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NewCreation435

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I really feel like perhaps I am no longer Baptist in my views. I grew up in the Methodist church, but switched when I turned 18. The emphasis seems to be in the Baptist church that a person needs to pray the sinner's prayer and be saved. Yet, the sinner's prayer is nowhere in the Bible. My bigger problem with it is that I see people who claim to have prayed a prayer and been saved and yet still live exactly like a non believer. There doesn't seem to be evidence of a changed life.

I am considering maybe i need to look at different churches than Baptist, but not sure where to look. I would want a church where there is strong biblical teaching. I don't believe in baptizing babies. That would be a deal breaker. I don't believe in speaking in tongues exist today. I'm not sure where I fit in. Maybe a Nazarene or Bible church?
 

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I suggest visiting different churches to see what fits your beliefs and I would encourage you to study the bible to find some answers rather than what a denom preaches. As for the sinners prayer you are correct that it is not in the bible but it is based on scripture. The main one I think is Romans 10:9-10 and of course there are other scriptures dealing with being saved as well. I believe in toungues as all gifts, I dont think any cewased but that is for you to decide. Look at beliefs rather than people for even if you get along well with everyone if the professed beliefs are something you cant accept then you dont belong there.
 

Albion

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Churches of Christ are a possibility. Some Bible Church also, as you thought.

Are there any other beliefs or preferences that would narrow the search a bit more?
 

MennoSota

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I really feel like perhaps I am no longer Baptist in my views. I grew up in the Methodist church, but switched when I turned 18. The emphasis seems to be in the Baptist church that a person needs to pray the sinner's prayer and be saved. Yet, the sinner's prayer is nowhere in the Bible. My bigger problem with it is that I see people who claim to have prayed a prayer and been saved and yet still live exactly like a non believer. There doesn't seem to be evidence of a changed life.

I am considering maybe i need to look at different churches than Baptist, but not sure where to look. I would want a church where there is strong biblical teaching. I don't believe in baptizing babies. That would be a deal breaker. I don't believe in speaking in tongues exist today. I'm not sure where I fit in. Maybe a Nazarene or Bible church?

A Reformed Baptist church will not emphasize the sinners prayer.
The Nazarene church teaches that you choose God, but you can also fall away and no longer be saved because you sin. You must continually be repenting, rededicating and renewing your salvation. You are never secure. It is the extreme end of the sinners prayer. I don't think you would fit in very well.
 

NewCreation435

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Churches of Christ are a possibility. Some Bible Church also, as you thought.

Are there any other beliefs or preferences that would narrow the search a bit more?

While I believe in baptism, I don't think it conveys grace upon the person or is necessary to be saved to be baptized.
I really feel like most churches don't do well in addressing social needs such as food, clothing, practical ways of demonstrating love to the community
 

Albion

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While I believe in baptism, I don't think it conveys grace upon the person or is necessary to be saved to be baptized.
I really feel like most churches don't do well in addressing social needs such as food, clothing, practical ways of demonstrating love to the community

I understand the first point there, which is why I did not recommend any churches to you that baptize infants. As for the second point there, this is less clear-cut. As others have already noted, there are some congregations in many denominations that are very good at it while others, for one reason or another, are not. This makes your job harder and might require you to consider the available churches one by one.

But is there anything else? For example, the Churches of Christ seem appropriate from all that you wrote, but they also believe in weekly Communion. It is the same view of Communion that Baptists have, but maybe that frequency puts you off for some reason. You may also be thinking that the CsOfC think of Baptism as necessary, but I feel that their thinking when that kind of language is used is not what it may at first seem. Nothing like the RC approach to the sacraments, for example. You would have to inquire, of course.
 
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NewCreation435

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I understand the first point there, which is why I did not recommend any churches to you that baptize infants. As for the second point there, this is less clear-cut. As others have already noted, there are some congregations in many denominations that are very good at it while others, for one reason or another, are not. This makes your job harder and might require you to consider the available churches one by one.

