Should I Choose a Church for Its Pastor? by: Mark Dever

Found here. Our comments in bold.

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It seems the author wants to talk about something else besides the title's subject. He's actually answering the question, "what should be a church's highest priority," or, "why churches should conduct traditional services."

While no one doubts that the Word ought to be a focus of the church gathering, the problem here is that the Bible does not tell us to come together and listen while an expert explains Scripture. The principal description of a church gathering is found in Ac. 2:42-47:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.

45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The author does not mention this passage, nor does he mention the instructions Paul gives the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians chapters 11 through 15 about how their gatherings should be conducted. In fact, the author never mentions any Scripture about how a church should conduct its meetings.

Further, the author never explains why a person should choose a church based on the quality of the preaching. Nor does he mention "church shoppers," who want certain things from the church they join with, rather than them going in with the attitude of what they can offer to the church.

Actually, expert, powerful preaching doesn't even need to be a requirement to attend a church. And, preaching doesn't have to be the central ministry of a church. A church with a powerful expositor of the word isn't necessarily a good church. 

A beginning pastor with a halting delivery might be exactly the church someone ought to attend. An elder-led church with a shared leadership [1Pe. 5:1-3] might be a better choice. A church that needs gifted, mature people to manage a revival might be even better.

Ultimately, there is very little good advice in this article regarding choosing a church. The author is actually intent on criticizing is the non-traditional ways churches do their Sunday gatherings. He doesn't like them. They are not what he prefers. In the final analysis, the author wants tradition. He want good little sheep to come every Sunday, sit attentively with their hands on their laps, write out their tithe checks, and go home.  Leave the ministry to the professionals.

Which means for those who value a good sermon above anything else (or perhaps, those who need their ears tickled yet again with the 10,000th sermon they've heard), well, we guess the author has a point.

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The Most Important Thing

If you are looking for a good church, the role of the preacher of God’s Word is the most important thing to consider. I don’t care how friendly you think the church members are. I don’t care how good you think the music is. Those things can change. (The potential for something changing is cause to reject a church?)

But the congregation’s commitment to the centrality of the Word coming from the front, from the preacher, the one specially gifted by God and called to that ministry, is the most important thing you can look for in a church. (This is his premise, which he now needs to demonstrate. He will not bother.)

Preachers are not called to preach what’s popular according to the polls. (True, but irrelevant.)

People already know all that. What life does that bring? We’re not called to preach merely moral exhortations or history lessons or social commentaries (though any of those things may be a part of good preaching). (True, but irrelevant.)

We are called to preach the Word of God to the church of God and to everyone in his creation. (True, but irrelevant.)

This is how God brings life. (True, but irrelevant.)

Each person who is reading this—and I, the one who has written it—is flawed and has faults and has sinned against God. And the terrible thing about our fallen natures is that we are greedy for ways to justify our sins against God. Every single one of us wants to know how we can defend ourselves against God’s charges. (These are all semi-puzzling statements, particularly the last one, especially if the subject is supposed to be choosing a church.)

Therefore we desperately need to hear God’s Word brought honestly to us, so that we don’t just hear what we want to hear but rather what God has actually said. (So, we are flawed, weak, and evil. The powerhouse pastor is going to wow us with a blistering sermon. That's why we need to choose a church based on the preaching. The pastor is going to set us straight.

Does a Christian of 10, 20, or 30 years really need another sermon? Shouldn't he be ministering to the Body according to his gifts? Shouldn't he be able to search the Scriptures for himself, rather than be spoon fed more sermons? Isn't he yet mature in faith, but somehow instead he needs more teaching?)

All of this is important, remember, because God’s Holy Spirit creates his people by his Word. (No Scripture reference supplied.)

This is why Paul told Timothy to “form a committee.” Right? Of course not! “Take a survey”? No! Paul never told anyone to take a survey. “Spend yourself in visiting”? “Read a book”? No! Paul never told young Timothy to do any of those things. (The author is now constructing his teaching based on what Paul didn't tell Timothy. This is an Argument from Silence.)

Paul told Timothy, straight and clear, to “preach the word” (2 Tim. 4:2). (True, but irrelevant. We would agree that this is good instruction to Timothy. But Paul had much to tell Timothy, including

• fan into flame the gift of God [2Ti. 1:6]
• testify about our Lord [2Ti. 1:8]
• keep as the pattern of sound teaching [2Ti. 1:13]
• be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. [2Ti. 2:1]
• Endure hardship [2Ti. 2:3]
• Remember Jesus Christ [2Ti. 2:8]
• Warn them before God against quarrelling about words [2Ti. 2:14]
• present yourself to God as one approved [2Ti. 2:15]
• Avoid godless chatter [2Ti. 2:16 ]
• Flee the evil desires of youth [2Ti. 2:22]
• continue in what you have learned [2Ti. 3:14]
• Preach the Word [2Ti. 4:2] 
• Do the work of an evangelist, and all the duties of his ministry [2Ti. 4:5]
• Be on guard against false teachers [2Ti. 4:15] 

In other words, Paul has a long list of directions to Timothy; some are personal, and some are regarding the church Paul sent him to. But the author wants to take one single thing and elevate it to prime importance. His criteria? It is his preference according to his tradition.

