Having issues with finding Church

[The Hammer of Witches]

I have been a believer for about two or three years, but have not been attending church. I knew fellowship was important, but I did not know what to expect as I have never been to a real church before. I recently found one in my area that closely matched my beliefs but I have some issues with it. I attended one service the other day, and after investigating it some more I have some problems with it I will list here. It is a mega church with pastors for different groups in the church (ie. college ministry, youth ministry, etc.). Because of this, and other factors I am skeptical of this, and am looking for a smaller church that fully follows the Bible, applying it to their lives, standing ready for Christs second coming. Here are a few things I found wrong with it:
1. Mega-church
2. Paid Pastors and other full time staff
3. It is almost a feel-good church, not as bad as some but they seem to just want to rope people in and keep them in neglecting the truth
4. Flaunt money making it very extravagant
5. Really seems to be in it for the money than anything else
These are just a few off the top of my head. The money grabbing here was not as bad as other churches, but it still seemed kind of sketchy. I went to one service the other day and I was not too impressed, while it seemed very nice on the surface, it seemed hollow. I want to attend their college ministry on Tuesday to see what its like; other than that I am going to keep looking for a smaller church, which upholds the full truth. Fellowship is a very important part of the Christian walk. I don't seek a particular denomination such as Baptist or Protestant, I seek the Holy Spirit. Anyone who follows the Bible to its fullest. I don't regard Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, etc. as having the full truth, and I know that Mormons, Christian Science, etc. are cults. I can't seem to find any churches that uphold the Bible fully around my area, I know about churches in the area but whether they are of God or not I do not know. I guess my question is; how did you guys find your churches, what are they like? What particular things should I look for. I would prefer smaller churches for better fellowship, the Holy Spirit is obviously necessary, he is a sure sign that someone is sealed away until Christ's coming. Anything else I should look for besides this?

 

[now faith]

Hello,I would like to share how I found the Church I attend.
I had a falling out with a previous Church and was seeking another one.
I simply let the Spirit guide my Wife and myself, we would visit Churches and they seemed cold and void of any Spiritual guidance.
They may have been fine for those who were there but our inner wittness had us move on.
We walked into our Church from a friend who invited us,and wow we were home.
We attend a non denomination Church with a come as you are attitude.
We have great praise and worship every service and our Pastor is a kind man that trusts in the Word of God,not the latest trend.

I would like to make a point about a pastor being paid.
I grew up with my Dad as a Pastor who would not recieve a salary.
Working full time and Pastor of a Church is working two full time jobs.
My Dad had a heart attack in his 40s.
A Pastor must serve the flock ,council ,visit the sick feed the hungry,conduct weddings and be a lot of help to a lot of people.
The Bible says those who minister to the temple live from the temple (paraphrase)
I personally do not believe you can give God your best while giving someone else your best for a job.
The workman is worth his hire,we get paid for our time and God will provide for all.

God Bless May you find your Church home.

 

[The Hammer of Witches]

Hello,I would like to share how I found the Church I attend.
I had a falling out with a previous Church and was seeking another one.
I simply let the Spirit guide my Wife and myself, we would visit Churches and they seemed cold and void of any Spiritual guidance.
They may have been fine for those who were there but our inner wittness had us move on.
We walked into our Church from a friend who invited us,and wow we were home.
We attend a non denomination Church with a come as you are attitude.
We have great praise and worship every service and our Pastor is a kind man that trusts in the Word of God,not the latest trend.

I would like to make a point about a pastor being paid.
I grew up with my Dad as a Pastor who would not recieve a salary.
Working full time and Pastor of a Church is working two full time jobs.
My Dad had a heart attack in his 40s.
A Pastor must serve the flock ,council ,visit the sick feed the hungry,conduct weddings and be a lot of help to a lot of people.
The Bible says those who minister to the temple live from the temple (paraphrase)
I personally do not believe you can give God your best while giving someone else your best for a job.
The workman is worth his hire,we get paid for our time and God will provide for all.

God Bless May you find your Church home.

This church has a full regiment of paid pastors, not just one. They also have multiple buildings, a gymnasium, a game room, rec room, bookstore, etc. It is packed out with worldy pursuits.

 

[look4hope]

Wow @The Hammer of Witches
That's a lot going on for a church.

I can say that I was also Someone that did not belonged to any church for most of my life. It's been 10 years when I finally crossed path with the little church I'm with now.
Is no peaches and cream all the time. We are after all human beings, so the church community is great but we have our ups and downs.

