Week 18 Preview–Evangelical Free

The Evangelical Free Church Association is a part of the National Association of Evangelicals, so don’t let the name fool you, this denomination is not free of Evangelicals. The word Free in the Church's name actually refers to its system for church governance. The EFCA local churches are all independent and autonomous. The governing body for the denomination is made up of delegates from these churches, both clergy and laity.

This denomination has only been around since 1950, and is the product of merging Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish church groups. They currently have nearly 1,500 churches in the United States, including one just a few blocks down from my house.

After reading their Statement of Faith, I’m not expecting anything too crazy when I visit. This group seems to have navigated itself safely in the middle of the road on the straight and narrow path. It was difficult to find much controversy with this denomination—one blogger does refer to the EFCA as “A Smorgasbord of Heresy,” and its most well known pastor Charles Swindoll as having a "résumé of heresy." I personally think that blogger needs a new hobby and a vacation.

Week 17 Preview - Eckankar

Most of the institutions I’ve visited during the project this year have been from the Christian perspective or have been major world religions. This week I visit a religious movement that many would describe as an American cult.

The site Religion Facts explains the following about Eckankar:

Eckankar is a new religious movement based on a 19th-century Indian tradition called Sant Mat, which centers around surat shabd yoga, "yoga of the sound current." Eckankar focuses on spritual exercises enabling practitioners to experience "the Light and Sound of God."

Founded: 1965 in Las Vegas, USA

Founder: John Paul Twitchell

Adherents: Estimated at 50,000

Headquarters: Chanhassen, Minnesota

Text: Shariyat-Ki-Sugmad ("Way of the Eternal")

Beliefs: Divine Spirit called "ECK"; salvation through God-realization; reincarnation

Practices: Spiritual Exercises including mantras, meditation, and dreams

Worship Services consist of readings, singing "HU" (a mantra of what they believe to be an ancient name for God, and is considered a love song to God.), silent contemplation and an open discussion. This weekend’s discussion is about “the creative power of the soul.”

From their website it appears that Eckankar is developed around the desire of experiencing God each day through spiritual exercises, techniques for experiencing spiritual experiences, and study that will serve as a guide towards spiritual fulfillment.

Do you have an Eckankar center in your neighborhood?

Week 15 Preview – Jewish Orthodox

Tradition!

There are two Jewish congregations in my neighborhood. I called the first to ask about attending this weekend. They have two services, a reformed service, where 75% is in Hebrew, and a contemporary service, which they thought would be easier for me, a visitor, to take in. I agreed to join them on a Friday night when they had their contemporary service, but this week I already had Friday evening plans. This left the even more traditional, Orthodox congregation as my religious outing for the week.

There may be enough Jewish people in my neighborhood for a couple of synagogues, but I don’t know any of them personally. Having grown up in the Christian church I know a lot of early Jewish history from the Old Testament, and having grown up in America I know a lot about recent Jewish history, their persecutions and struggles, but I’ve never visited the Holy Land or one of their places of worship. Much of what I know of their lifestyle (again) comes from the way that media represents them in TV shows and movies.

No, I don’t really know or understand Judaism but I’d like to learn more of their traditions. I’ve already memorized all of the songs from “Fiddler on the Roof.” If they play one of those during the worship time, I’ll sing as loud and as proud as Topol.

May the Lord protect and defend you.
May He always shield you from shame.
May you come to be
In Israel a shining name.

Week 14 Preview – New Apostolic Church

There is a little church tucked into the corner of my neighborhood. The only thing I know about them is there name, which is on the sign out in the front lawn.

I did a little bit of research to find out what is particular to this branch of the Christian church.

• You have to be baptized with water before you can experience a close relationship with God or receive the Holy Spirit.
• If you are baptized as an infant, you get it confirmed as a teenager.
• Baptism only counts if it was done in the triune name of God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
• Communion is celebrated every week.
• The church views the “Holy Sealing” by the Holy Spirit an necessary step in being a child of God.
• The church believes in pre-millennial eschatology and considers the second coming of Jesus to be imminent.
• The church believes in the role of the Apostles for the church today.
• The church has a special doctrine for the departed, having three annual services where prayers, communion and baptism for the dead are performed.

Some of these points are outside what I would consider orthodox. I have a choice to make. Will I exclude these neighbors from fellowship because of different points of view and spiritual practices, or is there enough common ground to consider them, and treat them, as family?

