Questions for Southern Baptist

[mixster]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

[unimportantbuthisnameis]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

1. Not very much.
2. yes
3. no
4. no, my church embraces spiritual gifts, but not the gift of tongues the way Penecostals teach it.
5. yes

[FaithWeaver]

I attend a Southern Baptist church in Georgia. We believe in "Whosoever Will", which means that any one is welcome, any person of any denomination or what have you. Pentecostals are welcome. No, my pastor does not preach against Pentecostal, and we believe in the gifts of the spirit, all of them. We also believe in tongues; however, we believe that there is a specific order to it if it is done in public. There are different types of tongues; prayer language, message (with an interpreter), etc. though it is rarely or almost never practiced in our services. We believe in the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

We do have musical instruments; piano, base, guitar, drums, organ, tambourine. We also sing Praise and Worship songs, hymns, and Contemporary Christian songs

:)
Just curious, but why so interested?

[mesz]

1. nothing
2. yes
3. not that I know of
4. no
yes

[Vessel Of Mercy]

1. We don't often talk about every denomination or belief group in all of Christianity, unless it happens to be an issue of serious theological concern. We are much less likely to talk about many non-Baptist denominations than we are to point out errors in heretical groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormonism. However, since our regular preaching elder preaches expositorily (through chosen books of the Bible, so as to not 'skip' or 'ignore' certain parts of Scripture, over-against topical preaching, in which the topic is different every sunday and the preacher is free to skip controversial parts of Scripture), if a theological issue comes up in which our Baptist doctrine differs from that of Pentecostal groups, we make sure to preach the text faithfully and disagree with anyone as much as we are defending the teaching of Scripture. For example, if the issue of tongues were to come up, we would surely disagree with Pentecostal teaching, and would preach our beliefs accordingly.

2. Everyone is welcome to attend our church. However, to become a member of our church, one must make a clear profession of faith in Christ and go through our member's classes. Any large deviation from our church's doctrine is dealt with on a case-by-case basis. It probably wouldn't be likely that anyone that holds fast to Pentecostal theology would be permitted to become a member at our church.

3. No. That is, taking what you mean by 'Charismatic' to be someone that holds to the use of the spiritual gifts as Pentecostal and most Charismatic churches teach today.

4. When occasion may require, yes. We don't really preach against Pentecostals themselves, since we don't consider them to be a great deviation from the faith of the Scriptures, but there are definitely some issues, such as that of spiritual gifts and the so-called 'second baptism' or 'baptism by fire', that we clearly teach against when we preach passages of Scripture that would perhaps be viewed to teach those doctrines.

5. We have many instruments, but our worship style is primarily hymns. We sing a large number of psalms set to music, and we do sing a few modern praise choruses, but our rule for any type of music is that it be clearly Scriptural and have a proper focus of the worship of God in Christ by His work on the cross. We do not sing songs that are theologically in error. Being a Southern Baptist church, we do sing from the Baptist hymnal, but there are a great many songs to be found in that hymnal that we refrain from singing because they are either theologically incorrect or simply not helpful for the edification of believers and the exaltation of God. Also, see my answer to question 1.

I hope this helps you. Grace and peace to you from God in Christ our Lord.

Ben

[infantyouthpastor]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

1. We don't teach anything other than the Bible. We don't slam any other denominations..we teach Bible. For the longest time, southern baptists have been known as Bible teachers.
2. If you mean people that flat out worship God with all their heart, and are excited about it, yeah they're welcome in our churches!
3. We've got a few people who lift their hands...that's about it.
4. We believe in the holy spirit, but we don't use tongues as a prayer language or anything...I've known missionaries who have been gifted by God to proclaim his message by speaking in other languages.
5. Yes we do...in fact, the church my sister attends has no piano, nor organ...it's solely a contemporary service. It's pretty cool!

[Sword-In-Hand]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

1. That they are born again believers who believe salvation can be lost and you have to speak in tongues before you are sealed by the Spirit. Other than that, we teach nothing of them.

