Different Denominations.

I'm curious to hear your thoughts regarding different denominations and it would be helpful (although optional) to come forward with the denomination/sect that you are a part of.

eg. I was raised as a Catholic, both my parents did make me attend church as a boy although our family has since stopped. I attended a public (government) school as a boy for about two years and therein I discovered different denominations/sects via religion class. I had previously thought that God/Christianity/Catholicism was all the same thing.

I have since wondered what the difference between the 'different churches' were and I would be happy to receive input from you, the church-goers.
 
Hopefully in accordance with this rule:

3.2b ChristianForumSite.com has a wide variety of members from around the World. This Forum does not allow the elevation of one Christian belief system over another. This is demeaning and belittling the beliefs of other Christians while promoting another system so as to create an atmosphere of superiority. Any such posts or threads will be removed and a reminder, warning or ban issued as necessary.

Just your thoughts on how and why you came to belong to the denomination/church that you belong to. Not why it is better.
 
I don't believe in denominations and believe they are a product of false religion of man..at best they are "carnal" institutions.

1Co 1:12 Now I say this, that each of you says, "I am of Paul," or "I am of Apollos," or "I am of Cephas," or "I am of Christ."
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

1Co 3:1 ¶ And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.
2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able;
3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?
4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal?
5 ¶ Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one?
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor.
 
So what church do you belong to Mitspa?
Well I don't consider a certain group to represent what the bible calls the "church" even that word has been perverted by mans religion. What the word really represents in congregation or gathering of Gods people. I would never join myself to a denomination all though I have many brothers and sisters in those groups. I guess some would say I am "non-denominational" I have a local group that I fellowship with...https://gforce.elvanto.com/
 
I've called myself "non-denominational" for several years, but recently I've been trying out "every-denominational," because of various observations, and for various reasons:

I observed that there is a wider variety of belief within denominations than is usually assumed. Within every denomination, you can find people who disagree with official doctrines, creeds, policies and statements; "being part" of a denomination doesn't necessarily mean that a person automatically adopts the official positions of that denomination without question.

I also began to think that "non-denominational" made me sound like no denominations were good enough for me, when in reality, I want to be able to have fellowship with and learn from anyone who is in Christ.

So I am every-denominational, but conform with the official positions of none, but am willing to consider, weigh and learn from all.

As for the church I "belong to," I fellowship with and minister alongside Christians from many churches, and I "belong" to the one we all belong to, which doesn't need to have a name, and is probably better off if it doesn't.
 
I observed that there is a wider variety of belief within denominations than is usually assumed. Within every denomination, you can find people who disagree with official doctrines, creeds, policies and statements; "being part" of a denomination doesn't necessarily mean that a person automatically adopts the official positions of that denomination without question.

That was the reason for my post and I was/am curious to see how church-goers come to grips with so many different interpretations of the same text. Good answer btw.
 
I'm a member of a southern baptist church. You will most likely never hear those words during a service or any conversation. The name is Franklin Community Church. We are committed to see lost souls saved and the community restored in the name of Jesus. I didn't start attending because it's a baptist church, I started because they teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and we are a strong community of believers.
 
I'm a member of a southern baptist church. You will most likely never hear those words during a service or any conversation. The name is Franklin Community Church. We are committed to see lost souls saved and the community restored in the name of Jesus. I didn't start attending because it's a baptist church, I started because they teach the gospel of Jesus Christ and we are a strong community of believers.

Were you a Christian from a young age? If not, were there other denominations you had considered?
 
I was raised in a Methodist church. They encouraged a relationship with the church more than with Christ. I have attended several Pentecostal churches, non-denominational churches, baptist churches, and other Methodist churches.
I have never attended a catholic service, church of Christ service, or seventh day Adventist. I've had visits from Mormons and Jehovah's witnesses. I listened, stated my beliefs and asked them to leave. I visit an Assembly of God church from time to time as well.
 
I don't go to church.

But, I was raised in a Baptist church. I've visited Non Denominational churches, Pentecostal churches, and some others. Pentecostal was pretty fun but I only went once and it wasn't a normal service. I don't like most Baptist churches I've gone to. Non Denominational is probably where I'd lean if I had a choice.
 
I'm not a regular church goer but when I do get there, I'm most likely to get to a Church Of England one. This is not because of the denomination though. I regard myself as "non-denominational". While I'm not sure I fully understand, I percieve "the church" as something far greater than any one denomination..
 
I was saved in a denominational church, but I quickly learned there was more emphasis on their church being the correct church than on the Gospel and brotherly love.

