San Diego Church Reviews & Guide

Website: http://www.thefieldschurch.org/

(Located in Carlsbad)

Church Review
Scriptural View: 5/5
Beliefs: 5/5
Community: 4/5
Preaching: Exegetical
Worship: 10am Contemporary

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 2/5

Summary: The Fields is a newer church plant in Carlsbad. You can always tell a recent church plant because they typically use non-traditional names. From their website: We have named our new church “The Fields” because Jesus once told his followers, “Open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4:35) At The Fields our desire is to see people grow into passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

I had a chance to visit this church (September 2004) and enjoyed Pastor Dave Fandey’s preaching through the 3rd chapter of Philippians. He dug deeper than most preachers do and did a great job in bringing application to those who attended. The community is primarily younger (20-30 somethings) with a mix of a handful of families. On my visit, the community did a great job of greeting me and welcoming me to their church.

The church is new so their website does not have much information other than the story of their church, the values they hold to and information about when/where they meet. I’m sure more information will be coming shortly…I did have a chance to speak more with Pastor Dave Fandey and was encouraged with his passion and desire to be faithful to God’s Word.

The Fields is a church that does a great job in preaching God’s Word and desires to live this out missionally. I strongly recommend this church.

Website: http://www.clairemontcov.org

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 3/5
Preaching: Topical
Worship: Traditional (9am), Contemporary (10:30am)

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 3/5
Site Design: 2/5
Site Content: 2/5

Summary: Clairemont Covenant Church is a family oriented church nestled amongst the homes in the Clairemont area. The church is made up primarily of families and people in the neighborhood. When I spoke with Pastor Greg White, he spoke about his church being a local church that is family oriented with a focus on children and youth. Each Wednesday night Clairemont Covenant opens its doors to all children up to High School age as a place to come, hang-out and listen to a teaching.

There are a lot of things Clairemont Covenant is doing well. They really do focus on being a member of their community. The church is filled with families and they have a closeness that is present. Surely they desire to live and share the gospel with those who do not know Christ. And for these and many other reasons it is a good church for people to be a part of.

I attended their service (September 2004) and was greeted by a large banner inviting me to ‘discover my purpose’. If you do not attend church or if you are a Christian who has just awoke out of a comma, this banner is part of a neatly packaged program called 40 Days of Purpose. The 40 Days of Purpose by author/pastor Rick Warren has swept through the broad evangelical nation with a force to place it on the NY Times Bestseller and elevate Rick Warren to guru status.

While I have seen this program actually help churches who are fairly weak in their preaching, for the most part I am not a huge fan of these pre-packaged formula’s to doing church. Rather than borrowing from Rick Warren I would like to see Pastors grow in their own study and presentation of the word to their congregation. I believe the job of the pastor is to communicate God’s word in a manner and language that the congregation understands and considers the richness of the scripture as it is examined and applied to their lives.

I believe that this church is preaching the gospel but from my experience (I was raised in a Covenant Church) they do not dive into the full richness of the text and wrestle with issues that have serious implications. Too many areas are avoided and because of this I can only give a mild recommendation.

Clairemont Covenant Church preaches/teaches the gospel but is fairly light on their preaching style.

Website: http://www.sandiegocbc.org

Church Review
Scriptural View: 3/5
Beliefs: 3/5
Community: 3/5

Website Review
Site Usabilility: 3/5
Site Design: 3/5
Site Content: 3/5

Summary: Community Bible Church (CBC) has a good foundational belief in Scripture and God. In their what they believe section most of what they write is both profitable and accurate for both a believer and unbeliever to consider. On salvational issues we are in agreement and so this church is comprised of brothers and sisters in the Lord. There are a few beliefs that they hold to that I believe to be inaccurate. These errors of doctrine should be a caution for the church seeker.

First, an error that many churches make, is taking a firm stance on ‘End Times’ issues. It is sad to see so many churches read through Revelation as a book of clues to try to figure out the symbolic language and interpret all of the world’s events through this filter. CBC spells out their beliefs on Dispensationalism (the Rapture, Tribulation, etc.), or as most people now view it the ‘Left Behind’ ideas brought by Tim Lahaye. As a church we should be firm in areas we are sure of, such as the need for Jesus Christ as our savior, but quiet on areas we are not certain and the end times is one of these issues. A disproportionate amount of time is being spent in the church devoted to the sensational tribulation ideas. And quite frankly, we don’t know these things and we will never know them.

