What kind of Church is YOUR Church
 

I am curious as the various types of church philosophies...and which one you prefer or which one you think is the most effective.

There is the church that seems to operate with people always having furrowed brows crying faces and a somber attitude. It is very rare this type of church has a joyous outbreak where people are smiling laughing, and generally having a good time. The minister comes to the pulpit with a lined forhead talking about the fight, the debbil, power with a furrow, and angry indignation toward the world. The altar calls have more crying, moaning, and not a whole lot of joy but tongues and interpretation is a common occurrance.

Then, there is the church where the minister has a charasmatic personality, shouting about the goodness, the triumph, the joy, power with a smile, evangelists have a joy about them and the congregation is easily excitable. Altar calls are full of dancing, shouting, and fast and loud music. I remember in one of these churches the choir sang the song by the Winans..."Dancing in the Spirit" and the shouting service lasted for an hour or better. In the church I described above, they denounced the song as being nothing more than cheerleading.

Lastly, is the intellectual church where deep and meaningful sermons are preached, there isn't a whole lot of moaning, groaning, weeping nor crying, nor is there an atmosphere of running leaping and dancing. Instead there is deep introspection and personal worship, a personal power, and principals brought forth regarding Christian living. Altar calls are introspective, and there is more one on one evangelism. The above two churches would call this one dead...

Maybe someone has another type, but even though I have a lack of ability to describe the different personalities, maybe someone can add theirs...

Of the churches that you described, which would you rather attend?

Probably the third type, but I like a little of the first and second mixed in...

Mine is a mix of the first and second, with about 10% of the third.

The mix is that there's lots of talk about the devil, etc., like you described, but with not quite as many furrowed brows :)

I'd prefer mostly #3 with about 20% #2 and 5% #3

When I started attending First United in 1997 the services were like what you described in the second scenario. Tongues and interpretation was not uncommon.
After 3 or 4 years we started to have the types of services in scenario 1.
When I left scenario 1 was dominant. I'm not sure what's going on there now.
The odds of scenario 3 are slim to none.

My church is the "lastly" scenario!

If I had to choose from those 3, I'd say we were primarily #3.

Our pastor is very intellectual. He teaches at the University of Toledo part-time, in fact. But he is also a man of tremendous faith. I have the highest respect for him :) and feel blessed to call him my pastor.

For a little over a year now we have been part of a church about 9 miles from our home. It is called The Hamilton Dream Center. Their web site is:
http://www.hamiltondreamcenter.com/

We don't keep attendance figures but I would guess that on Sunday mornings we have a little less than 200 people. After the first hour those who are in school up to sixth grade leave the auditorium for "Children's Church." We don't have a Sunday night service. On Wednesdays there are about 35 adults in the midweek service in the auditorium. At the same time there are little ones in the nursery, kids in Children's Church, and Young People in a separate meeting called "Wild Fire."

We are an inner city church and our emphasis is on serving the neighborhood. On Saturday mornings we cover the local neighborhood and some nearby hotels to take food to people, pray with/for them, and invite them to come to our church and to call us for help.

We dress informally and worship is mostly "contemporary" style music. There is not a lot of emotion, shouting, dancing, etc but it is not formal either. It's a pretty good mix. The pastor has a real shepherd's heart and is very down to earth and a very caring person. He also has a great rapport with youth and children (maybe because he was a Youth Pastor at another church in the area at one time).

On Easter we had a "guestimated" crowd of 400 and quite a few went to the altar for prayer.

This morning his message was on Galatians 5:16-25 with the emphasis on living by means of the Holy Spirit and crucifying the flesh. He emphasized not splitting up our lives and only giving a small piece to God but giving Him everything. He emphasized that if/when we fail by giving in to the flesh, we need to admit it right away and keep going and growing. He often uses the NLT. Here is his text from this morning:

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 18 But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.
19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

to be continued in part 2

I would have to say mostly #3

I think every church has a mixture of all at times but each normally has a distinct personaility.

continued from part one

Last Wednesday I taught on Power In Prayer.
This is page one of the handout I used:

