Several important considerations should be made when determining the characteristics of a church that might best be avoided.

Firstly, this isn't about particular denominations or congregations; instead, it focuses on elements of toxicity to be wary of.

Secondly, no church is perfect, and believers who feel called to remain as part of their congregation should do exactly that. That said, any harm present in a church should be addressed to ensure a church community is a safe and loving place for those who attend and for those who might one day do so.

Our churches should be characterized by service and love, and therefore, the nine expressions of toxicity emphasized here are all examples of unloving and self-serving behavior or church culture.

Churches That Are Inward-Looking

Any church that has turned inwards, more interested in protecting the status quo in its community than reaching out to serve others, has lost its way. Outreach of any sort is messy because every person who joins the community brings change. If we're doing our job well, some of these newcomers will be in messy situations, maybe even feeling desperate and caught up in harmful habits. Loving people in their most challenging moments requires sacrifice on our part. To be a city on a hill that draws in the wanderers, we have to sacrifice our comfort and open up our friendship circles. We need to include the inconvenient person, even when doing so is costly.

Churches With Closed Ministry Teams

Leaders of healthy churches keep their ministry teams open, drawing on the gifts of all who attend. If it's impossible for a musician or singer to join the worship team, or if spiritually sensitive individuals are kept from being part of the prayer/ministry team, something has gone wrong in the functioning of the body. Most importantly, if the preaching is delivered by either a single individual or a small group of individuals, all or most of the time, the church is hugely missing out. God delivers wisdom to each of us, and many are capable of sharing inspiration from the front. If a single person does all the teaching, the congregation cannot grow beyond the limits of that individual's revelation, held back by their fear and need for control.

Churches With Chaotic and Weird Worship Services

All church services should be orderly, whatever their denomination. As Paul taught the Corinthians, chaos is not godly. Prophecy is a wonderful thing, and the tangible interaction of the Holy Spirit is to be highly valued, but it is always possible for ego and confusion to take over in an emotionally intense environment. If worshippers are barking like dogs and the church allows that to continue, it may well be time to get out.

Overemphasis on Finances

The Bible warns of the love of money, as well as teaches us to be cheerful givers and to store up treasures in Heaven rather than on Earth. We shouldn't demonize money, but the only right emphasis for a Christian is on how money can be used to help others. Under the Old Covenant, God promised worldly wealth if his people were faithful, but even Old Testament promises of prosperity were conditional on the cancellation of debts and the distribution of wealth to help the poor. Under the New Covenant, God promises to provide for us and, yes, to bless us, but again, the financial blessing is about looking after the poor. The Faith Movement has hoodwinked churches that emphasize financial blessing above spiritual blessing and have lost sight of what the Kingdom of God is all about.

Overemphasis on a Behavioral Code

In Romans 14:17, Paul wrote that the kingdom of God is righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Spirit, and in Romans 2:4, we read that 'the goodness of God leads people to repentance.' We're all at different stages on our journeys with God and are fully accepted by him as we are, where we are. Some churches slip into a 'behave to belong' mentality, where specific measures of behavioral goodness are required to be allowed any kind of acceptance in the congregation. This is the opposite of how God does things.

Churches With Flags on the Platform

Christian faith and politics should never mix. It makes sense that our values steer our voting choices, but when a pastor tells their congregation who they have to vote for, or if a church community applies pressure to people with a minority preference in their group, something has gone horribly wrong. When Jesus stood before Pilate, he made it abundantly clear that his kingdom was not of this world. He could have chosen to call down legions of angels to establish it by force but chose not to do so. The kingdom of God has no borders and cannot be built through legislation. Christian Nationalism is one of the prominent idols of our time, and none of us should be bowing at its altar. If there's a flag next to the cross, an internal alarm should be sounding at full volume, and a question ought to be asked – who or what are we worshipping here?

Churches With a Monoculture

If a church is based in a diverse society, where different ethnicities mingle on the high street, this should be reflected in the church. Any church based in a multi-ethnic region but is mostly attended by people of a single ethnicity should probably ask itself some questions. Instead of closing the door to diversity, a healthy church can reach out and build bridges with groups in the local community.

Churches With a Pecking Order

The Apostle James wrote of the radical counter-culture churches are called to offer:

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:1-4)

If the pastor has a dedicated parking spot right by the church building, or if the front rows are populated by the wealthy or by a powerful clique within the church community, that church has sunk into favoritism and partiality, which are anathema to the Kingdom of God.

Institutional Misogyny

The teachings of Paul on the role of women in the church have presented the church with a significant problem. When women wanted the vote, such passages were used to argue against doing so, and the same can be said of every advancement for women in the twentieth century. Churches must courageously work to understand how these teachings need to be reinterpreted and applied in the modern context. If we don't continue to treat women as second-class citizens, the world will leave Christianity behind, and it would be right to do so. If readers of this article experience or witness institutional misogyny in their churches, it's time to challenge back.