what does non denominational mean?

[carine]

Sorry to sound a bit thick here but I dont really have an understanding of what non denominational means. I personally dont like the fact there are so many different denominations and see myself as looking towards brethren as being more as church should be like with Christ at the centre but most churches today have a very organised structure and depends where you live as to what choice you have of where you worship.
What do non denominational christians believe??
Is a non denominational church really a differnet type of denomination called `non denominational`?l

 

[Granny2young]

Non-demoninational just means that they are not offiliated or governed by a larger organization. They are separate and only themselves. Think of it in terms of the school system (depending on where you live.) Here we have a county school system of about 10 schools and a city school system of about the same number, then we have 1 or 2 schools in the area that are separate school district, they answer to no one and make their own rules and do their own thing.

 

[carine]

Ok thanks so each one would be different

 

[Granny2young]

each one answers to a larger organization

 

[allieisme]

Arent they more generalized when they speak as well? As to not offend anyone?
I thought I heard that at one time

 

[Granny2young]

not in my non-demoninational church. if you get offended you shouldn't have been a moving target, lol. I have never heard it, but do not doubt that to be true in some of the nd churches.

 

[JESUS_FREAK_87]

open to anything!! god bless to all and to all a good night

 

[J.David]

I put non-denominational because I don't belong to a worldly institution, but rather to Lord Christ Himself, I don't believe God has any short comings and will teach everyone who trusts Him, regardless of their wordly standing. Does this mean that I disagree with the church? No, not exactly. I do disagree with alot of what I have heard in these places, but they still teach Jesus and that is great. Christ is not divided, so me not going to these places does not impede on my growth. The one thing I would love for though is for fellowship, but most of the places, I don't feel comfortable with. I have always been a loner, but I am not lonely for I understand that God would never abandon me no matter what happens in this world that He has conquered.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Arent they more generalized when they speak as well? As to not offend anyone?
I thought I heard that at one time

That's more along the lines of Interdenominational rather than nondenominational. A lot of interdenominational churches tend to be more careful of what they say because there are so many people with different beliefs there. I mean if you have a Baptist and a Pentecostal in the congregation and you preach for/against tongues or for/against eternal security, you are almost guaranteed to offend someone.

 

[gort]

Hello,

Ours is a non-denominational church.

After being here on CF for awhile, I really find no doctrinal differences with denominational churches. While there may be some here and there, they don't amount to much.

99% percent of chats still center on the Father and the Son.


<><

 

[MadeInOz]

I have a different slant on the whole non-denominational thing. Personally, I am anti-denominational. I think that the church is far too divided, and it is time to get back to being ... truth seekers. How long has the Church been caught up in tradition and stuff that may not necessarily line up with the bible. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone in particular here, but I believe that for the church to ... not survive, but perhaps endure and prosper, we need to be more ecumenical. The problem I have with ecumenicalism however is that we don't want to offend anyone in particular, so we go for the lowest common denominator (no pun intended).

I've been to a lot of ecumenical services over the years, and I think they're wonderful, and the diversity of service/worship styles is a wonderful thing.

So yeah, all of this begs the question What is THE truth? hmmmm..

 

[Wisdom's Child]

I have a different slant on the whole non-denominational thing. Personally, I am anti-denominational. I think that the church is far too divided, and it is time to get back to being ... truth seekers. How long has the Church been caught up in tradition and stuff that may not necessarily line up with the bible. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone in particular here, but I believe that for the church to ... not survive, but perhaps endure and prosper, we need to be more ecumenical. The problem I have with ecumenicalism however is that we don't want to offend anyone in particular, so we go for the lowest common denominator (no pun intended).

I've been to a lot of ecumenical services over the years, and I think they're wonderful, and the diversity of service/worship styles is a wonderful thing.

So yeah, all of this begs the question What is THE truth? hmmmm..

I think that if you rephrase the question, Not what, but Who is THE Truth? You will more easily find your answer.

I dislike Denominationalism, as do many that are Non-Denominational.
There is a richness of Diversity in cultures out there and it serves The Lord better to seek unity and build bridges than it does to be "Clickish" and separate into small (often hostile) fragments.

One of the things I stress often is "Unity in the Essentials - Liberty in the Non-Essentials"

When it comes to the various Denominations "Statement of Faith", I find that they are all 90-95% in agreement, and where they disagree it is usually in an area that has no real bearing upon the Basic Doctrine of Salvation, and are therefore Non-Essential.

I stand amazed at some of the truely petty issues that we let divide us at times.

 

[TomUK]

I have a different slant on the whole non-denominational thing. Personally, I am anti-denominational. I think that the church is far too divided, and it is time to get back to being ... truth seekers. How long has the Church been caught up in tradition and stuff that may not necessarily line up with the bible. I'm not pointing the finger at anyone in particular here, but I believe that for the church to ... not survive, but perhaps endure and prosper, we need to be more ecumenical. The problem I have with ecumenicalism however is that we don't want to offend anyone in particular, so we go for the lowest common denominator (no pun intended).

I've been to a lot of ecumenical services over the years, and I think they're wonderful, and the diversity of service/worship styles is a wonderful thing.

So yeah, all of this begs the question What is THE truth? hmmmm..

I agree that the church is far too fractured, but i believe that is why we should place more of an emphasis on denominations rather than moving away from them. I don't see how having a series of indepedent chuches can help with unity.

 

[Mϋzikdϋde]

I have a different slant on the whole non-denominational thing. Personally, I am anti-denominational.

Technically speaking...that would make you Catholic.

 

[Mϋzikdϋde]

I agree that the church is far too fractured, but i believe that is why we should place more of an emphasis on denominations rather than moving away from them. I don't see how having a series of indepedent chuches can help with unity.

I don't see how denominations can help with unity. Only within themselves.
Honestly, the more division I see among Christians the less I want to be associated with them which causes more division and so on...

 

[I'mHis]

I belong to a ND church, and we aren't generalized. I don't think my pastor is worried about offending anyone, he just cares about preaching Christ. I like the ND church. To me it seems like they are less about rituals and what you have to do, but more about Jesus and what He has already done.

 

[Mϋzikdϋde]

I've always wondered why CF has a "Christian" faith icon as well as a "non denominational" icon. Isn't that like saying there's a difference between mostly sunny and partly cloudy?

 

[I'mHis]

Kind of wondered the same thing myself.

 

[Maccie]

I put non-denominational because there wasn't a line for "Independent Evangelical Church"! But we are affiliated to the Evangelical Alliance (a UK affiliation of evangelical churches of all denominations and none, that agree to a Statement of Faith put out by said EA)

But secretly I'm Baptist!!!

Maccie

 

[Treasure the Questions]

I'm a Christian first and foremost, who happens to worship in a particular church in my town. I look for the qualities of that church rather than a particular denomination.

Karin