Seven Keys to Choosing a Church.

If you are looking to grow as a Christian and want to join a congregation where you will grow and deepen your walk with God try the following seven keys to help insure your growth as a Christian. These keys are for those of us who are more mature Christians. These are the keys to revolutionize the Church.

PRAY: Pray that God will lead you to a place where you can grow as a human being. The key words here are grow and human being. The goal here is not to be a Christian, it is to be a learner of Jesus and to become fully human. There are enough people bopping around calling themselves Christian, they are killing the church—avoid these types of people. If you are serious God will answer this prayer. Caution: This is not likely to be a place that you like and get a long with everyone. Most likely you won’t like the pastor or priest and you may find yourself challenged by their "theology" especially if you think you are a mature Christian. Remember, you want to grow.

BELIEF: It is important that you chose a congregation that does not hold the same beliefs as you. If you, being a mature Christian are truly seeking to grow, there is a good chance this will not happen where everyone looks and acts like you. Find those who do not believe like you and be still before God; you will grow. If you find yourself angry at the sermon because you disagree with the sermon—hurrah—you are in the right place.

WORD: If you would consider yourself "word-centered" be careful of congregations who claim to be "word-centered" or "bible-believing." These folks typically understand scripture less than those making no claims about being "word-centered." Just because McDonalds claims to sell hamburgers doesn’t mean they know meat. However, if you are not one who is too "word-centered" this is the place for you.

INCLUSIVE: This is a nice buzz-word. This usually means that these folks are inclusive to others who think like them. If you are looking for an inclusive church, try acting or believing differently and you'll discover how inclusive they are.

LEADERS: If you are a Christian leader and have always been considered a "big dog" in the congregation then choose a church where no one thinks you know very much. Go to a place that when you say something about Jesus people look at you like you are a dumb ass. Eventually you’ll learn to listen and you’ll discover that you really are not the center of the world, regardless of how much Greek you studied in college or seminary. It won’t be great for your ego, but you’ll grow as a Christian and there is a good chance you’ll discover that you did not know as much as you thought you did. I must warn you, this takes courage.

MUSIC: Find a place where the music sucks or at least doesn’t play music you like. This will force to once again to climb out of your box and discover worshipping God in a new way. You wanted to grow, right? You may discover that Bach has his own version of "Shine Jesus Shine" (or vice versa).

PROGRAMS: Choose a church that doesn’t have programs you want or like. This will force you to be a part of the solution rather than the problem.

Okay, hopefully you know I am being ironic. The point is that often we seek out places where we all think very much alike which leaves very little room for us to grow. We often treat the church as if it is a comsumer good or service or we act like Goldilocks when it comes to choosing a church. Our growth may not come in those places where we are not challenged.