Like a Baptist, but don't want to be one

GodLovesCats

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I took a denomination selector quiz called Go To Quiz. The top three results:

80% Baptist
79% Puritan
73% Pentacostal

Because Baptists prohibit women from being pastors and church leaders, I am unwilling to join one of their churches (or even walk into one). The name Puritan makes me think of the people who banned religious freedoms in colonial times and a simple lifestyle. I am not Pentacostal for sure, but do share their beliefs on women in the church and different types of worship. How do I choose one when I am a mix and match?
 

Albion

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Those quizzes try, but they are notoriously inaccurate.

For one thing, they don't have the space necessary for asking enough questions. So its not unusual for the test-taker to be left with some uncertainties when the list of churches comes out.

By the way, SOME Baptist churches do ordain women, the American Baptist Churches USA for example
 
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All4Christ

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Many Pentecostal churches do not allow for women pastors. Some allow for women to be pastors for women, but not for the lead pastor. There are some that allow for women pastors in general, but not all.

I concur with @Albion on this, as my experience in some of the denominations does not match what the quiz suggests.
 
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thecolorsblend

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I think I found the quiz you took. It's a fun little diversion. Unsurprisingly, I was categorized as Catholic. More surprisingly, I was listed as 85% Catholic even though I gave 100% Catholic answers. The creators of this quiz don't understand Catholicism very well. Still, my ranking is 85% Catholic, which is about 35% more understand of the Catholic faith than I would've expected the creators of some silly online quiz to possess.

Point being that these quizzes might be fun to take but they are not omniscient. There are clear and obvious gaps in the creators' understanding. So don't put too much faith in the results you received. I do not believe these quizzes are completely predictive regarding what you respond to the best in a religious setting.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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I spent the first 12 years in Pentecostal churches, around three years in an Anglican church, and around eight years in Baptist churches. (I was a school teacher who changed cities as part of my job). I have been an elder in the Presbyterian church for the last 20 years. I have had good fellowship with wonderful godly folk in all those churches, and it showed me that denominational labels mean little when the Lord leads you into a church home.

It depends on what your future ministry plans are. I wanted to be a minister and look at the different options. I felt that being a Pentecostal minister did not give good job security because I saw too many examples of Pentecostal pastors being "rolled" by other ambitious ones wanting the job. I did five papers in the Anglican minister's qualification, before deciding to go to university and become a school teacher. I had decided against the Presbyterian ministry because one had to have degree before doing their minister's qualification. So I was a school teacher for 19 years.

By the time I joined up with the Presbyterian church, although having an MA, I felt I couldn't afford to study for the two years at the other end of the country to become a Presbyterian minister, and my wife did not want to be a minister's wife; so that settled it for me as far as that was concerned.

But I became a lay preacher, worship leader, and elder of the church and remained in those roles for 20 years. At the age of 66, I did an M.Div on line, which was a wonderful journey, and strengthened my role as a lay preacher.

What I like about the Presbyterian church is that they welcome lady ministers and elders, and we had a young lady minister, just out of ministry training college, and she was like a breath of fresh air to our congregation.

I found that the Presbyterian church (at least in New Zealand) is welcoming of those with different backgrounds, and we had a mix of those with Charismatic, Catholic, Baptist, Anglican and even a SDA person on our membership, along with the faithful Presbyterians. Because of the diversity of backgrounds, we had great unity and our church was more of a family than a formal church.

As far as church government is concerned, I like the Presbyterian system the best because it is ruled by a board of elders, and so, cannot be dominated by just one personality in the same way that Pentecostal, Charismatic, or even Baptist churches can be. But then, I could be biased! :)

That is my 20 cents worth. I trust that it has been helpful.
 
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Jonaitis

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The name Puritan makes me think of the people who banned religious freedoms in colonial times and a simple lifestyle.

Puritans were very different than what school teach people today. The idea that Puritans were the kind of individuals you describe stems from the harsh stereotypes that was placed on them in their day for desiring to live a holy life (thus also the name was meant to be an insult). One of the first people to propagate such ideas to the public was William Shakespeare when he portrayed them in his plays. The Puritans were the ones that first promoted religious freedom in England, and they were the ones that believed in public education for all, not just the rich and nobility and powerful.

Have you ever read Matthew Henry's commentary? He was a Puritan. Pilgrim's Progress? John Bunyan was a Puritan. Jonathan Edwards? He was considered the last. I recommend reading them and finding one of the greatest men that ever walked the earth.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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Puritans were very different than what school teach people today. The idea that Puritans were the kind of individuals you describe stems from the harsh stereotypes that was placed on them in their day for desiring to live a holy life (thus also the name was meant to be an insult). One of the first people to propagate such ideas to the public was William Shakespeare when he portrayed them in his plays. The Puritans were the ones that first promoted religious freedom in England, and they were the ones that believed in public education for all, not just the rich and nobility and powerful.

Have you ever read Matthew Henry's commentary? He was a Puritan. Pilgrim's Progress? John Bunyan was a Puritan. Jonathan Edwards? He was considered the last. I recommend reading them and finding one of the greatest men that ever walked the earth.
I have extensively read the works of the principal Puritan divines and I find they were totally different to what we would call "puritanical". As in any religious movement, there are extremes.
 
