Post by John on Nov 18, 2019 9:55:05 GMT -5
First of all, I want to say that if you decided to join our forum, welcome. We are happy to have you as part of the Narrow Way family. I want to take a moment to address new members about something. I do not expect everyone that joins will believe the exact same things I do. We are all individuals and hopefully take the time to learn the scriptures and come to our own conclusions. That being said, we do have a Statement of Faith, and we do not allow debates to take place attacking our core beliefs. I may in some cases make an exception, or allow something to be discussed for a short period of time that don't agree with it, but any posts that attempt to come against our core beliefs are subject to removal without warning. Keep that in mind.
When it comes to discussions over doctrine, or anything for that matter, personal attacks are not allowed. If your posts have comments like, "Your place is all screwed up," "you have no understanding of doctrine," "your beliefs are no different than the Muslims," "you are full of pride," etc., those posts will be removed or your posts will be edited, possibly without warning or explanation. What you should be doing is discussing the topic in light of the Bible. Notice I said discussing, not debating. This is not a place to go to war and compete to see who is smarter. We discuss scripture to learn from each other. We do not debate a topic to see who comes out the winner. I hope you understand the difference so we don't get off on the wrong foot.
In other forums, I have found that the kind of things that seem to lead to fights are when someone makes an issue personal. Accusing people of being full of fear or trusting in self or whatever your accusation is will often times be met with a defensive response and an attack on the person that started the accusations. There is no need for these kind of comments, and they win nobody over to your point of view. They only stir up anger. Do you think you are a soldier for the Lord coming in here to fight for him? Guess what? We all think we are soldiers for the Lord standing up for Jesus. Do you think you have sound doctrine? Guess what? We all think we have sound doctrine. Knowing that is the case, how do you expect to win anyone to your side when you do nothing but accuse them of not having sound doctrine or fighting for the devil? You won't.
There is no glory in being kicked out of a forum for "standing for Jesus" when you are not being kicked out for that reason. If you get removed from this forum, it won't be for standing for Jesus, but for pushing things that are contrary to our Statement of Faith or for making personal attacks. You can read for yourself what we believe before you join, and if you joined without reading it, check it out. You don't have to agree with all points in our SOF, but you can't oppose our core beliefs in the forums. You may discuss other things.
One other thing I want to bring up. There are certain things that are essentials to the Christian faith. One of them is believing Jesus is who He said He is, "I AM." If you do not believe in the deity of Christ, you are not a Christian. What separates the cults from the true believers is understanding that Jesus Christ is God. We are Trinitarian here, and that is a core belief, but it is possible to not fully grasp the Trinity and be saved, so long as you understand that Jesus Christ is God. I am not saying that if you don't fully believe that you will be immediately asked to leave, but if you do not understand that, you will not be permitted to teach doctrine. If you are just here to learn, that is fine. I cannot have people who reject the deity of Christ coming in as teachers. I hope that you all understand that.
God bless you all, and again, welcome to Narrow Way Forums. For those who do not have a home church, we also serve as an online church, so you can also consider us your church if you would like to. We have regular recorded messages you can watch, as well as our live meetings in the Shoutbox (Chat).
Fellowship Meeting: Tuesday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Bible Study: Wednesday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Prayer Meeting: Thursday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Our videos messages can be found in the Narrow Way Church Section.
When it comes to discussions over doctrine, or anything for that matter, personal attacks are not allowed. If your posts have comments like, "Your place is all screwed up," "you have no understanding of doctrine," "your beliefs are no different than the Muslims," "you are full of pride," etc., those posts will be removed or your posts will be edited, possibly without warning or explanation. What you should be doing is discussing the topic in light of the Bible. Notice I said discussing, not debating. This is not a place to go to war and compete to see who is smarter. We discuss scripture to learn from each other. We do not debate a topic to see who comes out the winner. I hope you understand the difference so we don't get off on the wrong foot.
In other forums, I have found that the kind of things that seem to lead to fights are when someone makes an issue personal. Accusing people of being full of fear or trusting in self or whatever your accusation is will often times be met with a defensive response and an attack on the person that started the accusations. There is no need for these kind of comments, and they win nobody over to your point of view. They only stir up anger. Do you think you are a soldier for the Lord coming in here to fight for him? Guess what? We all think we are soldiers for the Lord standing up for Jesus. Do you think you have sound doctrine? Guess what? We all think we have sound doctrine. Knowing that is the case, how do you expect to win anyone to your side when you do nothing but accuse them of not having sound doctrine or fighting for the devil? You won't.
There is no glory in being kicked out of a forum for "standing for Jesus" when you are not being kicked out for that reason. If you get removed from this forum, it won't be for standing for Jesus, but for pushing things that are contrary to our Statement of Faith or for making personal attacks. You can read for yourself what we believe before you join, and if you joined without reading it, check it out. You don't have to agree with all points in our SOF, but you can't oppose our core beliefs in the forums. You may discuss other things.
One other thing I want to bring up. There are certain things that are essentials to the Christian faith. One of them is believing Jesus is who He said He is, "I AM." If you do not believe in the deity of Christ, you are not a Christian. What separates the cults from the true believers is understanding that Jesus Christ is God. We are Trinitarian here, and that is a core belief, but it is possible to not fully grasp the Trinity and be saved, so long as you understand that Jesus Christ is God. I am not saying that if you don't fully believe that you will be immediately asked to leave, but if you do not understand that, you will not be permitted to teach doctrine. If you are just here to learn, that is fine. I cannot have people who reject the deity of Christ coming in as teachers. I hope that you all understand that.
God bless you all, and again, welcome to Narrow Way Forums. For those who do not have a home church, we also serve as an online church, so you can also consider us your church if you would like to. We have regular recorded messages you can watch, as well as our live meetings in the Shoutbox (Chat).
Fellowship Meeting: Tuesday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Bible Study: Wednesday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Prayer Meeting: Thursday Night at 8 PM Eastern
Our videos messages can be found in the Narrow Way Church Section.