How do I choose a Church?

[emeraldisle]

Funny - I’m interpreting them the same way the Early Fathers did.

A sweeping statement with no evidence.

What is your interpretation of Christ’s commandment to St. Peter, “feed my sheep, feed my lambs”?

Yes the Lord Jesus, in His position as head of the Church commanded a member (Peter) of the body of Christ to feed His sheep.

BTW I’m going to be away for a while, just in case you respond.

.

 

[jmcrae]

Yes the Lord Jesus, in His position as head of the Church commanded a member (Peter) of the body of Christ to feed His sheep.

To feed them is to lead them - to be their shepherd - their head. We can deduce from the fact that Peter is feeding the sheep, that he is no longer just a regular member of the flock.

Nobody in the Catholic Church thinks that Peter replaced Jesus, nor that the Pope replaces Jesus. But we do believe that his role is to be the earthly leader. That he is the one to whom God gives the “food” of the teaching of doctrine and morals, to then be distributed to the “flock” - that is, to the Church.

 

[SD_Catholic]

A sweeping statement with no evidence.

.

Not to get in the way… but here is some

From a “This Rock” article

*Augustine (354–430), while also seeing a restorative sense in John 21:15–17, affirms that the “the succession of priests, from the very see of the apostle Peter [the see of Rome], to whom the Lord, after his Resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep, up to the present episcopate, keeps me here [within the Catholic Church]” (Against the Letter of Mani Called “The Foundation” 4:5).

Pope Leo (440–461) writes “for not only was the power of loosing and binding given to Peter before the others, but also to Peter more especially was entrusted the care of feeding the sheep,” and that it is Peter who “holds the headship” (Letter 10). Pope Gregory the Great (590–604) writes “it is apparent that by the Lord’s voice the care of the whole Church” was committed to Peter (Register of the Epistles, 5, 20).

Pope Agatho, echoing his predecessors, applied the verse in question specifically to Peter and his successors. Agatho cited it as the basis for the inerrancy of the Roman See in a letter to the fathers of the Sixth Ecumenical Council (680), held in the East and attended almost exclusively by Eastern bishops:

“He [Peter] received from the Redeemer of all himself, by three commendations, the duty of feeding the spiritual sheep of the Church; under whose protecting shield this apostolic Church of his has never turned away from the path of truth in any direction of error, whose authority, as that of the Prince of all the apostles, the whole Catholic Church and the ecumenical synods have faithfully embraced, and followed in all things; and all the venerable Fathers have embraced its apostolic doctrine.”*

 

[wolfwredroses]

You say…the Catholic church is Bible believing! Fact is it places tradition and the church ITSELF as equal to Holy Scriptures in matter of authority. Strange how Luther posted the 100 thesis in defiance of false teachings of the Catholic church and anyone who honestly reads and studies the Holy Scriptures can see NUMEROUS contradictions in the teachings of Catholicisim. The question is a good one if not made contentiously. Personally I would speak with the Pastor(s) and ask them what they believe, if you feel in your heart with prayer they are correct, go, open mindedly and again in prayer asking the Lord if He wants you there. The real New Testement church is a called out body of believers and NOT ecclesiastical as the ritualistic catholic church is.

 

[jmcrae]

You say…the Catholic church is Bible believing! Fact is it places tradition and the church ITSELF as equal to Holy Scriptures in matter of authority.

The Bible itself as we know it today didn’t exist until 405 AD. It came forth from the oral tradition of the Apostles and from the authority that Christ gave to the Church, especially to the Pope. It was Pope Innocent I who gave the final okay to the 73 books of Scripture, and ordered that they be translated all into one common language, bound into one book, and then copied and distributed to the churches.

Without that infallible Papal declaration, we would not have a Bible today.

Strange how Luther posted the 100 thesis in defiance of false teachings of the Catholic church and anyone who honestly reads and studies the Holy Scriptures can see NUMEROUS contradictions in the teachings of Catholicisim.

I have read the Bible many times, but I can’t find these contradictions. In fact, every time I open the Bible, I become even more convinced of the Catholic faith.

The question is a good one if not made contentiously. Personally I would speak with the Pastor(s) and ask them what they believe, if you feel in your heart with prayer they are correct, go, open mindedly and again in prayer asking the Lord if He wants you there.

Here, you are simply replacing the Holy Tradition with your own personal feelings and personal opinions. You haven’t replaced it with Scripture at all, since you are depending on someone else (a pastor who makes you “feel in your heart” that he is right) to interpret it for you.

