Featured Are the Assemblies of God Baptist Churches?

Be objective Michael and take a look:

[FONT=&quot]Here are the Baptist Distinctives as I know them, and as taught in a well known and established Baptist Bible College.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]1. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]The Bible is the only rule of faith and order.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As long as one accepts the gifts of the Spirit as valid and fellowships with the Charismatic movement, that distinctive is violated. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]“The CAC believes in all the gifts of the Spirit, while not holding to a Pentecostal or Charismatic interpretation of them.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--You don’t believe in that the Bible is the ONLY rule of faith and order, for there are other channels of revelation as per the Charismatic movement and the gifts of the Spirit. You deny perhaps the most important of all of the Baptist Distinctives, the first one. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]The local church must have a regenerated baptized (by immersion) church membership.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The modes and subjects of baptism are left to the individuals involved. Immersion most perfectly pictures what happens in the new birth given by Jesus and the Spirit.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--The mode and subject of baptism is left up to the individual. You don’t believe in the second Baptist distinctive. Baptism is always defined as immersion. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]3. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Autonomy of the local church[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Celtic Anabaptist Communion believes in the autonomy of the local church. The local church can own its property; it can call and ordain its ministers; and any financial giving beyond the local church is strictly voluntary.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--On paper this looks good. But is this really the case?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When one reads a paragraph like this, then he begins to question the autonomy of the local church. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]After discussing this with my friend, Archbishop Rodney Rickard -- himself of strong Celtic heritage -- I feel I can now accept the office of archbishop and include archepiscopacy in our communion, with the following understanding and definition of the position and office:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The function of an archbishop in the CAC is simply to be a pastor and "anamchara," or "soul friend" to other bishops, just as a bishop should also be that for other pastors -- in short, a servant of servants, and a slave to all, as Jesus Himself put it.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--A hierarchy, in my mind, does not constitute autonomy. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]4. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Priesthood of the believer.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Celtic Anabaptist Communion holds to the doctrine of the priesthood of every believer, and thus we believe that any Christian may administer the sacraments, including consecration of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--You are evidently confused as to what the priesthood of the believer is. Whether you believe in it or not, I don’t know. But that particular distinctive does not “any Christian” the right to administer the elements of the Lord’s Table. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There are no sacraments. And what do you mean by “consecration”? It sounds more Catholic than Baptist. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]5. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Soul Liberty[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The CAC believes in religious liberty and freedom of conscience in doctrinal matters. We affirm the four Baptist freedoms: soul freedom, church freedom, Bible freedom, and religious freedom. We also strongly believe in the freedom of the will as an inherent gift of God.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]You clearly don’t understand soul liberty. On one level soul liberty is the right for one to believe as he believes to be true. Thus the J.W.’s have that right though we may not agree with them. But soul liberty does not mean that the J.W. has the right to come into my church and teach his doctrine, and that is the way that you have expressed it. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“Freedom of conscience in doctrinal matters.” One cannot have that freedom in our church. It must be within the bounds of the statement of faith and the constitution which they agree to when they become a member. When they become a member, for example, they agree to the statement of faith that the church believes in eternal security. If you don’t believe in eternal security, our church is not the place for you to become a member. We must be agreed doctrinally. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]6. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Baptism by immersion and the Lord’s Table are the only two ordinances of the local church. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You allow baptism by other modes. And the Lord’s Table is more Catholic than it is Baptist, as you treat the elements as sacraments, and not elements. Sacraments are means of grace. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Celtic Anabaptist Communion holds to the doctrine of the priesthood of every believer, and thus we believe that any Christian may administer the sacraments, including consecration of the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--Baptist churches do not believe this way. First they believe that immersion or baptism and the Lord’s Supper are to be administered by the local church and are functions of the local church only. Secondly they are ordinances not sacraments. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]7. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Separation of church and state. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--We agree there. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]8. [/FONT][FONT=&quot]Separation of ecclesiastically and morally or ethically. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In your link to “intercommunion the first church mentioned that you would fellowship is: “The Primitive Catholic Church.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]They believe: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]“The Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation/Confirmation, Eucharist, Confession, Anointing for the Sick, Ordination and Marriage are understood as means of grace according to the doctrine and practices of the early Church.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The Primitive Catholic Church continues to be convinced of the mystery of Jesus' presence in the shape of bread and wine during the celebration of The Lord's Supper. Holy Communion is administered under both species[/FONT][FONT=&quot].”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--You said you stand against Catholicism, and yet the first church you recommend is a Catholic Church that has not repudiated Catholic doctrine. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ecclesiastical separation is that separation from churches that hold heretical doctrine, doctrine like this:[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Celtic Anabaptist Communion affirms the fact that the word translated "eternal" in relation to hell in the New Testament does not mean eternal in the original languages, but rather means an "eon," or "age," -- a long, indefinite period of time. Consequently, the CAC does not affirm an unconditional universalism, an unconditional eternal hell, nor annihilationism. The CAC thus allows for freedom of conscience on details of the afterlife.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--This is heresy. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The CAC affirms the teaching of Romans Chapter 2, Titus 2:11, and other verses, that God Who is infinitely just, merciful, and loving provides a way of salvation for those who have never heard of Christ, basing their judgment on the use they make of the light they have -- God having bestowed a measure of His Light on everyone, according to John 1:9.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--Your teaching here makes Christ a liar when he said “I am the way,” in John 14:6.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The CAC reaches out in fellowship to Christians of different traditions and backgrounds and will seek intercommunion agreements with other jurisdictions[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--This is a basic endorsement of the ecumenical movement which I think most of us would be against. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The CAC prefers the doctrine of the atonement, or reconciliation, taught by the church for the first one thousand years and summed up in the "classic" view, also called "Christus Victor." Later theories such as the satisfaction theory of Anselm and the penal substitution theory of the Magisterial Reformers are a deviation from the early church and are actually harmful[/FONT][FONT=&quot].[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--This is an unorthodox view of the atonement which most would not accept. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The CAC affirms that the Bible is absolutely true and trustworthy and is the written word of God which bears witness to the Living Word of God, Jesus Christ. We prefer to reserve such terms as "inerrant" and "infallible" to God alone, lest the Bible should be made an idol by some.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]--You deny the inerrancy of Scripture. The above view is heretical.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Holding the above doctrines would give our church reason enough not to fellowship with your church. That is called “ecclesiastical separation.” It does not mean that I would count you personally as an enemy or not have fellowship with you personally. It means that our churches could not join together in any joint function. [/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Out of eight Baptist Distinctives I saw one that we agreed on, and possibly two.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]That leads me to believe you are not a Baptist. [/FONT]

