The Religious Nerd

I’m currently in the market for a new church.  Google maps presents more than 20 churches within a 5 mile radius of my house.  Lutheran, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Baptist, Assemblies of God, Nazarene, Mennonite, and Non-Denomination.  Those are just the “Christian” churches.  I have also seen a LDS building (Mormon) and a Kingdom Hall (Jehovah’s Witnesses).  In all likelihood there are probably more (discrete) worship places for Muslims, Jews, and those who are members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster hiding around town too!

But with so many different choices available how the heck do you make a decision? Obviously there are standards for weeding down the list.  A Roman Catholic probably wouldn’t attend a Protestant church because of obvious doctrinal differences.   A Baptist probably wouldn’t attend a Pentecostal church, and so on. There really isn’t anything to be said about that other than it is what it is, and the “us” versus “them” (denomination debate) isn’t what I’m writing about in this article anyway.  So don’t click out of the post just yet, I’m not going to try to convert you to Calvinism or refer you to my church (I currently don’t have one).

Why am I shopping for a church? It isn’t because I’m fed up with my old church, or that I left on bad terms.  It isn’t because I had a list of unresolved grievances with the pastor.  It isn’t because I was disappointed with my experience there. I left because I moved further away from the church, and it doesn’t make sense to me to have to drive 30 – 45 – 60+ minutes to go to church when there are 20+ churches located within 5 miles of my house. You may be perfectly happy driving over an hour to go to church and that is perfectly fine. I’m not trying to convince you to leave.  I’m merely explaining why I choose to look for a new church.

During your lifetime, you have probably had to switch churches at times and will probably have to switch churches as you grow older too.  Whether you left because of relocation, a switch in doctrinal views, or something else, you have likely attended different churches during different periods of your life.  On a side note – for 12 hilarious reasons people find a new church click HERE

#8. There is a special Thursday service where the pastor is used as a (verbal?) punching bag, you overhear the women’s prayer group say this is, by far, their favorite service.

Choosing a church can be a difficult task, especially when you have fond memories and affection for a church from your past.  No two churches will be the same either.  Preacher A will always be different than preacher B.  The music at one church will be different than the music at the other church (this is even true at multisite).  The people will all be different too, different personalities, different gifts, different cliques, etc.

It’s absolutely critical that you have realistic expectations during your church choosing process.  So many people skip church all together because they can’t find the perfect one. The music is too loud or too soft.  The preacher doesn’t wear a suit and tie (or does!). There is a band instead of a choir.  The list goes on and on, and people simply get caught up in these insignificant things and don’t go to church at all.  I wrote about those people HERE.  When you come to the realization that the local church does not exist to fulfill your every desire, but instead exists to please and worship Jesus, you will get past the trivial grievances over trivial things (like the color of tie the pastor is wearing).

There are however some critically important guidelines you should consider before choosing a church.  Don’t just choose the Pentecostal church in your town because you were raised Pentecostal.  For all you know, the minister might be leading people straight into hell. People may not be getting fed, and instead are being misled.

Instead, consider the following 5 points to make sure you are getting the most bang for your buck in your church choice:

1) Choose a church that has solid biblical preaching.   Biblical preaching is the crown jewel of the local church.  If it takes the pastor 30+ minutes to reference the bible in his sermon, you aren’t listening to biblical preaching, you are listening to public speaking. Countless people have reported how beneficial it has been for them to sit under solid biblical preaching. Many of those same people have reported instances throughout their life when they attended a church that did not preach God’s Word. The Word of God changes lives.  While your pastors personal stories are interesting, and they do serve a purpose, the purpose they serve should revolve around the Scriptures.  If the pastor doesn’t preach the Word (2 Tim 4:2) don’t choose that church!  If you want to grow in your walk with the Lord, get under some solid biblical preaching immediately.  If you want to sit at the same place for the rest of your life (or go backwards) choose a church where the pastor entertains you with quirky stories that lack biblical truth.

2) Choose a church that helps those who are in need.  There are countless people who are in need both inside and outside of the local church.  Countless Christian marriages are on the verge of collapse.  People are contemplating suicide.  Christians are struggling with sin and feel hopelessly lost.  Children are going to bed hungry because of their parents decisions.  People can’t make it a day without getting their fix. There is so much negative in the world and people are hurting. This is where the local church shines best. Choose a church that functions as a beacon of hope for the local community.  Don’t choose a church that has no interest in helping those who are in need or hurting.

3) Choose a church that works hard at fulfilling the Great Commission.  What is the Great Commission?

“19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20

Christians are commanded to make more disciples of “all nations”.  In a practical sense this means sharing our faith both in our local community and abroad.  Choose a church that works diligently at spreading the Gospel message wherever it can.  Don’t choose a church that only cares about pleasing the folks who already attend and have money to give each week.  Don’t choose a church that doesn’t have a heart for the lost.

4) Choose a church that has an emphasis on discipleship.  A disciple is a follower of Jesus Christ, and the practice of discipleship is the practice of helping the Christian follow Jesus more closely.  Jesus said “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” Matthew 16:24. Choose a church that encourages you (and equips you – Ephesians 4:12)  to follow Jesus. Don’t choose a church that encourages you to follow someone or something other than Jesus, such as money, a charismatic personality, etc.

5) Choose a church that worships Jesus.  Believe it or not there are a lot of churches out there that put all of their effort into things like doing good works, (secondary) theological doctrines, traditions, and politics. These things become obsessions for church people and are really insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Countless people end up leaving these churches feeling rejected, burnt out, and annoyed. Very few people leave a church where Jesus is exalted and magnified feeling rejected, burnt out, and annoyed.  Jesus worshiping churches have a beauty to them that is contagious.

These are the primary things I have in mind right now while I’m in the market for a new church.  Don’t forget, once you make your choice, get involved and help your church accomplish all of these things!