Know of any "good" churches?
I was asked recently if I know any "good" churches in the area. (The person asking put "good" in inverted commas)
I had to reply 'that depends on what you mean by "good"'
If "good" = catering to your personal wish list then that is very different to where "good" = a community that will call me and challenge me to live in a Christlike way.
For many the dominant questions when picking a church are related to the music, the kids and youth ministries and the interest level of the preaching. Is it any wonder we find ourselves in the malaise we are currently in?
As I have said before we can only be disciples in community so this question of alignment cannot be overrated.
This needs to be balanced with the very real acknowledgement that we do have needs. The person asking me the question has a teenage son, so while I believe ours is a "good" church I am not sure it would be a suitable church for him and his family as he may wish for his son to have a larger peer group.
He captures the tension of choosing a church as disciples, not consumers, while still acknowledging that we have needs.
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Very true....we live in a consumeristic society so that church, which was made for Jesus followers to encourage each other and reach out to the community, has become a place where we can get "fed" or where we are "safe". We need to go back to what Jesus meant the church to be.
However, I can imagine the difficulty when you have a family who's spiritual well-being you are concerned about.