The real New Testement church is a called out body of believers and NOT ecclesiastical as the ritualistic catholic church is.

The real New Testement church is a called out body of believers who, for practical reasons, used the authority given to them by Christ to embody the truths that Christ had given them into prayers, Creeds, writings, and various different kinds of rituals, in order to prevent the loss of those teachings to the next generations. It is ecclesiastical and ritualistic because our personal opinions aren’t necessarily always correct. If the Church had started off by leaving it to everyone to have a personal opinion, it would have been destroyed by heresy before it even got out of Jerusalem.

 

[wolfwredroses]

jm, I appreciate your reply, I question some issues of your sources. The Scripture is exactly what it is, written by those to whom it is attributed to being the author. An exception maybe some of the Pauline Epistles because it seems he had a very significant eye disease. If that is the case it is probable that Timothy penned some of them FOR Paul. Nonetheless, the other were written by those credited not “oral traditions” as you state. Luke the beloved physician wrote his Gospel as well as Acts, the other’s as stated with an unknown author of Hebrews, some say Paul. As far as crediting the Catholic church with the Bible I do not think there is much pride in that history. First of all the church as you see it today was not the church of the 4th century. Secondly the catholic’s “chaining” of the Bible to the pulpit and forbidding it to be read by the laity was one of the main reason Luther gave his church his “Anathema” and energized the Great Reformation. You say you read the Bible and find no contradictions, it is with Rose colored glassed you read it. They do not allow me space here to list them, but if you privately message me I would gladly discuss numerous issues, e.i. the priesthood, eucharist, Mariolotry, infant baptism, purgatory, prayers for the dead, transubstantiation, papacy, tradition and most importantly salvation.

You even question the sincerity of talking directly to the pastor of a church this person were to consider?? What is your purpose in your writing to blindly defend the catholic church or seek the truth? How do you find fault in a prayerful attitude of one seeking GOD for direction in their personal life? Do you not do that yourself? Pray and trust God for HIS direction? THAT really was all I was saying still you try to find fault in that.

I defined “ecclesia” simplistically, you can complicate it all you want it truly doesn’t impress God. “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” Matthew 15:9

 

[SD_Catholic]

jm, I appreciate your reply, I question some issues of your sources. The Scripture is exactly what it is, written by those to whom it is attributed to being the author. An exception maybe some of the Pauline Epistles because it seems he had a very significant eye disease. If that is the case it is probable that Timothy penned some of them FOR Paul. Nonetheless, the other were written by those credited not “oral traditions” as you state. Luke the beloved physician wrote his Gospel as well as Acts, the other’s as stated with an unknown author of Hebrews, some say Paul. As far as crediting the Catholic church with the Bible I do not think there is much pride in that history. First of all the church as you see it today was not the church of the 4th century. Secondly the catholic’s “chaining” of the Bible to the pulpit and forbidding it to be read by the laity was one of the main reason Luther gave his church his “Anathema” and energized the Great Reformation. You say you read the Bible and find no contradictions, it is with Rose colored glassed you read it. They do not allow me space here to list them, but if you privately message me I would gladly discuss numerous issues, e.i. the priesthood, eucharist, Mariolotry, infant baptism, purgatory, prayers for the dead, transubstantiation, papacy, tradition and most importantly salvation.

You even question the sincerity of talking directly to the pastor of a church this person were to consider?? What is your purpose in your writing to blindly defend the catholic church or seek the truth? How do you find fault in a prayerful attitude of one seeking GOD for direction in their personal life? Do you not do that yourself? Pray and trust God for HIS direction? THAT really was all I was saying still you try to find fault in that.

I defined “ecclesia” simplistically, you can complicate it all you want it truly doesn’t impress God. “But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” Matthew 15:9

So do you believe and trust what the church taught prior to the 4th century?.. before Catholics messed it up

I’m sure jmcrae can enlighten you… but I can promise you he/she is not blindly defending anything…

SD

 

[Jonny87]

This is the reason I refer to myself as a freelance Christian. There is too much politics involved in churches, to many of them are focused on stating reasons why another is wrong instead of reasons why they are right. i attend no masses, i am involved in no parishes. I concentrate on following Jesus’ teachings as best i can in my own way in my environment. And whenever someone accuses me of being a “lazy believer” I simply tell them I will join whichever church Jesus belonged too. Because there isn’t one we are making a mockery of his teachings b y dividing oursleves like this. In some countries there has been war between protestants and catholics. In my opinion it matters not to God what type of belief system we follow just that we believe.

