How does a non-creedal people set parameters

[Peter]

[Ed Pettibone]

Ed: Peter I agree, but how do you and I relate to others in the family who insist on tolerating those we feel are outside of the family values. It has been my experience that as soon as two or more say that something is outside of our family values, others say well we are part of the family and it is you who are outside of our value of non-creedelism.

How do we maintain the family and satisfy all??????????

[Tim Bonney]

I think it is a tough topic for non-creedal denominations. If there is no creed/confession/doctrine that is expected to be believed by the whole how do you know where the outside edges are of the faith group?

For example, could an ABC church be Unitarian Universalist? Or could a church be ABC and deny the divinity of Christ? Is there an outer limit that a church could subscribe to and still be in the family?

Not an easy set of issues to deal with.

[Haruo]

[Tim Bonney]

Certainly Hauro there are a lot of different ways of looking at the gospel. What I always found challenging when I was a Baptist was trying to decide what the outer limits can/should be. I'd say there ought to be some outer limits otherwise the term Baptist doesn't mean much if it becomes synonymous with "any belief goes." On the other hand without any creed/confession in common some folks want to go the other direction and be very restrictive.

My experience is that what really happens is that each church makes its own "creed" either consciously or unconsciously and woe to the new member or new pastor who comes from another Baptist church only to find out that their new church believes nothing like their last church.

[Ed Pettibone]

Ed: Tim, when you where interviewing for a Baptist pastorate did you not ask any questions of the committee, other pastors and/or lay leaders in the association?

[Tim Bonney]

[Ed Pettibone]