What is most important in a Church?

Excited about my first blog-poll!!!

I'll admit I'm a litle surprised by some of the answers, but I'll refrain from commenting until the poll closes. You have one more day, so if you haven't taken it, please do so here -------------------->

I'd also flip if you left me a comment! Thanks

What would you search for in a church if in fact you searched for a church?

Have you ever given any thought to why you like your church? What makes it special to you? What about your church would make it difficult to leave?

If you found yourself without a church home tomorrow, (maybe due to a move or something) what would you look for in a church? I know, I know. You probably already have a church home and you're not anricipating a move. But it still might not be a bad idea to make a list of what you would want your church to be like. It could kind of keep you on the ball, making sure you know where you are on things. (And where your church is on things.) A little introspection and an honest look at things is seldom a bad idea.

Would you sacrifice believing identically to find real Christians living in community? Would you sacrifice your worship-style preferences to find a church with programs to raise a family you're struggling to raise on your own? Would you sacrifice ministry opportunities to find a church that teaches godly living? Yes, these are difficult questions. Maybe it's time to take an honest look at what's most important.

In the meantime, PLEASE take a moment to take my poll on the right ------------> It is completely anonymous. So now is your chance to tell the truth about what is important to you, even if you don't think your priorities are in order.

Maybe it's time to set those priorities straight. Maybe it's time to come to some hard conclusions about your spiritual state or that of your church. And maybe it's time to just say a big "thank you" to the Lord because you find out He's got you exactly where He wants you.

So what is important to you in a church? Maybe it's time to think about that.

Church Search Volume 1

I had thought about writing about our hunt for a new church home. You know, kind of a journal about what we found at various places. Our journey...kind of a “Former Pastor’s Family Seeks New Church Home” series. But then I thought “Aawww, we will find one so soon, that there won’t be much to write about. We won’t see much in the brief time we are between churches.”

Wrong.

And we’ve seen it all, brother. (Ummm, what I meant to say is that they all have their own unique qualities.)

And then there’s the question of how much to say. Do I mention the NAMES of the churches we go to? Sidethought: mentioning names in conjunction with church-going always brings up Ray Stevens‘ Mississippi Squirrel Revival, “And then they started naming names!” (Okay, if you just got totally lost just now, you have more pressing issues than reading this blog. You need to stop and google the above and come back when you are more culturally balanced.)

But seriously. If I blog about my church search experience do I mention the names of the churches? That would certainly make all of this writing more useful than just being an entertaining (grant me this one) blog read. People could use the unbiased honest assessment of my experience to help them pick the next church to visit (or not) in their own church-home quest. Cause if I know anything, it’s that there are a LOT of people looking for a church home right now. And no, they are NOT all related to me!

And then there’s the other benefit (evil laugh). As Suzette said the other day, “Yeah, I read your blogs...whenever they’re about me.” Fame is waiting at my door if I just go ahead and say who I’m blogging about. People like nothing more than to read about themselves. So there you have it. If I write about churches, church officials everywhere will literally flock to my blog to see what I have to say about their church. Was it friendly enough? Did I like my guest gift? (why, yes I did!) What did I think about the message? The music? I would be like a mystery church shopper! Imagine! You may have a mystery guest at YOUR church this Sunday. They will observe everything. And they’ll go home and blog about it. And then...and then...I don’t know what then. It just could happen. That’s all I’m sayin’.

So whattayathink? Should I ‘start naming names’?