Getting Away From Performance Oriented Service

I'm tired of religion, actually I'm sick of religion. Not religion in the definition that James gave in James 1:27, but the religious rhetoric that fills our Church's, and sadly consumes our worship experience. I'm tired of going through the motions, of watching a good performance, but not feeling His touch behind all the high energy moves and lyrics. I'm tired of listening to the same 'Christianized pep rallies' that takes place in our churches. Basically I hate religion that robs God of His rightful place, because we're too good trying to sound like we're more spiritual than we are and hoping to get an 'amen' or a hand clap from the crowd. We're so caught up in trying to move the crowd so we can say we've had a great service, rather than just entertain Him and let Him do the moving and shaking, I think God is well capable of doing such a task without any help from us. We have too many pharisee minded ministers in the pulpit, you know them, the ones Jesus said in Matt 23:5-7 "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi." Our church motto is 'Real, Relevant, and Refreshing'. We're not perfect by any means but I can see in leadership and within the congregation that we strive to live by that. And this year, the year of shifting, of digging the old wells as our Pastor has been teaching, I plan on getting away from performance oriented service, doing things to catch others attention, doing things because everyone else is doing it. I plan on dancing when no one else dances. I plan on raising my hands when nobody else does, I plan on swimming in the reservoir of His presence when everyone else would rather soak in the hot tub of spiritual laziness! I've got some old wells that I need to redig and when I do I'm going to soak up the refreshing water of His presence like a sun dried sponge on hot asphalt! Yes I'm getting away from performance oriented service and that my friends is the reality of it!