 

[jmcrae]

jm, I appreciate your reply, I question some issues of your sources. The Scripture is exactly what it is, written by those to whom it is attributed to being the author. An exception maybe some of the Pauline Epistles because it seems he had a very significant eye disease. If that is the case it is probable that Timothy penned some of them FOR Paul. Nonetheless, the other were written by those credited not “oral traditions” as you state. Luke the beloved physician wrote his Gospel as well as Acts, the other’s as stated with an unknown author of Hebrews, some say Paul.

All of this information comes to us through the Oral Tradition, though - where those writings came from, who was responsible for them, etc.

Keep in mind, the writers of what we now consider to be the New Testament were not the only Christians writing at that time - many hundreds of books were being written about Christ - yet only 27 of them were accepted into the canon of Scripture. At the time that they were being written, there was no way to differentiate between the writings of St. Paul, the writings of St. Barnabas, the writings of Hermas, etc. - all of them were highly respected leading members of the Church - the average Christian living in 70 AD had no way of knowing that the writings of St. Paul were inspired by the Holy Ghost, but those of St. Barnabas, and those of Hermas, were just human opinions. If he was literate, he was reading them all, and if he was not literate, then he was listening to their preaching, and not only their preaching but also the preaching of many other early Church leaders, most of whom never wrote a word.

Yet, these people learned the Gospel, and they learned it accurately enough to pass it down by means of rituals and storytelling to the next generation. They didn’t rely on the written word for that.

As far as crediting the Catholic church with the Bible I do not think there is much pride in that history. First of all the church as you see it today was not the church of the 4th century. Secondly the catholic’s “chaining” of the Bible to the pulpit and forbidding it to be read by the laity was one of the main reason Luther gave his church his “Anathema” and energized the Great Reformation.

Actually, Martin Luther had access to a Bible, and not only that, it was in his native language - German. It was chained to the Church pulpit for the same reason that telephone books are chained into telephone booths, and that encyclopedias are chained to reading stands at libraries - because they were expensive and difficult to replace.

His problems with the Church were, the abuse of indulgences that was taking place in the region of Germany where he lived (the priest who was in charge of that area, Johannes Tetzel, was kind of the “Benny Hinn” or “Oral Roberts” of his era, promising miracles in exchange for money) and because he could not get the Church to agree with the heresy of “faith alone.”

You say you read the Bible and find no contradictions, it is with Rose colored glassed you read it. They do not allow me space here to list them, but if you privately message me I would gladly discuss numerous issues, e.i. the priesthood, eucharist, Mariolotry, infant baptism, purgatory, prayers for the dead, transubstantiation, papacy, tradition and most importantly salvation.

I investigated all of these issues over a period of 17 years before I became Catholic. There is nothing in the Bible that contradicts the proper Catholic understanding of these issues, and there is, in fact, a great deal of support in the Scriptures for most of them.

How do you find fault in a prayerful attitude of one seeking GOD for direction in their personal life? Do you not do that yourself? Pray and trust God for HIS direction? THAT really was all I was saying still you try to find fault in that.

A prayerful and humble attitude is not a self-sufficient attitude. A humble person makes use of the help that is offered to him; he doesn’t reject it on the basis that he expects God to intervene with him directly.

But I fear that a great many people listen to the sound of their own thoughts, mistakenly thinking that they are hearing the voice of God, when in fact all they are hearing is their own personal opinions.

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” Matthew 15:9

That’s a good description of Protestantism, since every Protestant church has its own doctrines, and even within the same city block, there are no two Protestant churches that officially teach the same doctrines as each other.

 

[johnnydigit]

This is the reason I refer to myself as a freelance Christian. There is too much politics involved in churches, to many of them are focused on stating reasons why another is wrong instead of reasons why they are right. i attend no masses, i am involved in no parishes. I concentrate on following Jesus’ teachings as best i can in my own way in my environment. And whenever someone accuses me of being a “lazy believer” I simply tell them I will join whichever church Jesus belonged too. Because there isn’t one we are making a mockery of his teachings b y dividing oursleves like this. In some countries there has been war between protestants and catholics. In my opinion it matters not to God what type of belief system we follow just that we believe.

lazy believer, baby-Christianity, shallow, however you want to look at it, is true. if you are good with where you are at, then no one can really do much to convince you otherwise. of others who were preaching in His name but not actually following with Jesus, He said, “Let them.”

this may be fine and well for those who are getting “enough”, but what about those who are not getting enough from these guys who don’t have access to the full and entire teachings of Jesus? they are left in the dark. these preachers want to preach their way, be in their own churches, and teach what they think is best.

like teenage “cliques”, only those who can relate to each other remain in these churches. the rest are left searching and knocking on doors, sometimes forever, when they could go straight to the Church that Jesus founded Himself, and contains the fullness of the entire faith.

