In my Google News feed this morning, an article from an Illinois paper caught my eye: "How to choose a church – Four suggestions for seekers." The piece is written by an outreach pastor and is apparently part of a recurring "Clergy Views" series.

Here are the pastor's criteria–in condensed form–for a church worth plugging into:

1. Integrity. "I would stay away from any church whose members claim to be perfect, just as I would stay away from a church where people's lives are not regularly being changed by the power of Jesus Christ."
2. Doctrine. "What they believe will determine what kind of church they are."
3. Friendliness. "If in a couple weeks, no one has made any effort to become your friend, move on."
4. The right fit. "Churches are like blue jeans. Some fit some kinds of people, others don't. You have to find the kind that fits you."

To begin with, I'm always intrigued by the interplay of religion and media, especially in smaller outlets, where there is more freedom for a town's cultural values to ...