So, you’re looking for a church.
I hope you’ve prayerfully considered why you’ve left your former church (I’ve written about the ten reasons to leave a church here). You’ve already watched a service online, read the church’s doctrinal statement, and visited the church. What comes next?
You will, of course, want to understand the church’s doctrine and affiliation. If you have kids, you will definitely ask, “Are the children’s and students’ ministries biblically grounded, safe, and engaging?” You might want to know about their outreach strategy.
What if I told you that while these issues are important, there might be a different set of questions that might more effectively reveal the health of a church?
As a pastor, I have the blessing of knowing other local pastors as acquaintances, friends, and partners. In fact, in the next two weeks I’ll attend retreats with two different groups of pastors. There are many wise and godly pastors. There are also plenty of pastors who aren’t healthy. A cursory look at the outside of their churches is unlikely to reveal which one is which.
The spiritual health of your pastor matters. Unhealthy leaders leave a wake of hurt behind them. Healthy leaders beget healthy organizations. So, I would encourage you to consider asking your future pastor a very different set of questions. The heartbeat of these questions is to reveal health, not to trap. It’s not to be judgmental. Every church is being sanctified. Every pastor knows there are areas his church needs to grow.
If I were looking for a church today, here are some strange but telling questions I would ask the pastor.
1. Other than yours, what other faithful local churches would you recommend I consider?
A healthy church ought to be able to look outside of itself to other local churches, see God at work, and rejoice. No single church ought to be elevated to the capital C Church.
2. How are you partnering (formally or informally) with other local churches?
A healthy church is engaged in advancing the gospel with other local churches. This might not show up in formal programs; in fact, informal partnerships may be more impactful. The answer to this question should point to how the church is putting into action its belief that God’s Kingdom work is bigger than just their congregation. Such a question reveals how humble a church’s leaders are and how big they believe God’s Kingdom work is.
3. How are you partnering to multiply the city (or area) church?
I believe that healthy churches aren’t just trying to grow numerically; they are invested in multiplying. Almost every healthy church is invested in global missions, but many have a blind spot when it comes to multiplying the church in the surrounding area that God has placed them. To be invested in the multiplication of God’s church can’t be just an idea, leadership must be willing to make sacrifices to this end.
4. Are you part of a covenant group?
Most pastors are part of a small group (and that’s important!). Fewer are a part of an intentional and deep community of peers in which they process pastoral and personal struggles in a transparent and vulnerable way. It took me years to find this kind of group; my vocational and familial callings are stronger because the intimacy of this group. I would at least want to see a pastor's desire to engage in this kind of group to place himself in rich, accountable relationships.
5. What part of your church are you praying that God will transform in the coming year?
A humble pastor will be able to mention several areas in which he is praying God would shape the church so that it looks more like the Kingdom community. The question, of course, isn’t whether or not his church is perfect, but rather whether the pastor has a self-awareness of where his church needs to be sanctified.
6. Do you practice church discipline? What does that look like?
A healthy church practices proactive care of its membership and urges members and leaders to repent when they have sinned or fallen away. Many churches either shirk the responsibility of discipline or go to the other extreme, becoming punitive rather than compassionate in their discipline. The way a church practices discipline gives you a glimpse of how they carry out their responsibility to shepherd the flock (1 Pet 3). As it pertains to leadership, transparency will be given to the congregation as deemed appropriate by leadership in good standing who will come alongside the fallen leader (and others involved within the body) to offer an opportunity for confession, repentance, exhortation, and rehabilitation. The goal would be eventually to appropriately restore the fallen leader.
7. What are you learning about right now?
A healthy leader is a lifelong learner. This gives you a glimpse of how they are learning and who they are learning from.
8. How can I be a good church member?
I would want to know the best ways I can help serve and love the church. Every pastor has a job description and is evaluated by how well he fulfills his responsibilities. A healthy church member likewise wants to fulfill his responsibilities to bless the local church family.
9. How can I best encourage you personally?
I would want my pastor to know that I am for him and want to help him serve with joy, recognizing that a Christian’s responsibility is to be a source of encouragement (Heb 13).
I recognize this is an odd collection of questions that presents almost like an interview. My purpose isn’t to promote suspicion or disrespect. My prayer is that we might consider some deeper issues regarding church health. May Christ build healthy communities that foster spiritual health and a Kingdom perspective.
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Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash