Why are you a Non-Denominational Christian ?

[BryanW92]

Bryan,

Are you still looking for more specific Scriptures which refute your mistaken ideas about Divine inspiration?

Rather than simply accept the fact that you are mistaken, you keep going round and round as though you know exactly what was going on in the minds and lives of the apostles.

I already gave you one powerful Scripture to prove that the apostles knew that they were writing Scripture, but you simply ignored it. Would you do the same if other Scriptures were provided? Do you understand that prophecy is direct revelation from God, and that when it is written down IT BECOMES SCRIPTURE?

OK. I see what you're saying from the posts before. I'll admit that I'm wrong about the epistles being scripture.

So, are you saying that anyone who is in a church that is part of larger organization or has clergy is not a Christian? (See posts 21 and 32) They are goats just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

 

[completeme]

I understand, but does the Bible say?

 

[hmw]

Why are you a Non-Denominational Christian ? What are your reasons behind it?

God bless

Christ should not divided by denominationalism.

1Cor 1:11-13

For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you.
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.”
Is Christ divided?

 

[mdfb42]

I cannot say I am non-denominational YET.

However I attend the non-denominational church services because I believe the pastor should be a catalyst that helps us further our journey in following Jesus instead of a catalyst that dictates us how to interpret the Bible or using the Bible as a tool to insert the political and financial agendas of the denomination as a reason for us to serve the man-made church's agenda instead of the only agenda that matters in which we should all follow Jesus.

 

[Job8]

So, are you saying that anyone who is in a church that is part of larger organization or has clergy is not a Christian? (See posts 21 and 32) They are goats just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

No, Bryan, that is not what I am saying (not sure what others have said).

The sad fact is that there are certainly genuine sheep (born-again Christians) in all the denominations. These have been saved by God's grace in spite of the false teachings of their churches. They just don't realize that they should not be there, and are possibly fearful about stepping outside their comfort zone.

The goats are the ones who have the label of "Christian" but are not truly born of the Spirit, and therefore are not children of God. They are self-deceived, and when they stand before the Lord He will say "I never knew you".

Those who are truly saved have a responsibility to themselves and their families to study the Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit, and ask the Lord to lead them to a true Bible church where they can be taught the truth, and worship and fellowship with other genuine Christians.

Which means coming out of their religious organizations, possibly losing friends and families, and even being persecuted. But the Bible says that all who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (2 Tim 3:12).

 

[Andy S. Wright]

Again, I am not arguing against the idea of non-denominationalism or in favor of all churches being in a denomination. I am just urging people to see each congregation of a denomination as a part of the overall Body of Christ.

I believe we're basically saying the same thing, just in different ways. I'm not stating the only denomination of Christianity should be non-denom. Nor am I putting one denomination above another.

I see the Body of Christ as a fragmented organism; divided by labels, titles, and traditions of men. Scriptures repeatedly speak of unity in the Body of Christ. I believe this call to unity is not just for the individual churches but for the Body of Christ as a whole. Certainly there is much that we all can agree on, regardless of denominational affiliation.

Where the division comes is (typically) in practical Christianity. You speak of the differences of the practices of the different churches you attend (one baptizes infants, one allows women to preach). Those matters of practical, applicable Christianity is where the divides form.

I think we can all agree the Body of Christ is marinated in self-governed pride, generally speaking. The analogy I keep going back to is a room full of children who have been given a large jigsaw puzzle to put together. Instead of working together to put the puzzle together, the children all grab specific pieces of the puzzle that they like, put those pieces together, declare the puzzle completed, and sit in judgment over the other children's pieces of the puzzle.

We've all got pieces to the puzzle. Pretty much every denomination that names the name of Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life has a portion of understanding on doctrinal and practical Christianity. Instead of dividing up and lording over our little doctrinal/practical fiefdoms, it would be nice to see the Body of Christ join together denominationally and work together to get the complete picture of the Kingdom of God.

The reason why I attend a non-denomination church is because those churches (with a few exceptions) are the ones who are attempting to do exactly what I've just described. It doesn't matter what man-made label you want to associate with. We are all in this together and we need to work in unity to successfully perform everything God has called His people to do for His glory.

That's why I'm a non-denominational church attendee.

 

[BryanW92]

Those who are truly saved have a responsibility to themselves and their families to study the Word of God with the help of the Holy Spirit, and ask the Lord to lead them to a true Bible church where they can be taught the truth, and worship and fellowship with other genuine Christians.
.

We are in complete agreement on that.

 

[BryanW92]

We are all in this together and we need to work in unity to successfully perform everything God has called His people to do for His glory.

That's why I'm a non-denominational church attendee.

So, do you work in unity with the other non-denom churches in your town? Are all the non-denom churches totally united in Christ and working together in unity on all things as a way of showing the evil denominations how it should be done?

 

[Andy S. Wright]

Are all the non-denom churches totally united in Christ and working together in unity on all things as a way of showing the evil denominations how it should be done?

 

[BryanW92]

LOL. That's what I thought.

 

[Andy S. Wright]

I understand my comments are not popular, especially among those who embrace mainstream evangelical denominationalism. It really isn't that hard to see what I'm talking about. Whether you agree with my conclusions or not, we are the beneficiaries of over 2,000 years of church history. I'll leave it to you to decide if two millennia of the ecclesiastical status quo is the fulfillment of God's clearly expressed desires for His body on Earth.

The snarky responses and passive aggressive tone in your comments are not necessary. If you feel I am somehow attacking you on some personal level by sharing my thoughts and feelings on this subject, then I would say nothing could be farther from the truth. That said, I have no reason nor desire to get into another patented Churchianity argument with another representative of God who does not know how to communicate differences of opinion without resorting to snark and baseless conclusions.

