What Do You Want in a Church?

What Do You Want in a Church?

Need a new computer? Why settle for what the retailer has on the shelf? Today you can "build" your computer. Computer stores offer the option of designing the computer that you desire. You can choose the size of the hard-drive, the amount of memory, the operating system, and almost anything else. While you choose your selections the online calculator calculates your cost. If you choose to buy the computer then it’s as simple as typing in your credit-card number and clicking the send button. If you decide that you do not want the computer then you simply walk away. The philosophy is an old one "the customer is king." (Really the retailer is king but the way that the retailer gets to be king is making the customer feel like he is king).

Customer driven marketing is the norm in the world of business. But sadly the professing Christian church often doesn't seem much different. Some churches follow the same customer driven mentality that moves the business world. It’s not uncommon for the question to be asked, "What do you want in a church?" The question seems innocent enough. After all one wants to attend a church that meets certain criteria. The question is--whose criteria should the church be concerned with? Who really is king in a "customer is king" kind of church? Perhaps it’s not the customer at all. Perhaps it’s the church that’s king--or maybe it’s really the leaders of the church who are king in a consumer driven church. If it is the leaders or the members or even the collective church that is king--then the church is destined for chaos and ultimate failure. The sad reality is that unless there is a true spiritual awakening the leaders and the church will not actually recognize the failure, for they are gauging success on the wrong scorecard. They may think that they are "...rich...and have need of nothing..." and not know that they "...are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked..." (Revelation 3:17).

If you were to log on to the Internet and build to order a church--what kind of church would you design? There are folks that have done extensive surveys to find out what the consumer wants in a church, and have indeed set out to build a customer designed church. What do you want in a church? That question can be a fine question to ask--if what we want is to "glorify God and enjoy Him forever." If what we want is what He wants, then asking such a question about "want" is an excellent question. It's really all about the want, isn't it? But how do we know what we are to want? The reality is this: there is what we want and there is what we should want. Our goal is that what we should want becomes what we indeed want. That is a battle--but it’s a battle worth fighting. What we should want is what God delights in. What God delights in we should desire. But how do we know what God wants in a local church? There is only one way to know for sure and that is to consult Him. He is not silent when it comes to His church. The Bible is where we get our church wants straightened out.

To be "Nourished in the Word" is to want a church that is faithful to our Lord. In such a church you will find the clear preaching of the gospel, expository teaching of the Scripture, biblical accountability in a "one another" community of loving relationships, and a church that practices Biblical drama--that is the drama of baptism and the Lord's Supper. Our wants in a church must be grounded in and grow out of a commitment to God's will as revealed in Scripture. As folks are added to our number then we would be wise to remember what has often been said, "that which we win them with--we win them to." Let us make sure that we win people to Christ, His Word and a life of faithfulness as members of His church.

Ray Rhodes, Jr. is Reformed in his theology and Baptist. He travels preaching in conference and other settings. He is also a writer, manages a home based bookstore, teaches in a Presbyterian School, and is involved in a church planting ministry.

Ray Rhodes, Jr. is President of Nourished in the Word Ministries www.nourishedintheword.org