God says you can’t do it on your own. these protestant pastors have decided they can. they take the Bible off on their own and reject the Church Jesus gave WITH the Bible. the help of the one, universal Church He established for us. in all its human ugliness, the teachings remain the same for 2000 years.

you may not realize it, but YOU are contributing to this division if you understand what i’m saying. instead of supporting the Church which needs your help, you have joined the dissenters who think they have it all, but sadly they don’t and don’t even realize it. they are comfortable with where they are and what they do, all the while mocking and helping to destroy the group that was actually following Jesus around - the Apostles and all those they laid their hands on and prayed over to pass on the authority and life of the Church.

humans war. humans fight over stupid little things. no matter what it is, even the body of Christ himself. why, because we are faulty humans. the divine part of the Church, the Holy Spirit, is what Jesus promised would protect it from the moment he said it would 2000 years ago until today. the teachings and Church have remained for 2000 years. no protestant church can claim this.

if you want to follow Jesus more, He wants more from you. He doesn’t want you to sit comfortably. all for the glory of God.

+++

 

[mikew262]

This is the reason I refer to myself as a freelance Christian. There is too much politics involved in churches, to many of them are focused on stating reasons why another is wrong instead of reasons why they are right. i attend no masses, i am involved in no parishes. I concentrate on following Jesus’ teachings as best i can in my own way in my environment. And whenever someone accuses me of being a “lazy believer” I simply tell them I will join whichever church Jesus belonged too. Because there isn’t one we are making a mockery of his teachings b y dividing oursleves like this. In some countries there has been war between protestants and catholics. In my opinion it matters not to God what type of belief system we follow just that we believe.

Good or bad, more and more folks are believing similar to you. I pass no judgment, just stating what I see.

 

[johnnydigit]

sad, but true. why do you think that is? i think because being Catholic is hard. it is easy to “just believe” in Jesus for the “important things” we think are important, then for the rest, just believe what you think is best.

therefore, the devil is succeeding. how would the devil destroy something so powerful and so great? by slowly dismantling it. he makes you think, “oh that’s not important, this is important.” you start with 100% truth with Jesus and His Apostles. then you got the people preaching in His name from other lands. they might have about 80%. then fast forward a few centuries. the truth goes down to 70%… 60%… 50%… it plummets during the protestant reformation and the Eucharist and Sacraments are all rejected. then you have “just the Bible only”, and “just Jesus only”… you get “faith alone”… sure, if say, Jesus is 50% of the faith and the most important, what about the other 50%? say if it’s the Catholic Church, what now? toss it. we’ll fill it in ourselves. we’ll put Scripture there instead. wrong.

as perverse as it is to set your own morals and decide things for yourself, just as God told Adam and Eve NOT to do, so is creating your own church… or denomination… or “non-denomination”. you are not your own God. you are not God. you cannot create your own church. is 10% of the truth ok? 20%? 50%? 75%? no, God wants to give us 100%. that is the Catholic Church, the fullness, completeness, the entire faith, from the beginning until the end.

 

[Katm]

I’m not sure the reason for your question, but as a cradle Catholic, who is also a “born again” Catholic with many protestant and evangelical friends, I would suggest you make every effort to learn what the Catholic Church is and what she teaches before searching for something else.
However, having said that, even more important, if there is something that was said or done to make you not feel part of the Catholic faith, I would hope you seek good counsel on how to address it and how to forgive and be reconciled.
My mother was the victim of clergy abuse way back in the 1930’s. I did not know about it until I was an adult, she didn’t speak of it, never complained or blamed. But all the time I was growing up, if we had a ‘bad’ priest and people would talk about leaving the parish or even the church, Mom would just say, “There’s not a priest alive who can chase me away from MY church.”
So, rather than having to say welcome back, I urge you to seek and receive love and forgiveness, and HIS healing compassion, and learn your faith.
God bless:blush:

 

[sola_scriptura]

If I were to leave the Catholic Church for a “bible believing” church, how would I choose one? The following is a list of local churches who all claim to follow the Bible. Do I choose one based on the fellowship they provide, on the worship music style that they provide, maybe what they teach as doctrine, or should I find one that believes what I believe?

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ALLIANCE BIBLE CHURCH, ALOHA CHRISTIAN CHURCH(DISCIPLES OF CHRIST), ALOHA CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER, BETHEL UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH, BROOKWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH, CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH, CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, CHURCH OF CHRIST, CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH, COMMUNITY OF CHRIST CHURCH, CORRIDOR BAPTIST CHURCH, EVERGREEN CHRISTIAN CENTER, FAITH CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP OF HILLSBORO, FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, U.C.C., FOREST GROVE BIBLE CHURCH, FRIENDS CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, GOLDEN ROAD BAPTIST, HELVETIA COMMUNITY CHURCH, HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH, HILLSBORO FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, HILLSBORO NAZARENE CHURCH, HILLSBORO CHRISTIAN FAITH CENTER, HILLSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HILLSBORO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, IGLESIA EVANGELICA HISPANA, LAUREL COMMUNITY CHURCH, ORENCO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, OUR PLACE - YOUR CHRISTIAN CHURCH, REEDVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SALVATION ARMY, SCHOLLS COMMUNITY CHURCH, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH OF FOREST GROVE, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, SINGING HILLS CHRISTIAN CHURCH, SONRISE BAPTIST CHURCH, ST PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, TUALATIN PLAINS PRESBYTERIAN, UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST COMMUNITY CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, VALLEY HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH, Westport Church, WESTSIDE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP, WEST VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH, WORLD OF FAITH FAMILY CENTER, WORLD OF FAITH CHRISTIAN CENTER, ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

Well, these same theological differences exist within Catholicism.

Jesuits (Molinist soteriology), Benedictines (Augustinian soteriology), and the average Catholic (Arminian soteriology). Then if we delve further there are dozens of different Catholic Churches, all of whom recognize the others claim to Apostolic Succession. Of course if we dig yet even deeper we see some fairly peculiar orders with the Catholic Church (like orders who ascribe to the beliefs of the ancient Essenes). So as we see the Catholic Church is not as pluralistic as you would have us believe. In fact it is really no more pluralistic than protestant churches. Heck, there’s even charismatic Catholics.

We have have larger ecumenical organizations that most protestant denominations belong to (like WCO). Many protestant denominations have formed communions. So you’re assertion is unfounded.

If anyone wants my advice, find a good church in the reformed tradition (i.e. Presbyterian) who holds to the soteriology of John Calvin. We preach the sovereignty and providence of God like no other. Or, if Catholic, then hold to the Benedictine tradition.

 

[sola_scriptura]

I’m not sure the reason for your question, but as a cradle Catholic, who is also a “born again” Catholic with many protestant and evangelical friends, I would suggest you make every effort to learn what the Catholic Church is and what she teaches before searching for something else.
However, having said that, even more important, if there is something that was said or done to make you not feel part of the Catholic faith, I would hope you seek good counsel on how to address it and how to forgive and be reconciled.
My mother was the victim of clergy abuse way back in the 1930’s. I did not know about it until I was an adult, she didn’t speak of it, never complained or blamed. But all the time I was growing up, if we had a ‘bad’ priest and people would talk about leaving the parish or even the church, Mom would just say, “There’s not a priest alive who can chase me away from MY church.”
So, rather than having to say welcome back, I urge you to seek and receive love and forgiveness, and HIS healing compassion, and learn your faith.
God bless:blush:

From a rather steadfast protestant perspective, I would agree with you. Clergy abuse is not unique to the Catholic Church. While obviously I cannot understand the pains of someone who has suffered such abuse, I would say it should not in itself lead one toward or away from any particular denomination.

For me it’s all about right teachings – theology. I am a reformed protestant and hold to a different soteriology than most Catholics (or even most protestants for that matter), so I know why I am what I am & it’s not because I’m under any delusion that protestant pastors are somehow better behaved than Catholics.

I do obviously have a problem with the way the clergy abuse scandal was initially handled by the church … but I think they’re doing the right thing these days.

 

[Isa_Almisry]

Well, I think he is just asking a valid question. Most Protestants I talk with say just to go to a Bible believing church.

But…they ALL claim to be a Bible believing church and they ALL teach different doctrine. Which one is correct?