And he has yet to substantially address the supposed subject matter, choosing a church.)

This is the great imperative. This is why the apostles earlier had determined that, even though there were problems with the equitable distribution of financial aid in Jerusalem, the church would have to find others to solve their problems, because: “We . . . will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:3–4). Why this priority? Because this Word is “the word of life” (Phil. 2:16). The great task of the preacher is to “hold out the word of life” to people who need it for their souls. (The author neglects the context of the Philippians passage:

Ph. 2:14-16 Do everything without complaining or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16 as you hold out the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

To whom is Paul writing? 

Ph. 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons...

Paul is giving instruction to the entire congregation, not just the leadership or the pastor.)

The Ancient Way

Today some critics suggest that we need a less rational, more artistic, less authoritarian and elitist, more communal and participatory way of communicating God’s truth than this ancient method of one person standing up front and talking in a monologue to others. (Appeal to history and tradition, not the Bible.)

We need video clips, they say, and dialogues and liturgical dance. And yet there’s something right and good about this ancient method that makes it appropriate, perhaps even especially appropriate, for our culture today. (This is a superficial reason for doing church: Do it the way we've always done it.)

In our isolatingly subjectivist culture where everyone is just into their own thing, in this anti-authority culture where everyone is confused and confusing, it is appropriate for us to gather together and listen to one who is standing in the place of God, giving his Word to us as we contribute nothing to it other than hearing and heeding it. (No Scripture reference supplied for this depressing version of church. the author has no interest in the ministry of the Body [1 Cor. chapter 12]. He doesn't care about the people at all, he cares about the pastor in the spotlight. 

Remember, he is writing about choosing a church. He wants you to choose a church where the professional does the ministry and you do absolutely nothing, rather than choose a place where you can worship, where you are trained, where you are eventually released to do the ministry. Truly sad.)

There is an important symbol in this process in and of itself. The sermon as monologue—one person speaking with others sitting with mouths closed and ears open—is both an accurate and a powerful symbol of our spiritual state. (No Scripture reference supplied for this.)

One person speaking God’s Word—reading it and explaining it, illustrating and applying it for the benefit of the hearers—is a depiction of God’s self-disclosure and our salvation being a gift. (No Scripture reference supplied for this.

The author's preference is elevated to a spiritual requirement. His version of church, with a CEO pastor delivering gems of wisdom, with the congregation sitting there in rapt attention, marveling at the wisdom of this man "standing in the place of God;" this is his ideal version of church.

This is the "ancient way," that is, a manifestation of a 2000 year descent into irrelevancy as society and culture run amuck. Well, at least we have our traditional church services...)

Of course there will come a day when faith will give way to sight and sermons will be no more. And let me tell you there is no one who looks forward to that more than I and most of my fellow preachers. (And probably a fair number of his parishioners as well, but for different reasons...)

When you don’t need faith anymore because you can see the Lord— that’s the climax of the Bible. “They will see his face” (Rev. 22:4). At that point this old cane of faith can be cast aside as we run and see him with our own eyes.

But we’re not there yet. We’re still laboring under the results of the sins of our first parents and of our own sins. On that day, faith will finally give way to sight, but for now we are in a different time—but by God’s grace this is not a time of total despair. He gives us his Word and he gives us faith. (He gives us nothing else, like maybe His divine power [2Pe. 1:3]? The Holy Spirit [Ro. 5:5, 1Co. 2:12]? The spiritual gifts via His grace [Ro. 12:6]?)

We are in a day of faith. And so, like our first parents before us, like Noah and Abraham, the Israelites and the ancient apostles, we rely on God’s Word. (This is a truly odd closing. The author wants us to rely on God's Word, but apparently not to read it for ourselves, but rather, hear it from a pastor's mouth. 

Noah and Abraham had no Bible. They spoke to and heard from God Himself. [Ge. 17:4, Ex. 3:4]. The "ancient apostles" WROTE Scripture. No one in these examples relied solely on God's Word. 

And neither do we. Besides the Bible, we have teachers, commentaries, books, theologians, and we have the brethren as sources of help, hope, and truth. And most crucially, we have the Holy Spirit who teaches us all things [1Jn. 2:27].

The author is either misguided or mistaken about pastors and about the Bible. He certainly has no idea about how to choose a church.)

This article is adapted from Nine Marks of a Healthy Church by Mark Dever.