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Name this denomination.....

Discussion in '2004 Archive' started by ZeroTX, May 6, 2004.

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  1. ZeroTX

    ZeroTX Member
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    The following are the belief statements from a "Non-Denominational" church I've been attending... "name that denomination"... [​IMG]

    THE BIBLE
    We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, divinely inspired; that it contains no errors in the original manuscripts and preserved by God for us; that it is authoritative for this church and each of us for every age.

    GOD
    We believe that God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are one God.

    We believe God created the universe by His Power and Word.

    We believe that God is all knowing, all powerful and ever present.

    JESUS
    We believe Jesus Christ was sent by God the Father into the world to save sinners.
    We believe that Jesus Christ was virgin born, sinless in life and mighty in words and deeds.

    We believe Jesus was both God and man, that He was crucified for our sins, and was bodily raised from the dead. He then ascended to His Father's side where He is head of the church and intercedes for believers.

    We believe Jesus Christ is coming again personally, visibly and bodily to reign as Lord.

    HOLY SPIRIT
    We believe the Holy Spirit is a person, is God, and has all the divine characteristics. He indwells all believers, baptizes and seals them at the moment of salvation. He fills them in response to confession of sin and surrender to Him.

    SALVATION
    We believe that Jesus, through His death on the cross, provided salvation for all. However, to receive salvation one must repent of sin and trust Jesus Christ alone. The true believer is eternally secure and cannot lose his salvation. He may, however, lose his joy by sin and bring the loving discipline of the Father upon himself.
    All who have received Christ will at death depart to be with Christ in their spirits and at Christ's return receive a new body which will be like His glorious body.

    THE CHURCH
    We believe a New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers who have agreed together to worship Jesus Christ, edify the believers, evangelize the lost and minister to others.

    The church has two ordinances: Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

    Baptism symbolizes the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the new life we have in Him.
    The Lord's Supper is a reminder of Christ's death and anticipates His Second Coming.
     
    #1 ZeroTX, May 6, 2004
  2. Johnv

    Johnv New Member

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    Aren't these Baptist affirmations?
     
    #2 Johnv, May 6, 2004
  3. Deacon

    Deacon Well-Known Member
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    Hi, Zero, Welcome to the Board.
    Introduce yourself up in the Welcome section!

    From my point of view it's a generic 'Statement of Faith' for just about any evangelical Christian church.

    Among many weaknesses, it's statement on the "Bible" could be expanded to clarify whether it is a church that permits the modern pentecostal beliefs.

    I might also add that it's a little weak in the "Salvation" paragraph, not explicitly mentioning the resurrection of Christ. It is the power of the resurrection that permits the Christian believer to experence fellowship with God.

    Rob
     
    #3 Deacon, May 6, 2004
  4. Squire Robertsson

    Squire Robertsson Administrator
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    Or to paraphrase what Mrs. Jane Hollowood (a lady who has forgotten more about systematic theology than many preachers knew in the first place) once told me:
     
    #4 Squire Robertsson, May 6, 2004
  5. RandR

    RandR New Member

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    Numerous non-denominational churches are "baptistic" in belief and practice. But tell them that and they get real uncomfortable and squirmy....
     
    #5 RandR, May 6, 2004
  6. rsr

    rsr <b> 7,000 posts club</b>
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    No liberty of conscience, no priesthood of the believer, no separation of ecclesiastical and state authority. No grace. And no immersion.
     
    #6 rsr, May 6, 2004
  7. Rosell

    Rosell New Member

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    Actually, most of the Baptist statements of faith I've seen affirm the authority of the scripture as "truth without any mixture of error" rather than referring to the accuracy of the original autographs. The statement of Baptist churches regarding the church also contains strong references to the independence and autonomy of the local body, and to the priesthood of the believer. The Baptist churches I've belonged to, including the one I pastored a few years back, clearly stated that the ordinance of Baptism was for believers only, by immersion only. And I've never seen a Baptist statement of faith without a listing of scripture references to support each of the statements.

