Things to look out for in a church

1Timothy 1:3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia--remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine,
 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith.
 5 ¶ Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith,
 6 from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk,
 7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.


We need to beware of the following when evaluating a church:

1. do they teach other doctrine than what is taught in the Bible?
2. do they give heed to extra-Biblical stories that can't be proven but have been passed along from one person to another, practically building doctrine around them
3. do they spend endless amounts of time doing genealogies for religious purposes (there is nothing wrong with doing genealogies for personal information to learn about one's family)
4. do they spend time disputing "doctrine" because of these stories and genealogies? 

The results of the above things will be the following:

1. Idle talk
2. Teaching from teachers who really don't know what they are talking about