HopePointe Church

[FamilyGal]

Eaglesprings, here is the church I was telling you my daughter is a member of. Her and her in-laws are members there and very active. She was raised Baptist and very strong in her beliefs, yet has really come to love this church. This may be something that works for you and your family.

I don't really know anything about an Anglican church, but I do know they believe the same core beliefs that we do. That Jesus is the Son of God and the only way to salvation is through Him.

This church is VERY welcoming and is focused on outreach in the community.
http://www.hopepointe.org/

[eaglesprings]

Thanks so much! I attended a "Prayer and Praise" Friday night service years ago at an Episcopal Church that I thoroughly enjoyed, but like you, I'm not extremely familiar with the Episcopal Church or Anglican congregations. I'll definitely check them out! They would be convenient to us if they move to the Woodsedge Campus, when Woodsedge is ready to move into their new building.

[FamilyGal]

Getting through Fellowship traffic to get to HopePointe may be a hinderance in the meantime! LOL (They are located off of 242 past the college)

[eaglesprings]

LOL! I hear you, but the worst part of Fellowship traffic is right there in the parking lot. I'm getting geared up for Monday VBS, and have my "game plan" for pick up in mind. We'll see if it works.

We really considered Woodsedge for a while, and still haven't ruled Woodsedge out. We're a little worried that they will follow in Fellowship's footsteps, and just get too big and too building oriented. I e-mailed them asking about VBS, someone e-mailed me back saying they were going to pass my message along to someone else to answer, and I never got a follow up.

That particular location (where Woodsedge is now) is "doable." If things work out with husband and the girls, I'd like to visit Woodsedge again this Saturday night, and either Faith Bible or Hope Point on Sunday.

Of course, we haven't entirely ruled out Oak Ridge Baptist. While it is hard to get used to a somewhat traditional Baptist preacher again, the people there are super nice and welcoming! And, heck, we could walk there!

[cgwoolf]

I have been Episcopal all my adult life - will be glad to answer any questions I can. Course I'll also admit to not having attended in several years. If I remember correctly, this Hope one you speak of split from the main church as hundreds/thousands? have due to the arguing about gay priests. It has split the church right down the middle and I do not think they will ever agree. More likely, more will break away from the old church - kind of sad. All and all i t is a great church - very family oriented. They are protestant (having broke from the Catholics/King of England/war way back when) and they are much like Methodists, Lutheran, Presbytarian, etc. There are high churches who still do most of service in Latin and there are low more laid back churches (like we have down here). They believe God and Jesus are one in the same Father/Son/Holy Ghost. They believe in the resurrection, the Nicene Creed, 10 Commandments - all the normal Christian stuff. They also believe everything in moderation - drinking is ok but not in excess. same with food and eveything else. They take divorce very seriously and you must basically "have permission" to take communion once divorced...unless that is changed. They believe much like Catholics but they do not believe in confession to anyone but God.

[eaglesprings]

Thanks, cg. I have to admit, I got a little lost looking through the "what we believe" section of their website, but then again, I was somewhat rushed -- not really in a state of mind to take it all in.

I suppose I may take "written church doctrine" and in other denominations, "conventions" a little too seriously. At one time, this would have been a non-issue. I went where I felt "renewed," (such as the Prayer and Praise service on Friday nights at an Episcopal Church).

Anyway, I'll keep you in mind if I do have any questions! It's beginning to look like we won't visit tomorrow, but soon!

[FamilyGal]

They believe God and Jesus are one in the same Father/Son/Holy Ghost.

Hmmm, this is interesting. The Baptist church believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Father/Son/Holy Ghost make up the Trinity, but not that Jesus and God are one in the same. Does that make sense?

I didn't catch that difference on HopePointe's website. CG, yes, HopePointe split from Trinity Episcopal. My daughter actually attend Trinity with another family during her later teen years. (Her high school boyfriend and his family attended that church.) She left Trinity when HopePointe was created. (I think it was called something else before HopePointe though.)

Father Clark is a great guy! He is the one that married my daughter and her husband. My daughter is very close to him and his family and I have met them all. They are a GREAT family.

HopePointe bought Woodsedge, but they have to wait until Woodsedge moves into their new building (that is being built on Gosling). My daughter's wedding was at WoodsEdge and it is a beautiful building. There is no room for growth in that building though, so unless a church moves, they aren't growing "too" big in that building. HopePointe isn't looking to grow huge though, from what I understand. They are a huge mission oriented church. Also, from what I understand, the United States is the biggest mission field for the Anglican church. I have never thought of the US being a huge mission field. You always hear about Africa and other countries being where we "go" to witness. Africa has the largest Anglican population in the world though.

[Lon Chaney]

When it comes to the Christian faith I think that there are some core beliefs that all of the different "flavors" share. What's important is that those interested in joining a church feel welcome and can connect with the message.

