I did join a Baptist church right before the pandemic happened, but have never been satisfied with it. The music isn't that good and the pastor tends to be repetitive. I grew up Methodist but switched to Baptist around the age of 18. I've tried numerous other churches in the area and can't say that I enjoy them. I feel like giving up on my search. I have done the surveys about denominations before. I don't think I am Baptist anymore. I don't believe in the once saved always saved idea that Baptist tend to push or that we just need to pray a prayer and be saved. It would be nice to go to a church where communion is weekly. I don't particularly care if the church baptizes babies. That isn't a deal breaker for me. I just want to hear inspiring and informative sermons and good music, that seems to be too much to ask in my area. I tend to be very conservative, so a church that was okay with gay or lesbian pastors would not be for me nor if they are okay with marrying gay or lesbian couples.
Of course, I have prayed about it and don't feel like God is directing me in a particular direction or church. When I joined the church I did join I felt a little unsure if I was making the right decision.
It was Palm Sunday today and I didn't go anywhere.
It can be a tricky one to figure out, although the first step (as it looks like you've done) is to figure out what's important to you, what you'd prefer to see, and what showstoppers you have.
When you refer to good music, what are you looking for? Are you looking for strong solid traditional hymns sung loudly and enthusiastically? Modern songs with a talented band? A mixture of old and new that's theologically sound, regardless of what instruments accompany the words?
Where sermons are concerned, what do you consider inspiring and informative? I've heard some sermons that could have been considered inspiring but had very little spiritual teaching to them - they'd have worked just as well presented as a self-help seminar. I've heard others that were arguably a bit dry but dug into the details of Scriptural points. I've heard some that made me sit up and think because I wasn't sure I agreed with them, which in turn prompted me to go back to Scripture to try and figure if I was wrong or if the speaker was wrong. Our former pastor preached a couple of sermons right before he retired that prompted me to ask him for clarification on a couple of points, which in turn led to quite a long discussion on points and counterpoints relating to his topic. And then there are the sermons that don't connect with me at all, that I figure were probably for someone else that week, but if all I ever got were those I'd wonder if I needed to move on.
Personally I've always struggled to associate too closely with any particular denomination. I think it's very easy to get into the mindset that if you align with a denomination you have to agree with them, which isn't necessarily the case. Depending on the denomination they may demand a higher level of agreement if you're going to go into more senior leadership, but hopefully they won't require you agree with every single denominational stance in order to attend.
Is communion every single week important to you? I know some churches take communion more than others, and from what I can see the ones that take it less frequently do so because of wanting to maintain a sense of reverence around it. That's not to say you can't be reverent every month or every week, but it's worth considering whether doing something every week can lull people into a sense of routine rather than reverence. Would every other week or every month work for you? (My church does communion twice yearly, which doesn't thrill me but it's not something I'd leave the church over)
Do you have a few churches in the area you can visit and try out? Not knowing what's in your area, or where they might be more or less aligned with beliefs you'd expect from their denomination, it's hard to be specific.
