Expert: Tom Smith - 8/12/2005

Question
Hello Toms777,
My wife and I have not attended church in many years and have made a commitment to finding a home church. I was raised as a Methodist and my wife as a Presbytarian. We are interested in a non denominational church. What could be reffered to as a Bible Church.
However, we are concerned about how different these types of Churches may be compared to the Churches we grew up with. I came across a web site for a local church called "Christ View Church". They refer to themselves as a Charismatic,Pentecostal,Apostolic Full Gospel Church.
What can you tell us about this type of Church and what we may expect in attending. They are a small and growing church for about two years now.
For your info:
A pamplet was left on our door a couple of months ago from another church. They called themselves a Scriptual Baptist Church operating out of a members home. I called the Pastor to inquire about their doctrine and was "Shocked" to find that they do not celebrate Christmas or Easter. I wondered if they were a new name for Jehovas Witnesses. But, the Pastor said we could still celebrate on our own and still attend their church. This was very conflicting to us so we never attended their service.
We do not want to make another mistake which is why I am asking for your guidance about the Full Gospel Church. Charismatic,Pentecostal,Apostolic Church.
Your help would be Greatly Appreciated !!
Thanks for taking time to respond !!
Ron  

Answer
My observations is that it is important to examine each church on it's own merits regardless of denomination. Even if the denomination has historically had a very sound foundation, today so many churches have strayed or have compromised the gospel, we can no longer say that all churches of any grouping or denomination are automatically sound, even those called "Bible Churches", though personally I would likely be more oriented towards such a church than I would many others today.

Now to address the two churches that you mention by name. The first is a "Charismatic,Pentecostal,Apostolic Full Gospel Church". Though I do not know this specific church, by that title I would avoid the church. The primary reason is that most churches (but not all) which call themselves Apostolic hold to a position which requires that one accept that the leadership/pastor has the same authority that they assume that the Apostles had, and even call themselves Apostles. Often there is little or no accountability and the pastor has considerable authority over the members.

There are a number of problems with this, not the least of which is that our focus is to be on Christ, and we are to follow Him, not a man. The office that they are claiming is an office which is held by only one person today and that is Christ, the Apostle and High Priest of our calling (Heb 3:1). We also know that there are only 12 apostles because we are told in the book of Revelation that the names of the 12 will be written on foundation of the New Jerusalem (Rev 21:14).

Also, though the word can have numerous meanings, the term Charismatic today sometimes can be a concern because it is often used by church that overemphasize the emotional over the Biblical.

I would again caution that the comments that I am making may not apply specifically to this church, but my observation is that most churches with a description such as that would fall into this category.

The second, the "Scriptural Baptist" church is also problematic and is definitely to be avoided. Here is a website which gives an overview of the teachings of this church:

http://users.aol.com/libcfl/

One of the key items that I would take issue with, from a scriptural perspective is their claim to be the only true church. To quote from this website:

"Only Scriptural Baptist churches can make a legitimate claim to an unbroken succession back to the time of Christ and the apostles. Christ only built one kind of church and that church is described in detail in the New Testament. The only churches meeting the requirements of that description today are true Baptist churches. Baptist churches have existed in every age since their founding by Christ, though they have not always been known by that name. We do not deny that there are those in other so-called “churches” that have been born again by the grace of God. We do deny, however, that these man-made organizations are true churches of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Christ did not found an organization, but rather founded a body a believers. The word translated as "church" in the NT is ekklesia, which means the called out ones, and does not refer to the organized church. We are members individually of the church:

1 Cor 12:27
27 Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.
NKJV

Any organization that tries to claim to be the sole true chruch is heading down a dangerous path. This is usually/often a claim made by cultic organizations.

Though I am not aware of any specific guide to choosing a church, here is what I would suggest:

1) Check out the doctrinal beliefs of the church. Here is a guide thyat I have put together as a guide to key doctrines:

http://www.geocities.com/smithtj.geo/testing.html

2) If you are happy with what you see there, meet with the pastor. Find out what you can about his focus and the leadership and their direction, because even if the church is sound today, if the leadership is starting down the wrong path, the church may not remain sound.

I hope that this helps.