There is a church for sale on Research Forrest, I think it's the Baptist one? Hmmm... maybe I'll start my own. Church of the Shepherd. German Shepherd that is! We'll be in it for tax reasons and have an invitation only flock of like minded people. You must love animals, BBQ, beer and be okay in the head! Services on Friday and Saturday nights...

:D

[eaglesprings]

Lon, will you welcome different breeds? Will I be allowed to partake of the BBQ and beer as a terrier owner? LOL!

[FamilyGal]

There is a church for sale on Research Forrest, I think it's the Baptist one?

Yes, that is Crossroads. They are building on the property that HopePointe is actually using right now. (Woodlands Christian Academy)

You must love animals, BBQ, beer and be okay in the head! Services on Friday and Saturday nights...

Sounds like a plan! I don't know about the okay in head part though. I don't know if I qualify.

[cgwoolf]

The Baptist church believes that Jesus is the Son of God and that the Father/Son/Holy Ghost make up the Trinity, but not that Jesus and God are one in the same. Does that make sense?

FG I always got tangled up with that too - see your quote above. I was raised Methodist as child and that is how I heard it. But when I became episcopal...although I heard it the same - the Trinity, it was also later explained to me by a priest that the Trinity is considered "one". I never wanted to get deeep enough at the time to explore that but maybe I will someday. Was Father Clark the one that was at Trinity...and did he not form this church to break away form the old one? I only attended a few times while he was there but I really liked him. I heard later that there was a big ruckus going on in that church but I did not know what it was and then all of a sudden I heard he was gone and had started a new church. I'm just guessing the beef was over to allow or not allow gay priests and I have no idea which side of the camp Clark was on.

[eaglesprings]

RE: Trinity, I think the first chapter of John explains it as well as it can possibly be explained, although that term is not used there, or anywhere in the Bible that I'm aware of. It is a confusing thing to try to understand, and the attempts to explain it usually cause a lot of disagreement.


We didn't make it this a.m. No good excuses, but the weather was yucky and nobody wanted to get a move on this a.m. However, I'll be hauling kids to VBS tomorrow, so I'll at least have an opportunity to see for sure where I'm going when I do visit.

[LarkinJoanna]

Family I don't consider myself to be in any denomination although I do look at a particular denominations core beliefs before attending their church as my home church wherever we happen to be living at the time. Currently we attend Stonebridge which happens to be Baptist but I don't consider myself to be a Baptist but simply a Christian. I thought I would look up the SBC's core beliefs. It's the link below with some excerpts noted. They do believe that Jesus is actually God. (see below).

I've heard the Trinity explained in comparison to ice/water/vapor. Their composition is all H2O but in each separate form it has a different function or personality/attribute.

http://www.sbc.net/bfm/bfm2000.asp


II. God

There is one and only one living and true God. He is an intelligent, spiritual, and personal Being, the Creator, Redeemer, Preserver, and Ruler of the universe. God is infinite in holiness and all other perfections. God is all powerful and all knowing; and His perfect knowledge extends to all things, past, present, and future, including the future decisions of His free creatures. To Him we owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience. The eternal triune God reveals Himself to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, with distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being.

A. God the Father

God as Father reigns with providential care over His universe, His creatures, and the flow of the stream of human history according to the purposes of His grace. He is all powerful, all knowing, all loving, and all wise. God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. He is fatherly in His attitude toward all men.

Genesis 1:1; 2:7; Exodus 3:14; 6:2-3; 15:11ff.; 20:1ff.; Leviticus 22:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; 32:6; 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalm 19:1-3; Isaiah 43:3,15; 64:8; Jeremiah 10:10; 17:13; Matthew 6:9ff.; 7:11; 23:9; 28:19; Mark 1:9-11; John 4:24; 5:26; 14:6-13; 17:1-8; Acts 1:7; Romans 8:14-15; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 4:6; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 1:17; Hebrews 11:6; 12:9; 1 Peter 1:17; 1 John 5:7.

B. God the Son

Christ is the eternal Son of God. In His incarnation as Jesus Christ He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Jesus perfectly revealed and did the will of God, taking upon Himself human nature with its demands and necessities and identifying Himself completely with mankind yet without sin. He honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and in His substitutionary death on the cross He made provision for the redemption of men from sin. He was raised from the dead with a glorified body and appeared to His disciples as the person who was with them before His crucifixion. He ascended into heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where He is the One Mediator, fully God, fully man, in whose Person is effected the reconciliation between God and man. He will return in power and glory to judge the world and to consummate His redemptive mission. He now dwells in all believers as the living and ever present Lord.