Secondly, the book of the month is a book called, “Treasure Principle”, by Randy C. Alcorn. The review on their site tells us, “God has entrusted His wealth to us and called upon us to manage and invest His money. This is in everyone’s best interests, including our own.” I read one critique on the book that a reader posted at Amazon.com saying ,”Jesus never said that you can “invest” your worldly money in the church to receive rewards in heaven.” Too often American churches are focused on what we should receive as treasures, how God should bless us. (Just consider the Prayer of Jabez which made God a giant piñata.) Our country does have more wealth than we need and we should be stewards of this, including distributing it to the needs of the church worldwide.

Overall CBC looks to be a mainstream church with an evangelical position. With that said I can recommend this church but I would urge you to examine the above ideas and others that are often being taught by churches today. Far too often the average ‘christian’ is ignorant of scripture and easily swallow the concepts of people like Tim Lahaye who spend way too much time emphasizing areas away from the good news message of Jesus Christ and our mission as a church to communicate this to our world.

CBC preaches/teaches core salvational beliefs but I can’t strongly recommend them.

Over the next few weeks I plan on examining 4 trends that the church is seeing in America. These are:

The Emerging Church - This will look at church planting and why so many people are joining these new churches. Often these churches are moving from the modern traditions to express worship and encounter God. We will look at both the good and the bad.
The House Church Movement - A further reaction to the traditional church is a movement that is happening quietly in neighborhoods near you. People often in small groups of 10-20 are gathering together in homes to ‘do church’. It is here that an organic church is connecting each other to the loss of community in the mega-churches.
The Modern Church - These are the churches who continue to grow and represent the ‘modern’ ideals of entertainment and production to draw in the masses to hear the gospel.
The Dying Church - Each year across the country 100’s of churches close their doors for the final time. These are the churches that our grandparents attended. They have reached their twilight and now as the congregation has matured there is no youth to replace the empty seats swallowing the sanctuary. We will look at why they are dying.

If you have an example in San Diego county of any of these types of churches, please post them in the comment section.

Here are some reviews of some local ‘younger’ churches with a bent toward ‘postmodernism’ or ‘emerging worship’.

The Flood (emerging worship, 3 Stars)
Kaleo Church (emerging worship, 5 Stars)
The Rock (near campus, 3 Stars)
Mission Gathering (postmodern, 1 Star)
Coastlands Church (postmodern, 2 Stars)

The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the importance of local assemblies. In fact, it was the pattern of Paul’s ministry to establish local congregations in the cities where he preached the gospel. Hebrews 10:24-25 commands every believer to be a part of such a local body and reveals why this is necessary.

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

It is only in the local body to which one is committed that there can be the level of intimacy that is required for carefully stimulating fellow-believers “to love and good deeds.” And it is only in this setting that we can encourage one another.

The New Testament also teaches that every believer is to be under the protection and nurture of the leadership of the local church. These godly men can shepherd the believer by encouraging, admonishing, and teaching. Hebrews 13:7 and 17 help us to understand that God has graciously granted accountability to us through godly leadership.

Furthermore, when Paul gave Timothy special instructions about the public meetings, he said “Until I come, give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching” (1 Timothy 4:13). Part of the emphasis in public worship includes these three things: hearing the Word, being called to obedience and action through exhortation, and teaching. It is only in the context of the local assembly that these things can most effectively take place.

Acts 2:42 shows us what the early church did when they met together: “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” They learned God’s Word and the implications of it in their lives; they joined to carry out acts of love and service to one another; they commemorated the Lord’s death and resurrection through the breaking of bread; and they prayed. Of course, we can do these things individually, but God has called us into His body-the church is the local representation of that worldwide-body-and we should gladly minister and be ministered to among God’s people.

Active local church membership is imperative to living a life without compromise. It is only through the ministry of the local church that a believer can receive the kind of teaching, accountability, and encouragement that is necessary for him to stand firm in his convictions. God has ordained that the church provide the kind of environment where an uncompromising life can thrive.