John,

I'm sure Kyle will respond to your post as well but I would like to say just a couple of brief things:

1. You should know by now that Satan loves to quote Scripture, albeit twisted to fit his agenda. Thus it come as no surprise that people will claim to be "Reformed" who are totally alien to what it teaches in practice, i.e., they give lip-service to certain doctrine or distinctives. All one has to do is to check out the Church of the Outer Banks and you will clearly see what I'm referring to. NO... I repeat [color:"red"]NO!![/color] truly Reformed church would EVER cancel its corporate worship to a) help at a Marathon and/or b) officiate at some worldly art Gallery gala event. Such a decision is incontrovertibly a violation of the 4th Commandment. And even if a church was anti-Sabbatarian but held to the sanctity of the "Lord's Day" (Sunday), such behavior would be totally unacceptable. Also notice the type of "worship" they practice with the full electric instrumentation and other things they boast about. These are more than inconsistent with the Reformed doctrine of the Regulative Principle of Worship, even if held loosely. And how about that neon-glowing surfboard pulpit? Doesn't that speak for itself?

Did you also happen to notice that Acts 29 Group distinguishes itself in four areas with "Reformed" being the LAST on the list? One could rightly conclude that being "Reformed" is not a high priority.

2. The Acts 29 Group's "doctrinal statement" allows far more than baptismal issues. It includes charismatic gifts and eschatology. And, since John Piper has his hand in this I can assume that women are allowed to serve as deacons as well.

But again, I'll let Kyle contribute his own insights and concerns which are probably far more in number than the few examples I have provided off hand.

At a recent pastor's conference held at Trinity Baptist Church in Montvale, NJ it was noted that there is a general falling out of church members among many churches; both Credo and Paedo. The #1 reason why so many people have left their respective churches was The Command to Keep the Sabbath. Secondly, there was the issue of people not wanting to submit to the authority of Elders. And I believe, although I could not be remembering this correctly, there was a general desire to see more Programs. Thus, it should not be surprising that when some group like Acts 29 Group comes along there will be those who abandon their church membership and flee to that which will tickle their ears. In most cases, those who do leave their church do so without biblical grounds.

In His grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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