So now, I would be labeled by others non-denominational, but there is more to it than that, I don't consider myself or call myself non-denominational because I'm a part of the far reaching movement/revival of the Holy Spirit in 1965, better know as the Jesus People Movement, that swept across the States and is now in all parts of the world, ...at that time the Holy Spirit introduced a strange way, at that time, of doing Church, which in reality isn't that strange, but just follows the way He was moving in Acts 2:42, ...teaching through the Bible, book by book, chapter by chapter and verse by verse through the anointing of His gift of teaching, which is, ...reading distinctly from the Word, giving the sense and helping the people to understand Ne 8:8 how they are to live in obedience to His Word, ...simply teaching the Word simply.

Blessings,

Gene
 
I go to a non-denom church, but was raised mostly Lutheran (not sure which synod). I find it refreshing to worship with others in a setting that is free of the "rules and customs" you get with churches that belong to a denomination. Yes, my church has "rules", but we are freer to make changes and adjustments. And our elders and leaders go to God for direction, not a physical headquarters located in a city. For example, a change we make regularly is how often we break bread together: once a quarter or once a month or whatever..... I don't like how rules and rituals dictate in many churches. The Word should dictate over "what we've always done" or "because some group of men who don't know our particular church" thinks we should do.

I do find it a bit ironic that I came to Christ in a Catholic church during an alter call. It was a much more contemporary church of course that understood the process of getting saved.

I think it is very sad that we have such division among fellow Christians. If we stopped bickering over how wrong Protestants are for breaking from the Catholic church or that Methodists to this wrong...and on and on and on, we would be more effective as a group in doing God's work. :rolleyes:
 
I'm curious to hear your thoughts regarding different denominations and it would be helpful (although optional) to come forward with the denomination/sect that you are a part of.

eg. I was raised as a Catholic, both my parents did make me attend church as a boy although our family has since stopped. I attended a public (government) school as a boy for about two years and therein I discovered different denominations/sects via religion class. I had previously thought that God/Christianity/Catholicism was all the same thing.

I have since wondered what the difference between the 'different churches' were and I would be happy to receive input from you, the church-goers.
I hate denominations. I believe they are the work of the devil.

Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Eph 4:4-6 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

So one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, and 41,000 denominations. You tell me, :D which is not like the others? :cautious:

I like the word of God to teach me with the help of the Holy Spirit.
 
I hate denominations. I believe they are the work of the devil.

Psa 133:1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Eph 4:4-6 4There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

So one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father, and 41,000 denominations. You tell me, :D which is not like the others? :cautious:

I like the word of God to teach me with the help of the Holy Spirit.

So you don't attend church? I think it's interesting that a lot of people on this forum are non denominational - I didn't know that.
 
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Non-denominational churches amount to a micro-denomination. There basically is no such thing as non-denominational. With as many denominations as exist, certainly every conceivable interpretation of Scripture is covered. In fact, we probably have way too many denominations. While it is easy to say we should just do away with all denominations, and on some level this is true, how do we resolve some of the most basic differences? If you believe in OSAS, are you willing to then join a newly minted single denomination that rejects OSAS? If you believe in Free Will, would you abandon that belief and embrace Sovereignty? Don't give me the line about relying on Scripture because EVERY denomination relies on Scripture, we all just have a different opinion on how to interpret that. Every non-denominational church does the same exact thing. They HAVE a denomination (in some cases a denomination of exactly one church), they just don't name it or associate with a larger group. That's fine and dandy. I certainly am not bothered by pretty much any denomination that recognizes the core beliefs that we all agree upon (with some notable cultish exceptions). But, we shouldn't be deluded into thinking that non-denominational churches provide unity in any way. They are, if anything, MORE segregated because they have little to no interaction with the core Christian communities. That's their choice, right, wrong, or indifferent, but I fail to see how they are in any way more unified given that they rarely ever associate with any other groups (There is one awesome example in my community that has several non-denomination churches, and a few denominational church doing Bible studies together).

In the end, if a church preaches the Gospel and answers the Great Commission, reaches out to the community and to the world with missions, and displays the love the Jesus shared with the World, then I simply don't care what they call themselves. They are Christians. There will be people in their church that are both going to Heaven, and there will most likely be people who are hypocrites.

So, true, there probably shouldn't be denominations. They have been used for division rather than unity, but I don't think that denominations are the problem. People are the problem. People have used denominations to segregate rather than unify. Denominations allow us to believe what we believe, but to recognize brothers and sisters who don't agree with every detail. Unfortunately, some have allowed their differences to define their relationships. I'm pretty positive that if denominations were done away with and we all rejoined the Catholic Church (which ultimately is what elimination denominations implies), that people would still be just as divided.
 
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