Why Our Christianity Feels Dull

If you’ve been a Christian for more than about 15 minutes, you’ve probably had this thought: “I prayed… and nothing happened.” And honestly, most believers I meet—good people, faithful people—feel this low-grade disappointment simmering under the surface. We say all the right things about faith, prayer, God’s power… but if we’re honest? A whole lot of us experience Christianity as painfully dull and strangely powerless.

And that should bother us.

I’m not talking about emotional hype or Christian entertainment. I’m talking about the simple fact that the Christianity many of us inherited feels like a dusty museum version of the faith that turned the world upside down in the first century. The average Western Christian knows how to attend services, follow the rules, and maybe toss out a “God’s got this,” but actually walking in authority? Actually seeing God move? Experiencing something deeper than moral niceness and church clothes?

Yeah… not so much.

And people feel that. Inside the church, outside the church, all around it.

Let’s just call it what it is: a lot of us are living a dull version of Christianity.

There. I said it.

The Power Problem We Struggle to Admit

Whenever I talk about this, somebody jumps in with, “But miracles do happen!” Yep. They do. But can we also admit that plenty of what gets labeled as a “miracle” today is either coincidence, adrenaline, emotional hype, or, in the worst cases, manipulative garbage?

Scripture warned us about fake miracles. Simon the Sorcerer (Acts 8) built an entire career out of looking spiritual without actually being submitted to God’s authority. So it shouldn’t shock anyone that the same garbage pops up now with bigger stages, flashing lights, fog machines, hype up and better sound systems.

I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about real God-given authority—the kind that actually heals people at the soul level, the kind that brings life instead of spectacle.

And if we’re honest… most of us don’t walk in it.

We carry around a cross necklace like it’s spiritual jewelry or some kind of good luck charm, while ignoring what that cross means. We say we follow Jesus, but most of our daily lives look like we’re following the Christian crowd instead. We “believe” in God’s power but don’t actually expect it. And then we wonder why our faith feels flat and why the world isn’t remotely interested in the version of Christianity we’re tossing out there.

The Christianity We Display Isn’t the Christianity Jesus Gave

Look, people aren’t necessarily rejecting Jesus. They’re rejecting the tame, dull, powerless, cultural-Christianity version of Him that we've been offering.

As Rob Reimer put it, people haven’t rejected Christianity itself—they’ve rejected the version they were presented.

And honestly? Fair.

Because what Western Christianity often showcases is:

• rule-following without relationship

• morality without transformation

• Bible reading without submission

• church attendance without Spiritual Authority

• “faith” that never risks anything

• discipleship that never goes beyond niceness

• “God loves you” without any actual life being poured out

No wonder people look at Christians and think, “I’m good. I have more life, more joy, and more purpose doing what I’m doing than whatever you’re doing.”

That should wake us up.

The Early Church Had Something We May Have Lost

In the first few centuries, Christians lived with a kind of authority and courage that made people stop and take notice. These were believers who didn’t just quote Scripture—they carried it. They spoke truth with power, and they loved people with conviction. Persecution didn’t silence them; it clarified them.

Today? We’re scared to pray out loud at Applebee’s because someone at the next table might snicker at us.

We’re living in a society that looks almost identical to first-century Corinth—hedonism with Wi-Fi. And yet, instead of the gospel spreading like wildfire, people shrug at it. Why? Because when Jesus showed up, or when the early Christians showed up, power and love showed up with them. Their lives proved the message.

We’ve tried to replace that with branding, fog machines, and sermon series graphics. And it's not all bad… but it is missing depth.

The Real Issue Isn’t Culture Wars. It’s Our Soul.

Here’s the tough reality: the dullness we feel on the outside comes from dullness on the inside. Not in the sense of being “bad Christians,” but in the sense of being unhealed Christians.

We want authority without intimacy.
We want power without surrender.
We want miracles without repentance.
We want transformation without letting God touch the painful parts of our soul.

But Jesus didn’t come just to make us nice. He came to make us new. And people made don’t walk around bored with their faith.

This Isn’t Hopelessness. It’s an Invitation.

The fact that you feel the dullness might actually be a good thing. It means you know there’s more.

God didn’t rescue you from darkness just to drop you into a life of moral rule-following, spiritual numbness, and Sunday morning routines. He saved you for something alive, beautiful, dangerous, and authority-filled.

If Christianity feels dull, it’s not because Jesus is dull.
It’s because we’ve settled.

Post 2 on this? We’re going after how to get back what we’ve lost. I don't want to bag on us (myself included) without thinking about solutions.

Stay tuned, friend. We’re just getting started.