(Part 4) Religion in the south: An interview for Blue Mountain Review
Finding the right church is not easy. Unfortunately, too many see this as a consumer driven process rather than a spiritual act of obedience. Few go beyond the superficial of music style of the services or speaking ability of the pastor. In an interview for The Blue Mountain Review my fiend Clifford Brooks asked me how someone should go about finding a church. My response was five suggestions that I think are critical to making this decision.
The Blue Mountain Review is a literary magazine of which Clifford is one of the editors. The interview was published in the winter of 2016. Clifford asked five questions for me to respond to. Each week I am posting my response to one of the five questions. If you missed the first three posts I encourage you to go back and read them.
4) What are some tips on how to find the right church family fit?
For anyone looking for the right church to be a part of, I would make the following suggestions:
Pay more attention to doctrine than dressing. In recent years, a lot of attention has been placed on the marketing of churches. This emphasis is found in the music used in worship; the type of dress the leaders wear; the branding of social media, church website, and church sign— even the architecture of new buildings. There is nothing wrong with these things, but they are not fundamental to the character of the church. The better question to ask is: What does the church believe? Every church has core doctrinal beliefs that color everything they do. You would be wise to fully understand those beliefs before you become a part of a new congregation. If you choose a church because you like the music, or how they use technology, or even the speaking ability of the pastor (but do not agree with the doctrinal understanding of the church), you will eventually find yourself frustrated and out of sync with the fellowship.
Get involved in a small group. The church may call this Sunday school, life groups, small groups, or something else, but most have some form of discipleship groups that meet regularly. No matter how big or small the church is, you will generally only know about twelve people well. It is possible to attend the main worship service for years and not know anyone and not be known by anyone. This is much less likely in a small group. The small group is where you will form close relationships with others in the church. I would suggest that you join a small group before you join the church.
Attend a church conference. Every church is different in how they govern themselves, but most churches have some type of regular gathering where they discuss the operation of the church. Many avoid these meetings but, if there are issues of gross dysfunction in the church, they are most likely going to show up in these meetings. Watch and listen to how the church handles disagreement. Pay attention to the church’s respect/disrespect for leadership. See how the church’s mission and passion is reflected in the logistics of ministry.
Meet with the pastor. Most pastors would welcome the opportunity to meet with you, answer your questions, and pray with you. Ask the pastor about the character of the church. Have him share with you where the church has been and where he sees the church going. When you meet with him, ask about his understanding of doctrinal issues, and discuss your own.
Think local. This mainly applies to those who live in a large city. In a metropolitan context, there will be those churches that are well known because of a pastor, large youth ministry, or musicians. Generally, when someone tells you they attend such a church, they will not identify it by the name of the church, but by the name of the well-known personality that attracted them to the church. I have known some who have chosen to drive over an hour to attend such a church. These well-known pastors, musicians, and ministers are well known because they are very good at what they do and thus many want to be a part of their ministry. However, when you travel outside of your community to attend church, you will find that you will function more like a guest than a part of the faith community. The travel distance will mean that your ability to attend will not include weeknight events and special occasions. The logistics of meeting other church members outside of regular church activities will be difficult. And the local ministry of the church will not be your own local community.
Next week I will answer the final interview question: Do you think that requiring all students at the college level to take at least one religion course is good to bring to light facts instead of rumors that rule the roost today?
