{"id":449,"date":"2008-05-23T01:01:23","date_gmt":"2008-05-23T01:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html"},"modified":"2008-05-23T01:01:23","modified_gmt":"2008-05-23T01:01:23","slug":"recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html","title":{"rendered":"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Choosing a Church: Some Recommendations
\n<\/em>Permalink for this post<\/a> \/ Permalink for this series<\/a>
\nIn my last post I suggested that if you’re looking for a church, you should clarify your basic values for a church, but with an open mind and heart, since God might surprise you. This suggestion might seem to imply that there are no absolutes in looking for a church, that anything is possible. But, in fact, I believe that there are certain characteristics of a church that one should almost always seek. I’ll explain my “almost” below.
\nOne of these characteristics is right theology. I believe you should seek a church that is essentially orthodox<\/em>. Let me unpack this phrase. First of all, orthodox<\/em> means “right believing.” I am using a lower-case ‘o’ because I don’t think one must join an Eastern Orthodox Church (with a capital ‘O’), though this is one possible option, since Orthodox churches (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox, etc.) tend to be orthodox as well. They believe the right things at the core. (Photo: The vast majority of churches in Greece are, as you would expect, Greek Orthodox. While in Athens last year, I was surprised to find a Protestant church. The sign reads: HELLENIKE EVANGELIKE EKKLESIA, or “Greek Evangelical (Protestant) Church.”)
\nOf course you’ll find different versions of what constitutes orthodoxy among Christians. But historic orthodox has affirmed such basics as: God as Trinity; Jesus as fully God and fully human; Jesus as Savior of the World. These basics are captured in the classic creeds of the church, especially the Nicene Creed. I realize many Christians would add to the list of essential orthodoxy (the authority of Scripture, the nature of the sacraments, etc.), but I want to focus on the core doctrine affirmed by virtually every true Christian throughout the centuries.
\nThat covers the meaning of orthodox<\/em> in essentially orthodox<\/em>. So what about essentially<\/em>? I’m using this word in two senses. First, I mean that the church should be right-believing in the essential core of doctrine<\/em>, that which has to do with the nature of God, Christ, and salvation. But I also mean that the essence of the church<\/em> has to do with God, Christ, and salvation. Churches have to do with all sorts of wonderful things: friendship, helping the poor, music, art, teaching, prayer, and so forth. But every church must be grounded upon and centered in God, the God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the God who became human in Jesus Christ in order to save the world. If a church is based upon something other than God and God’s salvation in Christ, then that church is not essentially orthodox<\/em>.
\nLet me hasten to add at this point that the church is not simply a community of right belief. Scripture is clear, from Genesis 1 straight on through to the end, that faith in God is more than merely believing the right things about God. It is a relationship of trust in God, a relationship that leads to right action (orthopraxy or orthopraxis) as an outgrowth of right belief. Too many churches, especially in my Reformed, evangelical tradition, pride themselves on being orthodox by utterly fail to live out their true belief in obedience and love. I would encourage you to look for a church that is both essentially orthodox and that seeks to live out its faith in everyday life.
\nMy Recommendation #2 stated: ” Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . .” My use of unless<\/em> seems to imply that there may be a situation in which it is right for someone to join a church that is not essentially orthodox. Indeed, I am using unless<\/em> in this sense. But, before I get besieged with critical comments and emails, let me explain my meaning.
\nI believe that almost every person should look for a church that is essentially orthodox. Several years ago, a good friend of mine, I’ll call her Lisa, did this very thing as she began seeking a church. But, in the end, she decided to join a liberal church that did not proclaim Jesus as the Savior. He was merely the Savior of those who happened to believe in him. According to this church, there were plenty of other saviors for other people. Lisa, who believed strongly that Jesus was THE Savior of the world, nevertheless felt called by God to join a church that was not essentially orthodox. Why? Because she believed that God wanted her to bear witness to classic Christian truth in that church.
\nNow Lisa was not the sort of person to offend people by her arrogance. She had a winsome personality that reflected both the truth and love of God. In time, she did indeed have opportunities to share her orthodox belief. And many people in the church were drawn to orthodoxy through Lisa’s faithful witness. As I look back upon Lisa’s choice of a church, I do believe that she was in fact called by God to a church that was not essentially orthodox.
\nThis explains my use of “unless.” But, let me add in closing that I think Lisa’s example is unusual, though not unique. Lisa wasn’t your average, every day Christian. She had a bright mind and lots of biblical training. She was solid enough in her core beliefs that she was not persuaded by her new church to give up essential orthodoxy. Most people aren’t like Lisa, however. Most of us need, for a wide variety of reasons, to be in a church that gets the basics right.
\nWhat I’ve said about essential orthodox raises a practical question: How can you know what a church believes . . . really? How can you know if a church is essentially orthodox? I address these questions in the next post in this series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 5 of series: Choosing a Church: Some Recommendations Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I suggested that if you’re looking for a church, you should clarify your basic values for a church, but with an open mind and heart, since God might surprise you. This suggestion might…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-choosing-a-church"],"yoast_head":"\nRecommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . . - Mark D. Roberts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . . - Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Part 5 of series: Choosing a Church: Some Recommendations Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I suggested that if you’re looking for a church, you should clarify your basic values for a church, but with an open mind and heart, since God might surprise you. This suggestion might…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-05-23T01:01:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mark D. Roberts\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . . - Mark D. Roberts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . . - Mark D. Roberts","og_description":"Part 5 of series: Choosing a Church: Some Recommendations Permalink for this post \/ Permalink for this series In my last post I suggested that if you’re looking for a church, you should clarify your basic values for a church, but with an open mind and heart, since God might surprise you. This suggestion might…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html","og_site_name":"Mark D. Roberts","article_published_time":"2008-05-23T01:01:23+00:00","author":"Mark D. Roberts","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html","name":"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . . - Mark D. Roberts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2008-05-23T01:01:23+00:00","dateModified":"2008-05-23T01:01:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/05\/recommendation-2-look-for-a-church-that-is-essentially-orthodox-unless.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Recommendation #2: Look for a church that is essentially orthodox, unless . . . ."}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/","name":"Mark D. Roberts","description":"Mark D. Roberts: Thoughtfully Christian Reflections on Jesus, the Church, and the World","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/1ff094a57b7e41f534434b1723df3d73","name":"Mark D. Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}