KC02

The unbiblical titles are subjective I know. I know some are called 'prophet apostle Last name....' The pastor is called, 'Arch Bishop Last name' The thing is, this guy is just a regular co-pastor with his wife. He told me basically that Good made him Arch Bishop and I would just have to submit to him. They have a philosophy that they call 'tough love' that seems to give them a license to bully, intimidate and control people.

You articulated that so well! Bless you.

Thank all of you for your replies. The replies all seem to agree that I should run! Yea, I knew that. I'm in a new town and I am trying to find a church. I guess I was trying too hard. I've actually agreed to take a leadership path; however, I feel like I was bullied into it now. Thanks again. I certainly will run.

I am personally not susceptible to these control tactics. I fear for others... The newbys. I think the make it or break it for me will be if the leadership refuses allow me to hold them accountable too, then there is no reason for me to be there.

Hi guys, I am in a new town so I just found a new church. Let me run a few things by some of you elders. Is anything wrong with this doctrine : the soul is saved but the outside man is not. I see things differently through my Christian worldview, but I'm not sure I should argue this. The leaders seem to want everyone to submit to them. This is biblical but they seem to be on a power trip. They mock the notion that God may lead somebody to another church. I'm afraid that this atmosphere could lead to abuse and certainly bondage. If you are afraid to visit or move to another church, that is bondage. Don't get me wrong, this church has a lot going for it. The church and pastors are young. I am certain they are not creating this atmosphere on purpose. The one thing I can't stand is that they create long fancy non biblical titles for themselves and expect everyone to submit to them. perhaps I am exaggerating a bit. Perhaps this is not fair. If if I stick around, they will be training me for leadership. Any thoughts on how I can improve the atmosphere?

A few years back, while praying, God spoke to me saying, "I will send you to far away places to preach the gospel." I have been wondering ever since how far is far? NY City seems far to me. However, this year God has given me direction -- finally. "Far" apparently is USA->Africa. I have an upcoming mission trip to the Horn of Africa -- a very dangerous place. I am going to a Muslim country. If you would like to read more about it, please visit https://gogetfunding.com/mission-trip-to-africa/ There is no way I can go without the support of the Christian community. We need funds and we definitely needs prayers. If anyone has first-hand information about the place where I am going, please share it here. I do have a Nigerian partner who has been preaching for 20 years. I believe within 5 years, the radicalized Muslims will put a stop to any preaching of the Gospel in this area. Time is truly of the essence. I am currently perusing my M. Divinity degree. However, it will be put in hold a semester (or 2) as soon as we have the funds to facilitate this mission. If you can't give, please pray. I am also very interested in knowing how other missionaries raise funds for your missions and other advice that only seasoned missionaries can give me. This will be my first mission. God bless you all.

Absolutely! He is our "earnest deposit" (Ephesians 1:14). God's presence in our lives proves that we are His and that His promises are true. Please allow me to quote one of my favorite writers, Gorden Fee, to better explain the topic: From: BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE ISSUE OF SEPARABILITY AND SUBSEQUENCE Gordon D. Fee

I suggest the book, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, written by two college professors, Fee and Stuart. The book will give you some tools that will be very helpful in your quest to better understand the Bible.

I'm gonna throw in with shiloh357 on this one with his previous post in this thread. This view is from the Oprah Winfrey Gospel. Anyway, here is an explanation: Adherents hold that there is hope for people even after death to choose the wonderful salvation that is offered through the Messiah. This view is based upon two points. Boyd and Eddy explain: “The first relates to the general portrait of God. The second relates to specific passages that support it.” One the first account, adherents of this view paint God as so blindly and brazenly passionate that He pursues mankind to the ends of the Earth, indeed, even beyond the grave. One the second account, postmortem adherents point to Verses such as the very familiar John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 2:4, both which shows God’s strong desire that all men come to the knowledge of His Son. Other verses used to support this viewpoint are Duet. 30:15-20 and 2 Pet. 3:9. These Verses also show God’s desire to save mankind. Although all of these Verses are clearly conditional, that within itself doesn’t weaken the postmortem position as they only claim that men and women will retain the privilege of accepting Christ beyond the grave; thus, death does not seal one’s eternal fate.

That is fair enough, Salty. Keep in mind that the Scriptures must be interpreted. Christians around the world see things a little differently. The underlying questions is "What is the fate of the unevangelized?" You can't simply dismiss all of the discussion that has taken place since the beginning of time. One of these viewpoints is correct, or at least closer to the truth than the others. The Bible isn't absolutely explicit on this matter as you make it out to be. They also aren't merely the "ideas from men" but refined interpretations of the Scriptures. If you want to further the discussion, tell us where you stand on the issue. It's an important question.

I agree with the OP. The time is upon us where, if we preach the Gospel, we can can be charged with hate crimes and sent to prison thanks to the PC police.