 

[The Hammer of Witches]

Wow @The Hammer of Witches
That's a lot going on for a church.

I can say that I was also Someone that did not belonged to any church for most of my life. It's been 10 years when I finally crossed path with the little church I'm with now.
Is no peaches and cream all the time. We are after all human beings, so the church community is great but we have our ups and downs.

The place is huge, it makes me wonder where their hearts really are. I don't know how much they do in charity work, but I can guarantee that a lot of what they are spending could be better spent.

 

[look4hope]

The place is huge, it makes me wonder where their hearts really are. I don't know how much they do in charity work, but I can guarantee that a lot of what they are spending could be better spent.

I won't judge but if there is more going on with the esthetics of the place than time being put on what really matters the most, like humbly teaching the community about God, then...

 

[Paidiske]

It does sound like a smaller church might suit you better; it might have a paid minister, but probably less of the other "bells and whistles."

It's been a long time since I was looking for a church to attend (rather than to minister in) but one of the key things I was looking for was a chance to serve. Did the church have ministries going on to which I could contribute, where I could use my gifts? So the church I joined then had a big ministry in emergency relief (food etc for those in need) and English classes for new migrants (many of whom were refugees) and so forth. Lots of opportunities to get involved and pitch in.

Non-negotiable for me was also communion every week, which meant I ruled out some otherwise good churches, but that's a personal thing and may not be important to you.

 

[Albion]

Ordinarily, we'd say to choose a smaller congregation, but I know that this is something we all already agree to, based on what you've written here.

Because you discussed no issues of doctrine or worship style in the OP, I am wondering what churches ARE available to you to choose from, and if you have any strong feelings for or against any particular doctrines (other than that the church should be Biblically sound)?

 

[The Hammer of Witches]

It does sound like a smaller church might suit you better; it might have a paid minister, but probably less of the other "bells and whistles."

It's been a long time since I was looking for a church to attend (rather than to minister in) but one of the key things I was looking for was a chance to serve. Did the church have ministries going on to which I could contribute, where I could use my gifts? So the church I joined then had a big ministry in emergency relief (food etc for those in need) and English classes for new migrants (many of whom were refugees) and so forth. Lots of opportunities to get involved and pitch in.

Non-negotiable for me was also communion every week, which meant I ruled out some otherwise good churches, but that's a personal thing and may not be important to you.

I don't believe that communion is ever practiced at this Church, even in the smaller groups. Probably the only doctrinal issue, the place is gigantic so I would see where it could be hard to practice communion. Multiple buildings, three campuses, and lots of decor. I am going to keep looking, paid staff is not an huge issue, it is about where there heart is, not with their money but with God.

 

[The Hammer of Witches]

Ordinarily, we'd say to choose a smaller congregation, but I know that this is something we all already agree to, based on what you've written here.

Because you discussed no issues of doctrine or worship style in the OP, I am wondering what churches ARE available to you to choose from, and if you have any strong feelings for or against any particular doctrines (other than that the church should be Biblically sound)?

This church is non-denominational. There are a few other churches in my town that I have yet to check out, mostly Baptist but there is some variety. There are also an abundance of churches in the city, which is about a 20-40 minute drive depending. Distance is not that big of a deal. I attended this one first because I heard about it from work. I have to check all these places out, I really don't know much about any other churches in town yet except for the Catholic Churches which I disagree with on many issues of doctrine.

 

[rob_aston]

hammer, go to a small bible-promoting church if u need a church....build up personal relationship at same time

 

[Albion]

This church is non-denominational. There are a few other churches in my town that I have yet to check out, mostly Baptist but there is some variety. There are also an abundance of churches in the city, which is about a 20-40 minute drive depending. Distance is not that big of a deal. I attended this one first because I heard about it from work. I have to check all these places out, I really don't know much about any other churches in town yet except for the Catholic Churches which I disagree with on many issues of doctrine.

OK. Thanks. Let's begin by agreeing that the current church is probably not the one for you and that you need at least to explore the possibility of choosing one that would work better for you. A 20 minute drive isn't too much (but 40 might turn out to be), and you say that you don't mind driving to the city, so you have a good range of choices to look into.

