The phrase “church shopping” is used derogatorily to describe the typical process of trying to find a church. People go from one church to another to find the one that “feels right,” “meets my needs,” or provides “solid Biblical teaching and good music.”
I was sitting in a class seven years ago when a professor told me that it’s not about a church meeting your needs but about being where God calls you, and I still firmly believe this.
However, I don’t think God always e-mails us a Google map with the address of the church we’re supposed to attend. So, how do we pick a church when we don’t know where God is calling us? I’m not even convinced that He always has a particular place in mind. He may not care if you go to First Baptist or First Methodist.
Perhaps we’re supposed to be in the place where we can best serve. Maybe instead of asking if a church meets our needs, we should ask if the church is a place where we can radically advance the Kingdom of God. That may be a church that is growing, dynamic, and has a lot of resources, a place where we can come alongside and support a great ministry. It may be a church that is struggling and needs a particular gift, talent, or resource that God has given us.
I’m reading Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus, and a line from that book inspired this post. “Our motto degenerated from ‘We are the church, here to serve a lost and broken world’ to ‘What does the church have to offer me?’”
