(Vanity, sort of). Any good and pure church denomination/organizations out there?

Me | 1/30/22 | Me

[the OlLine Rebel]

Just a query to those more knowledgeable and savvy, about church denominations.

Actually, I mean ANY division of organized Christian religion.

I am frustrated by so many churches now, with all the nonsense of the last 2 years. Paying homage to BLM and homos and bowing down to every COVID decree.

Everyone says what was our church, Lutheran Church - MO Synod (LCMS), is good for being true. However, after the riots started I saw a bit too much virtue-signaling. The only thing I can say was the website did not seem to specify blacks and BLM, but the statement seemed to be self-concsious again about looking like social justice proponents.

So, I’m thinking of looking for other churches, which might happen to be reasonably close to us.

[Fester Chugabrew]

That’s a great point. The Book of Concord summarizes and iterates doctrine as drawn from Scripture while rejecting errors that have been taught. It is a way of stating points upon which every Christian should agree because objective truth exists and matters. Characteristic of it are the phrases “we believe, teach, and confess,” and “we reject and condemn.” As a result, if adhered to in truth, Christians will clearly understand how its adherents are disinct from both the general protestant and Roman Catholic milieu. In each case the confession of truth and rejection of error is drawn from Scripture.

[Guenevere]

Traditional, yes!

Moralistic......We love the sinner, hate the sin.......and get our talking points from the Bible

Democrats????...you must be confusing us with apostate churches,

The Baptists I grew up with and know today......with Reformed Presbyterian thrown in the middle......are patriotic, conservative, God loving.

Yes, you might find some ‘legalistic’ folks occasionally but that can happen in a lot of denominations.

[LouieFisk]

I don’t believe you’re understanding the term “fundamental” used here and are going with the popular term used as a pejorative instead.

And I assumed, going by the posed question and criteria, a church espousing “lax morality” (if not outright denouncing the very concept of morality) might not be what is being sought here.

Also, I would submit that every church promotes it’s own variety of “strict morality”, including the far-left God-Is-denominations.
Even Charles Manson and Hugh Hefner had their respective strict moralities.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Kind of like liberals “escaping” to conservative places for lower taxes, eh? Then ruining everything as they keep voting the same.

[the OlLine Rebel]

Yup! High respect. But don’t like that Quaker non-service stuff! Sounds like the start of liberalism - no one leads, and say your own stuff that is right for you!

[the OlLine Rebel]

“find a church that admits it is not perfect, yet strives still to perfect itself.”

Except that is indeed what liberal churches do. They admit they’re not perfect. So how can they work to be perfect? BY ADOPTING MORE LIBERAL GARBAGE.

Rainbow flags and BLM kneeling and so on.

[Norski]

Hm. Don’t quite think so - watched the circus of August 2009 of Minneapolis, in which the Synod’s delegates voted to allow active homosexuals to become pastors in the ELCA by 667 votes out of 1000, and almost immediately afterward, a tornado (out of season and not on the radar) rolled through town and knocked over the steeple on the church at which this vote was taken and then also all the picnic tents pitched for lunch afterward. Do not believe that the LORD was pleased by this abomination.

The churches that began leaving the ELCA after this had to join another synod after taking two churchwide votes to leave, or else they could not keep their property. Difficult and traumatic operation, and many churches just split or members voted with feet and funds. The remainder seem to just continue Californication.

Am no longer a Lutheran, but enjoy Lutheran Satire (Missouri Synod Pastor Hans Fiene)
:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheLutheranSatire/videos

Luther’s Mixtape (Worms I)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzPe2Xyn1OQ

Saint Patrick: The Musical
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHr02U1OYVk

[Elsie]

Yeah, jump outta the fryin' pan into the ....

YOW!

[Elsie]

I just checked how many Mormon themed replies in this thread already. (168 total)

If it gets really frisky then I'll SPAM* the thread!

*

Special Prayers Addressing  MormonISM

[Elsie]

Do the FI’s need to be called for only about 2-3 Mormons who are up to the apologetics game these days?

[Elsie]

First century, non-corrupted Christianity.

Like THIS??

---

Acts 15

The Council at Jerusalem

 ¹ Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." ² This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. ³ The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. ⁴ When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

 ⁵ Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses."

 ⁶ The apostles and elders met to consider this question. ⁷ After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. ⁸ God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. ⁹ He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. ¹⁰ Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? ¹¹ No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."

 ¹² The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. ¹³ When they finished, James spoke up. "Brothers," he said, "listen to me. ¹⁴ Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. ¹⁵ The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

 ¹⁶ "'After this I will return
   and rebuild David's fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
   and I will restore it,
¹⁷ that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
   even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things'
 ¹⁸ things known from long ago.

