Ministerial associations

sermonindex Nov 17, 2016

Here is my struggle. My pastor was asked to lead the ministerial association in the town my church is in a couple years ago. Members of the association include the local catholic church, 2 female "pastors" from the PCUSA and UMC, a pastor who runs the local house of prayer modeled after the IHOPKC, and others.
Each year there is a Thanksgiving service that all the churches are encouraged to attend. There's a local family resource center that provides assistance to the community that the M.A. supplies the resources for. It was formerly gov't funded but not anymore and was scheduled to close but the M.A. took over.

I have questioned the association before but basically am told that our church doesn't agree with the others teachings but we are partnering with them for the sake of the resourse center.

This is just one issue of a number of others that I am trying to work through. All the Scripture along the lines of coming out from among them and be separate keep ringing in my spirit. It is so hard to find a non compromised church.

S

savannah Nov 17, 2016

You said,

"It is so hard to find a non compromised church."

Have you visited:

Arbor Church
720 Burkhardt Avenue Dayton, OH 45403
937-426-1999

A

AbideinHim Nov 17, 2016

Jesus prayed for those that would believe on Him that they would all be one even as He and the Father are one. It is the will of God that we all come into the unity of the faith. The problem is that these ministerial alliances consists of pastors of many different denominations that bring disunity to The Body of Christ. We all should desire to fellowship with Christians in different denominations as much as we can on the ground of our faith in Christ.

I believe that city wide prayer meetings are a good thing if you do not compromise our basic Christian beliefs. I remember one year in our city that there was a Jewish Rabbi that attended the city wide prayer meeting, and the result was compromise on the part of the Christian pastors. None of the pastors prayed in the name of Jesus as to not offend the Jewish Rabbi.

sermonindex Nov 18, 2016

Thanks Savannah,

I have visited with some elders at a local 9 marks church, and it looks like Arbor Church is also 9 marks. Not too far from our house either. It is near a very needy part of the East Side of Dayton where all the heroin is.

This was a really helpful find at grace gems that I will really consider before getting involved with another church.
http://www.gracegems.org/B/lessons_from_my_first_pastorate.htm

sermonindex Nov 18, 2016

I agree Mike.
It seems like the more ecumenical you get, there is always compromise somewhere. I was part of another association a few years ago that the lead mega church pastor involved started promoting the "heavy metal" church in town and it made me sick. Turns out they are part of the Willow Creek association of churches. Seeker friendly=Arminian most of the time since Man has to be the one to choose God they have to manipulate him with the music and all the rest so he can make a decision. It's the toleration of the profane that is mind boggling. The common thread between both groups are Charismatic and Arminian.

J

JB1968 Nov 18, 2016

Seeker friendly may indicate apostate. Not trying to start an argument, but Arminian doesn't mean the definition you gave it. Arminians don't believe you can manipulate God.

sermonindex Nov 18, 2016

Exactly JB...

Arminian doesn't = "seeker friendly"

...any more than...

Calvinist doesn't = "we burn you at the stake if you don't agree with our doctrine".

D

dolfan Nov 18, 2016

Man, the turns we take.

Willow Creek Association is neither Arminian nor Calvinist. It is a broad road sort of network alright, but not any way remotely tied to one of those two.

Willow Creek itself, the local church in Schaumburg, IL, has a very Dutch Reformed background. Certainly seeker, most certainly not Arminian.