HOW TO RATE A CHURCH
A religious editor of a Cleveland, Ohio,
newspaper upset quite a few church folk in the Cleveland area. Having
developed a rating system by which he scores churches from one to twelve, the
editor drops in, unannounced, on a different denominational group each Sunday,
and then writes up his impressions for Monday’s newspaper. Imagine
the chagrin of people who think they attend a twelve-star church when they read
that the editor considers it merely a three-star affair!
Knowing nothing about his rating system, I have no way of knowing what his
notion of a twelve-star church is. What is your idea of a twelve-star
church? Whether you realize it or not, you likely do have a system by
which you rate a church. Do you take exceptional pride in the style or
size of the building in which you worship? Would you feel uncomfortable
meeting down the street in a building that is “not a real church building?”
Did you decide on this church because “the best people in town” (meaning
community social, political, and financial leaders) go there? Were you
attracted by its many activities, or its “large Sunday School?” You
see, you do have a “rating system.”
If the above characteristics constitute the elements of your “rating
system,” you need to revise your system. Do you suppose God would use
these traits in His rating system? Is He interested in how elaborate the
meetinghouse is? Is He impressed by how wealthy the people are who gather there?
Is He really pleased if folks are busy doing “many wonderful works”
(Matthew 7:22)? These things may be all right within themselves, but they
are nowhere found in God’s “rating system” for churches.
What characteristics would God use in rating a church? May I suggest a few for your consideration:
A church must be built
upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets—Jesus Christ, the chief
cornerstone (Eph. 2:20; 1 Cor. 3:11). To build on any other foundation is sheer
folly.
A church must accept the Word of Christ as its complete and final authority in,
all things religious. Jesus has “all authority in heaven and on earth”
(Mt. 28:18). He is the head of the church which is His body (Eph. 1:22-23; Col.
1:18). God now speaks to us through Him (Heb. 1:1-2). We must abide
in His doctrine (2 John 9) in order to “have God.” The church that has
a high rating with God is composed of those who “with purpose of
heart...cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
A church must worship “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Worship
will be “in vain” when it is not according to truth, when “the doctrines
and commandments of men” (Mt. 15:9) are substituted for the revealed will of
God, regardless of how sincere the worshipper might be. And, one may be
thoroughly orthodox in what he does in worship, but doing it for the wrong
motive renders his worship vain (ef.. Mt. 6:1-18), or when his daily life fails
to measure up to God’s standard.
A church must be engaged in divinely authorized activities. It does not
turn the church into a social club, but busies itself in the real work of the
church. It meets for worship (Acts 20:7; Heb. 10:25). It “holds
forth the word of life” (Phil. 2:16) and sounds out the word of the Lord” (I
Thess. 1:8). After preaching the Gospel to every creature (Mk. 16:16) it
does not fail to “perfect the saints” (Eph. 4:12) by teaching them to
“observe all things commanded by the Lord” (Mt. 28:20). It has no
desire to change spiritual functions to purely carnal and social functions.
The religious editor upset some folks because he “just dropped in,” and they
did not know he was there. You can be assured that God is always observing
what we do in our congregation. He knows our works (cf. Rev. 2,3).
How would HE rate our congregation?
—Selected from the Jacksonville Church of Christ