The answer is usually an answer that doesn’t answer the question.

It normally sounds like “Whichever one follows the Bible!” (Um…what? But which one follows the Bible?)

I have heard a few other answers, but it normally comes down to “Whichever one you feel is following the Bible.” Betty Butterfield said it best “I just want a church that makes me feel good about MYSELF.” (youtube.com/watch?v=IzY4MQW1juM by the way. I find it funny.)

When they ask me if I go to “a bible believing church” I reply “I go to THE Bible believing Church”

 

[johnnydigit]

which Christian churches don’t follow the Bible?

 

[curtishouse29]

which Christian churches don’t follow the Bible?

That’s the thing…the TRUE church didn’t follow the Bible…The Bible followed the true church! The church that Jesus Christ established with St. Peter as the rock was around 300+ years before the Bible was canonized by that same church. If you’re a member of that church, you will be in a “bible believing” church because the same members that wrote the NT are in this Holy, Apostolic, and Catholic Church! God bless.

1Ti 3:15 If I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.

Curtis

 

[Lilyflower]

So do you believe and trust what the church taught prior to the 4th century?.. before Catholics messed it up

I’m sure jmcrae can enlighten you… but I can promise you he/she is not blindly defending anything…

SD

One detects a hint of the Da Vinci Hoax me thinks

Why do you say 'before Catholics messed it up at 4th century?

What about Catholics before?

What in particular about the many iminent people such as Ignatious of Antioch a disciple of the Blessed Apostle John, who was the first to call the Church Catholic?

What about the great teachings of Pope St Sixtus whose leadership was AD115 - 125?

What about his many teachings that have survived until the present day?

I have in mind the inclusion of the Sanctus at Holy Mass, this was introduced by Pope ST Sixtus.

He is also famous among other things for his great devotion to the Real Presence.

In fact much of the Mass as we have it today originated around the time of the Disciples of the Blessed Apostles. Now these eminent men were taught by the Blessed Apostles themselves so I guess you would be justified in asking ‘what about the Church before the Blessed Apostles messed it up!’

Blessings and peace

 

[happyday]

If I were to leave the Catholic Church for a “bible believing” church, how would I choose one? The following is a list of local churches who all claim to follow the Bible. Do I choose one based on the fellowship they provide, on the worship music style that they provide, maybe what they teach as doctrine, or should I find one that believes what I believe?

ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH, ALLIANCE BIBLE CHURCH, ALOHA CHRISTIAN CHURCH(DISCIPLES OF CHRIST), ALOHA CHRISTIAN LIFE CENTER, BETHEL UNITED PENTECOSTAL CHURCH, BROOKWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH, CALVARY LUTHERAN CHURCH, CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, CHURCH OF CHRIST, CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH, COMMUNITY OF CHRIST CHURCH, CORRIDOR BAPTIST CHURCH, EVERGREEN CHRISTIAN CENTER, FAITH CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP OF HILLSBORO, FIRST ASSEMBLY OF GOD, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, U.C.C., FOREST GROVE BIBLE CHURCH, FRIENDS CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, GOLDEN ROAD BAPTIST, HELVETIA COMMUNITY CHURCH, HERITAGE BAPTIST CHURCH, HILLSBORO FIRST CHURCH OF CHRIST SCIENTIST, HILLSBORO NAZARENE CHURCH, HILLSBORO CHRISTIAN FAITH CENTER, HILLSBORO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, HILLSBORO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, IGLESIA EVANGELICA HISPANA, LAUREL COMMUNITY CHURCH, ORENCO PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, OUR PLACE - YOUR CHRISTIAN CHURCH, REEDVILLE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, SALVATION ARMY, SCHOLLS COMMUNITY CHURCH, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH OF FOREST GROVE, SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH OF HILLSBORO, SINGING HILLS CHRISTIAN CHURCH, SONRISE BAPTIST CHURCH, ST PETER’S LUTHERAN CHURCH, TRINITY LUTHERAN CHURCH, TUALATIN PLAINS PRESBYTERIAN, UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST COMMUNITY CHURCH, UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, VALLEY HOPE COMMUNITY CHURCH, Westport Church, WESTSIDE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP, WEST VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH, WORLD OF FAITH FAMILY CENTER, WORLD OF FAITH CHRISTIAN CENTER, ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH

First you leave your current Church, then ask yourself : “if Jesus were alive today, what Church he would belong to?”
It is very simple…