I'm hoping you will have people who have studied Covenant Theology in depth give you a run down.

I will provide this advice for you though: Theology Matters. In everything, theology matters and distinctions matter. People split for good reasons and Presbyterians are Presbyterian for a reason. Any pastor who told me he didn't think Systematic Theology was important, he hadn't looked into it, and he wouldn't be looking into it anytime soon would worry me and I would not be returning to his church because I would not feel comfortable sitting under his authority.

Whether you're dispensational or covanental can effect everything from eschatology to Christology to ecclesiology.

Someone who is Covanental I would think would be more inclined to adhere to the regulative principle of worship, whereas someone who is dispensational would probably allow just about anything into worship, and a lot of dispensationals will.

Someone who is Covanental would see Christ as being the only name under Heaven by which man may be saved. Many dispensationals think Jews are under a different "dispensation" of grace, and that physical Israel was the people God made the covanent with, not spiritual Israel, and therefore Jews do not need to accept Christ because they will enter Heaven by keeping the Law.

Doctrine is important, I can't stress it enough. I would go to a church that is strong in doctrine because they naturally will be strong in fellowship, because I think that strong doctrine will begat strong fellowship. A church that is strong in teaching doctrine, but has weak fellowship, I would wager has difficulty applying their doctrine. A church that is strong in fellowship, but weak in doctrine, probably has a weak, immature fellowship that they're covering up.

Book theology should be practical theology. I think your husband was more accurately making a distinction between knowledge and wisdom. I don't think it can be said that the church you're thinking about has practical theology if it doesn't have any sense of itself theologically. Niether can it be said that a church that has sense of itself theologically is practical theologically, but I wouldn't necessarily trade one for the other. One can, and I think will, lead you astray, it being the church with the pastor who's uninterested in systematic theology.

Regardless of what you do, be as the Bereans.

__________________
Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)