Featured Church members who have not been attending

When visitors come, only a few in the congregation greet them. I think they'd feel encouraged to come back, more so, if more people greeted them. Not sure how I'd get that going, since the Pastor rarely asks for us to greet new people. But, remember, we only have 15 regulars attending, including members.

I'm the only Usher/Greeter. Try to always give out a packet of information to a visitor, including a pen to put down their phone number and email. Then the Pastor or Associate Pastor would contact them. It seems like they follow through only once.

Some Church members that have left, said they did not feel like they could serve here. They went to another Baptist Church, a Mega-Church, and found lots of opportunities to serve there.

This is very sad. The Pastor recently started some small groups that he and his wife teach. In the past, they could have done this by using the Church members that left: the husband went to the same Bible college as the Pastor, and preached on a few Sundays to give the Pastor a rest. He had wanted to do more. (This was before the Associate Pastor arrived.)

I realize that members leaving to perform more service, is not the typical reason why members leave. Some feel that the Mega-Churches have better speakers, and a greater variety of classes; but, for me, I prefer the intimacy of a small Church.

 

Because after 6 months of steady attendance, the honeymoon is over, they start getting calls from the Nominating Committee, and find out that they're expected to pull their weight.

 

The problem in this area is definitely not limited to Baptists. I would say all denominational and non-denominational churches in this area share about equal

Churches have

I wrote in response to someone blaming the experience of feeling unwelcome in the fact the church they emwere discussing was non denominational. I was pointing out that being unwelcoming is no limited to any denomination.
I am from a small town. The only truly welcoming churches in town are the two non denominational churches. I think the reason is all the Baptist churches in town are 125 to 250 years old. They are stuck on their past, founding families, and geographical community.

 

We must go back to the basics...what is a Baptist Church and what's it's biblical function?

 

Well we have answered that question...they no longer touch the flesh, they are no longer humble,

 

OK.....whats your definition of desipleship?

 

In regard to #1, it certainly appears that way.

James White has discussed this thoroughly on his show and has given Hannegraaf ample opportunity to defend himself. From Hannegraaf's explanation on the BAM program and in an interview, he does admit that he has adopted a works righteousness view and has abandoned the Biblical teaching of salvation by grace through faith. While he continues to affirm the necessity of Christ's atonement and propitiatory sacrifice, he now, according to his own words, denies the sufficiency of Christ's atonement and propitiatory sacrifice.

There are things I know and things I don't and I'm not privy to the things going on in Hannegraaf's spiritual life but, just based on what he has admitted about his new beliefs, unless this is just a season of wandering, I have to believe that he is now apostate.

As for #2, I have to admit that as a new Christian, many of the things Hannegraff said about the WoF movement helped me greatly and led the way to my leaving that movement and being saved.

But as I grew in Christ and learned more about the Bible, about Hannegraaf's beliefs, and about how he took control of CRI and the BAM program against the wishes of Dr. Martin and his estate, I lost most respect for him. I don't know if this is considered gossip or not but it's common knowledge so I'll go ahead and post it. If you look at the number of Godly and learned men and women who were associated with that ministry, but who walked away from it because of issues with Hannegraff, I think that's very telling.

While, up until recently, he was within the bounds of orthodoxy, he was a partial preterist and Arminian to the point that he bordered on outright Pelagianism.

So, "man of his caliber" is relative.

As for "why"? I don't know. When you're an Arminian, you're naturally drawn toward a belief in the necessity of works.

To be honest, I don't really consider it much of a loss for Christianity, but may be a terrible, eternal loss for Hannegraff

 

Then if it was practiced in earnest.....IE To Love your neighbor as yourself & to love the Lord with your entire being, then to go out & make disciples (and the emphasis is Love here) the Baptist Church would be widely successful.

But I fear what we have going on here today is not love because by some of these testimonies, its not addressing those two "GREATS" & it's painfully showing.

Really, are we sooo afraid to touch the flesh of God.......and to touch the flesh of one another and understand what God is calling us into? I will remind these confused churches what Jesus did when he met with the apostle Thomas, John 20:27.

So I say again just what the Lord told Thomas, "Touch the wounds & believe."

 

How does that explain all the other testimonies on here that are critical of the church in its present condition?

 

There are good Bible believing, evangelizing, on fire churches. There are also social clubs where people get in their little groups and hang out under the steeple. You can't lump the two types together.

 

I left to be able to serve better. Church politics pushed me out the door of the last church I served. Not only does a small church provide intimacy, it also provides more opportunities for service.

 

I don't know about on fire. ALOT of ex-Catholic mutt churches, club churches, shuttered churches, with the end result being no church in the lives of many. Worse yet, non believers abound...people making the choice to be atheists. So to all the successful churches with mission initiative's, I say come to New Jersey.

 

As a closing commentary...I really hope for much smaller churches in the future....smaller and more intimate and more ready to serve Christ. I suspect this is the only way we can regain our integrity & effectiveness as proclaimed of the Kingdom. I take seriously Jesus's teaching about "two or three gathering in my name."

I hope for more truth, more real edges of influence, more teaching and discipleship, more adoration, less a gathering than a place for more spiritual connection to God and human kind... Matthew 13:19