Church Search 101
by Motte Brown on 03/10/2007 at 10:43 AM
In response to Ted's post about Suzanne's article on church membership, one person asks, "What do I look for in a church?" At the risk of sounding incredibly simplistic, I would say it's expositional preaching.
Seven years ago when I had to leave Capitol Hill Baptist Church because of a move, I asked Pastor Mark Dever what I should look for in a church. He said by far the most important thing is expositional preaching. If the pastor gets that one right, he said, his church should be healthy.
So what is expositional preaching? In Nine Marks of a Healthy Church, Mark says it's "preaching which takes for the point of a sermon, the point of a particular passage of Scripture." In other words, expositional preaching begins with Scripture, not a predetermined topic from the pastor. That's called topical preaching. And Mark says that pastor's who do this regularly "will never preach more than what they already knew when they began the whole exercise."
He writes:
A preacher should have his mind increasingly shaped by Scripture. He shouldn't just use Scripture as an excuse for what he already knows he wants say. When that happens, when someone regularly preaches in a way that is not expositional, the sermons tend to be only on the topics that interest the preacher. The result is that the preacher and the congregation only hear in Scripture what they already thought when they came to the text. There's nothing new being added to their understanding. They're not continuing to be challenged by the Bible.
Mark Dever is a gifted preacher of the Word. Anyone who's been under his teaching for any length of time would probably agree. However, Mark stressed that being a gifted orator isn't important -- being faithful is. Faithfully preaching through the Word, in its context, enables us to "hear from God what we didn't intend to hear when we set out to study the passage."
Even more than parking and pews and greetings and programs and nursery and music ... even more than the preacher, it is what is preached -- it is the Word of God. Because "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt.4:4).
1. amy said the following at 11:44 AM on Mar 10:
I'd beg to differ. My pastor (in fact the whole church) takes great pride in the expositional preaching -- it is the number one hallmark of our church, I'd say. But I don't know how healthy I'd consider the church. I'm struggling right now because it feels very "ingrown" -- a mindset of "circle the wagons" and protect our families from the influence of the world -- rather than actively serving and loving and reaching out to the community. I'd say the vast, vast majority of the growth we've experienced over the last year and a half I've been there has been babies (the church is booming with them) and transfers from other churches; we've had no baptisms of new believers in that time. We support missionaries overseas, but there's no real mercy ministries or active outreach going on here at home. Does that really sound all that healthy?
So yeah, preaching the Word -- rather than topical fluff -- is crucial. It's what drew us to this church in the first place. But I have the nagging feeling something's missing here. I'm not satisfied. In other words, experience is telling me that expositional preaching is not automatically the answer.
2. Maggie said the following at 4:41 PM on Mar 10:
I'd probably also have to disagree. I think that in order to find a good church you have to go in with a heart and mind in pursuit of God ... but not a specific type of preaching.
The church that I go to now has sermons that come out of topics at some times and others it begins with a scripture ... and I have to say I've never attended a church so active in God's work or quite as life changing and challenging as this one.
3. Rachel said the following at 8:13 PM on Mar 10:
Mmm... I disagree completely.
Good preaching is beneficial, indeed.
... ... But I'm Roman Catholic, and I know that even if the music stinks and the preaching is dull on any given Sunday, I still receive Jesus! THAT's what it's all about. ... ... And for those who don't believe in transubstantiation, it's about finding Jesus in the church community and about learning to find him and love him even within bad preaching. ...
I believe that even a church with a poor preacher can and will live out the message of the Bible that is "written in our hearts"(Romans 2:14-15).
4. IWishToRemainAnonymous said the following at 6:56 AM on Mar 11:
I attend a church where expositional preaching is the pastor's focus. He's been here for a number of years, and things seem to be getting worse instead of better in the congregation. I rarely feel loved or accepted by my church family. I don't feel any real sense of community there. The preaching is good, but I hardly have any friends -- and no, it's not a megachurch where I'm getting lost in the crowd.
So I guess my question is, without being overly simplistic -- what's the point of going to church in the first place? Community/fellowship with God's people, or good preaching?
5. Becky F. said the following at 10:58 AM on Mar 11:
Having community and fellowship with other believers in our church is wonderful, and it's a great reason to stay at a specific church: to build roots and a relationship with people.
I think I agree with Motte, though, that what the pastor teaches, as the shepherd of the congregation, is one of the most important aspects of a church. Motte said that he doesn't have to be a good orator, so he might be somewhat boring at times, but if he is faithfully preaching God's Word, then he is doing what he is called to do.
Rachel is right, we go to church to receive Jesus; whether that is from the sermon, the songs, the Scripture readings, the Lord's Supper, all of them, or a combination of those things on any given Sunday. We don't go just to worship God, or give back to him, but to receive His gifts to us, also.
6. NeedACatchyName said the following at 1:24 PM on Mar 11:
Let me preface this comment by saying that I am a huge fan of expositional preaching. In fact, I would say it's something that every church ought to at least consider doing if they aren't already.
Having said that, I agree with the above comments that it is not the most important thing to look for in a church. I would argue that sound doctrine is far more important. There are many, many churches out there who use expositional preaching but still find a way to pervert the teachings of Scripture in an unorthodox manner. I have heard sermons before that were expositional but still incredibly unorthodox in their theology. A pastor who is determined to bend God's Word to their personal agenda will do so regardless of whether they're preaching in a topical or expositional style. In fact, I can think of a couple of churches just in my area that use expositional preaching that I would not recommend due to their unorthodox teachings.
The bottom line: I would say what a pastor is teaching is far more important than how he is teaching it.
7. Paul said the following at 5:50 PM on Mar 11:
>So I guess my question is, without being overly simplistic -- what's the point of going to church in the first place? Community/fellowship with God's people, or good preaching?<
Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV) (and similar in Mark and Luke).
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. ... Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him." John 14 verses 15 and 21. (NIV)
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15:12 (NIV)
Hopefully these scriptures illustrate that it's not an either/or, but rather both are necessary. If we are to love one another as Jesus loved us, we must be in community and fellowship. Also, in order to love God, we must constantly be striving to increase our understanding of His Word, that we may better love and relate to our God, and better obey that which He has commanded us to do.
A favourite sound bite from my Senior Pastor is that the church is never going to be perfect so long as there are imperfect people in it. But together we are to grow, mature, reach out to the lost in love and mercy, send out workers to the harvest fields near and far and worship our God who forgives us of all the mistakes we make along the way.
Paul
8. Becky said the following at 7:56 PM on Mar 11:
A question-
Our last pastor left about 1 1/2 years ago. One of the reasons I chose that church was that he and those that filled the pulpit were strong expositional preach.
We have recently called a new pastor. I can't figure if his style is more anecdotal or topical. I'd guess he spends about half the time telling stories and rarely places any Scripture in context. He usually has a main passage, but only spends a few minutes on it and then goes on to several other passages (and he has a story for each passage).
Sorry my thoughts are organized better here I am still trying to figure out what I think.
So my question is do you leave a church when they stop preaching expositionally?
9. Ariana said the following at 8:47 PM on Mar 11:
You can't really argue that it's not a good idea to speak to what a Bible passage is actually saying rather than simply grabbing Scripture references here and there to make your point. However, you can still preach a topical sermon that is broadly Scriptural rather than one that is particular to 10 consecutive verses (for example, what it means to be God's people on pilgrimage in a foreign land -- a topic that can span several books). As someone preparing for ordination and pastoral ministry, I've thought a lot about my "philosophy of the sermon," and I think that there is room for a pastoral message in the pulpit rather than only an expository one. The difference can be seen in the different types of epistles in the New Testament. Romans and Hebrews differ greatly, for instance, from the pastoral epistles I and II Timothy and John's letters. And the apostles often used what we would view as very sketchy hermenutics in their use of Scripture. They drag OT verses all out of context, all the time.
I have found that many churches desperately need their pastors to speak directly to them (like the pastoral epistles do) and tell them specifically how their particular congregation needs to live out the teachings of the Bible. And the pulpit is a great place to do that, and well-taught Bible studies and Sunday schools are a great place for the exposition of Scripture. When I look for a church, I look for a place that is actively seeking to understand God's will and to be obedient to it.
10. Rachel said the following at 9:16 PM on Mar 11:
As above stated, I don't think it's a matter of what kind of preaching you hear. Rather, ask yourself if your church is challenging you to grow and to live like Jesus lived.
Of course, what you put in to church is what you'll get out of it, so if you find you aren't growing and learning, don't automatically blame it on the church or the pastor's preaching. Examine your role in the church as well!
11. Aaron said the following at 11:11 PM on Mar 11:
I'm interested in this expositional preaching. My pastor always preaches in series planned far in advance and normally jumps all around scripture finding support for his points. From reading the comments I guess that is what you would call topical.
I can see the effects this type of preaching has. I always get annoyed at for him gleaning something from scripture that I don't think the verse supports. Now I'm beginning to think that might be because he searches the Word for scriptures supporting his point, instead of points supported by scripture.
Now in general 95% of his points are very sound, but almost every week he is reading something into a verse that is simply not correct.
12. MB said the following at 4:48 AM on Mar 12:
Is the motto at the top of the page, "bringing focus to the single years," new, or have I just never noticed it before? I'm not single; am I still allowed to read Boundless Line? :-) Just kidding...but I didn't realize the focus of this blog was "the single years."
13. Rachel said the following at 8:08 AM on Mar 12:
I think this is lending into another discussion.... How is it that we know we're interpreting Scripture properly?
We can obviously go and find Scriptural backing for just about anything we want to believe.... For example: search "snake handling" on Wikipedia.... How do we know what to take literally, and from what do we take general themes?
14. Rachel Marie said the following at 12:11 PM on Mar 12:
I agree that expositional preaching is an important component of the spiritual life of a congregation. But the pastor's message should be grounded by sound doctrine and the confessions of the Church at all times and in all places.
The Eucharist should also be a major focus of Christian worship. Jesus gave us the gifts of his body and blood and the command, "Do this in rememberence of me." Paul says, "When you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." I come from a Calvinist tradition that doesn't hold the doctrine of transsubstantiation, but affirms that God is uniquely present when his people gather together to celebrate the Supper. Calvin says, "Now Christ is the only food of our soul, and therefore our Heavenly Father invites us to Christ, that, refreshed by partaking of him, we may repeatedly gather strength until we shall have reached heavenly immortality."
15. amy said the following at 12:59 PM on Mar 12:
A couple of people have mentioned "sound doctrine" as more important than, or at least equally important to, expositional preaching.
My response to this is to reiterate my original comment (#1). Our pastor/church values "sound doctrine" as much or more than expositional preaching. He speaks nearly every Sunday of false teachers in "neo-evangelicalism," etc. He has a passion for his flock to know the truth and not be deceived, and this is quite admirable.
Still, the problems remain: knowledge without application; doctrine without action. I don't see depth of community within or mercy and the gospel extended actively to those outside.
So clearly, expositional preaching and sound doctrine do not guarantee a healthy church.
16. Christopher said the following at 3:35 PM on Mar 12:
Amy, growing families and missions are a mark of a healthy church. Members who desire to see more social ministry are another mark of a healthy church. If you feel your church needs to become more engaged at this level, than start the ministry! I assure you, your pastor will rejoice. BTW, pastors should not lead these ministries; they should focus on expository preaching of the word (see Acts 6).
Ariana, please read Greg Beale’s “Right Doctrine from the Wrong Text” before speaking so disrespectfully of the apostolic authors again. As for topical preaching in the pulpit and exposition in Sunday school, I doubt it. A pastor who does not understand the importance of expository preaching will not likely foster expository teaching.
As for right doctrine, two things come to mind. 1) Right doctrine comes from the text in the first place. All it is is a restatement of the teaching of Scripture. Therefore, 2) making the main point of the sermon match the main point of the text should protect pastors from professing false doctrine. So, claiming the right doctrine is more important than expository preaching is a false dichotomy. If a minister is trying to make his main point match the main point of the text, and he is consistently teaching falsehoods, the people will see this plainly and he will be forced to deal more honestly with the text.