But is there anything else? For example, the Churches of Christ seem appropriate from all that you wrote, but they also believe in weekly Communion. It is the same view of Communion that Baptists have, but maybe that frequency puts you off for some reason. You may also be thinking that the CsOfC think of Baptism as necessary, but I feel that their thinking when that kind of language is used is not what it may at first seem. Nothing like the RC approach to the sacraments, for example. You would have to inquire, of course.

No, I don't have a preference for how often communion is observed. I think it should be more than once a quarter, but that isn't a deal breaker
 

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I am Mennonite Brethren, and they teach adult baptism, not infant. They do not teach the sinner's prayer, but they do teach repentance and transformation through the Spirit as an ongoing maturation process beginning with a first confession of the need for Jesus as the way of salvation. I suppose some might see this as the sinner's prayer, but it is not what I was taught in the Free Methodist growing up. I had to dig very deep to find something that I *may* disagree with in their detailed statement of faith, which is observance of Sabbath. While they say it is one specific day per week, I say it is any day of the week that allows you to spend time with God and be spiritually restored and physically rested. Communion typically happens once a month. They believe in spiritual gifts, but they do not believe in the "charismatic" speaking of tongues as a matter of regular church services. We had one lady who did not know how to speak French, but during prayer, she spoke French. It turned out there was a visitor there who spoke very broken English and was only getting parts of the service. The message was interpreted by someone who knew both languages, and the visitor was then able to worship in her heart... she had been upset that she could not join in the singing, and the message was that she could sing in her heart in her own language. That is how our denomination knows the gift of tongues.
 

tango

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I really feel like perhaps I am no longer Baptist in my views. I grew up in the Methodist church, but switched when I turned 18. The emphasis seems to be in the Baptist church that a person needs to pray the sinner's prayer and be saved. Yet, the sinner's prayer is nowhere in the Bible. My bigger problem with it is that I see people who claim to have prayed a prayer and been saved and yet still live exactly like a non believer. There doesn't seem to be evidence of a changed life.

I am considering maybe i need to look at different churches than Baptist, but not sure where to look. I would want a church where there is strong biblical teaching. I don't believe in baptizing babies. That would be a deal breaker. I don't believe in speaking in tongues exist today. I'm not sure where I fit in. Maybe a Nazarene or Bible church?

I must admit the whole idea of the "sinner's prayer" is something that troubles me, simply because it creates the implication if not the outright requirement to say a very specific form of words in order to be saved and then suggests the person is home free and doesn't have to do anything more. The call Jesus makes is "follow me", and the idea that all that is needed for salvation is to say a specific prayer once would translate more into "turn and face in my direction" rather than "follow me".

With regard to ideas like baptism of infants, speaking in tongues etc, the thing I'd really suggest is to make sure you understand why you believe what you do. Rather than getting into specifics of why I might think you are right or wrong, if you know why you believe the way you do you are probably better placed to choose a church. I am often surprised when people believe something, sometimes quite passionately, but when pushed don't know why they believe it. It often turns out that they believe something because they were once told it was true and never stopped to question it.

Your best bet is probably to figure out how far away from home you are willing to go to find a church. As far as possible I think people are best off if they attend a local church because it means you've got the whole community thing going on. If you're attending a church that's 40 miles from your home then by the time you've attended one or maybe two services on a Sunday you've chalked up 160 miles, and if you want to get involved in more than just Sunday services you only go up from there. Personally I wouldn't want to be driving 250-300 miles a week just to go to church, on top of everything else. There's also the issue that attending a church some distance from home means you're not fully involved in the church community because you don't live there, and also aren't involved in your home spiritual community because you don't worship there.

Once you've figured your range, look at what churches are available. Read their statements of faith and rule out any that contain specific things you can't agree with. Beyond things that are definitive deal-breakers, consider all the options. Then attend a couple of services and see how they measure up, whether they will be a place you can grow and a place you can serve. I'd advise being willing to move on matters of preference if theology is sound.