POWER IN PRAYER

Personal Pentecost When we were baptized in the Spirit we received gifts from God. One of these is a prayer language. We can build ourselves up by praying in the Spirit. Also, praying in tongues bypasses our own mental limitations we may set. Bishop Garlington said, "When you are going through something you don't understand it is good to pray in a language you don't understand."(Ref Romans 8:26-28, Eph 6:18, Jude 20, and 1 Cor. 14:4, 14-15. 18)

Ownership We are not our own, we are bought with a price and we are "owned" by our Heavenly Father who provides for us when we come to Him as children (1 Cor 6:19, 20; Luke 11:9-13; Matthew 6:5-15 and 7:7-11). Also, when we come to our Father it’s not in our own name but in the name of Jesus (John 14:13,14; 15:16; 16:23-27). In the Living Bible John 16:23 says, "...you shall present your petitions over my signature..." Someone said, "His name on a check is good for any amount."

Word John 15:7 says, "If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you," God's Word is His Will. (1 John 5:14-15) If we can find a promise in God's Word we can claim it and hang onto it. Peter said that we have been given "exceeding great and precious promises" (2 Peter 1:4). D.L. Moody said, "God never made a promise that was too good to be true." In the Amplified Bible, 2 Cor 1:20 says, "For as many as are the promises of God, they all find their Yes (answer) in Him (Christ). For this reason we also utter the Amen (so be it) to God through Him-- that is, in His Person and by His agency-- to the glory of God." We sometimes sing a chorus that says,
"Every promise in the Book is mine,
every chapter, every verse, every line.
I am trusting in His Word divine.
Every promise in the Book is mine."

Examples When you pray, remind God and yourself of the many examples of how He has answered in the past and that helps build faith and confidence for continued answers to prayer. There are many examples found in His Word and in testimonies of those around us. (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:6; Heb 6:12).When David was getting ready to meet Goliath, he mentioned examples of how God had helped him before (1 Sam 17:1-58)

Righteousness James 5:16 says (paraphrased) that the effective prayer of a righteous person avails or accomplishes much. The adversary, the accuser, will whisper to us that we are unworthy to receive anything from God. In the natural that is true but as children of God we have the righteousness of Christ. God no longer sees us in our sin but in the righteousness of His Son if I understand 2 Cor 5:21 and 1 Cor 1:30 correctly. We are "faultless to stand before His throne, dressed in His righteousness alone."
But relationship is important (Psalm 66:18; Prov. 28:9) for confidence and boldness.

On the second page I had the following scriptures printed out from the KJV and TLB:

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.
John 14:13-14 KJV

16 Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.
John 15:16 KJV

23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.
26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:
John 16:23-26 KJV

23 At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything, for you can go directly to the Father and ask him, and he will give you what you ask for because you use my name. 24 You haven’t tried this before, [but begin now]. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and your cup of joy will overflow. 25 I have spoken of these matters very guardedly, but the time will come when this will not be necessary and I will tell you plainly all about the Father. 26 Then you will present your petitions over my signature! And I won’t need to ask the Father to grant you these requests, 27 for the Father himself loves you dearly because you love me and believe that I came from the Father.
John 16:23-27 TLB

And I had the following above those verses:

The key word here is BALANCE!! A good mix of all three makes a great church, IMO. I wouldn't say we are "intellectual" because everyone talks about how Eddie's sermons break down the Word so easily even a child can understand it and apply it to everyday life. He is definitely a person devoted to reading and studying though. We definitely are not a somber church; no way! But we also aren't a run-the-aisles, buck-dance type church either. Just exuberant lively worship, some dancing, alot of rejoicing! It's a very exciting atmosphere.

Did I say how much I LOVE MY CHURCH?

I believe that just like people churches have a distinct personality.

I would have to insist that A-churches for the most part are predominantly at least one of the three types with a little of the others thrown in.

I think that furrowed brow church is draining, and the dancing church has a lack of true Christian growth due to its being so extroverted.

I think churches that are predominantly like number three have deeper roots and stronger relationships with Jesus, but some would disagree because it is not very evangelistic on a broad scale like the first two would be.

Outside of labels and broad brushes...

If I were to actually attend a church...

It wouldn't be any of these three who fit in a nicely bordered box...

People who come to our church find it warm and friendly.

I think the level of worship is pretty good. It's one of the things I personally was most concerned about when we first came here, and in our very first service I was very happy to see that there is freedom in regard to worship even though it was fairly low key then and it's still not shake rattle and roll and probably never will be and that's FINE with me. :) I love worship and I love the moving of the Holy Ghost and I love that people feel free to respond to that.

I'm noticing that people are becoming more free than when we first came. There's probably more than one reason for this but I find that overall people tend to follow the attitude and example set by the pastor and his wife. We both worship but we're not pew jumpers or aisle runner and we don't do the helicopter either. :toofunny

I also think the church's personality a lot of times is influenced largely by the leadership. People follow the leader - it's just the way it is.

I think our church is pretty balanced considering what all it went through before we ever came here. We're not furrowed brow for sure. We're not a juking and jiving church but we have good worship and freedom. Not intellectual but my husband isn't a screamer and he provides good preaching and good messages that feed the people.

It's not perfect for sure. There's a lot of work that needs to be done. I know that we're having an influence. My husband says he can notice a difference since I've started getting more involved.

Progress is being made, we're moving forward -- that's the main thing. Rome wasn't built in a day and what needs to be accomplished here won't happen without a sovereign move of the power and presence of God.

We're #6.

Our church is number 2, ministers a mix between 1 and 2, I would definetey prefer 3. However, it's not all about me - and I have big shoulders. :)

I would say my church is a mixture of the second and third choices. I love my church.

I don't think we would fit neatly in any of the three "boxes."

Regarding your #1 scenario, I don't do much talking about the devil. I don't like songs about the devil. I don't pretend that he doesn't exist, but I have a strong conviction that I ought to focus a whole lot more attention on Jesus than on him. If i knew the devil was in a gumball machine, I wouldn't spend the dime to get a look at him.

However, I do preach sober, conviction type messages sometimes. I think it takes a balance of that, along with enouragement and uplifting, faith building ministry.

Our worship services are often like the #2 scenario you mentioned, but not always. Sometimes we shout and other times it is a more reflective, reverent spirit of worship. I have taught our people that every person doesn't have to respond the same way to the Presence of God, or demonstrate their praise in the same manner, but everybody ought to do something, express themselves in some way.

As for evaluating what kind of preacher I am in the coontext of your three scenarios, I'm not sure I would be able to objectively do that. Often our perception of ourselves is skewed. I guess I will just have to leave that part blank and let you speculate for yourself.:)

I think our church is pretty much an even balance of all three. . . .I personally wouldn't want just one of the scenarios ALL THE TIME and agree that it does depend on the move of God and His will. I need the quiet, somber, deep one-on-one conversation with God, just as much as I need loud rejoicing for all He has done for me. My church is great and I LOVE IT!

I would have to say a mix of #1 & #2.. Def not #3.... I would have to agree that I would think of a church as being dead or close to it if they were never any crying, weeping, shouting, dancing, shows of emotion, etc etc...

There is lots of dancing, shouting, aisle-running (esp during preaching), weeping, crying, and manifestations of the gifts of the Spirit at our church.
Everyone in the church is not real intellectual so intellectual sermons would leave alot of people out.. people need to hear something "where they are living"

Our church is neither 1, 2, nor 3.

It's a house church, and there are no "altar calls" in the traditional sense, neither is any one particular member "directing" everything (thus, the personality of one member never dominates the congregation.)

There has been weeping, crying, shouting, laughing, deep studies and teaching, admonitions, warnings, rejoicing, you name it.

Since the church is not "run" by one particular person, the church does not take on the personality of any one particular person, but reflects everybody present, since the people who gather ARE the church, period.

Ours is balanced and I like it that way. Traditional messages brought in a new way, traditional lyrics wrapped in a new way, the only problem is we have a screaming monkey that nobody knows what to do with!!!!

A praying/fasting church that reaches beyond it's 4 walls would describe us best...we reach more for the lost than pacify the saved. It's about souls right?

God said, "come out from among them" then, "Go get them in all the world', pretty easy formula eh?

Oh, 1 more thing...WE HAVE THE BEST PASTORS IN THE WORLD!!!!

Just in case yalls forgot, www.capitalcommunity.ca

Our church is a mixture of the first and second. We do a lot of shouting during the worship service and during the preaching and a lot of weeping and praying in the altar service.