How do you find a healthy church? - Ep.222 - Run With Horses Podcast

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INTRO
Today on Run With Horses, we are looking at the church, the Bride of Christ. What does a healthy one look like?

My name is Norman and my goal is to help you Run Your Race Well, not just Surviving but Thriving as a Disciple of Jesus! There are a LOT of things you could do with your life, but I don’t think anything compares with following Jesus and joining Him on His mission of bringing Hope to the nations.
Thanks for including me in your journey!

So how do you find a good church to be part of? Not always so easy!
In some parts of the world there are few choices so it means sticking with one that may be less than ideal in many cases. In other context, most anywhere in the USA for example, there are too many choices. It is hard to even visit most of them! So where do you begin?

I am old fashioned so I always begin with people. Ask someone you know in the area, a fellow believer, to give you recommendations. Ask believers who may be familiar with the area or have family there to give you recommendations. At the least you can rule out some options and put an asterisk by others.

I believe Baptist doctrine is intended to be an honest attempt to be Biblical doctrine so Baptist or Baptistic churches will be my first stop. With naming of churches being what it is these days that doesn’t mean Baptist will be in the name! Many Baptist churches, Bible churches, Community churches, and as well as non-denominational churches have similar if not identical doctrinal statements. I would like to see a churches doctrinal statement but the difficulty comes in when you begin visiting churches to see how they live it out. Baptist doctrine does not always equal Biblical practice unfortunately.

A church website can tell you who a church is, beliefs and creeds, etc. A website can show you a lot of what a church does, service times, small groups, counseling ministry, etc. A website cannot really let you get to know a church. That takes time with the church, the people who make up the local body.

So what do you look for?

Mark Dever wrote a book, The 9 Marks of a Healthy Church. The 9 Marks he gives are: 1. Expositional Preaching, 2. Biblical Theology, 3. The Gospel, 4. A Biblical Understanding of Conversion, 5. A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism, 6. A Biblical Understanding of Church Membership, 7. Biblical Church Discipline, 8. Concern for Discipleship and Growth, 9. Biblical Church Leadership.

The IMB has an article on the 12 Characteristics of a Healthy Church.
https://www.imb.org/2016/08/31/2016083112-characteristics-healthy-church/
The article actually precedes all of these with the word Biblical! I suppose it is good not to assume anything!
The 12 Characteristics they list are: Evangelism, Discipleship, Membership, Leadership, Teaching and Preaching, Ordinances, Worship, Prayer, Fellowship, Accountability and Discipline, Giving, Mission

All of these are good to think about but they are long lists. I want to emphasize a few specific things.

Foundation of God’s Word:
The bible is taught and is followed. There should be a real love for God and His word. Jesus is lifted up as the standard for our behavior, attitudes and relationships. God’s Word is lived out by His people. There is a commitment to do what it says.

Emphasis on Active Obedience:
Hand in hand with the biblical foundation in the teaching is an emphasis on living it out. Practical daily obedience and a willingness to follow Jesus are encouraged and supported. Each person is challenged to be a Berean, actively reading the bible themselves and making personal application. The goal should be for every believer to be a self-feeding Christian who is engaged with others on the mission of Jesus to bring God’s message of reconciliation to the world.

Training and Encouragement toward being a Disciple Maker:
Following Jesus results in people pouring out their lives for others. Sacrificially giving time and resources to see the Family of God grow in maturity and faith is natural and necessary. Members are motivated, trained and released to serve the church and the community.

Focus on Life and Ministry outside of the building:
Church life is the life of the people, not the service times printed in the bulletin. Relationships are encouraged, living the “one another’s” is practiced. Small groups are utilized to train leaders, share the gospel, build up new believers and provide ongoing accountability and encouragement for all.

The command to Love one another is lived out:
Forgiveness, confession, sharing testimonies of God’s grace and the like are common and considered natural. Perfection is not expected, mistakes are. All kinds of people with all kinds of problems are welcomed and embraced with Grace and Love.

It’s all good to look for a good church to be a part of. It is a task to take seriously. Just don’t look for a perfect church. It doesn’t exist. Look for a church you can contribute to and help to be the church God intends it to be. Invest in the lives of others in the church. Commit to be a giver to the church. Make ti your goal to build up every member and to make Jesus the center of every relationship. The church is, and will remain, a messy group to be a part of. But God loves His bride and we should too!

OUTRO
Thanks for joining me today! Check out runwithhorses.net for show notes and past shows. Write me at norman@runwithhorses.net if you have comments or questions. Join our facebook community and tell a friend if you have found this show helpful! Keep Running!