Finding a church that you can call home

Although you may understand the need to go to church, you may run into barriers to actually finding a church that you want to join. Perhaps the church you attend is so large that it’s hard to feel accepted or needed. Maybe the service is so dry that you feel like you get a windburn every time you enter the church doors. Or perhaps your hypocritical neighbor goes there and speaks about how godly his life is, making you want to have one of those bags handy that you find in the backs of plane seats.

On the one hand, it’s important to remember that no church is perfect. Although the Church is the Body of Christ, it also is filled with sinners. So you’re always going to come up with an excuse as to why you shouldn’t go to a particular church (except the church I attend, of course, which may be the only perfect church out there). In spite of that, it’s important to find a good church that you feel at home in.

Some tips to keep in mind as you look for a church home are

Know where you stand. As you read through this book, you see that Christians have many differences of opinion on certain aspects of the faith. The most obvious ones are those differences between Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians. Therefore, as you begin to better understand these issues, you need to come to a personal decision on which strand of the Christian faith best expresses what you believe is true.

Be wary of labels. If you read the Introduction to this book, you know that Christian churches have an amazing number of different names. And if you try to understand all the subtle differences among them, your mind will quickly turn to mush. For example, do you think the average churchgoer knows the differences between the Christian Reformed Church, the Orthodox Christian Reformed Church, the United Reformed Church, and the Reformed Church of the United States? No way, Hosea. In fact, I think you’d have to go to “reformed” school just to figure that out!

Moreover, even if you got a PhD in Christian Labelology, sometimes the label of an individual church is quite misleading. For example, the beliefs of a United Methodist church in Indiana may be altogether different from the beliefs of a United Methodist church in Massachusetts. Or, take Catholic churches – most are traditional Catholic, but some are more evangelical in nature, and some are even charismatic. Further, Vineyard churches vary wildly in their worship approach. Some are heavy-duty charismatic churches, yet others are mainstream evangelical. (For more on what the terms charismatic and evangelical mean, see Chapter 11.)

Therefore, although a label is often a good guideline, never assume. Make sure you check out the particular church in question.

Dive into the doctrine of the church. Although it’s easy to assume that all Christian churches are basically the same, just as with worship styles, that’s unfortunately not the case. As you decide on a church to attend, be sure to check into the church’s doctrine (what the church actually teaches and believes apart from any denominational label they may have outside the door). Ask a church leader for the church’s confession of faith (also called a catechism or statement of faith), which is usually available in printed form, and inquire as to how much the church pays attention to it. You can also check out the church’s Web site, as more and more churches are providing a listing of core beliefs easily accessible via the Internet.

If you’re concerned about finding a church that adheres to “mere Christianity,” two of the most important ideas to pay attention to are

View of the Bible: Does the church consider the Bible to be the inspired, authoritative Word of God? Some churches hold to the inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, but others don’t consider the Bible to be God’s perfect truth (see Chapter 6).

View of Jesus Christ: Does the church believe Jesus was simply a good moral teacher or does it say he was literally God in the flesh? Although Jesus’ divinity is a basic foundation of biblical Christianity, a few churches consider themselves Christian that don’t hold to that perspective. (See Chapters 5 and 7 for more on Jesus Christ.)

If you seek a biblical, historical Christian faith, then these two issues are key factors in your overall decision-making process. In other words, make sure the church that you attend considers the Bible the complete, final, and authoritative written Word of God and considers Jesus both fully God and fully man. Biblical Christianity falls apart at the seams when these doctrines are compromised.

Be in synch with the worship style. As I discuss in Chapter 12, churches today have a wide variety of worship and music styles. Some churches are throwbacks to the first-century Church, others are very ceremonial, a growing number of churches are contemporary, and a few have services that resemble a professional performance – complete with a rock band with electric guitars, drums, and a synthesizer. Make sure that you can worship and give honor to the Lord with whatever worship style that the church features.

Make sure you’re challenged. I’ve been in churches where the preaching was as bland as leftover white bread or a “feel good” message pumped up the congregation. However, neither of these, on a consistent basis, satisfies the desire in a person’s heart to be fed spiritually. Therefore, make sure that you believe you’re challenged by the teaching at the church, whether that’s during the main weekly service, a Bible study, or Sunday school. When other Christians regularly challenge you and push you to dive deeper, you grow in your faith.

Get a sense of the church’s spirit. When you walk through the doors of a church, you often get a good feel for whether the congregation as a whole is earnestly seeking to love God and to serve him. Regardless of whether a church has a liturgical or contemporary worship style, you should sense whether the church is “alive” or whether it’s simply going through the motions. You can usually get a strong sense of the church’s spirit just by observing how people are worshiping or listening to the minister. Also, when you enter and exit the church, pay attention to whether the church has a spirit of outgoing friendliness or whether people keep to themselves. Finally, look at whether or not the church has a strong missions and outreach program to live out Christ’s command of the Great Commission (see Chapter 19).

Visit multiple times. Unless you discover a major red flag in the church’s beliefs or teachings, don’t try to make your decision in one or two visits. You should generally attend at least six times to get a good understanding of what the church is like.