Wow you get wound up easily. This is just a discussion that has been going on for 2,000 years (at least) and there is something to be learned from it. If you feel that you have all of the answers and know everything, then you are only deceiving yourself. I don't know how you learn anything with that kind of attitude. That's all. I'm not arguing with you anymore. If you don't want to join in this discussion, then just ignore this thread please.

You are off to a great start. Your comments on God's glory are excellent. I would add some levity, if appropriate in your church. A quote, anecdote or just some humor is good in any speech. You could make it more practical. Should we expect to see God's power in our lives today? How can we experience the reality of God's kingdom today (being born again)?

The alternative is to choose to be ignorant of major views held by Christians historically around the world. The value in considering different viewpoints is simply to have an examined Christian worldview. You should know what you believe and be able to support it. If you find, however, that you can't support your viewpoint from a Biblical perspective, then there is great value in that alone.

Very true. I'm not senile but if you put me on TV unscripted, I would probably be muzzled and carted off behind the curtain within ten minutes

Mr. Robertson has been known to get wound up and say some pretty silly things. He isn't a theistic evolutionist but I think his charge that young earth creationists are "deaf, dumb, and blind" is over the top. I agree with his sentiment that Ken Ham wasn't the man for the job.

I heard one preacher say that the KJV was the true word of God because a king had it translated. lol. You will hear all sorts of silly arguments.

Adherents believe that God will judge mankind by their heart, not their head. In simple terms, if one does what is Christlike, whether they know Him explicitly or not, they will be judged on this basis. They hold that Christ is the only way to heaven but one doesn’t necessarily have to know Him to be saved. If one does what is right, it shows the state of their heart. They support this view by pointing to Verses such as Romans 2:14-16. People will be judged, according to adherents, on the light they have received, not necessarily what know about Jesus Christ. My source for this info: Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. 2 edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Baker Academic, 2009.

If I'm not mistaken, the book of Job is considered to be Hebrew poetry. The work appears to be written as a play. Of course, this doesn't mean the writing is not inspired. The theme is simple: the righteous will suffer in this life but God will be with us and bring us through anything the enemy might put in our path. Job never understood why he went through what he did (just as we don't either). Sorry I can't answer your questions, but maybe this will be of some value.

I admit that I rarely believe any statistic the government gives us. You know the old saying about the three kinds of lies: Lies, darn lies and statistics. Good for you questioning conventional wisdom.

I think they have a fine school, Regent University. Robertson and I agree on most topics, but I dislike the 700 Club. I do not like their political commentary. I usually say, "Why don't they stop preaching and run for office?" I have to hand it to Robertson as he DID run for office. According to the American CDC, an unbiased source, roughly half of divorces end in divorce. This holds true for the past decade. Nobody is saying that 50 percent of all marriages total will end in divorce. The older generations aren't so quick to divorce as they are today (I assume -- we don't have data to break it down further). So is Robertson correct? It depends on how he phrased the "question" I guess.

The first church I attended was one which God directed me to go. It was within walking distance. Years later I started looking for another church. I visited many. I almost made a hobby out of visiting different churches. I learned so much by this. We should get out and visit our "neighbors" more often. Visit all of the Christian churches in your area. You will know where God wants you. One church I found was unique in that God would always seem to meet me there. I could always feel His peace in that place. I've whispered to God more than once, "Lord, I could stay here 1000 years in your presence." I didn't even want to leave. You will definitely find a wide range of spiritual maturity levels out there within the local churches. You should find a church where you can grow spiritually. You will never find a church with perfect doctrine or practices or perfect anything else. Sometimes we put way too much energy into little differences that don't add up to nothin'.

The restrictivist view holds that only those who have made a conscience decision in this life to believe and follow Christ will be saved. All others will be judged on what they understand about the Gospel, or what they should have understood about the Gospel. This is the most narrow and conservative view on the fate of the unevangelized. Nevertheless, it does seem to best parallel Jesus’ teachings. For example, Jesus declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn. 14:6). Exclusivity is undeniably a factor in the salvation that God offers the world through His son. St. Peter echoes this fact in Acts 4:12, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” It is very clear that a belief in Jesus is a prerequisite for salvation. (taken from a paper I wrote some time ago)

The postmortem evangelism view isn't about death, but the possibility of one being saved after death. Adherents point to such verses as 1 Peter 3:18-20: For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water For the record, I hold to the restrictivist view.

You may have an inverted view of the Kingdom. Jesus will never leave his Kingdom empty of the same power and presence He occupied during His earthly ministry. Jesus promised His people, "lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Mat. 28:20). The people telling you that God is backing away don't know what they are talking about. Let me ask you a crazy theological question: if the Church is the Body of Christ in the earth today (1 Cor. 12:27), how can God distance Himself from His own body? As an ambassador of heaven, I can tell you that God hasn't left or pulled back. We can individually and collectively be as close to God as we want to be.