then don’t be a cheerleader for Dispensations. My wife was all set to explore a church a while ago so she gets on the phone with the pastor and asked a question of him which was telling and in keeping with her rearing from childhood to adulthood as a Dutch Reformed,” Pastor can you tell me a little about Election?” The guy basically told her that Election is Calvinist doctrine and they don’t believe in it. Bottom line is this pastor didn’t ask enough questions of her to ascertain where she was at in her past Christian walk, didn’t respect her upbringing and just killed any interest she might have had… it was taken as an insult (it was completely alien to her understanding of how a church was to get out of scripture)…end of discussion & end of any future conversations on anything constructive and the door was therefore closed to anything further. I also had a similar discussion with a Orthodox Presbyterian Pastor when I asked him to explain where the soul of infants who die before they are baptized. The abrupt answer was they go to hell. I had a long talk after that with 3 Presbyterian pastors on the phone in a conference call and told them each to go to hell because the child we were discussing was my child so I’m still in no mood to discuss going to the church they represent…I.E., hardcore Calvinist covenant theology. Again a failure to ask probing question’s to discern where I was at vs ramming their theology down my throat. Honestly, the only ones who ever seriously listened, understood, heard me out, explained to me (sometimes painstakingly) were the Old Line Baptists who approached me.And here is another thing, they don’t claim to always be right however they come across as contrite & humble. Something I appreciate…. Like everything, the relationship building must come from a position of trust. I don’t see that played out today in many of these churches. And if the churches can’t come together then what hope do we have for growth… indeed for survival.