2. Anyone is welcome in our church, denomination, color, creed or class are not considered.

3. We are a Charismatic Southern Baptist church lol. If you mean charismatic by lifting our hands and voices to God, shouting His glory, praising His name and only His name, then I guess most of us are charismatic. We do not have Benny Hinn type services though.

4. The only thing our pastor preaches against the Pentacostal church is you cannot lose your salvation and that you are sealed by the Holy Spirit as soon as you ask Jesus to be your savior, not when you speak in tongues. And we are taught that the first gifts of the Spirit passed away with the Apostles.

5. Yes we have musical instruments. I am the bass player in our praise team. We have electric guitars, keyboards as well as drums in our church. We praise the Lord with song as was intended.

Hope this helps...good luck.:)

[fluffy_rainbow]

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
~The church I attend now speaks nothing of other Christian denominations; however, at a former church heavy emphasis was placed upon "saving" Mormons, Jews, Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans, JW's, and Charismatics. They even held classes on how to reach out to these groups. I never participated, as I always felt we are not the soul-winners, Jesus Christ is. I don't need a class to tell me that Catholics are "evil" and that JW's will "suck you into their cult". I can share my faith in a normal conversation and plant the seed. God doesn't expect you to "make the sale". That's His job alone to convict the spirit and draw His children back to Him.

2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
~Of course!

3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
~Haha no, not presently. I laugh because, believe it or not, we're a very small start-up church that consists of former members, like myself, from the church I mentioned in the first response.

4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
~No, but they did at my former church.

5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
~Oh yes! We have two guitarists, a drummer, a keyboardist, and a singer in our praise and worship team. It is comprised of our musically talented youth :-)

[9-iron]

I don't know that I consider myself Baptist, but my family attends a Southern Baptist church. The same church I was born and raised in. Once I moved back to my hometown that is where we settled in. I don't know if I qualify to answer your question or not, but I will give you the church's stance as far as I have observed since moving back.

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?


Don't really teach a anything unless someone of pentacostal nature starts trouble in the church.

2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.

Yes, they are welcomed as long as they keep their pentacostalism silent.

3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?

Yes, but I wouldn't call 'us' strong charismatics. Oddly the label of 'spirit-filled, charasmatic' is more welcome than a pentacostal label.

4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?

No, not from the pulpit, but in private conversation or in study group will speak quiet openly that the pentacostal believes have no place in this church.

5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?

Yes, guitar and drums, but it has caused so many problems that a lot, probably 35% of the members go to Sunday School and skip worship service. Really bad situation as this church has a large % of older members.

[mixster]

Thank you for all the great responses. I find them very enlightening and I guess it really boils down to the individual churches. I guess one would just have to look around and find a church that met the need of each believer.

:)

[9-iron]

What is odd mixster is that I feel really comfortable at this Southern Baptist church regardless of it's conservative nature. Of course growing up there didn't hurt. Still my family, or my wife and I have a charasmatic background from our college days. However, we just feel more at peace at a Baptist church than a charasmatic or pentacostal one.

[Tashena]

The church I attend is called Lake Pointe Baptist in Dallas, TX. Our church is very open to ANY and EVERYONE! No one is turned away. Like another member stated... My church used all of the spiritual gifts and the deal with tongues is that we acknowledge that it exists and we accept it but there is always and interprater. It you want to know Jesus and your heart is truly open, Lake Pointe would never turn you away no matter what faith you believed in before. And the music is great. We have 4 lead vocalists, 4 guitars, 1 drum man, congo drums, keyboard, saxaphone and a choir. I love my church!

God Bless!

[bill16652]

i am not baptist, i am one of those pentecostals but i do know that the brownsville revival happened in a baptist church. one of the great moves of god in recent history

[mixster]

9 iron: I can understand how you feel but could I ask you how u feel about the gifts of the Spirit today and what do you do with your Charismatic views today. Do you share with others at your church or keep it to yourself.

[mixster]

Tashena: It sounds like you go to a great church. That sounds like the type Baptist church I would like to attend but alas there are none like that in my area. The one I attend is great and they welcome all but sometimes we feel like the Lone Ranger, if u know what I mean!!!! I do know of a church in Norfolk, Va that is a SBC that is Charismatic in nature but still SB and this is what I desire but too far away.

