How To Choose a Church (The Two Non-Negotiables)
How do you choose a church? I don't know what it's like where you live, but I happen to make my home in a city in Southern California where there's a Christian church on practically every street corner.
Whether you want a big church or a small church, one with a band or one with a choir, one that meets in the morning or one that meets at lunchtime (so you can sleep in), you'll find plenty to pick from.
Although this is a blessing, having so many options can also be overwhelming. And it makes it necessary to know something about how to choose a church.
Even if you live in an area where your options are more limited, you'll still need to know how to evaluate the church you're considering getting involved with.
Charles Spurgeon, the "Prince of Preachers", once said on the subject of how to choose a church:
"If I had never joined a church till I had found one that was perfect, I should never have joined one at all; and the moment I did join it, if I had found one, I should have spoiled it, for it would not have been a perfect church after I had become a member of it."
What Spurgeon was getting at is that churches are made up of people, and because people are flawed, there's no such thing as a perfect church.
Maybe we would be wise to remind ourselves of this every now and then to keep our expectations in check.
Church shopping shouldn't be about trying to find a place that meets every one of our personal wants: a charismatic pastor, a fun youth group, easy parking, comfortable pews, and fresh coffee at morning services.
It's not that our wants shouldn't be taken into consideration at all when choosing a church. Still, it's better to look at them as added perks if they happen to be there rather than necessities (except for the coffee: that one's a non-negotiable). ;-)
The style of worship music, building architecture, whether congregants wear tees or ties, the mode of baptism, how often the Lord's Supper is administered, the structure of church governance, the leadership's view of eschatology...
Those are some "non-essentials" of the Christian faith. Although non-essentials are frequently debated and can cause conflict in the church, the reality is that if you and I don't see eye to eye on them, it doesn't make either of us a heretic. Which doesn't mean that non-essentials are insignificant, but we can disagree on them and still be sisters and brothers in the faith!
That said, there are some marks of a healthy church that you and I need to be familiar with when deciding on a place of worship.
I like to think of it as two pillars that hold up the church. They are TRUTH and LOVE. If these two pillars aren’t in place, it’s only a matter of time before the church crumbles.
Truth, according to the Bible, is so critical that we’re commanded to think about it (Philippians 4:8); live by it (John 3:21), and worship God according to it (John 4:24).
What’s more, the Bible says the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth (John 15:26); that Jesus is full of truth (John 1:14); in fact, He is the truth (John 14:6), and that the truth is going to set us free (John 8:32)!
God’s Word is truth, declares John 17:17. A church which is committed to truth, then, will faithfully proclaim the whole of Scripture. It won’t shy away from teaching on certain subjects, even if the subjects are unpopular or controversial.
This church will also hold to all the essential doctrines of Scripture—that which Christians have historically always taught and believed.
Some of these doctrines are that Jesus was both fully God and fully human; He was born of a virgin; He rose from the dead on the third day; all humans have sinned and fallen short of God’s standard of perfection; salvation is by grace through faith alone.
When a church is devoted to the truth, it will be carrying out Jesus’ instructions as taught in the Bible. Among other things, it will be committed to prayer, fellowship, evangelism, caring for the poor and needy, discipling younger believers, and exercising spiritual accountability and church discipline.
The second, but no less important, pillar is LOVE. Love must be present in the church in practical and tangible ways. In fact, it must be observable through our actions, says 1 John 3:18.
Love, like truth, should permeate every aspect of our lives. We are to love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19); love comes from God (1 John 4:7). Love is proof of Christian discipleship (John 13:35); we are to love even our enemies (Matthew 5:44); love "is the perfect bond of unity" (Colossians 3:14); everything we do is to be done in love (1 Corinthians 16:14); without love, everything becomes meaningless (1 Corinthians 13: 1-3)!
Think about it: if love isn't present in a church, how can GOD be present? The Bible teaches that God IS love (1 John 4:8)!
If you and I are to resemble Jesus to one another and the watching world, we need both truth and love. As the late theologian Warren Wiersbe put it, "Truth without love is brutality and love without truth is hypocrisy."
So, the answer to the question, how do you choose a church? isn't terribly complicated, in my opinion.
1 John 3:18 summarizes the Christian's calling plainly and practically: "Love others in truth."
Yes, that's really it. If we can try not to major in the minors—that is, in preferences and non-essentials—and instead actively pray for and look for a body of believers committed to loving others in truth, then I think we'll be on our way…
I believe God will then lead us to where He wants us: a church where we'll be blessed to be a blessing and where the name of Jesus is glorified above all.
L.B.
Have you ever felt frustrated about how to choose a church? How did you end up in the “right” place…or did you? Please share in the comments section below!
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