How to Recognize a Real Church, Part 1

http://www.gty.org/video/Pulpit/V8290-452

Selected Scriptures

I was listening to a radio program years ago, Christian radio station, and somebody called in--it was one of those talk programs--and said, “What do I look for in a church?” “What do I look for in a church?” And I turned up the volume because I wanted to hear the answer. And the answer was, and I wrote it down, you look for fellowship, caring, and sharing--that’s most important. You might find that in a bar. You might find that in a club. You might find that in a thousand sociological associations and events; that’s not the right answer.

How do you choose a church? Some people would be pretty superficial about it. There was a study done a number of years ago that said, “The most important thing that a church does to attract people is to provide parking.” Parking was number one. Number two was nursery. And I kept reading, looking for pastor, but he didn’t appear until number six or so. There were all these things that people assumed were the important aspects--style, comfort, music, air-conditioning, friendliness...