How do Protestants Settle on a Denomination? (No Debating Catholics/Orthodox)

[mukk_in]

Being Catholic, I'm very comforted by my denomination's historical claim, and deep entrenchment in Holy Scripture & Holy Tradition; Orthodox feel the same way.
For the purpose of this thread, I'm not looking to debate Catholicism/Orthodoxy v. Protestants; the above statement was just very brief background on how I and many others appreciate our denomination.
My question to the Protestants is, how do you settle on one denomination or church? Without any sort of authority, be it the papacy (pope) or councils of bishops to keep your church on track, how do you figure out that your particular denomination is more like what Jesus & the Apostles taught than any other? Because when you get deep enough into theology, there can only be 1 true church; if you stay protestant, how do you determine which one that is?
By the way, there's double meaning in the (No Debating Catholics/Orthodox). I don't want protestants debating Catholics/Orthodox, and I don't want Catholics/Orthodox debating protestants. For the purpose of this thread, I just want Protestants to discuss (and maybe debate) how you choose a Church that doesn't have the historical claim of Catholics & Orthodox, how you choose which of the denominations is the best.
Lord, forgive me for perpetuating us/them mentalities, and treating Your children & followers as seperate groups instead of the 1 body of Christ.

I accept the ultimate Authority of the Lord Jesus Christ and a Holy Spirit led Church. His stamp of approval is all that we need, in my view. Peace in Christ .

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

Honestly, it's to the point with me now where if someone believes The Apostles' / Nicene Creed then I could care less what "Group" they label themselves.

There will be a time where it won't even matter what "Denomination" you are apart of. Every person who loves Yehushua Messiah will be persecuted for their faith. It's happening in America and other Western Counties in secret and more upfront and blatantly in other parts like the Middle East and Asia.

 

[Jude1:3Contendforthefaith]

One thing I will add is that the most important thing is Your Own Personal Walk With God Individually.

 

[Monna]

One thing I will add is that the most important thing is Your Own Personal Walk With God Individually.

Agreed.
And one important thing you will learn in that personal walk, is the importance God places on "community," "togetherness," "relationship."

Peter 2:9-10 (TLV)
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Once you were “not a people,”
but now you are “God’s people.”
You were shown “no mercy,”
but now you have been shown “mercy.”​

You here is plural. "They shall know you are my disciples because you show love for one another."

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

You here is plural. "They shall know you are my disciples because you show love for one another."

Echad. We (all ekklesia born again ones, set apart by YHVH for Himself)
are ALL together Echad with Jesus and with the Father ,
just as Jesus and the Father have been Echad (ONE) for eternity ;
see JOHN 17. Jesus asks the Father that all the true disciples be Echad
the same as He and the Father are Echad (ONE) ..... we are all ONE in HIM and with HIM.
(hint: THIS IS STILL A MYSTERY
Everything not revealed about "spirit" and Echad and divinity also, of course)
i.e. don't try to understand this.
Just believe and trust the Father and Jesus Faithfulness and Salvation.

 

[Babe Ruth]

My guess, most people (Catholic & Protestant) inherit their denomination from their parents.
Second most relevant factor being proximity. I've known several Christians who just attend the church that is closest to home.. but purely anecdotal.

 

[Complete in Thee]

I was raised in the Roman Catholic church. After wandering off for a good

Being Catholic, I'm very comforted by my denomination's historical claim, and deep entrenchment in Holy Scripture & Holy Tradition; Orthodox feel the same way.
For the purpose of this thread, I'm not looking to debate Catholicism/Orthodoxy v. Protestants; the above statement was just very brief background on how I and many others appreciate our denomination.
My question to the Protestants is, how do you settle on one denomination or church? Without any sort of authority, be it the papacy (pope) or councils of bishops to keep your church on track, how do you figure out that your particular denomination is more like what Jesus & the Apostles taught than any other? Because when you get deep enough into theology, there can only be 1 true church; if you stay protestant, how do you determine which one that is?
By the way, there's double meaning in the (No Debating Catholics/Orthodox). I don't want protestants debating Catholics/Orthodox, and I don't want Catholics/Orthodox debating protestants. For the purpose of this thread, I just want Protestants to discuss (and maybe debate) how you choose a Church that doesn't have the historical claim of Catholics & Orthodox, how you choose which of the denominations is the best.
Lord, forgive me for perpetuating us/them mentalities, and treating Your children & followers as seperate groups instead of the 1 body of Christ.

Good question.

The best Church is one that holds to the orthodox Christian faith. By that, I mean the early creeds of the Church, Apostles, Nicean etc. However more importantly helps you grow (be conformed to the image of Christ) in your relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Coming from a Roman Catholic background I can say (in my experience) that Evangelical Christianity is best at doing this by focusing on what is important which is, how do I get to heaven?

