Church Membership - Is Change Bad?

So, I had an interesting thought the other day.  I was considering the various churches that I have attended over the years.  More specifically, I was thinking about the fact that I moved churches within the same denomination about four years ago.

 

Then it dawned on my: I am a spoiled Christian.

 

Admittedly, I am very lucky to have multiple churches, much less multiple churches in most denominations, from which to chose to attend.  There are people in this world who have never had the opportunity to attend a church, but I can't begin to estimate the number of churches within 10 miles of my house.  Probably more than 15.  Could be considerably higher.  There are lots of people trying to do God's work nearby me.

 

Within 10 miles of my house, there are probably 4 or 5 churches in my denomination.  I have attended three and been a member of two.

 

But what struck me more about the fact that I left church one for another, is that the two churches at which I have been a member are very similar.  I didn't make a change to find a theology that agrees with me - the differences in theology are so minor that I am not sure I could point out a single difference.  The two senior pastors have similar backgrounds.  At the time I changed my membership, both churches had one female pastor.  Both churches were developing a "contemporary" worship time in addition to their two "traditional" worship services.

 

So, why did I swap churches?  I didn't really feel connected at the first church, and I became quickly connected at the second.  This is mostly due to finding a Sunday School class into which I found people like me.  I never found that at the first church.

 

But was the first church bad?  Was it hindering my growth as a Christian?  Not really.  The growth I have experienced since changing churches could have occurred anyway.  Sure, I have been very blessed with the friendships and relationships I have developed at the new church.  That was in no small part an influence in the current direction my life has taken.

 

But the church congregation is not responsible for my personal growth and development as a Christian.  I am.  And I should be able to do that at any committed, theologically sound church.  But I didn't.  I changed from one good church to another.  All because I didn't "feel" the type of relationship I wanted.  But relationships are two way streets, and I should be as much to blame as the rest of the church.

 

To be honest, I don't really know where I land on the idea of changing church congregations.  Therefore, I pose the following question to any readers that stumble by here:

 

Should a committed Christian change churches in an effort to "feel" a better relationship with the rest of the church?

 

Thanks for any feedback!