There are decisions that we have to make every day to get from the morning to the evening. Each decision will affect our final destiny in some insignificant or truly major way. Who we marry, who we associate with, what profession we choose, where we live, where we go to school, what we do with our free time, how we raise our family, how we handle our finances, ...
Decisions Matter
Whatever decisions you are facing, I implore you to seek out God's direction first. Pray and pray again. He knows what is the best choice for you to make at every crossroad in your life. He has an opinion about each facet of your being and every choice you must make. The closer you are to Him and the better you hear His direction, the better off you will be as you measure your treasure in heaven. He may help you here too if you make His choices, but remember that everything here will pass away and only what is stored up in heaven matters for eternity.
Decisions With Eternal Consequences That We Take Lightly
This short series of studies will focus on some of the things that people really don't agonize much about, but are critically important in getting and keeping you on the right path.
The first will focus on the denomination or portion of Christianity that you choose to make your home in. I truly believe that God looks on His Church independently of the various earthly groups where its members reside. Each primary denomination (and non-denominational) organization of churches on earth has strong members and weak members. It is simply impossible for me to say with certainty that if you pick denomination X that every one of its churches in every town in the world will be the best church there is in that area. I truly wish it were that simple but it is not. So I will give a couple of short stories about what I would look for in picking a denomination in general. I hope you enjoy them.
From there, you need to pick a church. I'll give another set of questions and answers that you frequently hear from people who are church shopping. Perhaps that will help you decide on a particular church to call home. It is meant to be a bit tongue in cheek, but there are some really good things to think about there too. It's pretty long as there are many reasons people join or leave a church and I've only touched the surface.
I must repeat again that these are just some guidelines and are not a substitute for praying to God and listening for where He directs you to go. The worst church in town might have one person in it that you need to meet because that person will end up being a life long friend who will help you get your life on the right track. God knows these things. The most popular church in town where everyone who is anyone hangs out might be nothing more than a social church that won't help you develop and grow as a Christian. God knows those situations too. Or perhaps you're a strong Christian and God is directing you somewhere to turn things around and make a difference or to be a friend to one particular person who needs a friend right then. Please pray before you read the attached pages and try to listen to what God is telling you while you read them.
Don't take the decision lightly and treat it as something you can change on a whim if you are unhappy. Wherever you go, you will be taking in visual, aural, and written information into your mind. It is just as important to reject false doctrines and bad interpretations of the Word as it is to avoid watching, listening, or reading filth. There is no difference between the two in God's sight.
Stick With It
Try to always put down roots and treat any church that God directs you to as your home for the rest of time unless God directs you elsewhere. If there are problems, let Him work through you to make things better. If things are bad, give God time to work them out before packing your family to a new church unless He says otherwise. If things are great, Praise Ye the Lord!
Drifting from church to church doesn't really ever accomplish anything. Those who cannot seem to be happy anywhere are not unlike the person who doubts when praying. They won't get the blessings from the Lord that He would like to give. I doubt if you will find any place that does things 100% according to the way you want them to be done (and that is true if you are a lay person or the Pope). I also doubt that the majority of the people on the planet (myself included) have a 100% grasp on God's exact plans for any group of believers, much less the churches in a town, city, county, or state.
So if you think you know how church should be done and will only be happy with a heaven like perfection, you are setting yourself up to always be disappointed since the planet is infested with imperfect people. Do your best. Try to find a body of believers that are doing their best and trying their best to follow God. Forgive each other, let bygones be bygones, and get started doing God's work yourself. You won't have as much time to be judgmental.
Please remember to pray. Pray, pray, and pray again.