At the same time we all come from different cultures and have different experiences in life and I believe one size doesn't fit all. God is using all these different Churches (Roman Catholic included) to build his Kingdom and Spread his Gospel. Some of these Churches are better than others but all have strengths and weaknesses.

God bless

 

[grasping the after wind]

I think the majority of people settle on a denomination by being born into it. Being brought up in a tradition is not really settling in on it, it is more accepting the circumstances of one's upbringing. It is not as if it was the case that one starts out with a blank slate and researches every denomination objectively to find the one true church. Over time a denomination will change its priorities, its structure , its liturgy , its practices or its theology or a combination of those things and a certain percentage of adherents will become disgruntled by that and leave. Those people do not start out non denominational and come to the conclusion the X denomination is correct by some logical process of elimination. They just find a denomination or a specific non denominational congregation that more closely approximates their own beliefs about priorities, structure, liturgy and theology than the one they left.

 

[Francis Drake]

I believe in scripture's priesthood of each believer and therefore reject any man being over my head as an insult to Christ, who is my only head.
That makes denominationalism and its hierarchical structure anathema to be, as indeed is revealed in scripture.

Therefore I will fellowship happily with people of like mind, who also don't like the power trips that leaders are on.

 

[The Times]

.

 

[Albion]

So, what I'm seeing so far (hopefully I can write this better than the original post):
It really doesn't matter what denomination we belong to; denominations, by their very nature, are susceptible to problems, anyway. What matters is that we follow Jesus the best that we can, read the Bible, and try to be a good person.
Does that sound about right?

If I may add to your comment, Alex, it's true that the whole body of believers, regardless of denomination, are considered to be the church of God by Protestants, but it is also true that people belong to actual churches, most of which are affiliates of denominations.

I am sorry that so many who answered your question made the basic point but didn't say anything about the congregation/denomination that they belong to or the decision they made about it! I assume that most of them do regularly attend some church or other in their towns.

 

[rockytopva]

I believe in the seven churches as congregations...

Ephesus - Messianic - Beginning with the Apostle to the Circumcision, Peter
Smyrna - Martyr - Beginning with the Apostle to the Un-Circumcision, Paul
Pergamos - Orthodoxy formed in this time... Pergos is a tower... Needed in the dark ages
Thyatira - Catholicism formed in this time - The spirit of Jezebel is to control and to dominate.
Sardis - Protestantism formed in this time- A sardius is a gem - elegant yet hard and rigid
Philadelphia - Wesleyism formed in this time - To be sanctioned is to acquire it with love.
Laodicea - Charismatic movement formed in this time - Beginning with DL Moody, the first to make money off of ministry

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches. Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; - Revelation 1:20 - 2:1

I see nothing wrong with visiting any of these churches, from Messianic to Charismatic. To walk as Christ walks is to walk in the midst of the seven congregations, which are from Messianic to Charismatic. And all these congregations all have congregational forums somewhere here on the CF. I personally would choose a congregation where I could feel the Holy Spirit most during divine service. Christ walks among all the seven churches and holds all her members in the palm of his right hand.

 

[JoeP222w]

My question to the Protestants is, how do you settle on one denomination or church?

Denomination has very little relevance to me. What matters is that they seek to follow the word of God in the Bible. There are no denominations in Heaven.

Without any sort of authority, be it the papacy (pope) or councils of bishops to keep your church on track, how do you figure out that your particular denomination is more like what Jesus & the Apostles taught than any other?

This is a completely false statement and show little to no understanding of what the Reformation was about.

Sola Scriptura (and Protestantism) does not in any way deny or reject authority in the Church. So Protestantism is not "Without any sort of authority". However, the critical difference is that the Bible is the sole infallible rule of faith. Man's authority has a role in the Christian's life, but any authority from man submits itself to the authority of Scripture. God never commands us to follow sinful, fallible man and the ultimate rule of faith.

Moreover, since no Apostle or Elders in the early church or scripture ever taught what Rome teaches today as dogma (Marian Devotion, Purgatory/Indulgences, the Papacy), your claim to Apostolic authority for Rome is completely false.

Because when you get deep enough into theology, there can only be 1 true church; if you stay protestant, how do you determine which one that is?

It is not a visible church nor denomination, and most certainly not Rome, it is the body of believers in Jesus Christ.

By the way, there's double meaning in the (No Debating Catholics/Orthodox). I don't want protestants debating Catholics/Orthodox, and I don't want Catholics/Orthodox debating protestants. For the purpose of this thread, I just want Protestants to discuss (and maybe debate) how you choose a Church that doesn't have the historical claim of Catholics & Orthodox, how you choose which of the denominations is the best.