Week 13 Preview – Roman Catholic Church

I’ll be visiting the local Catholic Church this week.

It is bigger, size wise, than any other building I’ll be visiting in my neighborhood during this project. I’ve been in this sanctuary before. It has a cruciform floor plan, meaning that the church from the air is shaped like a cross. From the inside this part of the roof is raised with a section of windows letting in natural light to warm the spectacular and polished room. It sends a message: God is big and you should be reverent.

I don’t think I’m very reverent.

There isn’t a lot of room in my life right now for ritual and routine. I’m pretty familiar with God. I talk to him without kneeling, making a sign, or memorizing prayers. They usually start out, “Hey Dad, it’s me Bob,” and then stay pretty conversational.

I respect Catholicism. It is part of my family heritage. I’ve collected some of the elements of worship that my grandparents owned that were helpful tools for them during their prayer times. I have books from some of the “desert fathers” whose writings about their pursuit of God inspire me. I really liked the last Pope and considered him a humble, caring man. I’d like to think well of the current Pope, but he looks too much like the Emperor from Star Wars for me to feel very comfortable about him.

I just finished reading Father Albert Cutié’s memoir, Dilemma: A Priest's Struggle with Faith and Love. He’s frank about his own journey, as well as what he has experienced as unhealthy and inconsistent practices in the Roman Catholic Church. (He is now a married, ordained, Episcopal Priest.) I know I’m not immune to the media’s representation of the sexual scandals that have plagued Catholicism. I seem to have more respect for nuns than I do priests. And though I view Dan Brown’s books as purely fictional, I do think the Catholic Church has real secrets that have been buried.

I participate with the Catholic Church. My wife regularly delivers boxes of food to their food pantry, as they have developed a great network of providing meals to the local poor. I pray in their small chapel as it is always open, is always quiet, and has people praying inside 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. I have friends and neighbors that are Catholics that I respect their expression of faith and treasure their devotion.

I don’t feel part of the Catholic Church, regardless of my heritage. I know they have rules about what non-Catholics can and can’t do in a service. I’m not in a place in life to jump through the necessary hoops just so I can participate in the Eucharist with them. I find it daunting and the language foreign. I read an invitation to “experience the Joy of the Lord in the Catholic Church” on their website, but then it was followed by a daunting ladder of initiation.

RITE OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION OF ADULTS

Period of Evangelization and Precatechumenate

• This is a time for inquiry and introduction to Gospel values

Acceptance into the order of Catechumens

• This is the liturgical rite that marks the beginning of the catechumenate proper, as the precatechumens express and the Church accepts their intention to respond to God’s call to follow the way of Christ.

Period of the Catechumens

• This is the time for nurturing and growth of the catechumens’ faith and conversion to God.

Election or enrollment of names

• This is the liturgical rite by which the Church formally ratifies the catechumens’ readiness for the sacraments of initiation and the catechumens, now called the elect, express the will to receive these sacraments.

Period of purification and enlightenment

• This is the time period immediately preceding initiation into the Church.

Celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation

• This is the liturgical rite, usually part of the Easter vigil, by which the elect are initiated through baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.

Period of post baptismal catechesis

• This is the time following the celebration of initiation, during which the newly initiated experience being fully part of the Christian community and participate with all the faithful in the Sunday Eucharistic celebration.

I’ll visit the Catholic Church in my neighborhood this weekend. But I’m afraid I’ll feel like I’m on the outside.

Week 12 Preview – Church of the Brethren

My project takes me down the street to the local Church of the Brethren gathering this week. Most of my perceptions about this denomination come from a few pastors that I’ve watched at a distance and reading the weekly messages on the church sign as I drive by. If I had to sum up my notions in one word it would be ‘peaceful.’

The church in my neighborhood was built near the same time I was born. I’ve always known it to be there, but I’ve only entered the building once for a wedding. I’m looking forward to this visit.

Here are a few things that I’ve learned online about the Church of the Brethren:

• They don’t follow any creeds other than the writings in the New Testament. They particularly like Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
• The Brethren really care about peace and are proponents of solving conflict through non-violent means.
• Although most Brethren churches have paid pastors these days, the churches, districts, and denomination are largely run by the laity.
• Baptisms are done by immersing the believer three different times (for Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in the forward direction since that is the way Jesus’ head fell when he died.
• While starting in the United States as a more conservative denomination, the Church of the Brethren is currently known to be more socially liberal than many of the denominations that are hierarchy led.
• There are roughly 1000 Brethren churches in the United States with an average of 125 members per church. They do not actively seek out new members.
• In Nigeria, wanting to get away from the sexism in the word ‘brethren,’ the denomination is known as the ‘Church of the Children of the Same Mother.’

