If you were in need of a new church home, I wonder what would be the qualities of the church that you would want for your home church? Or do you just walk into a church and feel at home and decide to join it? Do you even think that going down the isle and putting your name on a church roll is important? Or do you think it is enough that we are members of the church if we are believers? I have heard that several times in some denominations.
I was Methodist growing up and then switched to Baptist when I was around 17 years old. I don't remember putting a lot of thought into it when I switched. Nor did I think it would necessarily be a life time decision. I was working at a clothing store called J.Branum, which at the time was going out of business. A friend of mine went to Champion Forest Baptist down the road from the church. So, after work I would drive down FM 1960 to where the church was and go to the evening service. I really didn't think it was that big of a deal at the time.
I joined primarily because that was where I was consistently growing and learning about my faith that summer. I enjoyed the sermons. Pastor Shook, whose son now preaches in the Woodlands, was a really grounded and good man. Though I did feel a little lost in the mass of people there every Sunday. It was almost like a lot of little churches in one. Then, in seminary, I going Wedgwood Baptist Church in Ft.Worth and worked with the youth and eventually was Sunday School Director there. Despite that, there was a lot of time I did not feel very connected in some ways to the church, like something was missing.
Now, I feel like I should probably get back into the church, but don't know where to start looking. I have really had some bad experiences with the church. It seems to me that there is a lot of judgmental attitudes in the church that should not be there. There is a lot of hypocrisy which makes me wonder what Jesus would think of his church today. It also makes me wonder how many real christians there are in the church. There is a parable that Jesus told called the "Tares and the Wheat". I think I may have mentioned it on this blog better. I talks about the tares growing with the wheat until the end time when God will separate them. This is the church today. Both look the same at one stages of their growth, but eventually one grows and matures and the other does not. How many christians do you know who claim to be believers, have prayed some kind of prayer, but have no fruit in their lives?
That brings me to another point which I will leave for another post about the salvation prayer and the Lordship of Jesus.
So, what is important about a church that would make you consider joining? Theology, music, children's program, friendliness, size? What do you think?
