I don't know where this belongs, but it's prompted by the "Battered Sheep" thread, so I'm putting it here.
Every church I have ever been in has let me down in some way. If I had not kept my focus on God, I would have given up on churches long ago. But with so many flawed churches to choose from, it seems prudent to define priorities. Here are mine:
1. It has to help me seek and save the lost.
2. It has to help me grow spiritually.
3. It has to at least try to go by the Bible, even if its interpretation is a bit off.
4. It has to be within travel range.
As long as these criteria are all met, I can overlook a great many faults. If they're not, I'll move on with few regrets. The sooner I move on, the fewer the regrets.
The first two criteria are special, because they require me making effort on my part. If I make the effort, and it doesn't pay off, I move on. How much effort should I make before giving up? It's a judgment call. I try to stay a while after I'm feeling the itch, because the heart can be deceitful. But when I've felt a sense of futility for a year or more, I know I've given it a fair shot.
The last thing i do before giving up is I start pushing the envelope of what might be acceptable, in order to make it work. I risk angering people, because:
1. It's what many of the heroes of the Bible did.
2. There's much more to gain than there is to lose at this point.
I'm getting close to this point where I am attending now. The trends I'm seeing I've seen before, and they lead nowhere good.
Thoughts?
Every church I have ever been in has let me down in some way. If I had not kept my focus on God, I would have given up on churches long ago. But with so many flawed churches to choose from, it seems prudent to define priorities. Here are mine:
1. It has to help me seek and save the lost.
2. It has to help me grow spiritually.
3. It has to at least try to go by the Bible, even if its interpretation is a bit off.
4. It has to be within travel range.
As long as these criteria are all met, I can overlook a great many faults. If they're not, I'll move on with few regrets. The sooner I move on, the fewer the regrets.
The first two criteria are special, because they require me making effort on my part. If I make the effort, and it doesn't pay off, I move on. How much effort should I make before giving up? It's a judgment call. I try to stay a while after I'm feeling the itch, because the heart can be deceitful. But when I've felt a sense of futility for a year or more, I know I've given it a fair shot.
The last thing i do before giving up is I start pushing the envelope of what might be acceptable, in order to make it work. I risk angering people, because:
1. It's what many of the heroes of the Bible did.
2. There's much more to gain than there is to lose at this point.
I'm getting close to this point where I am attending now. The trends I'm seeing I've seen before, and they lead nowhere good.
Thoughts?