To give you an example I attended a church for a short time that had a very upbeat, contemporary style of music. My preference is for more contemporary music as long as the theology is still sound. The church I had been attending was very contemporary but I found the theology increasingly troublesome and when I left I had to conclude I wasn't entirely sure they were even following the same god because I just couldn't reconcile what they believed with any sensible interpretation of Scripture. I asked them about it and got literally nothing back at all. Because it was clear I wasn't going to be able to grow there, and it was hard to see how I could serve there, I decided I had to leave. The church I attend now is more conservative than I would ordinarily choose but it's a solid community, there's a lot of love and support, and the teaching and theology are sound. There are a few things about the church that don't match my personal preference very closely but I can live with that - I'd rather sacrifice personal preference on the altar of sound theology than the reverse.
 

NewCreation435

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I must admit the whole idea of the "sinner's prayer" is something that troubles me, simply because it creates the implication if not the outright requirement to say a very specific form of words in order to be saved and then suggests the person is home free and doesn't have to do anything more. The call Jesus makes is "follow me", and the idea that all that is needed for salvation is to say a specific prayer once would translate more into "turn and face in my direction" rather than "follow me".

With regard to ideas like baptism of infants, speaking in tongues etc, the thing I'd really suggest is to make sure you understand why you believe what you do. Rather than getting into specifics of why I might think you are right or wrong, if you know why you believe the way you do you are probably better placed to choose a church. I am often surprised when people believe something, sometimes quite passionately, but when pushed don't know why they believe it. It often turns out that they believe something because they were once told it was true and never stopped to question it.

Your best bet is probably to figure out how far away from home you are willing to go to find a church. As far as possible I think people are best off if they attend a local church because it means you've got the whole community thing going on. If you're attending a church that's 40 miles from your home then by the time you've attended one or maybe two services on a Sunday you've chalked up 160 miles, and if you want to get involved in more than just Sunday services you only go up from there. Personally I wouldn't want to be driving 250-300 miles a week just to go to church, on top of everything else. There's also the issue that attending a church some distance from home means you're not fully involved in the church community because you don't live there, and also aren't involved in your home spiritual community because you don't worship there.

Once you've figured your range, look at what churches are available. Read their statements of faith and rule out any that contain specific things you can't agree with. Beyond things that are definitive deal-breakers, consider all the options. Then attend a couple of services and see how they measure up, whether they will be a place you can grow and a place you can serve. I'd advise being willing to move on matters of preference if theology is sound.

To give you an example I attended a church for a short time that had a very upbeat, contemporary style of music. My preference is for more contemporary music as long as the theology is still sound. The church I had been attending was very contemporary but I found the theology increasingly troublesome and when I left I had to conclude I wasn't entirely sure they were even following the same god because I just couldn't reconcile what they believed with any sensible interpretation of Scripture. I asked them about it and got literally nothing back at all. Because it was clear I wasn't going to be able to grow there, and it was hard to see how I could serve there, I decided I had to leave. The church I attend now is more conservative than I would ordinarily choose but it's a solid community, there's a lot of love and support, and the teaching and theology are sound. There are a few things about the church that don't match my personal preference very closely but I can live with that - I'd rather sacrifice personal preference on the altar of sound theology than the reverse.

i drive probably around 400-500 miles a week for work, so I really don't want to drive more on my own time. The church I have been attending is very close to home, so that is one good thing going for it. I am attending a men's group there and will continue to do so even if I am not a member and right now have no intention of joining. I do listen to some sermons online almost every week so I am already doing that.
Some have mentioned church of christ, but the one church that is nearby that is of that denomination does not have a web site. My wife told me today that she doesn't think I should give up and keep going to it and don't let one bad experience in Sunday School stop me. She's usually right, so I may do that.
 

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I don't know why there is no website, since they are so common these days, but I hope you wont let that prevent you from making one visit. Although each congregation is completely autonomous (another similarity to the Baptists), every CofC that I know of has worship on Sunday at 11:00.
 

Josiah

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Let's talk about babies, lol....
 