But that doesn't narrow the list awfully much. What I'd suggest you do first is check out the differences between the denominations by referring to library books or by doing an online study. One easy directory is the Handbook of Denominations in the United States. This would at least give you some general information and sort out the highly ceremonial churches from, for example, the ones that are mainly focused on preaching. There are Pentecostal churches that value the presence of the Holy Spirit mainly though outward expressions like speaking in unknown tongues and other supposed gifts or abilities received by the members. But there are other churches who believe that the Holy Spirit is imparted in a less physical or demonstrative way. They also are the ones more likely to be involved in community and charitable activities, if that's more what you had in mind.

It looks to me like you are interested in one of the main Protestant churches such as Lutheran, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, etc. So check out their differences and then locate a smaller congregation of one of them and give it a visit. If something strikes you as unacceptable about it, you'll have even a better understanding of what other church would be better.

 

[High Fidelity]

2. Paid Pastors and other full time staff

It's my opinion that this can be the result of two things;

1. The church is well-established, quite active with a medium to large congregation or part of a wider church communion that pays its staff a set wage(this is seen in Anglican and Catholic churches quite often and also to lesser extents in Lutheran, Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches as well).
2. They want to ensure their 'piece of the pie' and more emphasis is placed on financial gain than perhaps should be.

By the sounds of it, it's the latter.

Either way, no matter how well it seems to line up with your beliefs, the aspects you described that you find objectionable paint a very different picture to what most Christians consider Biblical.

Sounds to me like it isn't going to serve you well in the long run and I'd avoid it.

I forget the passage, but Scripture warns us of bad company corrupting good character. Exposure to this sort of thing over time can quite often wear a person's guard down without them even knowing it. Then objectionable becomes passable and passable can become endorsed.

So yeah, I'd move on.

 

[John Davidson]

I don't believe that communion is ever practiced at this Church

I find this very disturbing. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament and should be practiced regularly.

2. Paid Pastors

Most Churches have paid clergy. Pastors need to be paid so that they can devote themselves full time to the ministry. Why would you expect them to work for free?

@The Hammer of Witches
I recommend you try the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). We are Sola Scriptura which means that we stick to the Word and most of our congregations are on the smaller side.

Here is our website and church locator: http://locator.lcms.org/nchurches_frm/church.asp

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Anything else I should look for besides this?

This was something quoted for another thread, then threads, just a short while ago, and seems appropiate here also, a part of the picture of what YHWH says to be, or to look for.
This translation is NOT available online, except for short portions or a few books,
but is very excellent in bringing out the more full meaning (if that helps) :

And it is this message which we have heard from Him
and at present is ringing in our ears and we are bringing
back tidings to you, that God as to His nature is light, and
darkness in Him does not exist,


not even one particle.
If we say that things in common we are having with Him,
and thus fellowship, and in the sphere of the aforemen-
tined darkness are habitually ordering our behavior, we
are lying, and we are not doing the truth. But if within
the sphere of the light we are habitually ordering our
behavior as He himself is in the light, things in common
and thus fellowship we [the believer and God] are having
with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son keeps
continually cleansing us from every sin.

FIRST JOHN 1:5-7
The New Testament
An Expanded Translation (from Greek) 1961
reprinted 1996
Kenneth S. Wuest

 

[NJA]

...I seek the Holy Spirit. Anyone who follows the Bible to its fullest. I don't regard Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, etc. as having the full truth, and I know that Mormons, Christian Science, etc. are cults...the Holy Spirit is obviously necessary, he is a sure sign that someone is sealed away until Christ's coming. Anything else I should look for besides this?

Yes, all "churches" profess faith, but the first question Paul asked believers was:
"Have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?" (Acts 19:2, se also Acts 8:12-16)

Clearly just because people "believe" doesn't mean they have received the Holy Spirit!
And there must be a way of knowing that you have received, otherwise he is asking a question that can't be answered definitively.
The simple fact, known to the apostles and lost to most "churches" is that there is a specific God-given sign ... speaking in tongues.

That narrows your search down but you should still be concerned with whether they are "walking in the Spirit" or just following the ideas or men, you seem to be onto this already.

I'm with a church that wants to be faithful to what Jesus set up in the New Testament, so, we are all baptised in water as believers and have all received the Holy Spirit. In meetings we operate the gifts of the Holy Spirit in an orderly way as detailed in 1 Corinthians 14 ... most people have never been to a church like this!

Our Paastors have jobs or are self-funding.

 

[Albion]

How is your search coming, "Hammer?" Any recent church visits or new thoughts on the matter?