Soverign Grace
Well-Known Member
When you come to think of it, one of the biggest barriers to being a follower of Jesus is denominations. Generally speaking, you have to follow their precepts and ways of doing things to be accepted. Say something they don't like and you are on the outer.
Here is a classic example for you. About 10 years ago I was a founding member of an AOG church in the town where I lived. All went well for about a year and then it all came crashing down. The Pastor(sic) issued a book of doctrines and said we had to sign that we agreed with them (nowhere in scripture for this). I said I could not because there was one I was still coming to grips with. I didn't disagree with it but I still needed to study it a bit more.
A couple of weeks after I said this the pastor told me that his area minister had said I was to be stripped of all ministry and kept on the sidelines until I signed the document.
The fact that was I probably the person who had been a Christain the longest, the only one with university degrees and a theological degrees and had led churches and parachurch ministries already was irrelevant.
However, it was OK for the pastor to claim that God told him he was going to double the congregation every year. Today that meant it was going to be about 50,000. Today he has a congregation of about 40. He was rewarded for that deception by being made an area minister.
If you follow the teaching of a denomination you are definitely in danger of being led up the garden path.
Hard to believe "Christians" would kick someone into the outer...but they do.