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I began seeking Christ around October of 2004. Over the next several months God would reveal himself to me in many ways, and I began reading the Bible and books about the Bible. The reason I didn't jump right into a Church is that I knew there were many denominations and I didn't know which one was correct. I figured the Bible would be a good measuring stick to see exactly how legit each denomination or Church body was.
The only problem was that the Bible is a really big book... so I did some bouncing around.
The first Church I attended and then later joined was a small Baptist Church a few towns away from here. It was a decent Church, and in regard to doctrine it was one of the better Churches I've attended. I do fear that easy-believism was taught, but I was not yet mature enough in the Word to make a fair judgment on that. After that I met my wife, who was preaching at another Church; so I began attending that Church.
That is when all of the strife began. This ministry preached out of AA's Big Book just as much as the Bible, and I noticed many things that were not necessarily Biblical. In fact, the ministry leaned more toward recovery than it did the Bible.
After some strife between my wife and myself we began attending an Alliance Church. All was well until I heard Paul Washer's Youth Conference 2002 message. At that time I began to realize that the humanistic methods of evangelism and Church growth did nothing more than produce false converts and gave the idea that the success of the preacher was measured by how many people he could sit in a pew rather than how true to the Bible his message was. After a few meetings with the pastor and a few conversations with others (some of which felt the same way I did,) we decided to leave the Church.
From there it was back to a small Baptist Church which a friend of mine from work attended. The doctrine was great, with one minor exception. There was a strong taste of easy believism. My wife never really liked it there, and that alone was enough for me to feel I could never truly settle. Despite being given some small responsibilities, we ended up leaving. After we left I remembered a time when I was asked to tell a few children that they were eternally secure because they had raised their hands at a VBS like event. I felt convicted, and did not tell them they were eternally secure.
After that we tried a non-denominational Church in another town. It was great at first, but then everyone started speaking in strange tongues and trying to cast demons out of everyone. A few scriptures were taken painfully out of context and we decided that wasn't the Church for us.
Then, we tried another non-denominational Church here in town. There was nothing for the kids, and we just weren't feeling it. The message was decent though.
After that, we tried another Baptist Church. It was decent, but when we thought of my stepson we worried that due to our struggle with his hyper behavior certain elements of the Church would not be good for us (although it was a decent Church.)
Finally, we tried yet another small Baptist Church and we're both very confident it will be our Church home. The love these people have for the Lord is evident, and there is a strong emphasis on Holy living... SPECIALLY among the members and staff.
The End... at least I hope so!
The only problem was that the Bible is a really big book... so I did some bouncing around.
The first Church I attended and then later joined was a small Baptist Church a few towns away from here. It was a decent Church, and in regard to doctrine it was one of the better Churches I've attended. I do fear that easy-believism was taught, but I was not yet mature enough in the Word to make a fair judgment on that. After that I met my wife, who was preaching at another Church; so I began attending that Church.
That is when all of the strife began. This ministry preached out of AA's Big Book just as much as the Bible, and I noticed many things that were not necessarily Biblical. In fact, the ministry leaned more toward recovery than it did the Bible.
After some strife between my wife and myself we began attending an Alliance Church. All was well until I heard Paul Washer's Youth Conference 2002 message. At that time I began to realize that the humanistic methods of evangelism and Church growth did nothing more than produce false converts and gave the idea that the success of the preacher was measured by how many people he could sit in a pew rather than how true to the Bible his message was. After a few meetings with the pastor and a few conversations with others (some of which felt the same way I did,) we decided to leave the Church.
From there it was back to a small Baptist Church which a friend of mine from work attended. The doctrine was great, with one minor exception. There was a strong taste of easy believism. My wife never really liked it there, and that alone was enough for me to feel I could never truly settle. Despite being given some small responsibilities, we ended up leaving. After we left I remembered a time when I was asked to tell a few children that they were eternally secure because they had raised their hands at a VBS like event. I felt convicted, and did not tell them they were eternally secure.
After that we tried a non-denominational Church in another town. It was great at first, but then everyone started speaking in strange tongues and trying to cast demons out of everyone. A few scriptures were taken painfully out of context and we decided that wasn't the Church for us.
Then, we tried another non-denominational Church here in town. There was nothing for the kids, and we just weren't feeling it. The message was decent though.
After that, we tried another Baptist Church. It was decent, but when we thought of my stepson we worried that due to our struggle with his hyper behavior certain elements of the Church would not be good for us (although it was a decent Church.)
Finally, we tried yet another small Baptist Church and we're both very confident it will be our Church home. The love these people have for the Lord is evident, and there is a strong emphasis on Holy living... SPECIALLY among the members and staff.
The End... at least I hope so!