Week 11 Preview – Church of God of… Judgment

According to their website, “The Church of God of Prophecy is a vibrant, worldwide body of believers, united in worship, working hand-in-hand to share God’s love and a message of hope to the broken-hearted.”

Unless you screw up.

This weekend I’m going to the CoGoP in my neighborhood. I admit I have some strong biases against this particular assembly. When I was in high school I knew the pastor’s son at this church. We were classmates together at a private school—that is until he got his girlfriend, one of our cheerleaders, pregnant. Our school administration decided that it was best that he not continue in our school. As I look back I’m not sure who that decision was best for.

It didn’t seem to matter what this young couple decided to do “right” after they had already done the “wrong.” They found themselves on the outside of grace, even though by definition unmerited favor shouldn’t have any such boundary.

What shocked me even more was what happened at my friend’s church. Under pressure from the denomination leaders back in Cleveland, Tennessee, the CoGoP state director asked my friend’s dad to resign. Apparently in the Holiness Movement “keeping your house in order” means taking responsibility for all your offspring’s actions. If you, or yours, screw up, you’re out.

This isn’t a message of hope.

I talked to my friend this week on the phone. Though very hurt by how the church and denomination mistreated his family, and still feeling the pain two decades later, he speaks of them with patience and gentleness. I’m humbled by his forgiving spirit towards the religious spirit he encountered. He is full of grace towards those who don’t deserve it, but then isn’t that the point?

Week 10 Preview – Who was Saint Episcopal?

An Introduction to the Episcopal Church

Who was Saint Episcopal?

The word “Episcopal” comes from the Greek word episcope, meaning “oversight.” It is a descriptor of how the church is structured and is not the name of the first Bishop.

Where did the Episcopal Church originate?

After the American Revolution the Anglican churches needed to separate themselves from the Church of England, as they no longer would swear allegiance to the British monarchy.

How does the Episcopal Church differ from the Roman Catholic Church?

• Saints are recognized, but not prayed to as intercessors.
• The Episcopal Church invites all baptized Christians to partake in communion. The Roman Catholic Church only serves communion to its members. Thus Catholics are welcome to take communion at the Episcopal Churches, but not vice-versa.
• The Episcopal Church ordains women to the priesthood, the Roman Catholic church does not.
• Priests in the Episcopal Church may be married and have families while Roman Catholic priests must remain single and celibate.
• The Episcopal Church is structured with more local authority in the parishes while the Roman Catholic Church is focused on top down leadership from the Pope.

What should I expect when I visit an Episcopal church?

A great resource can be found here

Week 8 Preview – Check in at Foursquare

Before the location-based social networking application allowed friends to publicly share where they were hanging out from their phones, the term Four Square was known as a playground game on elementary school courtyards. It is also the name of a church denomination started by a woman named Aimee Semple McPherson in 1927 in Los Angeles. I have a Foursquare church in my neighborhood.

Sister Aimee, as she was known, coined the term “Foursquare Gospel” during an evangelistic outreach in California. To her it represented an equally balanced expression of the four-fold ministry of Jesus:

1. as Savior
2. as Baptizer with the Holy Spirit
3. as Healer
4. and as the coming King

This denomination likes 4’s. Their strategy for accomplishing their church planting vision is as follows:

1. Pioneer
2. Establish
3. Empower
4. Send

Their website is divided into four segments:

1. I’m new to Foursquare
2. I want to get involved
3. I’m a foursquare leader
4. I’m looking for leadership tools

They believe that biblical truth meets people in four main segments:

1. Salvation
2. Christian Walk
3. The Spirit-filled Life
4. The Afterlife

The Foursquare church in my neighborhood (who list their membership at 400) lists four ways to start a relationship with Jesus:

1. Start Reading the Bible
2. Get Water Baptized
3. Connect with others at their church
4. Begin to journal.

I’ve got the 1, 2, and 4^th covered. This weekend, I’ll hit number 3, connecting with others in their fellowship.

Here’s a video that the Foursquare denomination has prepared for their first time visitors.

