Expert: Hoyt Roberson - 5/11/2011

Question
QUESTION: Hi...I've recently moved to a new state and am trying to find a church. I had only started attending church at my previous home about 4 months before I moved. So, am wondering how to go about finding one that is the 'right' one without having a ton of knowledge about what goes into making a church desirable. I am not looking for the one that appears more likable...I want the one that preaches what is right.

Thank you for your answer.

ANSWER: Hello, Shannon,

The answer to you question depends largely on what you think "right" is. There are any number of variations of churches - even among Churches of Christ. There are highly conservative to highly progressive; there are those who see one version of "the end times" and others who see a completely different version. And so, "right" is highly individually defined.

We do ourselves a disservice when we reduce church to what they preach because church is much more about the people, their commitment to God, and their acceptance and support of one another. Church is more about the life that is there than what they may or may not do on any given Sunday. If a church preaches everything correctly, it becomes irrelevant if the people there don't live into that preaching outside the building.

We can make choosing a church highly difficult if our list of "musts" is very long; if every aspect of church life is seen as a mandatory requirement. I recommend a rather short list of "musts," and then choose a group of Christians that seem to be living The Calling Monday through Saturday. Church isn't supposed to make us miserable or confine us to various "rules." Church is to support the freedom we have in Christ and make living the enjoyable endeavor God intended it to be.

There is some self-denial that goes into choosing a church family because we must be prepared to live with them even if not everything is to our liking; and because my participation in their life is more about serving them than what I may be able to get out of being there. That's why we have such broad freedom in Christ - so that we are free to serve others without bickering over little (or even what some would consider large) issues. If I have to be worried about being "right" in every detail, I will spend my time making sure I'm right instead of giving to others.

So, to select a congregation, look for places that seem to have people - including the preacher and elders - who live their lives in accordance with Galatians chapter 5. Then, make a list of your "musts." If the list is more than about five, whittle it down to the absolute "musts." Use your list to cull your initial list down to congregations that both live the Life, and which have your musts. Any congregation on the final list will do. Make your final decision by deciding which congregation fits you. It's OK to visit for a couple months if you'd like, but the once you make a decision, consider that you will then "throw all in" with that group of people.

If you'd like to discuss specific "musts," I'd be happy to do that as well.

Blessings,

Hoyt

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for that response...will be reading Galatians tonight. The 'right' way I guess is following the scripture. I am more conservative than not. I have attended a couple of churches in the area, and they are just different than what I'm used to. So, makes it harder to know if what they are teaching is correct. I am low maintenance when it comes to the little stuff or what they provide (or don't), only wanting to be guided in the right direction. So, my first must is according to scripture. My second must is an involved fellowship (church activities, bible studies, etc). Any others you suggest?

Thanks again.

Answer
You're welcome.

"Following Scripture" is an interesting concept. As I said, there are variations of Churches of Christ and all of them will tell you that they are following Scripture. In fact, most denominations will say that.

My conclusions about what Scripture says depends a great deal on what I was taught, how I interpret the context of a particular passage, and my understanding over all of the thrust of Scripture. So, it isn't always cut and dried.

For instance, an elder is said to have to be "the husband of one wife." At first blush, that seems straight forward enough. However, the underlying text means "a one woman man." Is this describing a requirement for a current relationship, or is it describing the current character of the man - is an elder to be a one woman sort of guy (regardless of whether he's currently married, or even if he's been married three times before)? Churches of Christ differ on this answer and they will all say that they are following Scripture.

A broader question involves whether Scripture is 1) describing rules for church, or 2) illustrating God's intent in the world? If the former, then we read Scripture in one way. If the latter, our conclusions about particular passages must only fit the what we understand God's ultimate purpose to be. In another way of saying this, does Scripture describe the rules for an institution or does it describe the desired character of transformed people? While it may do both in some cases, our answer to this question will greatly influence how we understand and apply various passages of Scripture.

If it were me, I would use the order that I provided in my first response - do the people there seem to be living the Life we are called to live? Are they the kinds of people who want to be, and are being transformed into the likeness of God?

Here is my list of "musts," your mileage may vary.....

Do they worship (only) God?
Do they teach, encourage, and expect their members to yield their lives to the transforming work of God?
Are their members known in the community as good, generous, and caring people?

You'll see these are different than "rules for church." That's because my view of Scripture is that God has always wanted people to live in His character rather than getting "church" right. My rules for church are also limited and don't look anything like what we normally hear in sermons:

You must only worship God
You must not do anything in church that is sin in and of itself
You must conduct yourselves so that your collective behaviors tend to encourage and inspire (and admonish toward) God-character living
You must conduct yourselves so as to avoid causing outsiders to denigrate the faith

These seem to be what concerns the Biblical writers.

In Scripture there are examples which I think are good examples to follow and I might use them to down select a congregation:

A plurality of elders who really do have the responsibility for the spiritual development and maturing of the congregation. Who lead the congregation.
Weekly communion.
Baptism.
Teaching that the Spirit is in and with believers.
Acapella singing.
A lack of defined, official clergy.

All of the above would be part of my considerations, but my "musts" would be limited to those I listed earlier.

Blessings