Help! I Disagree With My Church's Soteriological Views!

Dr. Leighton Flowers, Director of Evangelism and Apologetics for Texas Baptists, explains how believers should approach theological disagreements within the context of a local church.

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[Thehappybirder]

I wouldn’t have a problem splitting a church if they were dogmatic about their Calvinism. I have met a lot of Calvinist that do more to promote Calvinism than the gospel of Jesus Christ.

[gracebest]

Calvinism comes from Gnostic understanding that came into the church through Augustine.
Leave the Calvinist church and go to one that is teaching good doctrine.

[adivulpe]

Unfortunately I had to leave my church which has a five point calvinist pastor, but to me lied straight up that he is not one. I just feel bad that most of the congregation is clueless about his teachings and refuse to even question him so there is no division. Very manipulative as a lot of Calvinist are.

[jeremiest-louis]

For me, it seems like all the Christian friends I can find are Calvinists, lets just say that its hard to have a bible study with them... please pray

[filipcruz]

Thank you, Dr. Flowers, for a sober, humble, and biblical discussion of this. Without free will, there can be no true love. You can't ZAPPP somebody into loving you. Whatever that might be, it's not love.

[adenjones]

Better to be alone in the truth than to be united in a lie.

[michaele]

"Division in the Church" is ALWAYS about dividing from the TRUTH...not from denominational creeds or doctrinal opinions. How have we come to the place where we "honor" the false teachings of others by not wanting to step on people's doctrinal toes? We have to do better than this catering to emotions and ideologies.

[donettepickering]

I didn't realize that the Baptist congregation I was a member of for 10 years was Calvinistic until I started to listen to Leighton Flowers. They wanted me and my husband to start teaching Bible studies but refused to allow us to use Mr. Flower's curriculum. We could only use approved Calvinists materials.
I grew up in an Adventist cult and consider any kind of indoctrination a cult. I believe the call of pastors and teachers is to present ALL views and allow the Holy Spirit to move inside the individual to lead them into all Truth.
In the end, we both left that church and I will never again be a member of any organized religion.

[JStevensdk]

Yes, but, Calvinism is so putrid to me and I'm so spiritually offended by the doctrine on how it misrepresents God's nature, Jesus's sacrifice and distorts the true gospel message, I would not nor could not ever sit under a Calvinist pastor, board or church.

[joecj]

As a non Calvanist, I just can't see how I can bring myself to attend a Calvanist church knowing that our understanding of God at the very essence of its foundation is separated by a fundamentally irreconcilable difference. How then, can you proceed to build a truthful relationship with God if it is to be based on a doctrinal interpretation of the bible that is incompatible with your understanding of the truth?

[sheilasmith]

Always speak the truth. Then be silent and decide whether to stay or to leave your church. Good advice Leighton.

[jgarner]

This is my favorite video I've seen from you Dr. Flowers. You really showed an ecumenical spirit and how to properly express it in a hard situation. I too find myself in a church where i disagree with a lot of things but none of it is primary. So I find myself trying to just talk to my wife about it and trying not to mention it otherwise unless it comes up.

[__]

Couldn’t agree more Dr. Flowers. I go to a very Calvinist church and for the most part people are very respectful but I always have to remember to submit to the leadership and not start big arguments and make people mad. We are all Christians saved by grace.

[bigdogboos]

If you’re asked to not talk about it, thats where you draw the line. They are in sim if they forbid you to talk about it. That’s different than preaching and saying everyone needs to switch.

[Ransomonious]

I am right there. Every opportunity to interpret things deterministically is seized as expressing an important orthodoxy.

[emf]

If attending a Calvinist church and believing it’s an erroneous twisting of scripture, how is it even possible to be silent? How is speaking the truth divisive? Would we not correct any other false doctrine, ie. Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Islam, even Catholicism? Isn’t silence “suppressing the truth in unrighteousness?”

[SaneNoMore]

After attending every Baptist Church in my town I found every one of them to be run by young Calvinist. I finally chose to join one anyway as it was the best option available to me.

[eugenejoseph]

My wife and I started attending a new church due to covid nonsense but after a few months we began to notice the increased focus on 'doctrines' we were not familiar with i.e. election, preordained, sovereignty and others. Even the Bible study we had joined began to tell us we didn't know our bibles! We are 63 years old. My wife has been a believer since she was a child and I became a believer in 1985 and completed a Bachelor's in Religious studies and 2 Christian counseling Diplomas and that didn't seem to matter, apparently, we didn't really understand biblical truth. The studies were turning into heated debates and we were constantly told that God is sovereign, man has no free will etc. Needless to say, what started out as a beautiful fellowship centred around free Worship without masks, had become a bit camp for Calvinism indoctrination. We left brokenhearted but we are so grateful to God for leading us there because now we know that NEVER AGAIN WILL WE TRUST MAN TO TEACH US. I used to be a huge McArthur fan, along with RC, Lawson, Piper because they were able to deceive me with their fancy phrases and twisting the meaning of certain passages to fit 'their' doctrines. These guys do not have one original thought in their heads. All they do is quote dead reformers like 'parrots'. After nearly four months of indepth study on Calvinism and reformed theology, I've come to believe it is Heretical and destroys the very character of our Loving Saviour. It reduces the Cross of Christ into an act of preference for those He chose to save (they can't tell you why!! It's a mystery to them!?) They can't even tell people straight out that God loves them because they may not be one of the elect!!! This is insane and this doctrine must be confronted with everything the real church has at its disposal, prayer, rebuke, correction and if need be, stop fellowship with them. That's what we had to do. God is good and led us to a church right in our neighborhood that IS NOT REFORMED and actually preach John 3:16 just like the Bible says, 'For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believeth on Him shall NOT perish it have everlasting life.

[amadeusasimov]

I really hope years from now providionism is not labeled as "Leightonism", but it possibly could happen. Every theology often ends up slapped with someone's name on it.
Would be sad to see it deduced to yet another view categorized along with all the others after someone's name. But if anyone, Leighton is certainly the biggest name in provisionism!

[juaneato]

Been there, done that. Pastor was “neutral” on Calvinism so I bailed. There’s no neutrality in Christianity. Let your “yes” be “yes”…