Have you ever visited a Foursquare church?

Week 7 Preview - “Free, Free, Egypt is Free!”

This morning after 18 days of protests in Tahir Square, a 30-second announcement ended a 30-year reign of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. The scenes being televised by the media are priceless; people dancing, wide-eyed children riding high on the shoulders of their parents, fireworks exploding, and soldiers smiling and taking pictures with their fellow countrymen. It is a day to celebrate!

Unless, of course, you live in FEAR.

Some of my friends choose to compare today’s toppling of a tyrant to what happened 32 years ago (to the day) when young revolutionaries overran the government buildings and radio stations in Iran. My conservative friends’ concern is that Egypt will become an Islamic controlled state and that world terrorism and Christian persecution will multiply.

Other friends choose to contrast this overthrow in Egypt with what the United States forcefully did in Iraq; observing that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein destroyed a country, killed thousands upon thousands of their population, fractured their people into opposing forces, and has nearly bankrupted our own country.

I’m wondering how the churches in my neighborhood will respond.

I drive to the grocery store to pick up items for tonight’s dinner. I flip through the news channels so I can continue hearing updates. Our President is scheduled to give a speech in a short time. Instead I find the channel with Rush Limbaugh’s rants. The first words out of his mouth suggest that Obama will try to take credit for what happened in Egypt. I’m pretty sure that isn’t what the leader of the free world will say. I think it will be more like, “Can you believe what just happened?!” but in a presidential tone.

I don’t hear anyone in the grocery store talking about Egypt, but when I get home I see lots of social media comments on Facebook and Twitter. Glenn Beck thinks this is all one big conspiracy and tells his critics that they can “Go to Hell.” Other people online are sharing stories about Christians and Muslims protecting each other’s religious freedoms and expressions.

Again, I wonder what I will find in my neighborhood. There is only one way to tell. I could choose to be afraid of what might come, or I could purposefully work on creating a better tomorrow starting here in my own town.

As soon as the President is finished speaking, I’m on my way to the local Mosque to attend a service and get to know some people.

Week 6 Preview—Preparing to Go to a Gay Church

Most of the gay people I have gone to church with fit into one of two categories:

1. They are doing everything they can not to “be” gay, including whatever programs our church has to modify or “heal” their sexual orientation.
2. They are doing everything they can not to “act” gay, as they know that coming out will be devastating in our religious environment.

What I’ve never experienced in a church environment is people being upfront about their same-sex orientation, while at the same time pursuing healthy spirituality. Since that doesn’t happen in my church, I’ll be going down the street to one where it does.

I’m not sure what to expect

When I close my eyes and try to picture a gay church all of the popular, Hollywood depictions come to mind.

• The men will talk like Will and Jack from Will and Grace
• The women will all wear pants, like Ellen DeGeneres
• The couples will be funny, like Mitchell and Cameron from The Modern Family
• Everyone will be dressed to the standards of the Fashon Fab Five from The Queer Eye
• The worship music will include show tunes and be sprinkled through the service like songs in a glee episode.

I have some cultural biases, don’t I? I wonder if I will find any of them to be true.

It isn’t easy to be “out” in my town

I don’t live in the most liberal state. My neighborhood is pretty conservative, even though we’ve been voting for the Democratic candidates of late. We still rubberneck when we see two men walking down the sidewalk holding hands—and wonder if our kids in the backseat saw it too—and if we are going to have to discuss it with them over dinner.

There is even a church in the next town that has frequently used its billboard as a bullying, battering ram. They let the community know that homosexuality is a gross sin and that anyone who practices it will go straight to hell without pause. They state it in multiple ways, in short little quips, always in ALL CAPS (though I guess it is true that most billboards use all caps, this church just seems to be screaming a bit louder). I’m not sure what their motivation is for their advertisements. Do they expect gay people to come to their church and repent because of the drive-by proclamation? Is it, instead, just a way to position their church with others? (Look how righteous we are! We openly bash homosexuals!) Do they think it is in their job description to tell everyone what they think is right and wrong? (Which, by the way, didn’t we learn from Adam and Eve’s experience in the Garden of Eden that wanting to be like God and determine the difference between good and evil is a sin itself?)

Maybe I’ll go visit this church too, even though they are outside my neighborhood project, just to see if I can get any more clarity.