NewCreation435

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Let's talk about babies, lol....

Your welcome to open another thread and try it. We never talk about baptism on this forum. . . . .:O_O:
 

tango

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i drive probably around 400-500 miles a week for work, so I really don't want to drive more on my own time. The church I have been attending is very close to home, so that is one good thing going for it. I am attending a men's group there and will continue to do so even if I am not a member and right now have no intention of joining. I do listen to some sermons online almost every week so I am already doing that.

When I moved to a new area I dropped one church from my consideration as "home church" because of the relative distance. It was probably a 20 mile trip each way when I was used to walking 1/4 mile (if that) to the church where I used to live. Because my wife sings and so looks to join the band/choir and I do sound and IT type things so would expect to help with the sound system, we didn't want to find that scheduling meant either one of us was routinely sitting around because the other needed to be at church early, or taking two cars to church. We figured by the time we attended two services on Sunday and one event during the week (thinking of a small group, Bible study or similar) we'd be spending an extra $50/month on gas just to go to church (more if we ended up taking two cars for any reason) and spending 3-4 hours every week in the car between home and church.

Sermons online can be good as long as they don't become the primary source of spiritual input. Better to watch church online and listen to sermons online than do nothing at all but it's so much better to be a part of a fellowship unless you really can't find anything remotely suitable.

I wouldn't give up on a church over a week or two that wasn't good. If the quality of the teaching drops sharply and stays low it might be time to rethink but it's hard to imagine very many churches not having the odd week or two that just fall short, at least for some people present. I have a lot of respect for my pastor and usually enjoy his sermons but every once in a while he preaches one that, for me at least, just falls totally flat. I listen to what he has to say and by the end of it I wonder why he bothered taking the time to say it. It happens. Maybe it was meant for someone else that week. Other days he brings Scripture to life in ways I'd never considered. He's not perfect (and never claims to be) but he delivers far more often than he misses, and overall the church is a place I like to be.
 

NewCreation435

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When I moved to a new area I dropped one church from my consideration as "home church" because of the relative distance. It was probably a 20 mile trip each way when I was used to walking 1/4 mile (if that) to the church where I used to live. Because my wife sings and so looks to join the band/choir and I do sound and IT type things so would expect to help with the sound system, we didn't want to find that scheduling meant either one of us was routinely sitting around because the other needed to be at church early, or taking two cars to church. We figured by the time we attended two services on Sunday and one event during the week (thinking of a small group, Bible study or similar) we'd be spending an extra $50/month on gas just to go to church (more if we ended up taking two cars for any reason) and spending 3-4 hours every week in the car between home and church.

Sermons online can be good as long as they don't become the primary source of spiritual input. Better to watch church online and listen to sermons online than do nothing at all but it's so much better to be a part of a fellowship unless you really can't find anything remotely suitable.

I wouldn't give up on a church over a week or two that wasn't good. If the quality of the teaching drops sharply and stays low it might be time to rethink but it's hard to imagine very many churches not having the odd week or two that just fall short, at least for some people present. I have a lot of respect for my pastor and usually enjoy his sermons but every once in a while he preaches one that, for me at least, just falls totally flat. I listen to what he has to say and by the end of it I wonder why he bothered taking the time to say it. It happens. Maybe it was meant for someone else that week. Other days he brings Scripture to life in ways I'd never considered. He's not perfect (and never claims to be) but he delivers far more often than he misses, and overall the church is a place I like to be.

The service areas of the church are also important to me because I want to get involved in something like that. I don't want to have to start it from scratch if I don't have to.
 

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Did you take an online church denomination test lately to see what category your beliefs fall under and then you can wheedle it down from there but don't stay at a church where you disagree with what they're preaching.
 

NewCreation435

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Did you take an online church denomination test lately to see what category your beliefs fall under and then you can wheedle it down from there but don't stay at a church where you disagree with what they're preaching.

Yes, I have taken those before and did not find them helpful. I believe high on the list was reformed baptist which is almost non existent in this area
 
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