owen_miller said:
I hope this isn't too general, but I was thinking about What are some good reasons not to go (or go) to a non-denominational (or any other denomination besides IFB honestly) church? [Speaking as a frequent attender of FBCH]
Interesting question, and deserves a better answer that can be given shortly.
In theory, non-denominational churches don't have a hierarchy, and each church is (again,
in theory), unique - this is supposed to what IFB churches are like. However, man worship has crept into a lot of IFB churches, and may have crept into non-denominational churches as well.
The real evaluation of a church (of any stripe) is the Scripture. Every believer should study the Scriptures and evaluate how the various churches in his area line up with the Scriptures. We are commanded to attend church; we need it for the teaching as well as for the fellowship (Acts 2).
One of the big problems in America is that we get influenced by the "success syndrome" that pervades the business world -- we think that "successful" equals "good", and therefore a "successful" church - usually measured in numbers is therefore a good church. People who have "big" churches believe that they are doing something right and have conferences and symposiums on how do do things "right" in order to be "successful".
There are some things that I think should mark a Scriptural church... it should have Christians at all stages of spiritual life; it should have new-born Christians; it should have Christians who are young in the faith; it should have mature Christians, and Christians in between. If everyone in the church has been saved for 30 years or more, there is a problem; likewise, if the church has nothing but immature believers (say, saved less than 5 years), that's another red flag -- and I'm talking about an established church. If, as people begin to grow in the Lord, they leave, that's a red flag.
Furthermore, just because someone has been in a church 20 years does not mean that he is a mature Christian - some people attend church for 20 years and are still just a babe in Christ.
I think the pastor should be the overseer of the church according to the Scripture, but at the same time, he is not to be a dictator or a cult leader. This seems to be a hard balance to achieve, but by the grace of God, some men do.
I'm sure that there are good non-denominational churches; however, my experience has been that that such churches tend to compromise standards and weaken over time.
