The Dickens Family

This weekend the family and I will be in Barboursville WV at Mud River Baptist Church.  I will be preaching on the Lukewarm church.  We also secured another engagement in Verona Virginia at Emmanuel Baptist Church for the second Sunday of the month.  We will keep you up to date as necessary.

What is the measure of a great church?  Listen to the conversations you have with others and then listen to what people say when they talk about a good church and see where they place the focus.  Probably, if you ask bluntly, "What makes a great church" you may get different answers than if you listen to someone describe a church in town or another city that is great. 

The definitions of what makes a great church abounds.  Looking across the Internet, you will find sermons which state that a great church is one that is dynamic, and where God is free "to move".  One website proclaimed that innovation was the key to a great church.  Several years ago, a book came out describing what makes a great church by listing four points:

Superior Performance

Distinct impact on the Community

Endurance in impacting the community

The Gospel Message

Reading across the Internet, I must conclude that a church cannot be great unless it is dynamic, innovative, has a superior performance, and an enduring and distinct impact on the community.  Yet, the Internet does lack, therefore we should take into account what the Bible says.