I’m annoyed at myself for feeling uneasy about this church visitation

I’ve been worried that some of my blog readers may stop caring about this project when I start reporting on churches that don’t match up with their belief system. But this project is only about the readers when they consider themselves in their own neighborhoods. As for me, the Metropolitan Community Church IS in my neighborhood and this congregation is worth the time and effort of getting to know. I’m pretty sure Jesus loves them immensely, and he would at least drop by their place of worship or share a meal with them; so I’m starting with that as my motivation.

I’m also worried that I’ll stand out like a sore thumb—that they’ll look at me and know immediately that I’m so straight that I’ve never met a pair of boobs I didn’t like. I’m worried they will ask me to leave because I can’t get the gaydar needle to budge.

I’m worried that somebody will try to hit on me. I’m worried that I’m not fabulous enough and that no one will.

And if I’m really, super honest, I’m not worried about finding things to criticize, disagree with, and throw stones at; but I am worried that I’ll see Jesus living in their broken lives, just like I know he’s living in mine.

Week 5 Preview – The Bigger the Better?

This weekend I’ll attend one of the Mega Churches in town. They are a BIG CHURCH. I’ve heard reports of their attendance and been told that the numbers seem inflated, like stuffed ballot boxes in Chicago. I’m not sure I trust the criticism though; it came from one of the staff members at another Mega Church in town.

How does your church count your attendance? Some churches pass attendance logs down the pews so they can keep an exact count of who showed and who didn’t. Some report with the numbers on their membership rolls, not the actual butt cheek imprints on their padded pews. I staffed a church that hired a counter on Sundays to walk around each service to count every head from the newborns on up to the eldest elders. They’d count the same head again if the person was present on the church property for the next service. We counted everything, as if numbers were the ultimate indication of our weekly success.

In our town it sometimes feels like the Mega Churches are the monsters that battle each other over the city like Godzilla and Gigan. Now you wouldn’t hear these pastors say anything negative in public about each other. They pat each other on the back and talk up each other’s ministries. They sit beside each other at community prayer meetings and even bring their churches together on evangelistic crusades. But in back rooms I’ve also heard some of these same pastors talk about the other large churches in town like they are they competition, and discuss the other senior pastors as if they were business rivals instead of men of God.

This church that I’ll be attending this week is known as a solid church in our community. They have good local ministries and foreign missions. They have good teaching within their walls and good outreaches outside them. Their building is big, but not gaudy. They are big enough to have multiple services on multiple days. They have a radio ministry, a TV ministry, and more parking than several car lots combined.

Don’t get me wrong, I like big church. There are tons of things a big church can do that smaller ones can’t. But when they morph into monsters, it is scary.

This weekend I’ll attend a Mega Church that is promoting that a traveling band is in town to lead their worship. I’ll also watch 1980’s pop stars Tiffany and Debbie Gibson star in Mega Python Vs Gatoroid on the SyFy channel. Both programs should be entertaining.

Staying in the Closet

I planned to visit the Metropolitan Community Church this coming weekend.

There are several churches in my area that are rainbow friendly.

• The United Church of Christ was the first denomination in our country to ordain an openly gay pastor.
• One of the local, liberal Jewish synagogues welcomes LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender) people.
• The Quakers recognize same-sex marriage even though there are laws in our country against it.
• The Episcopal Church encourages members of sexual minorities to attend.
• The Unitarian Church is open to everyone, even Jedi’s.

But the church I intended to visit this weekend, the Metropolitan, is the church that was founded for the purpose of meeting the spiritual needs of the LGBT community. Unfortunately their meeting time conflicts with a gathering I have with my extended family. If I show up late, I will get grilled as to where I was. If they find out I’ve been down at the Metropolitan the secret will be out. THEY WILL KNOW I’M VISITING CHURCHES.

I’ll put the Metropolitan thing off for another week because I’m just not ready to come out yet.

Week 4 Preview — Merging Churches

It isn’t unheard of for a denomination to mothball a ministry that costs too much to run. While we are uncomfortable at the thought of evaluating the value of a church to its community solely by its financial status, it is often that the dollar bill has as much sway in our church board rooms as God does.

Recently the Vatican made a ruling that ten Boston-area parishes would be closed despite the protests from their parishioners over the past six years. The police may be called in to force an end to the standoff that has had round-the-clock vigils to keep the three of the churches occupied. Altogether the Catholic denomination has closed 66 parishes in the Boston area. Decisions are being made for the neighborhood without taking the needs/desires of the local community.