Genesis 18:1ff.; Psalms 2:7ff.; 110:1ff.; Isaiah 7:14; 53; Matthew 1:18-23; 3:17; 8:29; 11:27; 14:33; 16:16,27; 17:5; 27; 28:1-6,19; Mark 1:1; 3:11; Luke 1:35; 4:41; 22:70; 24:46; John 1:1-18,29; 10:30,38; 11:25-27; 12:44-50; 14:7-11; 16:15-16,28; 17:1-5, 21-22; 20:1-20,28; Acts 1:9; 2:22-24; 7:55-56; 9:4-5,20; Romans 1:3-4; 3:23-26; 5:6-21; 8:1-3,34; 10:4; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2:2; 8:6; 15:1-8,24-28; 2 Corinthians 5:19-21; 8:9; Galatians 4:4-5; Ephesians 1:20; 3:11; 4:7-10; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:13-22; 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 3:16; Titus 2:13-14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 4:14-15; 7:14-28; 9:12-15,24-28; 12:2; 13:8; 1 Peter 2:21-25; 3:22; 1 John 1:7-9; 3:2; 4:14-15; 5:9; 2 John 7-9; Revelation 1:13-16; 5:9-14; 12:10-11; 13:8; 19:16.

C. God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God, fully divine. He inspired holy men of old to write the Scriptures. Through illumination He enables men to understand truth. He exalts Christ. He convicts men of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. He calls men to the Saviour, and effects regeneration. At the moment of regeneration He baptizes every believer into the Body of Christ. He cultivates Christian character, comforts believers, and bestows the spiritual gifts by which they serve God through His church. He seals the believer unto the day of final redemption. His presence in the Christian is the guarantee that God will bring the believer into the fullness of the stature of Christ. He enlightens and empowers the believer and the church in worship, evangelism, and service.

Genesis 1:2; Judges 14:6; Job 26:13; Psalms 51:11; 139:7ff.; Isaiah 61:1-3; Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 1:18; 3:16; 4:1; 12:28-32; 28:19; Mark 1:10,12; Luke 1:35; 4:1,18-19; 11:13; 12:12; 24:49; John 4:24; 14:16-17,26; 15:26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:1-4,38; 4:31; 5:3; 6:3; 7:55; 8:17,39; 10:44; 13:2; 15:28; 16:6; 19:1-6; Romans 8:9-11,14-16,26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 3:16; 12:3-11,13; Galatians 4:6; Ephesians 1:13-14; 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:19; 1 Timothy 3:16; 4:1; 2 Timothy 1:14; 3:16; Hebrews 9:8,14; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 John 4:13; 5:6-7; Revelation 1:10; 22:17.

[FamilyGal]

Was Father Clark the one that was at Trinity...and did he not form this church to break away form the old one?

Yes, Father Clark was at Trinity. He didn't leave Trinity to form a new church. He actually moved to Austin after leaving Trinity for awhile and then came back and started HopePointe. I was actually talking to my daughter today about this since we were having this thread. The issue about gay preachers was only a small part of many families leaving Trinity. When Father Clark came back, the other families were already forming a new church. So, I don't think he was a big part of the split. I think it just looked like he was since he left Trinity and later became the pastor of the new church. Other than that, my daughter said there were a lot of issues, most of which she didn't even really understand, nor care to.

[FamilyGal]

Larkin, I guess I need to pay more attention then. ;) This was something else that my daughter and another lady were talking about today. In the end, none of us had a good answer. <sigh>

[cgwoolf]

To edit my last post...I started the sentence with "in the Baptist church" but I meant to say "in the Episcopal church" because I don't know much about the Baptist church and my feeble brain was not working properly.

Thanks for squaring me away on Trinity and Fr Clark...I just put 2+2 together and came up with 5.

[Midlifemama]

I've been a member of Trinity Episcopal for over 15 years. I was there when we had our "schism". It was not pleasant; there's definitely another side to what happened.

Personally, I love Trinity. The ones who left to start Holy Spirit (now HopePointe) are very happy there. Worship where your soul tells you.

[eaglesprings]

Hi, Midlifemamma:

Honestly, I'm not even curious about 'what happened there." I do know that church conflicts are hurtful. Our own "home" church has been going through some of that type stuff. I hate it! I go back to visit, and wonder what happened to some people that used to be there. And, I hear stories from my in-laws about why some people left. Usually, pretty petty stuff.

But, you know, I really do think God knows what He is doing. Perhaps there is some divine plan in all of this we can't see? I don't know. Just guessing. Perhaps it's just to spread the Good News by not making one huge church, but several churches. Again, just guessing.

We probably won't visit Hope Pointe anytime soon. Maybe when they move to the Panther Creek location. I hate to say it, but convenience means a lot to me! I know.....I'm terrible!!!

[Wilson]

Welcome to TOTW, Midlifemama!

[FamilyGal]

Welcome to TOTW. We have several friends that still go to Trinity and love it as well. There always three sides to a story (his, hers and the truth), lol and with a church, there are about forty sides! LOL I'm sure both are great churches and meet the needs of their members.

Welcome to the board! Hope you make yourself at home.