Should I choose a denominational church?

[GodLovesCats]

I think you are confusing civil rights with church doctrines. While I very much disagree with the idea that women cannot enter the holy ministry, I also do not believe that people that do not ordain women as pastors are necessarily doing so out of bad intentions, and it is their right to conduct their religion in the manner they see fit according to their conscience, not mine.

Some Baptists actually do ordain women. The American Baptist Church is one such denomination.

In case you did not notice, I am both liberal and literal. No matter what is in church doctrines, I can't just think they are different from the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and First Amendment and accept the firing of female church leaders as permitted actions. That said, I understandi Baptist organizations just do it because of what they believe, not for the sake of breaking laws.

 

[Jonaitis]

I do not think my beliefs match any single denomination. It would feel wrong to join a church I disagree with, but with no good nondenominatal churches where I live, I seem to be stuck with doing just that. Is selecting a denomination to belong in a bad thing?

Non-denomination, if I am understanding it right, is a church that do not fall into the beliefs of a mainline denomination (Baptist, Presbyterian, Anglican, etc). Arguably, as some have said, the beliefs from church to church in these "non-denominational" bunch may lean toward a mainstream belief despite the intention and name. This would still be your problem, finding the right church that matches your beliefs, since each non-denominational church may have so many different kinds of faith traditions in the mix.

A denomination has some sort of tradition and beliefs that sets it apart from another, and this is good if you are looking for a church that falls in line with that particular denomination you belong to if you ever change.

 

[Jonaitis]

My concern is that many of the churches which call themselves non-denominational are welcoming of many of the current false and unbiblical beliefs. Just be discerning.

I agree with this, and this is one of the risks of a "non-denominational" church.

 

[FireDragon76]

In case you did not notice, I am both liberal and literal. No matter what is in church doctrines, I can't just think they are different from the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and First Amendment and accept the firing of female church leaders as permitted actions.

People have a fundamental right in this country (USA) to freedom of religion, including to have their own qualifications for clergy. There is nothing unconstitutional or illegal about it. In religious denominations that do not have women as pastors, women are simply not ordained, and anyone in that church would be assenting (implicitly agreeing) to that practice as part of the religion.

 

[Tigger45]

Most churches now a days have websites and even if that church doesn’t readily showcase their denominational affiliations if any, it can be discovered when you investigate far enough.

 

[1watchman]

I recommend that any earnest seeker after the scriptural church pathway visit at the sound site: Biblecounsel.net on the Internet. It holds to Bible-only in this worldwide fellowship. All earnest seekers after Bible truth can ask questions and find help there in understanding what God expects for Bible seekers.