class on difference denominations

[NewCreation435]

More and more I am feeling like perhaps my beliefs don't align that well with the Baptist faith that I have been a part of for the last 38 years. I am thinking about swithing, but not sure if I should go non denominational or something else. I am a little leery of going to a non denominational church because that often seems to mean charismatic and I am not that either. I don't particularly like the idea that some Baptist churches have that exclude women from leadership or teaching roles.
Honestly, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of just say a prayer and you'll be saved. Seems like to me all that does is give lost people a fall sense of security that they are saved when they are not.
I was also wondering if anyone knew of any classes I could take online that talk about the differences between denominations

Any suggestions?

 

[Josiah]

This might be fun...

Christian Denomination Selector, a selector quiz

This free Religion selector determines your best Christian Denomination Selector match.

www.selectsmart.com

Here's my top 4 -

100% Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
90% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
81% Church of Christ
79% Eastern Orthodox Church


Blessings!


- Josiah


.

 

[NewCreation435]

This might be fun...

Christian Denomination Selector, a selector quiz

This free Religion selector determines your best Christian Denomination Selector match.

www.selectsmart.com

Here's my top 4 -

100% Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
90% Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
81% Church of Christ
79% Eastern Orthodox Church


Blessings!


- Josiah


.

Yes, it has been a long time, but you've told me about those quizzes before. I am not interested in a quiz. I took the quiz again and it said I was 100% for Assemblies of God, Episcopal/Anglican, and Methodist/Wesleyan, there was 4 others at 88%.
I don't agree with these results at all.

 

[Lanman87]

More and more I am feeling like perhaps my beliefs don't align that well with the Baptist faith that I have been a part of for the last 38 years. I am thinking about swithing, but not sure if I should go non denominational or something else. I am a little leery of going to a non denominational church because that often seems to mean charismatic and I am not that either. I don't particularly like the idea that some Baptist churches have that exclude women from leadership or teaching roles.
Honestly, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of just say a prayer and you'll be saved. Seems like to me all that does is give lost people a fall sense of security that they are saved when they are not.
I was also wondering if anyone knew of any classes I could take online that talk about the differences between denominations

Any suggestions?

In what ways are your beliefs no longer aligning with the Baptist?

As someone who was raised in a Southern Baptist church in the Rural South who 8 years ago left the SBC for a Non-Denominational (yet still Baptist, in that we practice believers baptism) type of church, I may be able to share some of my struggles.

We don't offer an "invitation" on Sundays' and we are not Charismatic. However, we do hold to the historic (and I believe Biblical) position that elders should be men.

 

[Josiah]

@NewCreation435

Most denominations hold to certain teachings (which may or may not be distinctive to that denomination). And most reveal at least some at their official website. IF you are interested in a certain denomination, you can very easily check out what that church believes.

But what may be more helpful is to discover what you believe. IF there are doctrines you desire to explore, this is a website that does that. Consider some doctrines you want to explore.... start a thread on each or see if such a thread already exists (probably does).



.

 

[Albion]

More and more I am feeling like perhaps my beliefs don't align that well with the Baptist faith that I have been a part of for the last 38 years. I am thinking about swithing, but not sure if I should go non denominational or something else. I am a little leery of going to a non denominational church because that often seems to mean charismatic and I am not that either. I don't particularly like the idea that some Baptist churches have that exclude women from leadership or teaching roles.
Honestly, I don't feel comfortable with the idea of just say a prayer and you'll be saved. Seems like to me all that does is give lost people a fall sense of security that they are saved when they are not.
I was also wondering if anyone knew of any classes I could take online that talk about the differences between denominations

Any suggestions?

Hello, New Creation.

I am glad to have you turn to us for ideas , and it will probably generate a lot of responses (that either help out or make your quest even more difficult LOL).

I have several thoughts at the onset that I'll pass along.

1). Given that the Baptists come in a wide range of different conventions, I wonder if there's no hope of you finding what you are seeking among them. I suppose that the answer is "no," and I'm sure that you've already examined the possibilities in your community, but it's not like being a Catholic or Mormon where, if a member is dissatisfied, there's not much else to consider that's essentially in the same family of faith.

2). I am not a fan of those quizzes that are online and that say they can identify the church you fit best. Usually, the creator of whatever quiz it is has certain doctrines that he ranks as more important than others and so the results have a built-in "tilt" in that direction. Also, they usually are short, no more than 20 or 25 questions and that just doesn't get at much other than the basic views of Christians generally, not enough to make the distinctions between the various denominations. That's what results in having, say, Lutheranism and the Churches of Christ be next to each other in the results when the two are actually miles apart. I don't have any recommendation to make concerning a class in the differences, however.

3) When it comes to Baptists, the leader on the more liberal side is, I think, the American Baptist Churches USA which may have women pastors, meaning that this issue could be solved that way--maybe. But you have other serious issues, and they could come down to what the local congregations DOES or does not do.

Anyway, I hope that we can be of some use to you as this discussion moves along.

 

[NewCreation435]

In what ways are your beliefs no longer aligning with the Baptist?

As someone who was raised in a Southern Baptist church in the Rural South who 8 years ago left the SBC for a Non-Denominational (yet still Baptist, in that we practice believers baptism) type of church, I may be able to share some of my struggles.

We don't offer an "invitation" on Sundays' and we are not Charismatic. However, we do hold to the historic (and I believe Biblical) position that elders should be men.

Every Baptist church I have ever been in there was always an invitation at the end of the service, but I am aware that there are a variety of Baptist. In the part of the US I live in though it would seem that most Baptist churches still give invitations. I'm honestly not sure that I believe in a once saved always saved either. Maybe I need to start or read another tread about that topic. I think there already is one.
I have two options near me for churches to be a part of. I was actually made aware of one of them one Sunday when I was on my way to somewhere else. They are not Baptist and to be honest I think they are non denominational, but I will have to research it more.
I appreciate the responses to the tread.

 

[Albion]

I have two options near me for churches to be a part of. I was actually made aware of one of them one Sunday when I was on my way to somewhere else. They are not Baptist and to be honest I think they are non denominational, but I will have to research it more.

Yes. Non-denoms come in all forms, so care is required. Most have a statement of principles posted on a website, so that's a start. However, many of them don't have but a very basic statement that hardly separates them from most other Protestants and doesn't come close to addressing the particular issues you are concerned with.

Do we understand you correctly that you really have almost no options in the area where you live? If so, you may be faced with tolerating one of them or else belong to another church that you are unable to reach most of the time. Neither of those alternatives is very appealing, I realize, so the non-denominational church you spoke about is probably worth looking into and will no doubt mean having a talk with the pastor.