Church Hunting

Since we have moved to a new state, we have been on the hunt for a new church home. We discovered one that was close by and recommended via a networked church reference. As we were driving, I remember praying silently, "Lord, I just want a church that takes the Bible seriously." Leaving our Bereans Sunday school group was hard, not in the least because its namesake is based on Acts 17:11, where the people of Berea, "Received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily." Bereans class takes the Bible seriously. How do you tell the difference between a church that does and a church that does not? Sometimes you have to thin slice it, but generally speaking, there are churches that pay lip service to the Word, and there are other churches that approach the Bible with a quiet desperation and exhilaration, that see it as the pearl of the world.

We approached and were immediately struck by how small the church was. Coming from a congregation of almost 3000, a little church with a sanctuary that could probably barely hold 200 people was quite a culture shock. We made our way to the back of the church, where we settled in and prepared to do our best to take in a new church experience for the next 2 hours.

Without going through a moment by moment analysis, I'm going to thin slice it-

During worship the worship leader read an extended passage from John Piper about the necessity of worshiping with both spirit and truth.

The message was based on Hebrews 4:4-8, titled "The Preeminence of the Incarnate Son Over Angels." The message itself lasted almost a full hour, and I got the feeling the pastor could have kept on rolling if he could.

For the first time in many months, I could not keep pace with the sermon simply with a Blackberry Ap. That, I think, is a very good thing.

This church takes the Bible seriously.