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Jonaitis

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I have extensively read the works of the principal Puritan divines and I find they were totally different to what we would call "puritanical". As in any religious movement, there are extremes.

It bothers me that most people I've talked to only remember them for the Salem Witch Trials. An isolated event that lasted for less than a year in a few small villages is suppose to generalize the whole Puritan movement which was about something entirely different. No one remembers the contributions they made to the Church and to Society.
 
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Radagast

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Because Baptists prohibit women from being pastors and church leaders, I am unwilling to join one of their churches (or even walk into one).

If that's your top issue, all the liberal/mainline churches ordain women (plus, as someone has pointed out, many Pentecostal churches).
 
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GodLovesCats

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It is not my top issue but I really hate the idea that women are not even allowed to get church leadership jobs in some denominations. Another church policy that bothers me is requiring pastor movement among churches, which Methodists and Presbyterians do.
 
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Presbyterian Continuist

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If that's your top issue, all the liberal/mainline churches ordain women (plus, as someone has pointed out, many Pentecostal churches).
I wouldn't call my Presbyterian church liberal, and it welcomes women ministers and elders. Your word "all" sounds like a generalization to me.
It is not my top issue but I really hate the idea that women are not even allowed to get church leadership jobs in some denominations. Another church policy that bothers me is requiring pastor movement among churches, which Methodists and Presbyterians do.
I don't know about the Methodist churches, but the Presbyterian Church of NZ doesn't require a fixed-term tenure for its ministers. A minister can remain in a church as long as he wants to. There is absolutely no pressure for him or her to move on by the Presbytery or the local church.

Of course, in these days where gender discrimination is seen to be a bad thing, employers, including churches, can be sued if they are seen to discriminate on the basis of gender, in the same way as discrimination on the basis of race and colour. I actually don't believe that Paul ever intended to discriminate against women pastors and elders. First Century culture was male-dominated, and so some verses of Scripture are culture dependent, not trans-cultural. Our western culture is quite different and includes women in roles that were once reserved for males.

What prevents many potential court cases involve abuses of human rights on the basis of gender in churches is that many godly Christians are reluctant to take legal action because of what Paul said in 1 Corinthians about Christians taking legal action against each other in the secular court.
 
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Radagast

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I wouldn't call my Presbyterian church liberal

Let's just call the PCUSA and the PCANZ "mainline." That's probably more polite, though less widely understood (I've attended both denominations, by the way, and they're quite similar). Both of these Presbyterian denominations ordain women.

I would contrast the PCUSA and the PCANZ to the more conservative PCA and OPC (in the USA) and to the GPCNZ (in NZ), none of which ordain women.

Your word "all" sounds like a generalization to me.

Perhaps you misread me. What I said was "all the liberal/mainline churches ordain women." I can think of no exceptions to that.

I did not say "all the churches that ordain women are liberal/mainline." On the contrary, I pointed out that some (conservative) Pentecostal churches also ordain women.
 
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A_Thinker

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I took a denomination selector quiz called Go To Quiz. The top three results:

80% Baptist
79% Puritan
73% Pentacostal

Because Baptists prohibit women from being pastors and church leaders, I am unwilling to join one of their churches (or even walk into one). The name Puritan makes me think of the people who banned religious freedoms in colonial times and a simple lifestyle. I am not Pentacostal for sure, but do share their beliefs on women in the church and different types of worship. How do I choose one when I am a mix and match?
Even Baptists are a mixed lot.

Some Baptists churches do allow women to be leaders.

If I were to look for another church, I would likely feel free to select between various Baptist, Methodist, or Community churches.

Perhaps a Community church would be well-suited for you ...
 
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A_Thinker

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Those quizzes try, but they are notoriously inaccurate.

For one thing, they don't have the space necessary for asking enough questions. So its not unusual for the test-taker to be left with some uncertainties when the list of churches comes out.

By the way, SOME Baptist churches do ordain women, the American Baptist Churches USA for example
I have had wonderful experiences with American Baptist churches ...
 
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Radagast

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I have had wonderful experiences with American Baptist churches ...

Do you mean Baptist churches in the USA in general, or churches in the ABCUSA (American Baptist Churches USA) denomination?
 
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A_Thinker

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Do you mean Baptist churches in the USA in general, or churches in the ABCUSA (American Baptist Churches USA) denomination?
The ABCUSA ...

I attended an ABCUSA church wile I was away at school, and my wife attended another ABCUSA church for about 10 years.

These churches are faithful to the teachings of scripture, ... and are also caring, loving assemblies which emphasize influencing their communities with the love of God.
 
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Mountainmanbob

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Because Baptists prohibit women from being pastors and church leaders, I am unwilling to join one of their churches (or even walk into one).

You may be cutting yourself short there?

I don't attend a Baptist church but my brother does and it is a fine church, very solid teaching.

What would the big deal be about not having women pastors? Seems to be the biblical stance?

M-Bob
 
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Albion

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I have extensively read the works of the principal Puritan divines and I find they were totally different to what we would call "puritanical". As in any religious movement, there are extremes.
Wasn't it more the case that the Puritans wanted to purify the church of excessive ceremony, ritual, and so on--pretty much what the average fundamentalist today would say is a good policy?
 
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