Read WCF 26. A Christian must always worship somewhere, and if those are the only two options, then I would go to the Baptist church which seems to be reforming in accordance with the word of God, rather than a PCA church which is drifting from Biblical standards. They sound as if they might even abandon there rapturist teaching the way they are going.

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

I would find some liked minded people and plant a church...

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JD Ketterman
Christ Reformed Church URC, Washington DC
RTS, Student, Washington D.C.

Great idea!

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~James Helbert~, Wytheville, VA
Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCUS
TheBibleAlone.com / The Edinburgh Inn
"Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?” - Zechariah 3:2

Interesting proposition JDK...

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Benjamin P. Glaser
Pittsburgh, PA
Fairmount ARP Church
Student of Theology
Pittsburgh Theological Seminary
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
My Blog

"Nothing is sweet to me without the enjoyment of Christ in it." -- Thomas Brooks

MUCH easier said than done in the more sparsely populated parts of the country, tho...

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://semperubi.rtrc.net

"Many men, after a long conversion, see more of the workings of sin in their hearts than ever they did before or at their first conversion. Now, such men have not an increase of sin, but an increase of illumination and light" (Christopher Love)


Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Why not just meet with the Lord's people in the church that is already there?

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

My wife and I are still members of the baptist church we went to before we became reformed just over 2 years ago.

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Erick Bohndorf, Covenant Baptist Church, KS
http://qayaqtraveler.blogspot.com/
The question for us today is, will we be like the majority of Israel and continue to look in fear at the giants in the land and urge our fellow Christians to be "realistic," or will we be like Joshua and Caleb and faithfully follow our king, trusting to fulfill every one of his promises completely?

And I am at the center of it all!

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Dan Pemberton
Vacaville, CA

Member, First Baptist Church San Luis Obispo
Formerly ABUSA (We left, so I guess that makes us American Baptists Unleashed!)

Is it semi-pelagian, dispinsational, or fairly non-affiliated?

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Dan Pemberton
Vacaville, CA

Member, First Baptist Church San Luis Obispo
Formerly ABUSA (We left, so I guess that makes us American Baptists Unleashed!)

Ah - thought you were members, since your signature seems to indicate that you are.

Hm. I'd be in that URCNA church like a fly on ... well, you get the picture.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://semperubi.rtrc.net

"Many men, after a long conversion, see more of the workings of sin in their hearts than ever they did before or at their first conversion. Now, such men have not an increase of sin, but an increase of illumination and light" (Christopher Love)


Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I'm confused by your response, Daniel. What exactly do you mean? I was simply remarking that some seem to think that there are clearly enough Reformed-minded people in any given area (say, 400 square miles) that one ought to be able, if he desired, to get a reformed church plant going. Ain't necessarily so.

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Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://semperubi.rtrc.net

"Many men, after a long conversion, see more of the workings of sin in their hearts than ever they did before or at their first conversion. Now, such men have not an increase of sin, but an increase of illumination and light" (Christopher Love)


Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

You're entitled to your opinion, and mine stands regardless.

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Andrew DeShazo, Deacon, Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"All of us stumble in many ways, but if anyone is never at fault in what he says, then he is mature, able to control his whole body."(James 3:2)

I am going to be contrary to what most have said so far and say go PCA.

Because church government matters, because the covenant matters, and because the sacraments matter.

As many friends as I have who are in great Reformed Baptist churches, and no matter the level of teaching (in SOME areas,remember they are still baptist) they will still teach you (and more importantly your children) a false view of the covenant, the sacraments, & church government.

IMHO the insistence of (almost all) Baptist on (heretical) rebabtism of covenant children would be a deal breaker.

Since I am convinced that for a covenant child to be re-baptised (sic) would be a denial of the faith, I could not in good conscience place my family in that setting long term.

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Kevin Rogers
Sovereign Community Church, PCA
Moncton NB

It is all the above and very anti Calvinistic. The pastor did a sermon series on the evils of Calvinism using Ergon Canor as his example, that is why we left.

Todd, we were going to a PCA church right after we left the baptist church but had problems with the pastor and left so we are familiar with the presbyterian model that is why we were trying the other PCA churches in the area.

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Erick Bohndorf, Covenant Baptist Church, KS
http://qayaqtraveler.blogspot.com/
The question for us today is, will we be like the majority of Israel and continue to look in fear at the giants in the land and urge our fellow Christians to be "realistic," or will we be like Joshua and Caleb and faithfully follow our king, trusting to fulfill every one of his promises completely?

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Josh Hicks, Chloë's Daddy
Member of TRBC. My Blog
The Puritan Pub (Team Blog)
Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

Hmmm. Sounds like you live in America. This, sadly, is the standard wherever we have gone. And the PCA church sounds like what I've heard about the local PCA church here.

Dennis hit the nail on the head. With the connections and emphasis this man has, I surely doubt he'll be preaching on the rapture much. The idea that the sensational eschatalogical system bleeds from every verse is relegated to the dispy churches that rely on systems, charts and programs rather than God's Word. Give this guy a chance and sit under his teaching for a while. Who knows, maybe you'll learn something and become more like Christ.

Having said that, I can sympathize with the counsel to make the trek to a paedo church. We have lived in situations where we drove 20-30 miles to attend a like-minded church. While I could worship with, attend and fellowship with a paedo church, I doubt I could join because I probably could not accept their constitution or by-laws. I certainly would not be willing to baptize my children. And, while I'm certain they would welcome anyone who desired to worship with them, believer's baptism precludes membership in many churches. Not all churches hold to this, in fact most don't. But you might discuss this with the baptist pastor and see what your possibilities and limitations would be. It could take options of the table for you.

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For the Glory of our King,
Joe Johnson
Married up in 1988 and blessed with two wonderful sons
TMS graduate
Preacherboy at Cornerstone Community Church, Escanaba, MI
SoundLife.org

Sorry Todd, I was really talking about JDKetterman's comment, but your's was attached by mistake.

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Daniel Ritchie
Saintfield, Northern Ireland - Queen's University, Belfast:History/Politics
Member of Dromara Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland (Covenanter)

I'd have to go with the PCA church as well. Church government and the sacraments matter much more than worship style.

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Scott Roper
Member, Redeemer Presbyterian Church (PCA): "A bunch of hippie Calvinists"
Winston-Salem, NC

It seems like a false choice between the Baptist church and the PCA ones you describe since those are not the only choices available. Are you simply ruling out the URCNA and OPC churches because they currently do not have a pastor? If so that is a mistake unless you know something you haven't posted here.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

Whether or not the Baptist church preaches much on the rapture, many of them view anyone who doesn't take an essentially dispensational view of Israel and the Church as inherently anti-semitic. See Barry Horner's Future Israel, which was strongly endorsed by John MacArthur.

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Chris Poe
Mandeville, LA

"There are the foolish fanatics always to be found in such a movement and always discrediting it--the lunatic fringe in all reform movements." Theodore Roosevelt

Brilliant suggestion. Why plant a church if there is already a church.

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Stephen Welch
PCA Teaching Elder
Nova Scotia :cheers: