“Tell me, O you whom my heart loves, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest your sheep during the midday heat? Tell me lest I wander around beside the flocks of your companions!”
“If you do not know, O most beautiful of women, simply follow the tracks of my flock, and pasture your little lambs beside the tents of the shepherds.”
How does a person choose a good church? Involvement in a church is an important part of spiritual growth. But which one? There are so many to choose from.
Walking distance from my house in Beaverton, Oregon, are two Presbyterian churches within one block of each other. One is Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) [1] and the other is Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) [2].
Their names are almost identical. To assume, however, that their distinctions are minor would be major mistake. These churches are worlds apart. In fact, if you read their promotional material or speak to their leaders, you might conclude they came from different planets.
The PCA church in Beaverton holds to the historic creeds of the Reformed Church:
“We believe the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit and without error in the original manuscripts. The Bible is the revelation of God’s truth and is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and practice.”
“We subscribe to the Westminster Standards[3] so that there is little confusion as to what we believe and practice.”[4]
Its PCUSA neighbor subscribes to a much more liberal view of Scripture:
“We do not espouse a literal interpretation of the stories of the Bible; rather, we believe they are 'truth stories', which are able to raise questions and teach us about God and ourselves. It is this theology that gives our lives meaning and joy and has led us to several characteristic actions: insistence on inclusive language, full participation of women in the church, More Light[5], a woman's right to choose, and growth toward better stewardship of the earth.”[6]
The teachings of these two local churches are radically opposite. Evergreen Presbyterian (PCA) is orthodox, historic, reformed, evangelical, and holds a high view of Scripture. Southminster Presbyterian (PCUSA) is liberal and focuses on inclusive language, women's rights, pro-choice in abortion, active support of the LGBTQ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer), and environmental concerns. The names of these two churches may sound similar, but their doctrines and practice of ministry are anything but! This phenomenon should drive us to our knees…“Tell me, O You whom
my heart loves, where do You
pasture Your sheep?”
It’s good to know that Jesus has an answer…
“If you do not know,...
simply follow the tracks
of My flock.”
The text suggests I may ‘Follow those who follow Him.’ If finding a good church eludes me, there is another way. I need only to find good sheep who follow their Shepherd Jesus, and then follow their “tracks” to the church they attend. That should get me to a “pasture” worth grazing in.
Once I am part of a excellent community of faith, I must endeavor to faithfully follow Jesus so others who “follow the tracks” I make, may also happily join us.
________________________
Once I am part of a excellent community of faith, I must endeavor to faithfully follow Jesus so others who “follow the tracks” I make, may also happily join us.
________________________
[1] Evergreen Presbyterian Church, 7275 SW Hall Boulevard, Beaverton, Oregon 97008, (503) 626-1520 (http://evergreenpca.com/).
[2] Southminster Presbyterian Church, 12250 SW Denney Road, Beaverton, Oregon 97008, (503) 644-2073 (http://www.southmin.org/).
[3] "The Westminster Confession of Faith", Presbyterian Church in America (https://www.pcaac.org/resources/wcf/).
[4] "Statement of Faith", Evergreen PCA (http://evergreenpca.com/who/statement-of-faith). This was the original link. It no longer works.
[5] "...the mission of More Light Presbyterians is to work for the full participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people of faith in the life, ministry and witness of the Presbyterian Church (USA)", (http://www.mlp.org/index.php?topic=aboutUs).
[6] "Theology", Westminster PCUSA (http://www.southmin.org/theology.html). This was the original link. It no longer works.
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7 comments:
Find. Build. Support. Sustain.
It is but should not be all that complicated to find a church.
What I don't understand are those of us, who want to find that perfect church, but are not willin g to put in anything to make it perfect.
Sort of like Hobo soup I guess.
I agree. Although, I have heard that if anyone finds a "perfect church" he shouldn't join it... or he'll ruin it!
I guess since churches are made up of imperfect people, it stands to reason that churches will be imperfect.
We'll just have to wait for the return of Christ to perfect His church.
Dave
“We do not espouse a literal interpretation of the stories of the Bible; rather, we believe they are 'truth stories', which are able to raise questions and teach us about God and ourselves."
I don't understand the comments about finding "a perfect church". I agree you can't find a perfect church, but that isn't the issue. It is whether you can find a church who believes the Word of God, or one which would make the statement quoted above, which if any one would truthfully examine it, would discover it is totally meaningless.
Larry E.
I completely agree with you, Larry.
I think the point of this post is that there are passionate, church-going poeple who argue for a very liberal interpretation of the Bible. I am not one of those people. However, both liberal and conservative church-goers are in the minority. Most people, especially in the Pacific Northwest where I live, don't attend church at all. The question really becomes... "Does my life inspire others to want to follow me as I follow Jesus? Or, does the liberal church gain a following because they appear to be more loving, kind, inclusive, etc. than me and my conservative church brothers and sisters? The fact that churches like Southminster can even exist prods me to become a better witness for Jesus Christ.
I think if we need to love anyone better is our triune God! If we did that, we can be sure He'd be drawing people to our church. He said He will build His church by the preaching of His word! That needs to be obediently and faithfully done.
I think if we need to love anyone better it is our triune God! If we did that, we can be sure He'd be drawing people to our church. He said He will build His church by the preaching of His word! That needs to be obediently and faithfully done. And we need to worship Him as He's asked us to.
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