Baptist Interview Essay

This paper will discuss my reflection to the interview session that I had with Pastor Stephen Paulsen. Stephen Paulsen is the high school Pastor at Venture Christian Church. He has been a high school Pastor for about 13 years. Stephen has started his ministry at Venture Christian Church since August 2014. Before working at Venture, He began his first ministry in serving the high school students in South Carolina. He has four kids (three boys and one daughter) and a beautiful wife. This paper will reflect on the answers that I got during the interview, according to his experience in his ministry.

I found many interesting parts about African American Baptist churches and how it all started and what caught my eye was the very first African American baptist church was the oldest and it was constituted at Silver Bluff about a year or two before he revolutionary war and started early in 1775. The silver bluff was located on the South Carolina side of Savannah River in Aiken County and was only twelve miles in distance from Augusta, GA. In my findings it shows that the founders by the name of Andrew Bryan, George Liele and it was in the 1770s Savannah’s First Baptist Church and it was an independent during the slavery era. It also showed that there was a large number of black baptist secretly worshipped meetings on their own. The black baptist

Catholicism: A Very Short Introduction written by Gerald O’Collins is a short read that gives an insight to the Catholic church without getting confusing to the reader. It touches on the basics of Catholicism such as the history, practices, and core beliefs. Through each chapter Gerald O’Collins a research professor in the field of Theology at St. Mary’s University College and Twickenham, as well as formally Dean in Gregorian University for the faculty of Theology, shares his knowledge on the Catholic religion one question at a time.

Ask most people today if they have heard of Baptist and Catholic religion and most would say yes. In many ways the two are very similar. For instance, both are based on the Christian faith, belief in the trinity, and that God is the one true God. The two religions agree that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to atone for our sins. They share a 27 book New Testament and insist that salvation comes from Christ alone. On the other hand, while the Baptist and Catholic religions do have similarities, they also have differences, such as their services, communion, and views regarding salvation.

In my experience at first progressive Baptist Church I was very much out of my comfort zone because not only did I not feel as welcomed but it was a little awkward because of all the looks I was receiving. I felt I was not dressed as they were and felt as if I didn't fit in and right away I just didn't feel appropriate with my attire. While I was there I actually had people wanting to shake hands and asking me questions about me coming and there was one man who just stared at me and so it was uncomfortable and didn't know how to react. While I was there I started to notice that there is a little difference from the church I go to and the music was way different as well, everyone will talk back with amen or thank you Jesus. The difference

To properly label a Christian an evangelical Protestant, one must ask four basic questions and receive an answer that as a whole, evangelical Protestants accept as “correct”. The questions are: “[W]hat must a person do to be saved?[, W]here does religious authority lie?[, W]hat is the church?[,] and [W]hat is the essence of Christian living?” (“Evangelicalism”, Dictionary of Christianity in America) Through answering and receiving the “correct” responses, one should be able to define an evangelical Protestant.

In Baptist history there has always been differences in doctrine. This has unfortunately resulted, at times, to separate believers from one another. This can be evident from comparing two American Baptist confessions. The most notable difference in doctrine between The Philadelphia Confession of 1742 and A Treatise on the Faith of the Free Will Baptists, 1834 and 1948 is the doctrine of Calvinism versus free-will. The Philadelphia Confession supported Calvinism and the Free Will Baptists supported Arminianism. A closer look at these two confessions show that throughout Baptist history certain doctrines remain constant while others are debated and cause separation of believers. However, this has not stopped the Gospel message to be preached

Jehovah’s Witnesses are a people known widely throughout the world. They are well-dressed people who come knocking at your door on different occasions offering religious literature for sale or trying to introduce their beliefs through carefully prepared conversation. People young, old, rich, poor, well educated and non-educated have embraced them. Their enthusiasm as proclaimers of God’s Kingdom has impressed even their harshest critics. Their love toward one another makes some non-witnesses hope and pray that more people would act in that manner. Yet, some may still wonder, who really are the Jehovah’s Witnesses? What is their history, their practices and their beliefs? Why are they the most attacked new religious

My congregation and those who minister with me try to live by “Thinking Like Jesus Christ.” There are faults, however. Sometimes there are issues where leaders disagree with one another. In other words, there is disunity, occasionally. Disunity, unfortunately, has led several members to leave the church. Pride also resides with the ministerial team: there is a lack of acknowledgment for God’s work. In addition, certain ministers do not serve because they have a selfish mindset; that is, they only do work to have a greater name. In spite of these flaws, we pray for forgiveness and repent. We are a church of prayer. Jesus Christ comes to renew our minds to like Him. I specifically pray for my co¬–ministers. Additionally, I attempt to apply the biblical principles of “The Mind of Christ” by submitting myself to my co¬–ministers that I think to have a higher esteem than I do.

I jumped at the opportunity to complete the extra credit assignment because of the topic. I have always wanted to attend an African American Baptist Church. I was raised Catholic in a predominantly white community and for the chance to experience something different was appealing. I’ve seen the stereotypes in movies and on TV about what an African American Baptist church looks like but I wanted to experience it myself. I wasn’t sure on what to expect but kept an open mind about the situation.

Nations crumble, churches and business fail, families become dysfunctional, children lose their way, and men stray from God for one disturbing reason; lack of leadership. These failures are often because of the lack of instruction, proper leadership, and confusion over what Christian leadership is and how that leadership is applicable to every facet of business and personal life.

was owed a great sum of money by one of his servants. The king let the

Describe your past and current experiences of leadership, whether in counseling, administration, teaching, ministry, coaching, or learning. How have these experiences contributed to your decisions to apply for this program?

I was born Christian from a traditional Christian family, so I was practicing basic Christianity from a very early age, like going to church, participating in Christian events and activities in the Church and the Christian community. In Egypt, this is the normal way of life for any Christian family. Church is the center of their kids’ lives. They join Sunday school and attend the church services on a weekly basis. Spend the summer in church camps and join all festivals and activities organized by the church.

The Catholic Church, Catholic meaning universal is a church with unique practices, beliefs, and traditions compared to the Christian church. (5) The Catholic Church is the closest related to the Christian Church but is extremely different when it comes to rules and specific beliefs. The Christian church is more focused around the belief of followers of Jesus.(1) The Church is centered on the belief that their religion should be focused on the life and walks of Jesus the Son of God. The Protestant Church is a branch of Christianity and shares the belief of