This is called "Divide and Conquer". You are not seeking answers, only trying to create strife.

 

[A_Thinker]

Unofficial Reverand Alex said: For the purpose of this thread, I just want Protestants to discuss (and maybe debate) how you choose a Church that doesn't have the historical claim of Catholics & Orthodox, how you choose which of the denominations is the best.

JoeP222w said: This is called "Divide and Conquer". You are not seeking answers, only trying to create strife.

Perhaps the intention was not to cause strife, ... but strife is certainly a possible outcome from this query.

It is a testament to Protestant ecumenism that few, if any, responders have commented in a divisive manner.

Such gives credence to the general Protestant ethic ...

In essentials, UNITY
In non-essentials, LIBERTY
In ALL things, CHARITY

 

[Athanasius377]

I took the faith of the historic church--the undivided church from which we all come--and subtracted all the unscriptural additions, innovations, alterations, etc. made along the way by the Eastern Orthodox churches and the Roman Catholic Church (mainly the latter), while not taking away any of the essentials.

The Thirty-nine Articles summarize all of that quite well, so that helped to identify the church I was going to focus on the most.

This brings me to the oldest church in the Gentile world (and I am a Gentile) which is also at the center or mainstream of historic Christianity, not falling off towards the extremes at either end of the spectrum of churches.

This is directed to the OP. As an Anglican I agree with everything Albion said above. I would add that it was my study of the scriptures along with church history and the early church fathers that led me to the Anglican church as expressed by the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. Along with worship as laid out in the Book of Common Prayer.

 

[dqhall]

Being Catholic, I'm very comforted by my denomination's historical claim, and deep entrenchment in Holy Scripture & Holy Tradition; Orthodox feel the same way.
For the purpose of this thread, I'm not looking to debate Catholicism/Orthodoxy v. Protestants; the above statement was just very brief background on how I and many others appreciate our denomination.
My question to the Protestants is, how do you settle on one denomination or church? Without any sort of authority, be it the papacy (pope) or councils of bishops to keep your church on track, how do you figure out that your particular denomination is more like what Jesus & the Apostles taught than any other? Because when you get deep enough into theology, there can only be 1 true church; if you stay protestant, how do you determine which one that is?
By the way, there's double meaning in the (No Debating Catholics/Orthodox). I don't want protestants debating Catholics/Orthodox, and I don't want Catholics/Orthodox debating protestants. For the purpose of this thread, I just want Protestants to discuss (and maybe debate) how you choose a Church that doesn't have the historical claim of Catholics & Orthodox, how you choose which of the denominations is the best.
Lord, forgive me for perpetuating us/them mentalities, and treating Your children & followers as seperate groups instead of the 1 body of Christ.

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the middle of them.” World English Bible (WEB) - Public Domain

Paul went to areas where there were no established churches. He attended synagogues and started telling them about Jesus. He went to Athens. He noticed statues of their idols. He found a monument dedicated to the unknown God. He started talking to people there about Jesus and the living God. Paul based his teachings on his knowledge of the Gospel.

My mother is Catholic. She found that not all Catholic churches are the same. She liked one church, but did not like another several miles away. My dad was raised Protestant and attended Sunday school. He is not a member of a church.

I do not need a preacher reading Genesis or Revelation to me to find faith. I know what I want to read and how to find it. If a preacher is wise and a congregation is friendly, people might choose to go there and listen to the sermons.

 

[Senkaku]

I have just finished a spiritual journey of sorts before settling in the church I'm in now. I'm telling you from experience, every church I went to did the same thing. They basically acted like they were "more right" than the other denominations. Honestly, what you are looking for is not in a denomination, thats not how Christianity works, denominations aren't even biblical, thats something man made. Find a place where you can grow, don't think about dogma, think about your walk with God and what helps you grow and serve the body. Find what is conducive to your growth, whatever that may be. As long as you are still in the truth of Jesus, you'll be fine. Trust that He will guide you.

in case you are curious, here's a list of churches I have been to over the years and on my spiritual journey:

Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Non-denominational charismatic, lutheran, messianic, catholic, apostolic, Baptist, non denominational evangelical.

 

[PloverWing]

So, what I'm seeing so far (hopefully I can write this better than the original post):
It really doesn't matter what denomination we belong to; denominations, by their very nature, are susceptible to problems, anyway. What matters is that we follow Jesus the best that we can, read the Bible, and try to be a good person.
Does that sound about right?