[theseed]

1. My church does not teach anything about Pentacostals.
2. What are Pentacostal types?
3. I suppose some people at my church have charisma like me ;)
4. My pastor does not preach against any Spiritual gifts
5. Yes

[Tashena]

Tashena: It sounds like you go to a great church. That sounds like the type Baptist church I would like to attend but alas there are none like that in my area. The one I attend is great and they welcome all but sometimes we feel like the Lone Ranger, if u know what I mean!!!! I do know of a church in Norfolk, Va that is a SBC that is Charismatic in nature but still SB and this is what I desire but too far away.

I can give you the web page URL and you can take a visit if you would like. Lake Pointe even gives satillite sermons but I forgot which site it is to hook up to to establish a link. You can take a peep if you would like! the site is www.lakepointe.org (http://www.lakepointe.org) . If you want to know more please don't hesitate to ask me. I would love to speak to you about it!

God Bless!

[9-iron]

9 iron: I can understand how you feel but could I ask you how u feel about the gifts of the Spirit today and what do you do with your Charismatic views today.



I still feel the same. My problem is the charismatic church I attended and the one I have been to are just to 'out there' for me. Basically I think they just get to carried away. I can't judge all of them, but the ones I have been associated with just don't have any foundation. Great people who mean well, but I question where the importance of our Faith is. If more attention is to speaking in tongues or healing someone then I think the church is out of balance.
For example, I truly believe in divine healing. However, I don't think you can say we are having a 'Healing Service' at 6:00pm Sunday evening, if you need a healing or know of someone that does, please attend. ?????
Went to a few of them and they totally weren't my taste and I am not sure exactly what got accomplished. I have rarely seen anyone healed at a church service. Several people in our town have been healed of cancer. The breakdown goes like 3 Baptist, a Methodist and a charismatic. So go figure! God is control of healing not man. Just my opinion of course.

Do you share with others at your church or keep it to yourself.


No, I just focus on the people. Most folks just need someone to hear them out and know somone at some level cares about them. As far as the gift of tongues. I don't prayer in front of others. Usually I don't use the gift all that much. Most cases are when I am really struggling or under pressure, etc. Then I let if rip, just God & I. For example, the kids are destroying the house, phone is ringing, washing machine is about to crash, etc, etc. I quick little prayer usually brings some calm over me. As I have said, I don't pray in tongues because I am holy & righteous, I pray in tongues when I need to be edified and strengthened.

Most Baptist don't believe in tongues as a personal prayer language. So I certainally don't mention it at Sunday School are anything.

As Paul said, if I don't have love all else is futile. Or basically that is what he said. That is why we feel at peace at this Baptist church. We can just smile, show honest sincerity and move on. All is else is fluff if can't love people.

I don't know if that answered your question or not. The bottom line is I use the gifts as I feel led, not of my own accord. My personal view is that we don't 'own' the gifts. God uses us by distributing the 'gifts' through us for His purposes. If we decide to use a gift of healing and declare a 6:00 healing service, God may or may not distrubute this gift.

[Gwenyfur]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift (http://go-all.com/?go=gift) of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.
1. Nothing
2. Yes
3. Yes
4. Not as such. He only warns of false speaking in tongues (as in non biblical)
5. Yes & Yes

[CFoster]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift (http://go-all.com/?go=gift) of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

1. Nothing, not sure what my pastor's individual views are on this topic either.

2. Everyone is welcome

3. Hand raising and shouts of Amen! are as charasmatic as it gets.

4. He does not preach against anything but sin

5. We use all sorts of instruments.

[mixster]

9 iron: I agree with you! I believe this is exactly why we have the gift of tongues to edify the church and ourselves and how wonderful it is. I also pray in tongues to God when I feel frustrated and cant think of what to pray so I let the Spirit pray for me in the mysteries of the Spirit.

[mixster]

Tashena: Thank you for the information. Unfortunately I am too far away but I am praying that God will lead us to where we should go!