If you'd care to engage in this conversation from a more mature position and discuss these differences like adults, I'm all in. But if you want to continue drawing ridiculous conclusions and inferring things that I am clearly not saying, you'll need to do it with someone else.

 

[BryanW92]

The snarky responses and passive aggressive tone in your comments are not necessary.

Says the guy who responded with the official internet meme for "snarky and passive aggressive"?

 

[BryanW92]

I understand my comments are not popular, especially among those who embrace mainstream evangelical denominationalism. It really isn't that hard to see what I'm talking about. Whether you agree with my conclusions or not, we are the beneficiaries of over 2,000 years of church history. I'll leave it to you to decide if two millennia of the ecclesiastical status quo is the fulfillment of God's clearly expressed desires for His body on Earth.

The snarky responses and passive aggressive tone in your comments are not necessary. If you feel I am somehow attacking you on some personal level by sharing my thoughts and feelings on this subject, then I would say nothing could be farther from the truth. That said, I have no reason nor desire to get into another patented Churchianity argument with another representative of God who does not know how to communicate differences of opinion without resorting to snark and baseless conclusions.

If you'd care to engage in this conversation from a more mature position and discuss these differences like adults, I'm all in. But if you want to continue drawing ridiculous conclusions and inferring things that I am clearly not saying, you'll need to do it with someone else.

I asked legitimate questions. If denominations are "dividing Christ", then what do non-denoms do? By definition, non-denoms do not answer to a higher earthly authority, so they cannot possibly agree 100% and they do not. I attend two non-denoms and they do not have the exact same theology or soteriology.

So, why aren't they "dividing Christ" even more than the denominations?

Answer: THEY AREN'T. Neither are the denominations. They are all beads on a necklace with Jesus being the common thread that ties them all together.

The only dividing is done by people who insist that their is the only correct church.

 

[Andy S. Wright]

"dividing Christ"? Who said anything about "dividing Christ"?

We're discussing the schism in the Body of Christ as represented by the multitude of denominations and sub-denominations currently in existence, not the division of Christ Himself.

Honestly, I'm not sure what the issue is here? You're in a non-denominational forum, commenting in a thread that asked "why are you a non-denominational Christian?" If your argument is to proclaim the inherent beauty that can be found in the diversity of each denomination, you'll get no argument from me. But if you're here to sing the praises of Christian denominationalism as it is represented by the the aforementioned number of denominations currently in existence, you're barking up the wrong tree.

Whatever positives might be gleaned from the diverse mixture of traditions, doctrines, and practices of each denomination, I can tell you from my own experience as well as the experiences of many other believers that the negatives far outweigh those positives. If the goal of the church is to show how many different ways we can worship God, then I say "yes" and "amen" to the denominational representation of Christ's church.

But if the purpose of the Body of Christ is to do more than that...

Christ is not divided; He cannot be divided. But His body as represented by denominational Christianity is certainly divided. That cannot be argued by anyone with any measure of intellectual honesty. The historical and contemporary evidences of that statement are just too numerous to ignore.

Were you to go back and review my previous comments with an unbiased vision, you would see I am not placing one denomination above another. I am stating that the existence of denominations, all denominations, are far from the preferred method of building the Kingdom of God "on Earth as it is in Heaven". After a lifetime of ministry service in countless types of denominations and expressions of corporate worship, I can tell you from my experience that there is nothing more beautiful, more powerful, and more deadly to the enemy's plans than when God's people join together in unity, regardless of denominational leaning, to work on the singular goal of building the Kingdom of God rather than our own separate denominational fiefdoms across the land.

Why do you think the enemy fights so hard to keep God's people at odds against one another? He knows more than anyone how powerful a unified front of the Lord's Army is against the gates of Hell. I daresay Satan's primary goal is to keep God's people in a perpetual state of disunity for as long as is humanly possible.

Unfortunately, thanks to pride, self-governance, and puffed up churchians, there is no time limit for how long God's people will be fighting one another over 'doubtful things'.

 

[Andy S. Wright]

Says the guy who responded with the official internet meme for "snarky and passive aggressive"?

You really can't help yourself, can you?

It really is okay to disagree with someone without communicating from a defensive position. You really don't have to come at me in this "likes-to-fight-guy" mentality. I really am not attacking you.

Really.

 

[Celticflower]

The Body is made up of different parts - the hands are not feet, the feet are not eyes, the heart is not the head. But all parts work together for the good of the whole.
Wouldn't it be nice if the Church (denoms and non-denoms) could do the same?

 

[Andy S. Wright]

The Body is made up of different parts - the hands are not feet, the feet are not eyes, the heart is not the head. But all parts work together for the good of the whole.
Wouldn't it be nice if the Church (denoms and non-denoms) could do the same?

Yes. Yes it would.

 

[BryanW92]

.fts

 

[Andy S. Wright]

I have found that the only people who find the term "churchian" insulting are the people for whom the term was coined.

Not attempting to insult anyone, Bryan. Just attempting to discuss some concepts, ideas, and even some truths that are controversial in nature and definitely hard to hear.

There's no 'high ground' to be taken when there is no fight to be had. I'm not fighting. We're just talking, yes?

 

[faroukfarouk]

Denominational generally means an acceptance of all or most of the creeds or interpretations of said denomination. It's a way of thinking about Scripture and also often a way of practicing it.

I agree with different aspects of different denominations and disagree with others. I don't think this makes me a religious Chameleon I think it's just a matter of having a view or views that conforms partly to different aspects of the same religion.

We need to read the statements of faith in the light of Scripture; not commit ourselves formally to creeds which is to say that we will understand Scripture only through what the creeds say (in other words, the church becomes our final authority).