Posted on 05/29/2008 10:08:22 AM PDT by colorcountry
Oh yes, I totally agree. The last paragraph of the OP states this....
If you are considering or concerned about a particular church, do three things. First, find out what they believe and back it up with the Bible. Second, talk to the pastor or leaders of the church and see why it is what it is and what they do there. Third, see how much this church really has a passion for worshipping and serving Christ to their community and throughout the world. A church or denomination" that doesnt want to get their hands dirty for Christ is not healthy. God blesses those who bless him with their whole heart and lives.
(You SHOULD be doing this even if you are a member of a Denomination!!)
>>I suppose... but you must be careful when dealing with non denominational denominations..<<
Seriously, some people don’t like the rules that some churches come with, some want to let the Holy Spirit lead them and not church leaders.
Me, I like structure but some don’t.
If a non-demominational church leads them to Our Lord, I’m not going to discourage it. Let the Hand of The Lord work in the ways He needs it too, IMO.
I found that non-demoninational IS a denomination. It should be called “Anything-goes Christianity”.
I belonged to a nondenominational Christian group for two years. My husband and I were raised two different denominations, couldn’t agree on one, and we became more and more nonreligious/agnostic/atheist. But we believed strongly in morality, so I involved our children in an interdenominational Christian group to introduce them to Christianity and to ease them into faith. BIG MISTAKE.
For two years, my children would ask me, “What exactly is Christianity about?” The group offered no clue. They would pray for things and collect for the poor, and their Christianity ended there. Here’s what I finally found out about their ideas on morality at the last meeting I attended:
* They believe Christianity is whatever you want it to be.
* Since everyone has a different definition, there is no absolute moral code.
* People of different denominations are accepted. But, to be a member of the group, you must agree to accept everyone else’s (lack of) an absolute moral code.
We quit. Honestly, I found no difference between this interdenominational Christian group and atheism. In fact, I have a stronger moral code than they did. I ended up arguing with them over morality, with me taking the stronger position.
Obviously you weren’t involved in a Christian Church. This can happen even though they call themselves a denomination. Your group sounds like it might have been a UU organization. Christian Churches teach sound Biblical practices and teachings. If you are not getting them, then you are not in a Christian Church, denominational or otherwise.
You are posting on a caucus thread, and so your post is a disruption. I just wanted to clear up the misunderstanding regarding Christian Denominational Churches your post may have caused.
Please refrain from posting again. Thank you.
My uncle refers to this sort of thing as “leading God around on a leash.”
I don't want to insult, but I have a question for you - have you personally accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I’ve never heard of a caucus thread. This thread popped up on General Discussion. As someone who put a lot of time, money, and effort into an interdenominational Christian group for two years, I thought it fitting to share my experience here.
I’ll stop posting, but I need to clear up one point: This was not a UU group. We’ve never been involved with a UU group. It was an interdenominational group run by a Methodist church. The leader was Methodist, and the other members were various denominations such as Baptist, Catholic, etc. Some evangelical Christian members walked out a year before I did.
Yes, I have.
Thank you and please forgive me, I did not want to appear to be insulting.
Good find!
Thanks for posting this; it’s rather informative. I’ve often pondered at how “non-denominational” churches weren’t denominations in and of themselves, but never got around to asking anyone.
When I go to a new non-denominational church (I have been to many, thanks to college and moving), I always carefully read their statement of faith, which is usually easy to find. I specifically look for a statement about Jesus being Lord and Savior, and the Bible as being inspired by God and final authority. Any liberal “church” organizations tend to weasel out of one or the other.
I wanted to add that Mathematically Set Theory specifically includes a null set, so statements such as Non-Denominational Denomination does actually make sense especially in the case that you must specify denomination as with the FR Religion forum caucuses.
And thank you for praying!!!!
Something all the different "divisions" of Christianity have in common is recognizing the power of prayer.
A Pastor friend of mind recently spoke at our "non-denominational" church. He had a very wise take on the "divisions".
By separating us human sinners into smaller groups, God has thus limited the quarreling over the small doctrinal stuff inside the local congregation, which allows the Body as a whole to move forward more efficiently, thus having unity over the big stuff like the death, burial, and resurrection of God the Son to atone for the sins of the world.
Can you imagine what every service would look like if an argument broke out over immersion versus sprinkling?
The Gospel would never be heard.
Amen to your Pastor friend!!!!
And I don't think so. The church I attended in high school is called First Christian Church of Canton. So, FCC from here on out.
Not only was FCC a part of the BoCC, but also a group called the Fellowship of Local Churches, Stark County. This was/is an “inter” or “cross” denominational collection of local churches that supported each other in growth, local missions work, activities, youth activities, single adult activities (we called these the meet-to-marry group), and in fellowship. Churches involved from the Friends, Nazarene, Church of Christ, Church of God, Christian (as in BoCC), Independent Baptist, and unaffiliated denominations. Probably more that I either didn't know or don't remember.
So, the “non-denominational” congregation (as FCC called itself) that I attended wasn't ill mannered at all.
Nor were the “non-denominational” churches I attended while at college. They were all involved in similar groups as the Fellowship of Local Churches FCC belonged to.
I hope that your post wasn't intended to just be mean. Seems a bit unnecessary, if it was.
A agree. I attend some very lovely non-denominational Churches.
Only members of the caucus are to post on caucus threads. If the thread says "Catholic Caucus" and you are not Catholic, do not post there.
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