Context is Everything

Context is an important element in any of our understanding of what is true or false. For example, if I say, "he kissed his mother," it wouldn’t sound abnormal. But if I revealed that he was Oedipus, son of Laius and Jocasta in Greek legend, it sounds abnormal. In fact that is where the phrase, "Oedipus Complex" originated.
At eighteen I was considered to be of average height. My West Point class was the first class to integrate by heights. Before then, cadets were assigned companies according to their height. But that system had developed some "Napoleonic" complexes in the shorter or "runt" companies. I was one of the first "tall" men to be put in the smallest "runt" company. Suddenly, I went from being average height to tall.
Chapel was mandatory in those days. We marched to church each Sunday. I had never been in a church with musical instruments. On that first Sunday I marched in the chapel and heard this magnificent organ praising God, but I was thinking I was entering the realm of Satan. After two Sundays, I couldn’t wait to attend chapel and worship God on such a high plane! That chapel went from being an instrument of Satan to a truly wonderful way of worshiping and praising God.
Over my life I have been asked many times, "Are you a Christian?" Most often, the person asking the question had a formulated response they expected me to repeat. If I answered as they wanted, they approved of me. If I answered wrongly, they were sure I was condemned to hell.
I hadn’t changed, but the person asking the question was different.
In my other pastorates, in the context of the communities where they were located, I was considered to be a moderate evangelical tongue speaking Presbyterian. In the community where I now reside, where fundamentalism prevails, I am often regarded as a flaming liberal, whose salvation is in doubt.
Context is important, especially in choosing a church. If your understanding of Christianity is it is all about salvation, then you would seek a church of that bent. They would have and emphasis altar calls in Sunday worship, the numbers being saved, how many visitors you bring, and your level of giving to the church. Salvation churches are about expansion, and rightly so, if salvation is what you believe Christianity is all about.
However, if your view of Christianity is people are saved by grace and not good works, and the work of the church is sanctification (becoming more holy or Godly), you would seek a different type of church. That church would see Sunday worship as a gathering of believers (saved people), who come to worship God, seek to equip people to be more Christ like in life so they can attract others to God, emphasize holiness and obedience to the Spirit of God, take serious Jesus’ life and teaching to be the way, the truth and the life, and believe no one can get to the Father (God) in heaven except by being like Jesus. These churches emphasis the age old Shema - love the Lord God with all your might. So if becoming more holy, to be a better follower of Christ and a more Godly person, then these are the churches for you.
Yes context is important, especially when you are seeking a place to worship and to grow spiritually. Names can be deceiving, so look at who they are, not who they say they are.