[Heatherondo]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

1-nothing
2-anyone is welcome in my church
3-probably, but i dont know any personally as i am homebound right now and havnt set foot in my church in a few years (the services do play on tv sunday mornings)
4-never
5-yes, and yes

[Hisgirl]

This has been a great thread. I spent 43 years in the southern baptist church....but then something spectacularly amazing happened and all these Holy Spirit gifts started showing up...and I wanted to be in a church that did acknowlege them and could help me to properly use them to best glorify God. So we now go to a balanced scripturly grounded vineyard church....but....before I left the southern baptist church, I wrote my pastor a letter and told him all the miraculous things that had happened...the healings, prophecies, words of knowlege, hebrew sounding words etc.....things that blew me away. He was ecstatic over the letter and said he agreed with 95% of what I shared with him, but he said he would never lead the church in that direction and couldn't support me doing so....It was kinda strange, but I do understand. The southern baptist convention has taken a stance on how they feel about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You can do a search and read past convention votes. However, there are many pastors who desire for the Holy Spirit to freely move in their church, but they fear losing their pension with the southern baptist convention. That was told to me by a southern baptist pastor who travels now and walks freely in the giftings.

[mixster]

hisgirl: Why the Vineyard church and how did u come to come to learn of it? I never heard of it until I came here. Are they like the Baptist in all doctrine except gifts?

[PaladinGirl]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

Ok, I'm a former Southern Baptist so I should be able to answer these questions from a former Southern Baptist view. :)

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?

I only remember the church that I went to mentioning Pentecostals once. They didn't seem to speak of them in a negative way but I do believe that Southern Baptists do not believe that the charismatic gifts are legitimate or for today.

2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.

I am sure they would have been. I don't know what the reaction would have been if one of them started speaking in tongues though.

3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?

I am not certain if any attend now. I was not aware of any that attended then either.

4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?

I never heard him do so.

5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?

No, the church I went to only had a piano. They sung traditional Baptist hymns.

Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

Your welcome. I hope that the opinion of a former Southern Baptist has helped.

[mixster]

Thanks Holly: Could I ask you why you left the SBC.

[Hisgirl]

Hi Mixster :wave: I live outside of Atlanta. Lots and lots of traditional denominational churches here. I first heard of the Vineyard church a while back and studied what they believed. There are some vineyard churches that may go a bit far out on the limb with some things...but it's generally with how individual people may lack discernment. The teachings in the church I attend go as follows......About 30-40 minutes of singing praise and worship music with a band of piano, guitar, drums. Then prayer, announcements, more prayer, a very meaty sermon from scripture with lots of deep intellectual challenges and then more prayer. The congregation is urged to share if they feel they have a word from the Lord. Some one may stand up and say,"I sense the Lord wants us to remember the verse the pastor quoted earlier....(quote quote quote).....Or someone else may stand up and say they have an especially strong burden for a particular person and could we pray for them.... The church is very much into equipping the people...right now we're watching Kirk Cameron's DVDs on witnessing without offending. We will also learn how to pray for the sick and effectively walk in any gifting the Lord has equipped us with. It's very balanced and grounded and not a church for spectators....but for those who want to focus outside the church on the lost. All the other churches I've attended in my life have kept me so busy in Bible Studies, ladies programs, teas, luncheons, meetings, groups......who had time to go out and minister to the lost? This church is about equipping and getting out into the market place and since I feel we are in a harvest time, I want to turn my focus from the inside of the church to the outside. The giftings from the Holy Spirit have allowed me to share words with strangers I had no way of knowing and lay hands on the sick and see God miraculously heal. Having been SB...I never knew these gifts were even available.....thank God that He gave them to me without me even asking....cause I didn't know I could even ask for them! Now I'm so on fire for God and experiencing Him I can hardly wait to get up each morning!

[9-iron]

...and I wanted to be in a church that did acknowlege them and could help me to properly use them to best glorify God. So we now go to a balanced scripturly grounded vineyard church....



