Thread: From Whence to Sovereign Grace?

Here's a post that I am asking, from what type of (religious) background did you come from before you accept the Doctrines of Grace? And what do you feel about your previous background?

Obviously, this qn is not for those who were bought up in a Reformed background...

Independent, Fundamental, KJVO, Dispensational, Premillenial, "There's evil in them-there woman's pants", Baptist.

I praise the Lord daily (and I mean that) for His grace in lighting the path of exit from that place.

I was converted at Vacation Bible School at Daisy Free Will Baptist Church. Even though the church was full 0 point Calvinist, I never "felt" like salvation was something to be lost. I did, however, subsequently over the years there, "rededicate [my] life" umpteen times. How ironic, that God in His mercy, would see fit to convert me where He did, then gradually bring me to His beautiful doctrines of grace.

Erm, there is no atheist option... so I chose 'other'.

I chose Arminian Evangelical, though that only half describes it. More like:

Confused-coming-out-of-the-Stone/Campbell-Restoration-kinda-Arminian-but-who-really-knows-mega-church-trying-to-be-purpose-driven Evangelical.

That should have been an option.

What's the difference between Arminian Fundamentalist & Arminian Evangelical. Cuz I would vote for one of those. I came out of Calvary Chapel...

Liberal Presbyterian PC(USA) background for me. "Converted" in Seminary to Reformed Orthodoxy.

Evangelical and mostly Arminian here

which one is considered conservative Arminianism?

Arminian-Evangelical means "Big-Box Mega Church NAE" background.

Arminian-Fundamentalists means Bob Jones, Oral Roberts-esque background

My coming to Christ and hearing good, reformed teaching started at almost the same time, although I was reared in a mainline presby church ....

Southern Baptist Finneyist/Charismania (NAR brand) hybrid is the best title I could boil it down to. Therefore I voted other.

I voted Arminian Fundamentalist, but I was asking the "difficult" questions from the beginning. Funny how that happenes when you read the Bible.

I came originally from the PCUSA, than we (my mom) switched to the Assemblies of God (AG) and than to Baptist back to AG than I went to College and went RCC and finally landed Reformed. Quite a journey The only one out of the list I miss is AOG.

Roman Catholic - hare krsna - evangelical - 5 piont calvinistic baptist

I'm a Church of Christ preacher's kid. I made a long pitstop at the Southern Baptist. Then landed in a reformed church.

Roman Catholic -> Lutheran -> Baptist -> 5 point Calvinist Presby

I just read the bible

I grew up in a nominal Eastern Orthodox home, and when I became a believer (through reading the Bible) I started attending an AOG Church. I was pretty much a Calvinist from the beginning even though I had never heard of the Doctrines of Grace or Calvin. So about a year later I left the church and shortly there after I was introduced to the OPC and became reformed pretty quickly....all by God's grace and leading of-course!

Old School, hard-line Church of Christ > More Liberal Church of Christ > Reformed (OPC) (Thank God!!!)

Southern Baptist > Independent Baptist > Southern Baptist > Reformed Baptist

Roman Catholic -> King James Bible Baptist Church - > Westminster RPC

Raised Nazarene, professed faith in a fundy Baptist church, became Reformed through my Christian High School.

Original hearing of the gospel was in a Southern Baptist church, which was half baked. They got that once someone was saved, they would not fall away, but it was "once saved, always saved". Most of what they believed was an amalgamation. Never heard anything much more than the gospel every week, but it did start my change.

The move to reformed was through an RPCES church.

Started out PCA (too young to remember what they taught); then confessed Christ in a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church (couldn't really recognize a doctrine beyond "believe and be baptized"); then a PCA, but still didn't get the good teaching, then Non-denominational (essentially baptist), then PCA (where I solidified my Presby beliefs), now we're attending OPC and will most likely transfer membership there.

:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim72

What's the difference between Arminian Fundamentalist & Arminian Evangelical. Cuz I would vote for one of those. I came out of Calvary Chapel...

but started out as a Roman Catholic in my early 30's

Originally Posted by HokieAirman

Started out PCA (too young to remember what they taught); then confessed Christ in a Christian and Missionary Alliance Church (couldn't really recognize a doctrine beyond "believe and be baptized"); then a PCA, but still didn't get the good teaching, then Non-denominational (essentially baptist), then PCA (where I solidified my Presby beliefs), now we're attending OPC and will most likely transfer membership there.

Wow, I guess I'm not the only one who dabbled in reformed theology before settling down.

Bible Church
Fundamental Baptist
Plymouth Brethren
Keswick brand of Evangelical Free
Reformed Baptist
PCA
Church of England
PCA (Church plant that flopped)
PC(USA)
PCA where I finally settled down about 11 years ago

• Raised in a Liberal UMC by more conservative mainline parents
• Became a Christian in my teens, and grew increasingly more conservative, even Fundamentalist until about 19 or so.
• Simultaneously exposed to TULIP & Keswick holiness stuff in my mid-to-late teens
• Nearly became conservative Lutheran or Anglican, though as a TULIP
• Became PCA in 2006, and strict subscriptionist by 2007
• 2 weeks away from joining the OPC

Dispensational Arminian Mystical Relationship Evangelicalism

Born and baptized a Roman Catholic
Raised Pentecostal since I was about 7
Came to Reformed/Calvinist convictions just before I ceased being a teenager

I was brought up RC "til confirmation). Was saved in a Reformed milieu, so as a Christian I have never been anywhere else.

Southern Baptist>United Baptist>Church of God>Arminian Evengelical

Originally Posted by Bald_Brother

I chose Arminian Evangelical, though that only half describes it. More like:

Confused-coming-out-of-the-Stone/Campbell-Restoration-kinda-Arminian-but-who-really-knows-mega-church-trying-to-be-purpose-driven Evangelical.

That should have been an option.

>Reformed Southern Baptist>Seeking Reformed "Home" (Praise God for His merciful hand of grace!)

Myself:
- I was attending a Methodist church, was not very well-received by them. Got exposed to fundamentalism online by IFB online ministries.
- Then entered an Fundamentalist Baptist church. Despite this, I frequently disagree (albeit secretly) with many of their practices. Although I respected them for their zeal, I was getting more and more disturbed by their pietist, KJVO and separatist beliefs (esp. their denial of the universal church's existence). In addition, I don't understand why the leadership criticize Reformed theology.
- After leaving fundamentalism, visited a few Calvinist churches, and settled in a Reformed Baptist church.

I grew up Liberal Protestant Mainline. Became a Neo-Orthodox guy in seminary and in the pastorate in a PC(USA) church, God changed my mind, convinced me of the glories of His Word and led me to the Reformed faith.

I checked cultish "churches."

Raised in Worldwide Church of God (WCG), the sect of Adventism led by the infamous father-and-son team of radio preachers Herbert W. and Garner Ted Armstrong. WCG began a leadership-led process of repentance from many of its signature doctrinal aberrations following the death of Herbert Armstrong in 1986.

I came to a generic Arminian evangelical faith in the mid-1990s, along with many WCGers, but began to be challenged by Reformed apologists and authors almost immediately. Over the next several years, WCG's leading lights drifted in a neo-orthodox direction (where they are mired today), while the majority of its membership left either for Armstrongist splinter groups or for evangelical churches of one sort or another.

I served in the post-Armstrong WCG's ministry for six years, ending in 2004. I began with great hope that our evangelical revival would survive and thrive, but over the years it became clear that Armstrong's successors at the top of this extremely hierarchical church would repent of neither their power over the pastors and churches nor their fascination with neoorthodoxy.

I've often joked that our jump to the PCA (after I got kicked out of WCG's ministry - another fun story ) was a bit abrupt -- that perhaps we should have sojourned in, oh, maybe a Reformed Baptist church for a while before making the leap to Baby-Sprinkling Central, sort of like Mr. Anchovy progressing from accountancy to lion-taming via banking or insurance. But here we are, and the Lord's mercies to us have been abundant.

PC(USA) as a child, so I voted "liberal". I didn't get serious beyond a saving faith until I attended Tim's church, around the time we started dating.