 ¹⁹ "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. ²⁰ Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. ²¹ For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers

 ²² Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. ²³ With them they sent the following letter:

   The apostles and elders, your brothers,

   To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

   Greetings.

 ²⁴ We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. ²⁵ So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— ²⁶ men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁷ Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. ²⁸ It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: ²⁹ You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

   Farewell.

 ³⁰ So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. ³¹ The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. ³² Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. ³³ After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. ^[34] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

Disagreement Between Paul and Barnabas

 ³⁶ Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." ³⁷ Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, ³⁸ but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. ³⁹ They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, ⁴⁰ but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. ⁴¹ He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

[Elsie]

How about “The Church of Jesus Christ of ____________________” ?

[Cboldt]

LCMS is tough to beat, IMO. Of course there is some variation among pastors, but not much.

I’ve sampled a few others (grew up LCMS, fairy strident about what is preached), all has more false teaching or bad focus than I could tolerate.

We have a member who is a student of theology, very serious, and he came from IIRC, Russian Orthodox congregation that went under due to lack of members.

It is easy enough to sample a church by attending a service and talking with some of the members. Our very convenience ELCA was not acceptable to us some years ago, and we did catholic Church for a couple months. Talk about virtue signaling ...

The nearby LCMS moved from “too far for me to drive” to “close enough for me to drive,” and this made me happy.

This is ultimately an individual thing. Family here is split on church preference, and while I don’t like that, it is part of the way of the world and the devil.

[Elsie]

...while asking GOD to LEAD you to one!

[Elsie]

saddle up and get to the cowboy church

---

Cowboy Poetry

by Bill Jones

 

 

 

Jake, the rancher, went one day
to fix a distant fence.
The wind was cold and gusty
and the clouds rolled gray and dense.

As he pounded the last staples in
and gathered tools to go,
The temperature had fallen,
the wind and snow began to blow.

When he finally reached his pickup,
he felt a heavy heart.
From the sound of that ignition,
he knew it wouldn't start.

So Jake did what most of us
would do if we had been there.
He humbly bowed his balding head
and sent aloft a prayer.

As he turned the key for the last time,
he softly cursed his luck.
They found him three days later,
frozen stiff in that old truck.

Now Jake had been around in life
and done his share of roaming.
But when he saw Heaven, he was shocked --
it looked just like Wyoming!

Of all the saints in Heaven,
his favorite was St. Peter.
(Now, this line ain't needed
but it helps with rhyme and meter)

So they set and talked a minute or two,
or maybe it was three.
Nobody was keeping' score --
in Heaven time is free.

"I've always heard," Jake said to Pete,
"that God will answer prayer,
But one time I asked for help,
well, he just plain wasn't there."

"Does God answer prayers of some,
and ignore the prayers of others?
That don't seem exactly square --
I know all men are brothers."

"Or does he randomly reply,
without good rhyme or reason?
Maybe, it's the time of day,
the weather or the season."

"Now I ain't trying to act smart,
it's just the way I feel.
And I was wondering', could you tell me --
what the heck's the deal?!"

Peter listened very patiently
and when Jake was done,
There were smiles of recognition,
and he said, "So, you're the one!!"

"That day your truck, it wouldn't start,
and you sent your prayer a flying,
You gave us all a real bad time,
with hundreds of us trying."

"A thousand angels rushed,
to check the status of your file,
But you know, Jake, we hadn't heard
from you in quite a long while."

"And though all prayers are answered,
and God ain't got no quota,
He didn't recognize your voice,
and started a truck in Minnesota."

[Fester Chugabrew]

Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana is considered conservative. Concordia Seminary, Clayton, Missouri is steadily reforming some abberrations having to do with cultural issues effecting practice. The Church constantly battles intrusions of reason that have us thinking backwards as to how God deals with us.

[Elsie]

its just like the old days, Catholics always being put down and attacked....

Poor things. Let's stop and say a silent prayer for them.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Are you a praying Christian? I ask because you make no mention at all of asking the Holy Spirit to guide your search. Remember Jesus' admonition: "Ask and you will receive." As Wiz-Nerd said, "...ask Him to guide you to where you need to be. It might not be where you want to be, but it is better to follow His will than yours."

[Cboldt]

Have you shared your thoughts with the district management? Not suggesting any sort of critical or demanding sort of “talk,” just let them know your preference and why you took it. Not that it would change where you left, and that’s not the point.

I’m in lay management at an LCMS church. It is impossible to please everybody, but we do like to hear, and at some level it is important that we hear.

[Elsie]

Is it Walmart's fault that "The People of Walmart" have a following on the web?