1. Welcome to Baptist Board, a friendly forum to discuss the Baptist Faith in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to all the features that our community has to offer.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon and God Bless!

Moving to another church when you ....

Discussion in 'Other Discussions' started by wpe3bql, May 20, 2015.

  1. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    ....have moved from your former location.

    Most (but not all) Baptist "Statement of Faith," have something to the effect that when an individual/family moves, they are also to move to another local church "of like faith and order."

    This statement is something that I rarely find being put to use in many cases. Probably it had its origin many years ago when most folks seldom moved very far from their original homestead during their entire life span.

    These days you now seem to find many people moving to different places from "home" quite often for any number of reasons (e.g., new job, etc.).

    Yes, I know all about the concept of "individual soul liberty," but I wonder how seriously many folks that sit in our church pews actually take the time/effort to seek out another local church closer to their new location.

    I say this not necessarily to condemn people but merely to voice a concern that bothers me.

    Comments anyone.
     
  2. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I found it interesting that when I was in Germany, there were folks who would not join our (English-Speaking - off post) Baptist church, because they had a home church back in the States.

    My question to them was " Did you transfer your military finance records (for your monthly pay) here to Germany.
     
  3. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    I indicated in the OP that not every church has this clause in its Statement of Faith.

    Case in point was the very first BC I joined after I was saved. This was almost 50 years ago, [NOTE: The church has long ago disbanded due to a fire destroying its meeting place & other related issues.] but I still recall it today.

    I'd been saved less than a year when the USAF transferred me to (West) Germany. The military postal system being what it was back then, it took a couple months for mail to get to me. One day I received a bulletin from this church and it indicated that I was now a "missionary to Germany."

    In a way, I suppose you could say that I was a "missionary," but not in the sense that you'd normally think of one.

    Thankfully, after a few more months God led me to join what was at that time an off-base mission to US service people in a nearby town.
    Its members were few in number, but we were all about the same age.

    I truly believe that I learned more things about the Bible and Christian living in the two years I was with it [It eventually became an autonomous, independent BC.] than I probably would have ever learned elsewise. :godisgood:

    Now, back to the issue(s) I raised in the OP.
     
  4. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
    When I was in Germany, I wrote a letter to my home church and signed it "Your missionary to Germany at Government expense
    A missionary is Gods man, doing Gods work in Gods way at Gods time in Gods Place!
    I was in Zweibruecken, Wildflecken, and Mainz. How about you


    Now, back to the issue(s) that were raised in the OP.
     
  5. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
     
  6. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
     
  7. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    Salty,
    I've e-mailed you. :wavey:

    NOW, lets get back to the OP!! :thumbsup:
     
  8. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    I didn't get your e-mail. Please try again.
     
  9. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    Sent one to your aol address.
     
  10. Carolina Baptist

    Carolina Baptist Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2003
    Messages:
    2,031
    Likes Received:
    1


    About 12 years ago, I changed churches from and IFB to SB. My new church wrote to my old church. The response was something like "we will remove John from our rolls, but we cannot grant a letter of transfer because of our doctrinal differences".
    My new church accepted my testimony about my salvation, and my baptism at a church in NJ. I joined by "statement of faith" along with my wife who came from an "other than Baptist" church.
     
  11. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    One church I belonged to did not take letters from any church at all.

    If a person wished to unite with it, they were given an application form to fill out and had to sign stating that they agree with that church's Statement of Faith.

    Next they met before its pastor and some of the elders to be personally asked about their spiritual life, etc. Once they passed muster there, they were brought before the church body who then voted whether or not to receive them into their fellowship.

    I tend to agree with this procedure because it reduced attempts by "outsiders" to join that church and subsequently cause problems. It wasn't 100% foolproof, but it helped to avoid some of the problems that otherwise may have occurred.
     
  12. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
    Site Supporter

    Joined:
    Jun 5, 2010
    Messages:
    33,373
    Likes Received:
    1,568
    Faith:
    Baptist
    Sounds a bit parinoid.
     
  13. Salty

    Salty 20,000 Posts Club
    Administrator

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2003
    Messages:
    38,982
    Likes Received:
    2,615
    Faith:
    Baptist
    I agree basically with the procedure practiced by that church - but in addition the transfer of letter should also help avoid some problems - IF the sending church would be honest.

    I was church clerk - at Victory Baptist in Germany (now disbanded) I had looked thru the minutes of the church. I noticed that a family had requested a church letter from a nearby church ( w/in 10 miles). The church granted a letter for mom and the two kids but not for dad. They stated that dad still owed tuition money for his kids at their Christian Day school. (off hand, I don't remember if Victory Baptist accepted dad by statement of faith or not.)
     
  14. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    Maybe it was, but given the struggles its pastor had to contend with back then (modernism, liberalism, humanism, etc.), I can understand why it was set up that way back in those days.
     
  15. wpe3bql

    wpe3bql Member

    Joined:
    May 15, 2015
    Messages:
    979
    Likes Received:
    13
    Another church I belonged to at one time had a policy of excluding any member for heresy if he/she/they left there and joined any SBC church.

    Its next pastor had that church to discontinue that policy.
     
Loading...