From Whence to Sovereign Grace?

[Houchens]

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

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!)

 

[buggy]

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.

 

[Classical Presbyterian]

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.

 

[Reluctantly Reforming]

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.

 

[Scottish Lass]

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.