This is pretty close, yes. As Albion said, most Protestants believe that Christians in all denominations (including yours) belong to Christ's church, so in that sense, it doesn't matter what denomination one belongs to. Additionally, there is a tremendous amount of agreement between denominations; we hear about our points of disagreement, because that's what we argue about loudly , but we agree much more than we disagree. Further, there are many theological questions for which we just can't know the answer with certainty, so we have to hold our theological beliefs with humility, and judge the beliefs of others with humility and charity.

Still, when choosing a church, it's good to try to find one that lines up with one's theological beliefs, and that will provide a good place to grow spiritually and to worship and serve God.

In my case, I grew up Southern Baptist, and I attended a nondenominational Evangelical Christian school for K-12. These Christian communities taught me well, and they brought me to Christ. However, as I came into adulthood, I found that I wanted something different: I wanted a kind of worship that I could participate in, instead of just listening to; I wanted a sense of being grounded in the history and theology of the last 20 centuries -- not just the Bible, as important as that is, but all the other generations of Christians who have lived between the Bible and the present day; and I wanted a community that would allow exploration of a diversity of theological ideas, including modern scholarship. By the time I was making this decision, I had taken a few years of theology and church history classes in college, so I was able to draw on this background. I explored a number of churches: Assemblies of God, Orthodox Presbyterian, Missouri Synod Lutheran, United Methodists, Quakers, a few nondenominational churches.

I ended up (as you can see from my profile) in the Episcopal church, which has been a good home for me. Liturgical worship, I discovered, is very important to me; it's one of the places where I most experience God. The Episcopal church also allows theological diversity, which enables me to continue to think and learn and question.

Really, though, my core beliefs are not that different from those of Christians in other denominations. There are differences in worship style, and there are differences in -- how do I say it? the feel of the community, maybe, the approach one takes to cultivating the spiritual life. But these are differences in personality as much as anything; significant enough differences to make me choose one community over another, but not significant enough to reject my fellow Christians in these churches as somehow not being Real Christians.

 

[miamited]

Hi URA,

I can only speak for myself, of course, but...

I have visited a number of various denominations throughout my life and one of the, I believe, foundations of the gathering of the fellowship of believers that we find in the new covenant writings is that they appear to be autonomous. The idea of some overarching body of leadership that has some control over the doctrinal teachings and understandings of a particular geographic area of fellowships just doesn't seem to be exampled in the Scriptures. The letters to the various churches that we find in the Revelation all speak to each body of the fellowship of believers in each of the different cities as having particular praise or rebuke for what that particular fellowship is doing in its worship and teaching practices. When Paul began a fellowship of believers in each new city as he traveled about planting fellowships, he doesn't seem to draw from some higher echelon of leadership. He picks pastors and deacons, and instructs the separate fellowships in the practice of picking these leaders from among their own fellowship of people.

So, for me, being an autonomous fellowship seems to more closely match the practice of local fellowships exampled in the new covenant writings, and is, therefore, something that I look for in choosing a fellowship with which to practice my own corporate worship.

Secondly, I'm not interested in a fellowship that practices communion service each week. I hold that such a service is better appreciated when it is not a rote practice that just comes every week after we sing a few songs and before we take up an offering. Generally, the baptist fellowships that I have gathered with most frequently, make the communion service a special monthly or quarterly service in which the entire time of the service is given over to the act of communion. It is specially and specifically recognized as an entire service dedicated to remembrance of what our Lord has done for us that we might be acceptable before our God. There is much more prayer and reflection than I've ever found in any fellowship that practices a weekly communion service.

Finally, but actually of utmost importance, the teaching must be Scripturally sound.

I find these requirements better met among baptist and independent fellowships. However, let me be clear to point out that I don't feel beholden to any denominational identification. I'm not a baptist or methodist or catholic or presbyterian. I'm a born again believer in the one true God and King. So, where I choose to worship isn't driven by denomination. It is driven by the qualifications mentioned above. Any denomination will do, where I find agreement in these qualifications.

God bless,
In Christ, ted

 

[PloverWing]

Without any sort of authority, be it the papacy (pope) or councils of bishops to keep your church on track, how do you figure out that your particular denomination is more like what Jesus & the Apostles taught than any other?

Responding to this quote in particular: In my church's theological tradition, we look to the trio of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason as our ways to discern the truth and God's leading. (Sometimes this is stated as a quadrilateral -- Scripture, Tradition, Reason, and Experience.) So it's true that we don't look to an infallible teaching office to guide us, but we also aren't completely without direction. We look to the Scriptures, to the centuries of worship and theology that have preceded us, to our reasoning and scholarship in the present day, and to our experiences of God, all taken together, to guide us in discerning the truth. It's an imperfect process, and we sometimes make mistakes, but it does work pretty well.