by Sandy » Thu Jul 02, 2015 7:55 pm
Never thought I would be in a place where I "couldn't be" Baptist, and actually, that's really not the case now, though with the relative scarcity of Southern Baptists in this part of the country, a second choice had to be considered. There are a few of the KJVO, fundamental variety Baptists around here, though most of the "independent" Baptist churches are actually former ABC-USA congregations of the more conservative variety, but not that conservative. There are some General Association of Regular Baptist churches in a small association, with a local camp. We could have made the 25 mile round trip over across the state line to West Virginia, to an SBC congregation of about 150 in attendance, but decided to look at some other evangelical church, and wound up in a Christian and Missionary Alliance congregation. They baptize by immersion, and share a wide variety of similar doctrinal beliefs, including the inerrancy and infallibility of the Bible, a historical-literal interpretation of scripture, they don't ordain women, and generally, worship tends toward a more contemporary and spontaneous format that, on occasion, includes time for the laying on of hands for healing. I have had some difficulty with the elder leadership, not conflict, just having a hard time understanding how it is that they are making "spirit led" decisions at times when it seems the congregation isn't on board. They tend to be a bit cliquish as well, in that there's a "glass ceiling" when it comes to church leadership.