Searching for a (GOOD) Church... pt 1
Titus 2:1
"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."
I attend a university in Springfield, MO. For those of you not in the know, Springfield, MO is smack in the Bible Belt. We are just down the road from Southwest Baptist University... have the 2nd largest Assemblies of God church in America (James River Assembly... jokingly referred to by some locals as "Hillsong USA")... we even have the HQ of the Assemblies of God, a Protestant Pentecostal denomination. And while this place is not like some I've seen in Northern Texas/Southern Arkansas, having a church literally on EVERY corner... it is filled with congregations galore.
So then, you would think finding a church would be really simple... that all you would have to do is walk on into a church, sit down, and you've found one. Well, that is true for finding a church. However... finding a good church?... that takes a bit more doing.
What constitutes a "GOOD CHURCH"? One where sound doctrine is taught (Titus 2:1). One that preaches a gospel of grace, not just law (Ephesians 1:6-10; 2:8-9). One that boldly proclaims Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). One that is more interested in proclaiming truth than on tickling peoples' ears, telling them only what they want to hear to suit their felt-needs (2 Timothy 4:3-4). One that teaches the condition of man prior to the new birth as being evil, not basically good (Ephesians 2:1-3). One that does not perform for the masses to be cool and relevant, but instead worships God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). One that proclaims Christ as the way, truth, and life--that except through him, there is no salvation (John 14:6). One that teaches that to see the Kingdom of God, a man must be born again (John 3:3). One that cares more about feeding the sheep than attracting goats (John 21:16). One that will guard the congregants from false teachers, who are wolves (Matthew 7:15). One that proclaims the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). One that teaches that salvation is an act of God--monergism, and not an act of man--synergism (Ephesians 1:4-12, John 6:44, Romans 8:28-30).
Again... one would think this would be an easy task to find churches that did all these things. But as Kacey and I are finding out first hand... few "churches" care about such things any more.
...to be continued...
"But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine."
I attend a university in Springfield, MO. For those of you not in the know, Springfield, MO is smack in the Bible Belt. We are just down the road from Southwest Baptist University... have the 2nd largest Assemblies of God church in America (James River Assembly... jokingly referred to by some locals as "Hillsong USA")... we even have the HQ of the Assemblies of God, a Protestant Pentecostal denomination. And while this place is not like some I've seen in Northern Texas/Southern Arkansas, having a church literally on EVERY corner... it is filled with congregations galore.
So then, you would think finding a church would be really simple... that all you would have to do is walk on into a church, sit down, and you've found one. Well, that is true for finding a church. However... finding a good church?... that takes a bit more doing.
What constitutes a "GOOD CHURCH"? One where sound doctrine is taught (Titus 2:1). One that preaches a gospel of grace, not just law (Ephesians 1:6-10; 2:8-9). One that boldly proclaims Christ and him crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23). One that is more interested in proclaiming truth than on tickling peoples' ears, telling them only what they want to hear to suit their felt-needs (2 Timothy 4:3-4). One that teaches the condition of man prior to the new birth as being evil, not basically good (Ephesians 2:1-3). One that does not perform for the masses to be cool and relevant, but instead worships God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). One that proclaims Christ as the way, truth, and life--that except through him, there is no salvation (John 14:6). One that teaches that to see the Kingdom of God, a man must be born again (John 3:3). One that cares more about feeding the sheep than attracting goats (John 21:16). One that will guard the congregants from false teachers, who are wolves (Matthew 7:15). One that proclaims the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). One that teaches that salvation is an act of God--monergism, and not an act of man--synergism (Ephesians 1:4-12, John 6:44, Romans 8:28-30).
Again... one would think this would be an easy task to find churches that did all these things. But as Kacey and I are finding out first hand... few "churches" care about such things any more.
...to be continued...
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