What do you look for in a church?

[Carbon]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

What would make you leave a church?

 

[Eleanor]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

What would make you leave a church?

I look for the word of God from the pulpit, the absence of which will cause me to depart.

 

[Carbon]

I look for the word of God from the pulpit, the absence of which will cause me to depart.

Amen to that!

 

[Sereni-tea]

The teaching needs to be faithful to the Word of God but the church also needs to be alive.

But above all, you should go to the church God leads you to. Prayer is the most important thing when deciding on a church and also whether to leave a church. You do not know what God has planned or what role you might have in his plans. I have seen people leave a church for a variety of superficial reasons and I have seen the pain of those left behind.

 

[fastfredy0]

When I was younger, I looked for a reasonably large population of protestant Christian women to date.
Now that I am married, I changed my church home qualifications. I look for a church whose doctrines are the same as mine, a church that is not too far away from home, has a population over 50 and the music doesn't suck.

Aside: Not a biggy, but I prefer a congregation that doesn't have many people reaching for the heavens with there arms. I find it disconcerting.

 

[CrowCross]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

What would make you leave a church?

I once left a church because they were merging with 2 other church's. This wasn't the main reason but one of several.
Our church was going to leave the building they were renting and move into an already established building of a different denomination.
I had nothing in particular against this new "church" as they are wonderful born again believers. But, gotta have a "but'....one Sunday prior to the merge after the "government" allowed the church's to meet inside the entire congregation was wearing masks. Upon entering we just walked in and one of the ladies chased us down and presented us with a mask. No big deal. We took them but didn't wear them. For me it showed a mind set of the leadership of that church. It felt like they were following a "rule" set up by someone.
Thing is the singers and preachers removed their mask to sing and preach....kinda defeating the purpose of what they thought the mask actually do.
Personally I saw the mask in the service as "satanic"...and I'm not saying the congregation was satanic. They loved the Lord.

I pictured them with their faces covered...worshipping God....and God asking, who are you? Why are you afraid and why do you cover your face with the mask living in fear. To me it seemed as if satan achieved one of his goals and cover the faces of those made in the image of God.

Petty I know...but I feel the leadership should have understood the mask didn't work.

My wife felt as long as we were changing denomination why not try out several other church's. So we did and landed in a bible believing, bible preaching church.

 

[Musician]

Putting Theology before salaries will keep me in a church, Getting involved with political/social issues will make me leave one.

 

[CrowCross]

Putting Theology before salaries will keep me in a church, Getting involved with political/social issues will make me leave one.

Who controls the cntrollers of politics?

 

[CrazyCalvinistUncle]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

Humble folk who love the Lord and His word.

Bonus is the body small enough that the pastor and elders know everyone but large enough for all generations.

What would make you leave a church?

Free will preaching. The Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey. An "Apostle" come to grace us with his presence. Women pastors. Gay pastors. Playing footsie with the "Law" to keep your salvation. Must "speak in tongues" to be saved. Golf stories for 20 minutes and maybe 5 minutes with a vague reference to a verse. Insistence on knowing your financials for "tithing".

I could go on but one or all of these are deal breakers.

 

[CrazyCalvinistUncle]

One of my fav most infamous lines by an SBC pastor in these parts was his Motel 6 sermon. He had everyone hold up a candle and say "I'll keep the light on for you God!"

It was so touching.

That's just...I can't even.

 

[CrazyCalvinistUncle]

Might post a new thread on "Things you heard in church that made you duck fearing a lightning strike or a pillar of flame."

 

[CrazyCalvinistUncle]

He also preached (yelled) at people and said "Will yourselves to believe!" (the Gospel).

He also scoured my twitter account AFAIK because I had recently posted that we need to believe in the Sufficiency of Scripture and should be preaching the word, not ourselves, not our stories (as he did). I never mentioned him.

He confronted me indirectly one Sunday, and by indirectly I mean not mentioning twitter and said "So you think we should only be preaching the word huh?" in a mocking tone.

That was when we had enough.

Egads, man. Best to be away from such so that no one gets poked in the nose. In a gentle Christian fashion of course.

 

[Arial]

Humble folk who love the Lord and His word.

Bonus is the body small enough that the pastor and elders know everyone but large enough for all generations.



Free will preaching. The Holy Ghost Hokey Pokey. An "Apostle" come to grace us with his presence. Women pastors. Gay pastors. Playing footsie with the "Law" to keep your salvation. Must "speak in tongues" to be saved. Golf stories for 20 minutes and maybe 5 minutes with a vague reference to a verse. Insistence on knowing your financials for "tithing".

I could go on but one or all of these are deal breakers.

PUPPET SHOWS! Plus all of the above. Youth leaders and teenages given the pulpit who don't know how to put two words together so connect them with the word "like" or "um", or "you know---", or "basically."

 

[CrowCross]

Might post a new thread on "Things you heard in church that made you duck fearing a lightning strike or a pillar of flame."

I hope you do..I have a story.

 

[Bob Carabbio]

But above all, you should go to the church God leads you to.

Absolutely. That's the way we've always done it.

 

[fastfredy0]

.... as a middle class American I've been seeking a church in which I would be on the receiving end of the benevolent fund. I was thinking maybe one of those prosperity churches like that of Joel Osteen. Of course, after attending for say 5 years I would be a multi millionaire and would no longer expect further benevolent aid.



**** end of morning chuckle ****

 

[Eleanor]

.... as a middle class American I've been seeking a church in which I would be on the receiving end of the benevolent fund. I was thinking maybe one of those prosperity churches like that of Joel Osteen. Of course, after attending for say 5 years I would be a multi millionaire and would no longer expect further benevolent aid.



**** end of morning chuckle ****

His church is the former professional basket ball arena, redone.

 

[fastfredy0]

His church is the former professional basket ball arena, redone.

Interesting.

Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church Ranked America's Largest Megachurch With 52,000 Weekly Attendance​

Joel Osteen: Net Worth $40 Million .... Prosperity Gospel is working for Joel so far ​

 

[Marilyn C]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

What would make you leave a church?

`You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.` (2 Tim. 2: 1 & 2)

Been busy making disciples, and helping them to make disciples, (as the Lord has instructed us to do) so not really into the organization`s meetings. Though, we have had good fellowship at different ones in our journey in the Lord.

 

[Arch Stanton]

What do/would you look for when your looking for a church home?

Truth!

What would make you leave a church?

Lack of faith