Something Hard Not to Notice

[Mama Kidogo]

i came to Orthodoxy from the Baptist church. Since coming back to the US I've noticed that seems to be where a very high percentage of them came from.

Now I know we do not go out to Baptist Parking lots leaving literature under wiper blades so can anyone explain this?

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

They probably don't view you as Christianᵀᴹ.


I do not understand this tract handing out thinking. It seems like lazy evangelizing to me.

 

[Targaryen]

maybe it's a counter response to some of the Baptist divisions moving more towards the radical side of evangelism? I'm not sure, I can't really comment well on American Baptists.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

They probably don't view you as Christianᵀᴹ.


I do not understand this tract handing out thinking. It seems like lazy evangelizing to me.

From experience, most Baptists don't really know much about the Orthodox church at all. Most seem to think we're just "Roman" Catholics of sorts. And yet in North America we have an oddly high percentage of former Baptists in our numbers.

And yes, I've had to explain we are Christian to quite a few. Some think we are Jewish.

 

[graceandpeace]

Wait.

A Baptist group left tracts under your wiper blades in an Orthodox Church parking lot - or am I misunderstanding?

In any case, the tract thing seems more common with some evangelical/"non-denominational"/Baptist type groups, as well as groups that heavily proselytize like Mormons & JWs. It's part of the whole get them to "turn" before they "burn" mentality, I think.

 

[James Is Back]

Christianᵀᴹ.

What the word Christian is trade marked now

As far as the OP. I haven't seen that happen at a church before. You might see that more happening at a Justin Bieber concert than at a church parking lot trying to convert someone to their beliefs.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

maybe it's a counter response to some of the Baptist divisions moving more towards the radical side of evangelism? I'm not sure, I can't really comment well on American Baptists.

Seems more North American than just a US thing. But I'm not sure it's just localized to this hemisphere. Maybe an Aussie could tell if if it's happening there as well. I saw almost non of this in Africa. Most there showed up as non-Christians (meaning unbelievers and Muslims).

 

[Targaryen]

No, Mama' didn't say that the Orthodox people were passing out leaflets on car windows. She used the point to say there are a lot of former Baptists now moving to the Orthodox churches, and she's wondering why.

Hope that clarifies things a bit

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Wait.

A Baptist group left tracts under your wiper blades in an Orthodox Church parking lot - or am I misunderstanding?

In any case, the tract thing seems more common with some evangelical/"non-denominational"/Baptist type groups, as well as groups that heavily proselytize like Mormons & JWs. It's part of the whole get them to "turn" before they "burn" mentality, I think.

No. I was saying that we as Orthodox don't seek out Baptist to become Orthodox. But many of us are former Baptists. I'm just curious about why this seems so common. I know of at least five Orthodox right on this forum who were raised Baptist. In my local church I know 25 who were Baptist prior.

The tract thing was a bit of a joke as we're not known for passing them out.

 

[MKJ]

i came to Orthodoxy from the Baptist church. Since coming back to the US I've noticed that seems to be where a very high percentage of them came from.

Now I know we do not go out to Baptist Parking lots leaving literature under wiper blades so can anyone explain this?

Well, one reason might be simply that there are so many Baptists, when you get converts, chances are that many will come from that background.

I suspect another thing to consider is what is attracting those people. I would guess it might be things like an ordered lectionary, the use of things like art, episcopacy, and so on. Someone who is, say, Catholic or Anglican is less likely to need to go to a new church to find those things.

More generally, there do seem in recent years to be more people with evangelical backgrounds who are exploring historic Christianity for the first time. I actually know many Baptists who have become Anglican that way, including our new rector, and it may well be true in the Catholic Church as well.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

No, Mama' didn't say that the Orthodox people were passing out leaflets on car windows. She used the point to say there are a lot of former Baptists now moving to the Orthodox churches, and she's wondering why.

Hope that clarifies things a bit

Thanks. I went back and reread my op thinking I'd wrote it wrong. Now I'm trying to imagine what an Orthodox tract might look like. We are a bit more personal with our evangelizing (meaning one on one) and not an organized group out on the median of an intersection or out in front of Wal-mart. Generally ours is just saying , "Come and see" to a friend.

 

[ChristsSoldier115]

A lot of baptists churches have a very narrow views regarding. It depends on the local church near you honestly. Some churches are super KJV-only and practically reading from something else turn you into an apostate practically.

People need to understand that while baptists churches may be under an umbrella of a baptist over all ogranization or two. This is merely a convenience for the churches to be able to support one another in times of crisis. We are all independent and self sustaining and come together for community efforts or times of trouble. We respect each others variant theological differences among baptist churches.

The independence has the side effect of certain churches viewing certain denominations as something other than Christian. We don't have a pope or overseeing bishop to deal with the crazies. Hence Westboro Baptist.