    BTW, I pastor a "non-denominational" church and I have to say with a slight chuckle that some of our members do get a bit "squirmy and nervous" when our Baptist roots, which are quite evident, are mentioned. Actually, a few of them get more than squirmy, they get downright uncomfortable. But we are what we are, generally a congregation with two thirds of its membership made up of former Baptist church members.

    Generally, it was not disagreement with various points of Baptist doctrine that caused some of our members to part company with a Baptist church, but some of the culture that develops within a local Baptist congregation. Many of our members came from a local Baptist church where a few older men had entrenched themselves as "leaders" and used the church structure to run the church their way as "power brokers." This was a turn off to a lot of younger families and they eventually left when they felt excluded from the congregational decision making process. Some others left a church because it kept perpetuating a style of worship that had become stale and disconnected, and didn't "lift the veil" for many people. And in both cases, many of the people felt that the churches weren't accountable to them for the mission giving.

    Since this church formed, it has seen a smaller group of individuals from a large Charismatic church also become part of its fellowship, though they have not insisted on any doctrinal changes. We use a liturgy for worship, though all of the music is contemporary. I don't think there is any real disagreement with what would be considered typical Baptist doctrine.

    [ May 06, 2004, 11:59 PM: Message edited by: Rosell ]
     
    #7 Rosell, May 6, 2004
  8. ZeroTX

    ZeroTX Member
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    They sounded very close to me to the beliefs of the Southern Baptist Convention....

    and they do require baptism by immersion for membership... The pastor went to a Baptist Seminary...

    But apparently to draw in people, it REALLY WORKS not to put "Baptist" in the name of the church, for some reason. I'm not sure WHY people outside Baptist churches have such a negative connotation associated with Baptists....

    Anyway, I know that it really works, because Fellowship of The Woodlands, (according to a membership meeting I attended) is the fastest growing congregation in North America...

    They went from 8 members in 1993 (in someone's house) to over 10,000 members today, and they have a 125 acre facility with a gorgeous auditorium that's all bought and paid for by member donations, i.e. no bank loans. Also, something I like, is the books are 100% open to all members, and there's an outside audit done every single year, also available for review by members... Pretty neat.

    Anyway. Yeah, it sounds like mostly Baptist doctrine... But the sermons are VERY cool... lots of great music (an entire band on stage), drama productions, video/multi-media productions, and sermons that really really hit the spot for people's everyday lives, with specific Scriptural reference.

    It's a cool place. http://www.fotw.org for those who are curious.

    Oh, and I'm glad to be here... I'll introduce myself in the correct forum [​IMG]

    -Michael
     
    #8 ZeroTX, May 7, 2004
  9. jhickman

    jhickman Member

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    A big part of what people get uncomfortable with in Baptist churches is caused by churches that are KJV only, anti-modern worship, excessive dress codes, or have dictatorial pastors or other "leaders", etc. In areas where this is the only type of Baptist church that exists, it's no wonder that some people think that being Baptist is a negative connotation, even though there are a lot of Baptist churches that don't have those kinds of attitudes.
     
    #9 jhickman, May 7, 2004
  10. ZeroTX

    ZeroTX Member
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    The Fellowship church I go to is the opposite of those things:
    1) casual dress and an explicit "come as you are" message
    2) EXTREMELY modern worship, using video/multi-media, dramatic plays/illustrations, modern music (stuff you'd hear on modern Christian radio), including guitars, drums, keyboards, and a group of regular singer/performers...

    This church was featured on the local Houston, TX news as a new, exciting place to go to church....

    So yeah, you can see how having "Baptist" in the name might make a difference, I guess.

    -Michael
     
    #10 ZeroTX, May 8, 2004
  11. Dr. Bob

    Dr. Bob Administrator
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    Whatever they are, they are sure confused on the doctrines of grace! Sounds like a Willow Creek type of statement, where they try to take all controversy out of doctrine!
     
    #11 Dr. Bob, May 8, 2004
  12. massdak

    massdak Active Member
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    dr bob could you expound on your answer.
    i see a possible problem in their salvation statement depending on what they mean or consider repentance from sin.
     
    #12 massdak, May 10, 2004
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