Members rudywoofs (Pam) Posted February 28, 2015 Members Share Posted February 28, 2015 What exactly should people know about a denomination before they join? Should they know the general history of the church, as well as the beliefs? In talking with some people who have been members of the Adventist church for 50+ years, I found that they have absolutely no clue about the history of the denomination. I found that to be incredibly naive. When I asked why they joined the SDA church, the answer was that they had determined that Saturday was the Sabbath. When I asked if they had looked at other Sabbath-keeping denominations to compare the beliefs, they said they didn't do that. Does this sound odd to anyone else? Ronaldmync, Timothycure, RobertoDamp and 4 others 7 Quote Pam Meddle Not In the Affairs of Dragons; for You Are Crunchy and Taste Good with Ketchup. If we all sang the same note in the choir, there'd never be any harmony. Funny, isn't it, how we accept Grace for ourselves and demand justice for others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted February 28, 2015 Moderators Share Posted February 28, 2015 Response # 1. This is an issue that presently divides the denomination. One group essentially says that membership should only be for those who have reached a stated level of doctrinal understanding and life-style compliance. The other group says that membership should be for anyone who has accepted Christ. 2. My personal policy in the past has been to cover the so-called 28 in Bible studies and to take the Baptismal Vows, of which there are two sets, as a standard. You will note that this does not require a lot of knowledge of our denominational history, as Pam has suggested. 3. In addition, I tell people to make a decision to join a denomination on the basis of two factors: a) A Belief that the Holy Spirit is leading them to join that denomination. A conviction that the denomination, while imperfect in its Biblical understanding, is teaching what God wants taught today. Jeannieb43 1 Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted February 28, 2015 Share Posted February 28, 2015 (edited) * * * I talked with a Seventh-day Baptist about beliefs. They don't believe in the prophetic gift in Ellen White. This alone removes them from the latter group... Edited March 1, 2015 by Tom Wetmore Ad hominem comment removed... Chief of Sinners 1 Quote GnuPG/PGP key: 0xB07F9AAE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outta Here Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Just as soon-to-be-weds are often blinded by the passion they have for one another, some people are often blinded by the passion they have for Christ. When the relationship "feels" right and everything seems to make sense, people may jump into a relationship with a denomination they haven't fully researched. The denomination would do well to fully disclose their history and educate potential members in advance of membership. A denomination is a vibrant group of living persons though-- those persons may be blinded by their passions for accepting new members into the fold. Marriages and births are exciting times in the human experience. Baptisms, professions of faith and dedication of the young are equally as exciting. Joining a congregation without thorough understanding is perhaps not the best practice, but I don't necessarily find it odd or unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Don777 Posted March 7, 2015 Members Share Posted March 7, 2015 The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual (CM) pp. 44-55 presents the current thinking on preparation for membership. I see much leeway on entry practice. It is important that the new member be aware of this CM information. I believe strongly in the value of church history but that it not be too thorough unless the new believer desire such. More later, I hope. The Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual in .pdf file Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted March 7, 2015 Moderators Share Posted March 7, 2015 Yes, the CHURCH MANUAL provides for much leeway. In addition, the local congregation has the right to determine membership. As such, it can decide membership outside of the boundaries of the CHURCH MANUAL. In the event that this happens, the recourse is to expel the congregation from membership in the denomination. Outside of that drastic stop, little can be done other than to advise and/or discipline any denominational employees who may have been involved. Case in point: A well known SDA (whom I will not name) who was expelled from membership by his/her local congregation and later was accepted into membership by a SDA congregation located hundreds of miles from where that person lived and at a time when the local congregational pastor was absent. Woody 1 Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Straub Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 (edited) I am currently writing a history of the denomination. An "unauthorized" history. I obviously believe people should know it. I am writing for people who are already members and who do not have much idea of any of it. The reasons for being Seventh-day Adventist are diverse. Perhaps the Sabbath is the main one. But as pointed out in this post, there are many Sabbatarian organizations. It has to run much deeper than this or what do we have? Just another club with preferred perks. I do not believe in the denomination as the remnant church. Its original calling and message is what is truly important and those who are in THAT message and its advancing light of reformation are the true formation of the remnant. This is a big subject. We need to know the message and that includes getting into some history, because that message has all but been lost through institutionalization and subsequent corruptions. Ironically, and paradoxically, organization was needed to preserve the message. I liken organization to God's electing a king for ancient Israel. It is permissive will. It has degenerated into something God never intended and those who do not recognize God's perfect will are in grave danger of becoming a part of the threefold union. Edited March 7, 2015 by Tom Wetmore No quote zone... Quote Thinking on His Name Mal. 3:16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rach Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Interesting, I thought Jesus took the place of the elected kings. New here! Just reading some post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Yes there are various Sabbath keeping Christian denominations, yet it we narrow the list down to Sabbath keeping and Trinitarian its interesting to see that the list grows a lot lot smaller. Seventh-day Adventist, Seventh Day Baptist, Messianic Jewish movement are the main ones I can think of.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief of Sinners Posted April 13, 2015 Share Posted April 13, 2015 Do note that the Seventh Day Baptist congregation existed before the Seventh Day Adventist church. From church history the SDA borrowed the "Seventh Day" nomenclature from the SDB. The SDA's would have been hard pressed to sell new doctrine to a group that predated them, especially after their prophetic interpretations of the second advent had fallen flat 2 times in a row. In the era of the great awakening, many congregations were wary of new denominations with prophetic claims which included the Latter Day Saints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 James White stated openly that he did not want SDA churches planted in area's where there were already SDB churches as he did not want to compete with them and wanted to work with them to preach the gospel. Woody 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Gregory Matthews Posted April 18, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 18, 2015 And your reference for your statement about James White is: Quote Gregory Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I believe the James White statement about competition is correct. I believe I've read it before. Perhaps in Life Incidents. Quote May we be one so that the world may be won. Christian from the cradle to the grave I believe in Hematology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rudywoofs (Pam) Posted April 18, 2015 Author Members Share Posted April 18, 2015 It's from the Review and Herald, October 12, 1876, p. 116. you can read the entire article, "The Two Bodies" on p. 116 by James White here: http://docs.adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH18761012-V48-15__B.pdf#view=fit Sojourner and Gail 2 Quote Pam Meddle Not In the Affairs of Dragons; for You Are Crunchy and Taste Good with Ketchup. If we all sang the same note in the choir, there'd never be any harmony. Funny, isn't it, how we accept Grace for ourselves and demand justice for others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Tom Wetmore Posted April 19, 2015 Administrators Share Posted April 19, 2015 Now that is interesting! Sojourner 1 Quote "Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good." "Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal." "I love God only as much as the person I love the least." *Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth. (And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D_Bishop Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 This happened over twenty years ago, but on two different sabbaths I set out to find local 7th day baptist churches to visit. I got their addresses out of a phone book, or maybe the internet. Google didn't provide pics of addresses back then. At both locations no church existed. One was in a residential neighborhood. Maybe they were having house church, I don't know. The second location turned out to be a vacant field. In fact I have never seen a SDB church in this area. Maybe they exist, but I have never seen one. I no longer have a curiosity about visiting those type churches any more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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