This is why I still go to a good ole Southern Baptist church. I can't seem to find a church with any balance. One church just wants to heal, prayer in tongues and chase demons. Another church just wants to contol you and the pastor constantly reminds everyone of his authority. Then yet another one you never know what is going on.

I don't agree with everything in the Southern Baptist church or the way things are ran. BUT the most important thing is I know where they stand, they aren't going to introduce some 'fly by night' theology into the church, and they have really great children's ministry.

[mixster]

good for you hisgirl: May I ask if your church speaks in tongues and what they teach about eternal security and women in the church? Thanks

[mixster]

9-iron: I agreee with you about having a church that is grounded in the Word and does not go willy nilly . I like denominations because they have stability and you know exactly where they stand wheather they be Baptist, AG or whatever. I am leery of these independent groups out there that make it up as they go and are not under some sort of covering like the SBC etc. I have seen some wild and wooley stuff out there by individuals that start their own thing and I would not go anywhere near that type of thing. I do not agree with the Catholic church belief system but I like their form of government as they should all think and believe the same thing.

[Hisgirl]

I've only been going there for a couple of months, mixster. As of yet, I've not heard anyone talking in tongues, but I know they acknowledge the gifts of the Holy Spirit as being for today. I wholeheartedly believe if someone were to speak out in tongues in this church, it would be a bit of a rare thing and would absolutely have an interpretation. As for eternal security beliefs....hmmm....They believe you are saved by faith in the grace of Jesus Christ. They believe God is a god of love and mercy and a god of wrath and judgment and that is what makes Him Holy. Honestly, I don't know how else to answer the security question....all the sermons have been lately on things like the validity and holiness of the Bible...how to witness effectively...things like that. As for women....also, I haven't heard anything talked about. I know the pastor encourages anyone, men or women to share with the church if the Holy Spirit is giving a word. If I felt the Lord was showing me something to share, he would welcome me to the front for the word to be judged by the church (test and try all spirits....prophectic words should be judged by 2 or 3 ) Home groups are run by a husband and wife team....

As for SBC....yes, I think it's important to go where you feel safe and agree with the teachings. The Lord just started taking me down a road where denomination was no longer important. Remember, God never invented denominations! I left the SBC when I found I disagreed with a couple of their teachings.....I can only speak for what my husband and I did....if you're led by the Spirit and where He put you...you're there for a reason.....I just needed to be where there was major equipping going on. The Lord is showing me that for ME...it's no longer about ladies' teas, luncheons, church programs, festivals and such....it's about the HARVEST! Yea!!

[LavendarVanilla]

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals? They don't "teach" anything about other churches/demonimations.
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches. Yes of course!
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church? Depends what you mean by Charistmatics........ probably.
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit? Actually, he doesn't say much on any of those subjects. (This is a tough issue for me, I was raised Charismatic (Assembly of God) and now attend a Southern Baptist Church.)
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject. Some of the the SB churches I've attended have drums and the whole bit, some just piano. Some have had praise and worship and some just regular hymns.

[Diane_Windsor]

I would like to have some honest opinions from Southern Baptist concerning a few things and I would appreciate some good feedback .

1. What does your church teach about the Pentacostals?
2. Are Pentacostal types welcome in your churches.
3. Do you have any Charismatics that attend your church?
4. Does your pastor preach against Pentacostals, the gift of the Spirit and tongues from the pulpit?
5. Does your church have musical instruments other than organ and piano, and does your church have praise and worship style worship?
Thanks for any response and I do need to hear from the Southern Baptist only for I am doing a study on this subject.

Honest opinions??? You are asking questions that can be answered in fact, not opinion.

The Baptist Faith and Message (http://www.sbc.net/bfm/default.asp)
Position Statements (http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/positionstatements.asp)

1. Nothing-see the links above, and look around the SBC (http://www.sbc.net/) website to verify my answer.
2. All are welcome
5. Yes and Yes

[mixster]

LavenderVanilla: Thanks for your response. I am truly interested in knowing why you switched from the Ag to the SBC. I am doing a study. Could u share what happened to cause you to leave the AG. Thanks. Mixster