 

I hold to the Four "Baptist Freedoms": Soul freedom, church freedom, Bible freedom, and religious freedom. I also hold to the baptist distinctives as listed in other places on this forum.

In the CAC Statement of Principles, I have tried to affirm the Baptist freedoms and distinctives while at the same time being open and welcoming to people who come to us from other backgrounds, which actually is almost everybody. I have tried to be sensitive to that and allow complete autonomy, soul freedom, and Bible freedom in areas which do not contradict our basic principles.

The reason the Primitive Catholic Church is mentioned first on our "Intercommunion" page is because that is the jurisdiction of Rodney Rickard, the minister who ordained me; it is because of him that I am an ordained minister today, and I know that God led me to him. We have intercommunion agreements with a diversity of denominations, including the Six-Principle Baptists.

DHK's problem is that instead of debating the topic, he wants to make it personal and about me; for some strange reason, he is fixated on me.

Well, I'll tell you what, DHK; you go ahead and continue to make it about me if that makes you feel good. You hide behind your anonymity and your moderator status and accuse me all you want - call me a heretic, unorthodox, or anything else you want to. What I am now concerned with the most is the health of my wife, then my mom, and lastly me. I'll be focusing on that.

Through all your falsehoods, misrepresentations, and accusations, I have held and still do hold the Baptist freedoms, principles, and distinctives, and I will cherish them until the day I die. And if I stay on this forum, I will defend those principles, whether I am posting in all sections, or whether in only the "Other Denominations" section because wherever I am, I will still believe in the Baptist freedoms and distinctives.

I also will continue to offer, through the CAC, a home to the hurting, the unchurched, the disenfranchised, the lonely, and welcome all from any denominational background who feel a spiritual kinship and wish to follow the dictinctives and principles of the Baptists/Anabaptists and ancient Celtic church.

 

See my responses in red. I have tried to respond in good faith.