Can you recommend a Christian church denomination?

Question

I need to find a church to attend! What I'm looking for:

1. It MUST be super "hardcore," in other words, all members must take their Christian faith VERY seriously every day of their lives. Their Christian faith must be to them a matter of life and death. The Jehovah's Witnesses are an example of this sort of "hardcore" dedication, but I've ruled them out since their supreme leaders have several times predicted the end of the world on particular dates, only to be proven wrong. The Mormons too are very serious, but I do not believe that their founder, Joseph Smith, was a prophet of Heavenly Father.

2. It MUST be a part of a national or international denomination or association of churches that has endured for at least 50 years without any significant changes.

3. It must NOT be Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, Missouri Synod Lutheran, Presbyterian, or any denomination that compromises or waters down the Bible, or has "fun" worship services.

Answer 1

In addition to your interesting criteria, Jehovah's Witnesses are unique among Christians in that they glorify the personal name of God, reject pagan holidays, practice political neutrality, and commemorate "the Last Supper". Consider re-examining Jehovah's Witnesses personally and objectively, rather than merely using the propaganda of anti-Witness activists.

Anti-Witnesses continue to pretend that Jehovah's Witnesses have held up their teachings as prophecy. That is simply not true, and in fact there is abundant evidence to the contrary. For over 125 years, Jehovah's Witnesses have repeatedly and plainly presented their teachings as the results of sincere bible research, rather than as some special revelation from heaven. Only an enemy would insist on focusing on an abandoned minor teaching 50, 75, or 100 years after it was clarified. It is interesting that these critics do *NOT* discuss the work that has remained constant for all these decades...

The work that specifically enjoys the holy spirit is the ongoing global preaching work, which can only be accomplished with God's continued blessing. It seems interesting that no other self-described Christian group comes close to comparing with this work by Jehovah's Witnesses. The central message of Kingdom "good news" remains plain and clear and central to Witness doctrine; many other matters are merely interesting and relatively minor.

When considering the relatively minor teachings which were later corrected by Jehovah's Witnesses, a reasonable onlooker must wonder why individual Witnesses (adherents of the religion) did not abandon their faith when supposed "prophecies" were proven unfulfilled... Because occasional suppositions were never presented as prophecies or certainties or inspired or infallible!

The vast majority of the brotherhood plainly recognize occasional faults as the best effort of a godly "slave" who humbly recognize their own errors and readily submit to increasing bible research.



These facts about Jehovah's Witnesses are perhaps relevant to this question. The more one compares this Christian religion with others, the more remarkable it is shown to be.

1. Jehovah's Witnesses have no paid clergy. Yet they remain tightly organized with more than 6.5 million active Jehovah's Witness preachers (about 16 million associate themselves with the religion). Even fulltime preachers and workers at their branch offices are unpaid volunteers.

2. There is no elite class among Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the few 'anointed' among them enjoy no special privileges in their congregations on earth. An anointed person (one of those relative few with a heavenly hope) is not elevated above his fellow congregants in any way, and he may not even qualify for appointment as a simple 'deacon' or elder. There are no titles; EVERYONE is addressed as 'brother' or 'sister'.

3. No person benefits economically from the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses. Even the 8 to 20 men who serve on their Governing Body receive simply room, board, medical care, and reimbursement for certain personal expenses according to the exact same provision as every other branch volunteer.

4. About a hundred men have served on Jehovah's Witnesses' Governing Body committee during the past 125 years or so. The vast majority of them have spent the vast majority of their adult lives volunteering for their organization's purposes, and the vast majority have died faithfully and near-pennilessly while still under their legal 'vow of poverty'.

5. Amazingly, Jehovah's Witnesses did not splinter as a sect from some other religion. Instead, a truly tiny but sincere group of bible students studied only the Scriptures to determine the will of God. Thus their religion remains absolutely independent of and not carrying the sins of Christendom's history, yet carries the authority of Christ's teachings.

6. Despite the distortions of anti-Witnesses, throughout their modern history Jehovah's Witnesses have refused to claim divine inspiration or infallibility for their teachings. They have pointed to the bible (and not any particular translation) as the only inspired infallible means of knowing God's thoughts. For over 125 years, their teachings have been presented as merely the results of sincere bible research by imperfect but godly humans.

Answer 2

I will not recommend a religion or a church but think it is best if you do the research yourself. Christian churches do not hide anything and you are free to ask anyone you want, both members and ex members or those even in other religions. We have nothing to hide and the Bible is by what we go and study. The true church is the body of believers in the Lord Jesus. The New Testament abounds with references to the ecclesia, the called-out company, or assembly, from the world to Christ. The following are a few: God “hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church [ecclesia, meaning called-out company, or assembly], which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all” (Eph. 1:22, 23). “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church [ecclesia, meaning called-out company or assembly], and gave himself for it. . . . This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church [ecclesia, meaning called-out company, or assembly]” (Eph. 5:25, 32). The Church has two ordinances: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is observed at the beginning of the Christian life; the Lord’s Supper is taken all during the Christian life. We emphasize the fact that these are ordinances of the Church, and not sacraments. So make sure whatever interests you to follw the Bible and its teachings . Please feel free to email me and ask anything.

Answer 3

Nope, sorry, sure can't. Church is different for everyone. I attend a Baptist church, and I love it.
Perhaps Episcopal might work. I attended a Nazarene church growing up. That might work. But maybe the services would be too "fun" for you. Could also try Methodist.
But it also depends on the church. No two churches are alike, even if they are the same denomination.

Answer 4

Try the Evangelical Free Church of America

Answer 5

I reccomend none of them, christianity breeds hate and intolerance, especially the kind youre describing. WHat you describe is the same movement that heartlessly killed hundreds of witches during the Burning Times.

Answer 6

Christianity isn't a menu, and I'm not your waiter.