Hmm. Paul asks a good question. It's actually made me stop and think. I appreciate the question; but what I appreciate more is that Paul can't label me. I like it that way. I don't like labels. Here is a little bit of how I feel about THE Church. I wrote this back in December of '04. We don't belong to a denomination. That's not to say that we are in the “non-denominational” groups, such as Church of Christ. I would throw the Churches of Christ (at least the ones in this area) in the denominational group, although they claim not to be. We have been to several churches/denominations seeking like-minded believers and establishing our doctrine. What we've realized is that you don't let a church or denomination establish your doctrine. You let the Bible and the Holy Spirit establish your doctrine. We have not been to a church where we believed the complete doctrine of any denomination. We do, however, believe some of each church. Every church we've been to has been a blessing to us in one form or another, and we always have taken something away. Sometimes it was “Boy, I'll never set foot in there again!” We personally have been to Church of Christ (was raised in that most of my young life), Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal and some “home” or small group fellowships. Have met some really nice people along the way. Some who I believe are totally sold out to the Lord.
For me to list my complete faith and doctrine stance would take a long time and would probably have to be broken up over several post, but I'll hit the high-lights.
I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe the Bible is a literal book, written by man but inspired by God (my preference is KJV). [Theres a couple posts at this link titled Literal Bible]
I believe that Jesus came down from heaven to die for the redemption of all man.
I believe that His blood purifies and redeems us.
I believe that we can put away our sinful nature and live a holy life, pleasing to the Lord.
I believe that you can have assurance of your salvation that no one can take from you.
I believe that you can forfeit/loose that salvation through life decisions.
I believe in the New Testament church.
I believe that the Holy Spirit still works in the way it did in the New Testament.
I believe that Jesus Christ is coming back a second time to gather his Church/Bride home with Him.
Obviously, this is pretty broad. I didn't hit a lot of hot topics (I tend to skip over the end-times discussions like tribulation, millennia, rapture and so-on) and some that I've argued a lot of my life (baptism, communion, speaking in tongues). Some I'm still trying to figure out.
We are at a church/fellowship (no denominational ties or even name for that matter - started out as a house church) now that is made up of families that don't agree on many of these issues. They may debate them in private or men's-round-table-discussions, but typically aren't preached about from the pulpit. We are there because it is safe for my family to worship there. We have been to places that we may have agreed with more of the preaching, but you didn't dare let your children go to Sunday School or play with many of the other kids out of sight or hearing range. I believe that your children should be involved and should be able to make friends at church.
What it boils down to is believing the Bible. Seeking God's wisdom. Listening to the Spirit. Trusting in Christ Jesus.
Paul, if this is too broad and didn't answer your questions, let me know and I'll take another stab at it. Maybe ask more direct or specific questions; like: what is your stance on...? Or maybe you don't really care. That's fine too.
God bless!
3 comments:
Just to clarify, it's not that the fellowship we are at don't agree with most of what I have in the bullet points, but what I mentioned in the previous paragraph in the (). I think MOST of the bullet points are some of the basic fundamentals that most Christians believe in.
Things that are gray, they go the route of least offense. Example: communion is a touchy subject from denomination to denomination. Some insist that it's taken every week. Other groups take it once a month. Some take it quarterly and some annually. With having families from every denominational background, we probably have some that believe in each of these scenarios. The men got together and decided to offer it once a month. If you want to take it more often (every week) you could do it at home. If you didn't want to take it every month, don't take it. Nobody is offended if a family doesn't partake in the “passing of the elements”. This is the procedure agreed upon by the men of the congregation and confirmed by the elder. The path of least offense. Every man takes a turn preaching, usually leaving hot, gray topics alone. Each family respects each other families belief.
Boy, that looks like something that I could have written...oh wait, I did write that.
http://sheepandgoats.blogspot.com/2005/06/church-update-blessing-others.html
So, what's the point, Anonymous?
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