 

[Targaryen]

Seems more North American than just a US thing. But I'm not sure it's just localized to this hemisphere. Maybe an Aussie could tell if if it's happening there as well. I saw almost non of this in Africa. Most there showed up as non-Christians (meaning unbelievers and Muslims).

I think that (and here I use the warning that I will be singling out some denominations) the radicalization in Pentecostal,SDA,Messianic groups and certain Non-denom megachurches has created a vacuum of sorts between the church and the message and witness of Christ,especially in the years post-9/11 here in North America.

One of the things I've been studying lately is the factor of Emergence Christianity. Now I could go off on this as a topic for theological debate on its own (but I'm not here cause of some in GT's ability to throw things off track). But Phyllis Tickle, an author and historian has done a number of books on the subject and using sociological as well as theological models concludes, and it make a lot of logical sense; that Christianity undergoes 500 year periods of retooling and rediscovery. That this era we are currently living in is an era akin to that of the Reformation. where concepts are going to be re-studyied and older witnesses re-visited.

I tend to see the counter response from the evangelical group into more liturgical or more mainstream groups within Christianity as one of the marking factors of this new Emergence.

 

[graceandpeace]

No. I was saying that we as Orthodox don't seek out Baptist to become Orthodox. But many of us are former Baptists. I'm just curious about why this seems so common. I know of at least five Orthodox right on this forum who were raised Baptist. In my local church I know 25 who were Baptist prior.

The tract thing was a bit of a joke as we're not known for passing them out.

Oh ok, sorry, I am very low on sleep this week.

I'm willing to guess the liturgy & traditional aspect of apostolic churches like the EOC, Anglican/TEC, etc is appealing compared to the more bare bones approach that seems common in Baptist & similar churches.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Well, one reason might be simply that there are so many Baptists, when you get converts, chances are that many will come from that background.

I suspect another thing to consider is what is attracting those people. I would guess it might be things like an ordered lectionary, the use of things like art, episcopacy, and so on. Someone who is, say, Catholic or Anglican is less likely to need to go to a new church to find those things.

More generally, there do seem in recent years to be more people with evangelical backgrounds who are exploring historic Christianity for the first time. I actually know many Baptists who have become Anglican that way, including our new rector, and it may well be true in the Catholic Church as well.

You may have a point except I'd expect a lot of non-denoms and Pentecostals as well if that were the case.
My own reason was as simple as me following my husband. But when I ask others the answer seems fairly consistent. Some of it you spoke of but the most common theme seems to be they first showed up out of curiosity and had a few questions that had been bothering them their pastor couldn't or wouldn't answer to their satisfaction.
My first experience was quite a shock. I'd been to a liturgical service before and imagined it would be pretty similar to what I'd seen before. I left with a look of surprise and much to sort out. I'd never seen that much of the back of a church leaders head before. At that church they also didn't have pews and I wasn't expecting such a long service. I'd experienced incense before but never to that degree. For the next three days scripture verses kept flooding my mind and things I saw actually began to make sense. For about two months I really tried to find error in what I saw. That became quite frustrating as I couldn't. And becoming Orthodox was never my intention. It just happened to be the only gathering of Christians around.

 

[Hentenza]

i came to Orthodoxy from the Baptist church. Since coming back to the US I've noticed that seems to be where a very high percentage of them came from.

Now I know we do not go out to Baptist Parking lots leaving literature under wiper blades so can anyone explain this?

Interesting. I have seen several come to my church from Orthodoxy. I teach a bible class with 38 students and 8 came from Orthodoxy.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Oh ok, sorry, I am very low on sleep this week.

I'm willing to guess the liturgy & traditional aspect of apostolic churches like the EOC, Anglican/TEC, etc is appealing compared to the more bare bones approach that seems common in Baptist & similar churches.

I understand the sleep issue. I think I've been to more funerals this week than I've ever been to in one week. Every one of them more than an hours drive away.

I'm sure something a bit more structured is a part of it.

 

[Tzaousios]

Interesting. I have seen several come to my church from Orthodoxy. I teach a bible class with 38 students and 8 came from Orthodoxy.

How do you talk to them about Orthodoxy compared to what Baptists believe?

 

[Hentenza]

How do you talk to them about Orthodoxy compared to what Baptists believe?

I don't. They come from Orthodoxy so they already know what it entails. I teach them scripture consistent with Baptist beliefs.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Interesting. I have seen several come to my church from Orthodoxy. I teach a bible class with 38 students and 8 came from Orthodoxy.

I know two Orthodox folk who regularly attend a baptist mid-week service. One in Georgia and one in Florida.
When I was baptist those leaving seemed to go Latin Rite Catholic but at that time, Orthodox churches were pretty scarce in northern Florida. They still are but not as scarce. I can't ever remember meeting an Orthodox outside of a trip to Tarpon Springs (a Greek community)as a Baptist. We got the occasional divorced Catholic.