in life might depend on that Church member you often disregard.
12. Have respect for the service period. Talking when the service in on is rude. Gathering outside the Church to gossip, discuss football, politics, etc, whilst service is on is a great disrespect to God. Stop treating God as a man who could be treated anyhow.
13. Don’t hurt people and don’t be easily offended in Church. Don’t be easily distracted. Remember that the Church is still a gathering of human beings, not angels. Put on your best maturity in dismissing negative things you see around you and focus on your prayers.
14. It is not polite to “save” seats for friends/family when they are not there and people are searching for where to sit. Once the service has started, or even a few minutes before, all bets are off.
15. Avoid going out to use the restroom in the middle of the sermon. Most preachers think you don’t like the message. Besides, it distracts attention of others. Ensure you do all the necessities before the sermon starts. If you are on drug that would take you to the restroom frequently, stay at home or discuss with the ushers to get you a seat where you will not be disturbing people. Going in and out of the pew could be distasteful to people seated around you.
16. For Churches with Cry Rooms, the room is offered for nursing mothers so that crying babies would not disturb the service. If you are not a nursing mother, don’t go there to gossip. For Churches without Cry Rooms, if your child starts to cry, take them out on time before heads start turning. Don’t spend too much time consoling a screaming child. Congregation around you would miss the message.
17. Women, please, don’t dress lousily, revealing sensitive areas of your bodies in Church. Realise that not all men are mature enough to keep their eyes and minds off the sensitive areas of women. Men, if any woman is distracting your attention, relocate your seat and call your minds to attention.
18. You are a gele (head tie) freak, you like wearing big hats, that is beautiful but don’t obstructs someone’s view with it by sitting on the front. Sit in the back.
19. When you use the restroom, keep it in good condition you met it. Remember that in so many Churches, members of the Sanitary Department take care of the rooms. Not many people in Church find it easy to be in such departments. Don’t make their work for God difficult.
20. After every Sunday, ask yourself: what did I gain in Church today? Did I really go to Church? Have I been fed in Church today or I went to attend a social gathering?