ktgrok Posted October 19, 2019 Share Posted October 19, 2019 Just starting some conversation 🙂 Wondering who does attend, where, if they feel it is a fit, if it makes things harder or better, etc. I'm currently attending an Episcopal parish, same denomination I was raised in, although I converted to RC many many years ago. I just found that the RC church's issues were getting between me and God, namely the lack of transparency, and my life isn't long enough to wait out the changes that need to happen. I can totally see how people would stay - and for a long time I did - but it was effecting my faith. And I had so many disagreements I had to constantly discuss with my kids. Plus honestly? My family, including my husband, are all Episcopal and it was an issue in my family relationships. Not a major one, but it was there. My husband doesn't usually attend with us, and my oldest doesn't as he's agnostic, but even they have enjoyed the times they did go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 22, 2019 Share Posted October 22, 2019 Yes we attend a Baptist church. Which is a surprisingly good fit. Originally we were part of a house church. When the leader had to step down we looked to combine with a church. Through this process I learned that Baptist/southern Baptist isn’t really a denomination more of a coalition and each church sets their own covenants. It is very traditional in some ways and it is elder led. The membership covenant only requires the basic tenets of Christianity but leaves other things open-handed. So people can believe different things about abortion, homosexuals, earth age etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted October 22, 2019 Author Share Posted October 22, 2019 3 hours ago, rebcoola said: Yes we attend a Baptist church. Which is a surprisingly good fit. Originally we were part of a house church. When the leader had to step down we looked to combine with a church. Through this process I learned that Baptist/southern Baptist isn’t really a denomination more of a coalition and each church sets their own covenants. It is very traditional in some ways and it is elder led. The membership covenant only requires the basic tenets of Christianity but leaves other things open-handed. So people can believe different things about abortion, homosexuals, earth age etc. I often wonder about the experiences in Baptist churches in the north versus Southern Baptist in the south - I tend to lump them together in my head but intellectually I realize they are different things. I just don't know anyone who is Baptist but not Southern Baptist, if that makes sense. Here they say they are very basic, but the just assume you understand that means young earth, republican voting, probably skirt wearing, men as head of household believing. Because OBVIOUSLY those are the basics, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 On 10/22/2019 at 12:52 PM, Ktgrok said: I often wonder about the experiences in Baptist churches in the north versus Southern Baptist in the south - I tend to lump them together in my head but intellectually I realize they are different things. I just don't know anyone who is Baptist but not Southern Baptist, if that makes sense. Here they say they are very basic, but the just assume you understand that means young earth, republican voting, probably skirt wearing, men as head of household believing. Because OBVIOUSLY those are the basics, lol. Our church is part of the northwest southern baptist convention. Even our elders have beliefs you would never expect hearing Baptist! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 (edited) [Removed personal details] I visited a few other denominations when I was looking to make a change. I liked the people everywhere, but I really need to be somewhere that emphasizes the practice of love of our neighbors, and with people who will not subject me to tests of theology, but encourage me in obeying the scriptures that are really important to me (especially Matthew 25:35-36). Edited November 17, 2023 by 73349 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terabith Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 We have a Baptist church like that in my town, too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted November 1, 2019 Author Share Posted November 1, 2019 My mind is BLOWN about these Baptist churches! I'm curious if style of preaching also varies? In my very limited experience a sermon/service at a Baptist church felt like a bible study with lots of music. Whereas the Presbyterian/Methodist/Episcopal ones I usually attended had a different style of preaching, more expanding the scripture to real life, etc. And shorter sermons with more other parts to the service. What are these "other" baptist churches like? Sounds like I'd like them (other than I do like having some kind of higher heirarchy ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Yes, we do attend a church now! We haven't for several years, because we lived in a small rural area (so not a lot of choices) and were feeling less and less comfortable with the focus and theology of the churches there. So, we were watching the online sermons from the church we hoped to be able to attend once we moved, and now, we are attending that church! It's the first time I've ever felt thoroughly and happily at home within a church. It started out as a Baptist church, but apparently "split" after the lead pastor wrote the book The Myth of the Christian Nation quite a few years ago and nearly half the congregation left. (He's the same very humble pastor of the church we attend today.) I think it's still very loosely affiliated with the Baptist church, but I certainly think of it much more as a non-denominational church. It encourages thinking, asking difficult questions, encouraging each other, and loving and accepting everyone. It's a very Christ-centered and "cross-centered" church, which believes Christ and not Scripture is our ultimate foundation. And that everything we read in Scripture should be interpreted through the lens of understanding Christ's self-sacrificial love. I'll admit I miss the old Lutheran hymns of my childhood days... It's hard to sing along with a lot of the contemporary Christian music! The focus of the service is definitely the sermon though, generally 30 - 40 minutes long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiberia Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 J-rap, do you go to Greg Boyd's church? We have watched his sermons online for years! We love his message of love and focus on Jesus as the Word of God, and his messages have helped us navigate our deconstruction and reconstruction of faith. I'm so glad you found a place you love. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rebcoola Posted November 2, 2019 Share Posted November 2, 2019 (edited) Our service currently is 1 or 2 hymns, followed by announcements, opening prayer. Our preacher is a verse by verse teacher before he preaches we read the days passages. After her preaches we have another prayer a hymn or two. Than we have communion which is passed out and all taken at the same time. Than another song, the docility and a final blessing. Edited November 2, 2019 by rebcoola Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted November 5, 2019 Share Posted November 5, 2019 On 11/1/2019 at 11:42 AM, Tiberia said: J-rap, do you go to Greg Boyd's church? We have watched his sermons online for years! We love his message of love and focus on Jesus as the Word of God, and his messages have helped us navigate our deconstruction and reconstruction of faith. I'm so glad you found a place you love. Yes, I do! I can't tell you what a difference it makes to attend a church whose theology challenges and completely lines up with what I think I've always instinctively believed. Never judgment, always Christ-centered love. It has certainly helped our entire family (including young adult children) navigate a reconstruction of faith, before nearly losing it entirely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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