Church visits

Chambersburg Christian Fellowship. I would love to meet the Bercot Family in person!

I agree with Nathanael, but would add that I would like to meet the regular members and the other elders at CCF to experience how the other members are living out this faith.

Tait, I'm glad that you mentioned that you like to meet the regular members to see how they practically live out their faith. I've heard of Followers of the Way in Boston and seen some of their videos and teachings online. I too am curious to see how these Anabaptist communities practice their faith. I have been in evangelical/protestant circles and had interesting experiences with faith practices. I've noticed somethings incredible about homeschooling evangelicals, and confess I was kind of part of that, although never comfortable with many, many things they practiced. You get these families where the wife stays at home and homeschools the many children, while the man works full time. They desire to shelter their children from pagan influences (like teaching on evolution, socialism, abortion, these are big topics for them), especially public schools, but yet they don't seem to see how wordly they themselves really are. The girls in these homeschooling families often go to dance classes (often catering to Christian girls), dress worldly (I'm talking miniskirts, tight fitting clothing, etc.) Even the youth groups at their churches are questionable, it's often a kind of dating club for the youth and not unlike the world out there, sensuality and promiscuity is common. They are for the most part loyal republicans, often approving of evil wars, patriotic to the point of idolatry. The men generally are gun loving people, who have some kind of an obsession with protecting their families from I don't know what enemies out there. The boys are raised to provide for their families, to love their country and love guns (the trio: God, guns and country), it's like a cult of guns and self defense somehow God approved in their minds. Going to courts with lawsuits when someone did them wrong, voting, gun collections are almost considered Christian duties. I feel it's so distant from what Jesus calls us to do. 

To the Corinthians, Paul describes sexual immorality and idolatry as doing violence against the very temple of God that a Christian is called to be (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; 1 Corinthians 6:18–20; 1 Corinthians 10:14). Similarly, if we may kill our fellow man, we commit iconoclasm against God by destroying the very image of himself that he created and designed (Genesis 1:26–27; Genesis 9:6; James 3:9–10).

The beauty of the pilgrim faith is that we may affirm all of the sayings of Christ and his apostles as being 100% true (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16–17; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). We may affirm that Christ’s instruction to “be as harmless as doves” is 100% true (Matthew 10:16). In stark contrast, the worldly churches, committed to their passions as they are, must paint God as one who is divided against himself, even in the words that He says (Matthew 12:25–26; Mark 3:24–25; Luke 11:17–18; James 1:17).

Therefore, they paint God as a king divided against Himself, ruling over a kingdom divided against itself, even a kingdom divided against itself in literal warfare (Matthew 12:25–26; Mark 3:24–26; Luke 11:17–18). However, a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand (Matthew 12:25; Mark 3:24; Luke 11:17). And so that false image to which they ascribe, and which they preach, is the “gospel” of “another” kingdom, another Zion, another mountain of the house of God, and one that does teach men to practice and learn war (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 1:6–9; Isaiah 2:2–4; Micah 4:1–3). Therefore, theirs is not the immovable kingdom, the unshakable kingdom of God, in which men no longer learn or practice war (Hebrews 12:28; Isaiah 2:2–4; Micah 4:1–3).

For according to the laws of God’s kingdom, there is no cursing, but only blessing given, and only blessing returned (Matthew 5:43–48; Luke 6:27–36; Romans 12:14, 17–21; 1 Corinthians 4:12–13; 1 Peter 3:8–9).

My prayers are that they will see that the golden rule is to be affirmed as 100% true (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). It is a perfect law, it is a perfect rule (Psalm 19:7; James 1:25; James 2:8). It is inexhaustible in its application. There is not a circumstance in which it becomes permissible to disregard it (Matthew 5:17–19; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 22:37–40; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:14). Granted, real love, the kind ordained by God, is to seek for ourselves and for others, first and foremost, what it is that God himself seeks for us (Matthew 22:37–39; Philippians 2:3–4; 1 Timothy 2:3–4; 2 Peter 3:9). It is that we seek first for ourselves and for others the reign of God over the lives of men and his righteousness inculcated in their hearts and enacted upon their lips and hands (Matthew 6:33; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26–27; Romans 10:8–10; Colossians 3:16–17; James 1:22–25).

Wars and divisions and heresies all spring up from the passions that we are commanded to put to death by means of the Spirit of God, who speaks through the sword of the Spirit (James 4:1–4; Galatians 5:19–21; 1 Corinthians 1:10–13; 1 Corinthians 11:18–19; Colossians 3:5–8; Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). That is the only way to peace. It is through Jesus Christ (John 14:27; John 16:33; Romans 5:1; Romans 14:17–19; Ephesians 2:13–18; Colossians 1:19–20).

Tait, thank you for this. The church I currently attend is a Church of Christ, they might just well be a typical evangelical Baptist church, I don't see much of a difference other than they don't use musical instruments in worship. On baptism there are differing opinions among members and church elders.