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P
Interesting,the heart of heaven seems absent in both the op and the thread.
What is worship
What is full gospel
What is the baptism in the HS
What is the purpose of a church vision
Why does a church send forth apostles
And the biggest of all......What church has,as a leadership ingredient,the requirement,as mandated from heaven,to call out and harness the gift,calling,and anointing of every single believer,for the ministry????.
That would be a small cross section of a target church
God help us that have perverted the power and vision and heart cry of the first church.
But lets target humanoid reality.
I could and would stomach a church,as a home church,that could muster the nominal pathetic commitment to one of three things
The power (anointed prayer time with miracles,signs and wonders)
Anointed worship (where the worship leader understands prekinder concepts like ...his job is to lead the congregation into the HOH)
ANOINTED preaching. ( not dynamic,but where he GOES TO HEAVEN STAYS AS LONG AS NECESSARY,then brings back the word FROM HEAVEN ,TO THE BODY)
Miraculously,they cannot even muster one out of three.
Sick. Why even call it a church.
But it gets worse. 99% of the body has no clue what I am even talking about
What is worship
What is full gospel
What is the baptism in the HS
What is the purpose of a church vision
Why does a church send forth apostles
And the biggest of all......What church has,as a leadership ingredient,the requirement,as mandated from heaven,to call out and harness the gift,calling,and anointing of every single believer,for the ministry????.
That would be a small cross section of a target church
God help us that have perverted the power and vision and heart cry of the first church.
But lets target humanoid reality.
I could and would stomach a church,as a home church,that could muster the nominal pathetic commitment to one of three things
The power (anointed prayer time with miracles,signs and wonders)
Anointed worship (where the worship leader understands prekinder concepts like ...his job is to lead the congregation into the HOH)
ANOINTED preaching. ( not dynamic,but where he GOES TO HEAVEN STAYS AS LONG AS NECESSARY,then brings back the word FROM HEAVEN ,TO THE BODY)
Miraculously,they cannot even muster one out of three.
Sick. Why even call it a church.
But it gets worse. 99% of the body has no clue what I am even talking about
J
The denomination isn't most important, as others have said it's whether the Bible is being taught. I gravitate towards Baptist churches, because they have a charter of doctrinal truth and the sole authority being strictly the word of God of the Holy Bible. I've found Bible teachers in the public eye of consistent truth and depth have, largely, been Baptists. On the other hand, there are some Baptist churches with whackjob pastors, orators, psychobabblers and politicians, who don't really teach the Bible well, in the least. There are solidly Bible teaching non-denominational churches, which I've spent a lot of my life in and happily so.
I can't speak from vast experience, having a limited number of church affiliations in my life, that is, haven't "church hopped," but when trying to find faithful, Bible teaching church in a new geography, it was sometimes most difficult, not really finding much Bible teaching going on across major denominations. There were too many orators, with their sermonizing over one or two verses for a half hour that began to sound like Dr. Phil, but the whole gospel, and unafraid to teach on repentance, sin and hell, proportional to what scripture teaches, and with a focus on eternity, instead of things of the flesh and the here and now? Not many such churches. (Read the church's charter, whether it's Bible-centric as the sole authority and aligns perfectly with what you know of scripture to be true.) So, this is all to say please beware, all churches are not equal, and I have a few tips that worked well and may help you.
If you are a true Christian who studies the Bible, you know a good pastor when he is one that is prone to giving a sermon that cites a decent number of Bible verses, often from various books of the Bible, showing scripture harmony, the unity of God's word, one who teaches from the Bible, expounds upon the Bible, from the Bible, and not from an article in "Psychology Today" or the ramblings of philosophers. You almost never disagree with anything he may say, and, if you do, most likely you have it wrong what the Bible is saying. I've neither found any pastor I've respected as a Bible scholar who was the grand orator, anybody you could tell enjoyed listening to himself speak, or, in the same vein, used emotional rhetoric to whip up the crowd. This is deceptive and not spiritual behavior. A good pastor is not some entertainer, working the audience.
So, it's not really the denomination that a good church congregation comes down to, rather Bible faithful leadership you find you can trust, as, like the Bereans, you find the church leadership is helping you to grow in truths you can agree upon, because those truths agree with the Holy Bible. If there is a time you are uncomfortable you're getting the truth, don't see what the pastor is saying has to do with the word of God and things eternal, any pastor who contradicts clear scripture truths, this is when you should move on, try another congregation. It's worked well for me, to refuse to listen to any preacher I'd feel like arguing with over basic doctrine or who sermonizes like a Johnny-one-verse, amateur philosopher, of a watered-down gospel. Wrong in small things is wrong in big things: you can't trust anybody, in terms of the things of God, that has red flags sprouting up around them, that, somehow, has the Holy Spirit leading them and their congregation into error? I think not. If you can find a pastor and Bible teacher anything like Adrian Rogers, who incessantly puts Jesus Christ front and center, who is taking you on a diligently studied trip through the Bible in which you can say, "Yes. I see. That is what the Bible says," you've done well.
Other than the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the next spiritual center of a congregation is a faithful pastor. The congregation that will stay under the leadership of a bad pastor must even be called into question as to whether you're even largely among Spirit-filled brothers and sisters, who can't seem to tell truth from error. There are mega churches, filled with people getting entertained and their ears tickled.
Sorry this was so long a post. It just seems there's a lot to consider, finding a good congregation. And maybe I could complicate boiling water sometimes, Lord knows!
I can't speak from vast experience, having a limited number of church affiliations in my life, that is, haven't "church hopped," but when trying to find faithful, Bible teaching church in a new geography, it was sometimes most difficult, not really finding much Bible teaching going on across major denominations. There were too many orators, with their sermonizing over one or two verses for a half hour that began to sound like Dr. Phil, but the whole gospel, and unafraid to teach on repentance, sin and hell, proportional to what scripture teaches, and with a focus on eternity, instead of things of the flesh and the here and now? Not many such churches. (Read the church's charter, whether it's Bible-centric as the sole authority and aligns perfectly with what you know of scripture to be true.) So, this is all to say please beware, all churches are not equal, and I have a few tips that worked well and may help you.
If you are a true Christian who studies the Bible, you know a good pastor when he is one that is prone to giving a sermon that cites a decent number of Bible verses, often from various books of the Bible, showing scripture harmony, the unity of God's word, one who teaches from the Bible, expounds upon the Bible, from the Bible, and not from an article in "Psychology Today" or the ramblings of philosophers. You almost never disagree with anything he may say, and, if you do, most likely you have it wrong what the Bible is saying. I've neither found any pastor I've respected as a Bible scholar who was the grand orator, anybody you could tell enjoyed listening to himself speak, or, in the same vein, used emotional rhetoric to whip up the crowd. This is deceptive and not spiritual behavior. A good pastor is not some entertainer, working the audience.
So, it's not really the denomination that a good church congregation comes down to, rather Bible faithful leadership you find you can trust, as, like the Bereans, you find the church leadership is helping you to grow in truths you can agree upon, because those truths agree with the Holy Bible. If there is a time you are uncomfortable you're getting the truth, don't see what the pastor is saying has to do with the word of God and things eternal, any pastor who contradicts clear scripture truths, this is when you should move on, try another congregation. It's worked well for me, to refuse to listen to any preacher I'd feel like arguing with over basic doctrine or who sermonizes like a Johnny-one-verse, amateur philosopher, of a watered-down gospel. Wrong in small things is wrong in big things: you can't trust anybody, in terms of the things of God, that has red flags sprouting up around them, that, somehow, has the Holy Spirit leading them and their congregation into error? I think not. If you can find a pastor and Bible teacher anything like Adrian Rogers, who incessantly puts Jesus Christ front and center, who is taking you on a diligently studied trip through the Bible in which you can say, "Yes. I see. That is what the Bible says," you've done well.
Other than the Spirit of Jesus Christ, the next spiritual center of a congregation is a faithful pastor. The congregation that will stay under the leadership of a bad pastor must even be called into question as to whether you're even largely among Spirit-filled brothers and sisters, who can't seem to tell truth from error. There are mega churches, filled with people getting entertained and their ears tickled.
Sorry this was so long a post. It just seems there's a lot to consider, finding a good congregation. And maybe I could complicate boiling water sometimes, Lord knows!
While the first part of your statement is somewhat true, "cultic" is not the word I'd use.. but there ARE some CofC's that believe they are the only ones that have the "truth".... but the same could be said for most Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc... you get the point. The CofC's that I've been involved with for the past 30 years or so, have grown out of the "we're the only ones going to heaven" viewpoint, and would be offended if anyone suggested that. And in my 61 years of being in the CofC, going to a private CofC run school from kindergarten through a year of college, I have NEVER, not once, heard anyone espouse that the church is what saves us.... that's simply false. The worst I can say about the CofC is that, while scripturally accurate, for a while, in the 50's 60's and 70's, they tended to think they were the only ones that worshipped in a truly scriptural manner... Like I said, most of the mainstream CofC's have matured WAY beyond that point. Shoot, we even have instrumental music now... 
All of this is why I suggested that you find a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, loving fellowship to affiliate yourself with. The name on the door makes very little difference, in my opinion.
All of this is why I suggested that you find a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, loving fellowship to affiliate yourself with. The name on the door makes very little difference, in my opinion.
While the first part of your statement is somewhat true, "cultic" is not the word I'd use.. but there ARE some CofC's that believe they are the only ones that have the "truth".... but the same could be said for most Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, etc... you get the point. The CofC's that I've been involved with for the past 30 years or so, have grown out of the "we're the only ones going to heaven" viewpoint, and would be offended if anyone suggested that. And in my 61 years of being in the CofC, going to a private CofC run school from kindergarten through a year of college, I have NEVER, not once, heard anyone espouse that the church is what saves us.... that's simply false. The worst I can say about the CofC is that, while scripturally accurate, for a while, in the 50's 60's and 70's, they tended to think they were the only ones that worshipped in a truly scriptural manner... Like I said, most of the mainstream CofC's have matured WAY beyond that point. Shoot, we even have instrumental music now...
All of this is why I suggested that you find a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, loving fellowship to affiliate yourself with. The name on the door makes very little difference, in my opinion.
All of this is why I suggested that you find a Bible-believing, Bible-teaching, loving fellowship to affiliate yourself with. The name on the door makes very little difference, in my opinion.
J
I thought it was another who mentioned the EC, and in fairness to CN, I think he suggested high liturgy to OP because the OP seemed to be leaning that direction to start with