Unofficial Top 10 Things to Look for in a Church

I am half-serious and half having fun - so take this as it is. Here is my "Top Ten Things to Look for when searching for a new church"

10 - Multi-Racial. Any church that has predominently one race is missing what heaven will look like!

9 - Authenticity. If the Pastor begins every conversation with "Man I just had a great 3 hour prayer time this morning" - RUN!

8 - Forgiveness. Philip Yancey and CS Lewis both say that "Grace" (i.e. God's unmerited love and forgiveness) is the only thing the church has that the rest of the world does not.

7 - Important Numbers. How many previous members have been wounded, stomped on, burned, and disregarded by the ministry. I believe Jesus is more hurt by the pain churches cause people, then overjoyed by impressive numbers of grwoth. Although Lord knows growth is great!
6 - Good Snacks. Think about how many stories in the Bible surround food! I have heard the ministry of Jesus described as "eating GOOD food with BAD people".

5 - Laughter - Any church that takes itself too serioulsy should be avoided.

4 - How Do the Leaders Treat One Another - If a staff can not enjoy each other, get along, and maintain long term relationships - by what authroity do they presume to lead others? If a church has constant turnover - something fishy (fleshy?) is going on, and its not Red Lobster!

3 - Do The Poor, Widows and Orphans Matter? - Churches whose primary mission remians only in its four walls are should be avoided like chicken tacos in Costa Rica (there is a great personel story behind that - but I will share it at another time).

2 - THE BIBLE - OK #'s 10-3 may fluctuate - but accept no substitues for #'s 2 and 1. There are two extremes that I see lately. One is the veneration of indivuals by churches that say they are biblical (when Chuck Smith, TD Jakes, are always revered as nearly perfect). The other is the church that wraps Christian-speak around "pop-psychology". For instance if either Churck Smith or Dr. Phil are quoted more than 5 times in one message - RUN!

1- ASK GOD - IS THIS THE CHURCH FOR ME! - If you are a Christian, your main concern when searching for a church should be where the Lord guides you - so that your gifts and talents can be put to the highest use for his Kingdom!


Anyway - this is was written from a slightly "tongue in cheek" perpective -so please read it as such!

John