In other denominations it isn’t the officials who call all the shots when to consolidate their franchise locations. The church that I will visit this weekend merged with one of its smaller sister churches this last year. It was a decision that was made at the local level with the pastors, their boards, and their congregations.

Some of the benefits include

• The dwindling church of 50 members no longer feels the pressure of the mortgage, the pastors’ salaries, and trying to keep the ministry afloat.
• The pastors from the closed church were given roles on staff, and salaries, at the new church.
• The congregation has a similar church to attend, as a group, instead of the members trying to find new churches individually.
• The merged church changed its name so that everyone from both congregations could feel they were part of something new.

Some of the inconveniencies include

• Change is hard.
• Not everyone thought throwing in the towel was the change that was needed. What about a change of leadership? Of vision? Of method? There was a reason that the church had dwindled.
• It’s hard to celebrate “a win,” when what this bailout feels like for some is a loss.
• The neighborhood lost its Pentecostal anchor on the corner.

Have you ever experienced a church merger? What was the outcome for you?

Week 3 Preview – Whether or not to Stay in the Neighborhood

In week 1 I attended a church service in the same church building where I went to services as a child. This week I venture further out in my town to visit the congregation that left that building to build a bigger campus on the outskirts of our fair city.

Why do churches move out of their neighborhoods? What statement does it make? From the church’s perspective I suspect that it reveals their vision is larger than their neighborhood. Since America has very mobile citizens who have the means of traveling from one side of town to the other, churches can target a whole city with their vision and don’t have to be limited to the current size of their building or neighborhood. Prime real estate for a church is very little different than for a shopping center or strip mall; growth is all about location, location, location.

Of course bigger buildings, with people driving from miles around requires vast amounts of asphalt for parking lots- another reason our churches need bigger acreage. There wasn’t enough room in the old location for all the vehicles. But something to remember is that when the church was located on the neighborhood corner, people could actually walk there.

At least to me it seems that when a church moves into a neighborhood and makes the focus of their attention the people in their immediate vicinity, community has great potential. The neighbors might actually get the idea that the church is there for them. Unfortunately that message can get easily lost when the church moves out of the area. Though the church may try to communicate that they exist for the people (and may honestly believe that sentiment), when the church makes decisions that are centered on their own vision, people learn that they are expected to make themselves available for the church.

I have to be honest and admit that I’ve had more conversations about our church’s parking lot and whether or not we needed a Disneyland trains to get people into the sanctuary than I’ve ever had about our immediate neighbors. Hell, I don’t even know their names.

I don’t suppose the folks at church #3 who moved away will remember mine either.

Week 2 Preview

I’m going to a Baptist church this weekend. I thought I’d do a little research and find out which flavor of Baptistism I would be sampling. I presumed there were three main types- the Southern Baptists (the largest with over 16 million members), the American Baptists (who trace their history to the first Baptist church in America), and the Reformed Baptists (who are the Calvinistic stalwarts).

Boy was I way off the mark (which is how some Baptists define ‘sin’). Wikipedia lists 62 different Baptist denominations in the United States alone! Here are some facts about the Baptists you may not have known.

• The denomination with the shortest name is the Regular Baptists. They used to be known as the Particular Baptists, which was to distinguish them from the General Baptists.
• The denomination with the longest name is the National Baptist Evangelical Life and Soul Saving Assembly of the U.S.A. This is an African-Americans missions body that broke off of the National Baptist Convention of America in 1937. For a while this denomination was headquartered in Boise, Idaho, which isn’t really known for its diversity. Now the denomination is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
• The Six-Principle Baptists got their start in Rhode Island with the ministry of Roger Williams, who also founded the State.
• The group with the most interesting name (and extreme Calvinistic doctrine) is the Two-Seed-in-the-Spirit Predestinarian Baptists, who are commonly referred to as “anti-mission” Baptists. They teach that you were either born or good stock or evil stock and that your eternal dwelling place has already been determined, thus missions are a waste of time and money.
• The most infamous Baptist church, an independent one,  is Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church. They’ve unfortunately made their hate-filled presence known in my community. Have they ever protested something in yours?

I will be attending one of the oldest American Baptist Churches in my town. The pastor has a unique background, has been influential in education, social work and historical preservation in my state. I look forward to worshipping alongside this congregation.

Do you attend an American Baptist Church? What should I expect this weekend?