Denomination

     I think it's time to discuss the big "D."  I've never been a big fan of denominations; you don't find them in the Bible.  They developed over time as one Christian thought one thing and another thought something else, and so each went a different way and started groups of like-minded people.  It's a little more involved than that but not much.  The denomination I will be planting through is the Advent Christians.  Having just finished a rather long book (the first of two) teaching on the founding of the group, I figured I'd sum it up right quick.
     Back in the day this guy William Miller, a civil war veteran and a farmer by trade, studied his bible.  He didn't use the writings or teachings of others...  One day, later in life than most, he came to the conclusion that Christ is real.  Some near-death war experiences helped him with the decision.  This could have gone either way; war can either make you a believer or a hard core skeptic.  I think to some degree Miller was a skeptic, as all believers should be, and it was this skepticism that drove him to study his bible to see for himself what it had to say.
     Over the years he began to see a pattern concerning both the Old and New Testament prophecies.  Christ was coming back!  He pulled out his counting beads, or whatever they used for calculators back then, and began to run some numbers based on the prophecies and came up with a date for Christ's return.  In 1831 he began preaching, letting everyone know Christ would return in 1843 or 1844.  His message was simple:  "Christ is on His way, are you ready?"
     His message gained momentum and soon a bunch of scholarly folks came alongside of him confirming his date and teaching the same message.  Think of it like giant Billy Graham crusades only with more speakers, really big charts and graphs, and an impressive degree of urgency.  These men and women believed time was running out and they desperately wanted to see as many people accept Christ as possible before Christ's return.
     But then something happened...  1843 came and went...  Then 1844 came and went...  And no Jesus.  They call this the Great Disappointment.  So now you have all these folks from all these different denominations who are now standing around without a church home because they've been kicked out of the ones they used to attend.  Some were broke because they sold all their possessions and gave to those in need expecting the return of Christ.  Think of it like the big "2000" scare where people were stocking up on food and building shelters because all the computers were going to crash but instead these folks were thinking, 'Jesus is coming back.  Why do I need a house?  I better get on the ball with that love your neighbor thing.'
     Eventually these guys formed a denomination.  This wasn't Miller's goal.  His goal was to tell as many people about Jesus before Jesus showed up.  He viewed the "church" as a possible source of evil mentioned in biblical prophecy and didn't intend to create a group within the group he didn't entirely trust.  He was more like the guy who says, "Dude, your house is on fire.  Seriously - it's on fire!"  and then some other guy comes along and says, "Let's start a fire brigade because we all recognize the importance of letting people know when their house is on fire."
     So the Advent Christian denomination was born.  Because of its distrust of "organized religion," they established themselves to allow each church (defined as a group of like-minded believers meeting in fellowship) to regulate itself without interference from the appointed leaders of the denomination.  Think of it like Fed. vs. State where the State has complete independence and the Fed. is there to help when needed.
     Of course this led to me asking, "Then what the heck defines an Advent Christian church?  Sounds like they could be whatever they want and nobody could say or do anything about it!" 
     And here in lies the problem - in their attempt to remain free, they created an environment where those freedoms can be abused.  While at their core, the denomination holds to certain beliefs, there is no regulation to assure all the churches in the denomination hold to those beliefs, nor is it a requirement for membership.
     There are three main things that typically separates the Advent Christian denomination from other church groups.  They believe in the imminent return of Christ, conditional immortality, and soul sleep.  Let me sum them up right quick and close this thing out:

1. Imminent return - Christ could come back at any second and life should be lived accordingly.  Live each moment as if it were the last and attempt to talk to as many people as possible about Jesus.
2. Conditional immortality - People aren't born immortal; they are made that way upon confessing Christ which would mean that those who don't confess Christ can't be punished eternally.  Think of "Hell" as a furnace where everything gets burned up and no longer exists.
3. Soul sleep - When a person dies, they don't go straight to Heaven.  They "sleep" while awaiting the return of Christ.  Jesus is coming back to collect the Saints; both living and dead.  Right now Jesus is "preparing a place" for us - He isn't taking us straight there.   

     I'm approaching these beliefs like Miller; with my Bible and nothing else.  I don't want to be influenced by the teachings of others.  I want to believe what I believe because I believe it.  I hope that makes sense...
     Pray for us.