Crossway Church

Controlling and Communism at ASBC? I have attended ASBC for almost 30 years. There have been 4 pastors over that time. I have respected and trusted the former ones biblically. The current one has a style of leadership that has made me pause and wonder if it is a fit nor me now. Covid has affected every church, ASBC was one of the first to reopen in the area over 1 year ago, but with many restrictions. They have loosened up a little but still seem to have many state restrictions that have no medical or health benefits. Other changes was sneaked in and have disturbed me. It may be just me.
1. Bible study life groups are an important core of ASBC. It is a way to get to know a small group in a large group. When the pastor came about 6 years ago, he offered the option for the Life Groups to pick our own Bible Study Class info and books or use a study he chose. Option seems good. The pastor started a new about 2 year sermon study in Jan 2021. He now changed the Life Groups to be required to study only based on his sermon that week. He also provided the information to study that he wrote. No free choice in that anymore. (His indoctrination?)
2. Also tithing and Giving is very important to ASBC. In the past, You could tithe to any of the missions, pantry for the needy or regular church expenses you chose. I was unhappy to find out recently that the only option offered for donations is to the "Forward" program started about 2 years ago. (I didn't understand how that came about and my questions about that were ignored). I guess the pastor decides where your $ goes. That sounds a little too communism/ socialism than I prefer. I have decide to give the $ I would be giving to ASBC, to other Christian Organizations with common goals and beliefs. I like to be able to decide this for myself and not give that decision to others.

I really do like this church. I haven't committed to it & have not become a member yet, but I'd call myself a "regular." I can't even guess how many official "members" it has, especially since there are 3 services every Sunday - 8am, 9:15am, & 11am.

They have a large parking lot because the church is huge. They recently changed the inside to have those "fold-up" theater style seats. At first, I was like, "what?!" (I prefer pews), but I guess these grew on me.

For the last maybe 4-5 months, the church had an interim Pastor (Troy Temple), who was excellent. Funny & preached the "good word." A new permanent pastor is coming on board this first weekend of October; I pray he's just as good.

The only con of a huge church is that you really won't get to know anyone, which I don't mind personally. It's just that with smaller churches, they definitely do try to get to know the attendees and members.

Altogether good church, I'd recommend it to others.

I attended service here as a guest of some friends, having recently moved here from out of state. Other than being told, "It's sorta Baptist-light, no fire and brimstone," I didn't have any other expectations.
Upon arrival, the parking lot was full and busy. I arrived about 10 minutes before the 11 AM Sunday service, and there were many people coming and going, but there was still ample parking.
The service began with about 5-6 "worship" songs: stylistically "gospel (light)"--basically a toned down version of gospel music. There were about 40 or so choir members in the back of the stage, 8-10 in the "band," and another half dozen in the front "leading" the songs. The songs were largely similar to one another, focusing on the "name of the Lord," and portraying "Jesus" like some magic word that would solve all of your problems, and mixed with lots of "sappy sentimentalism." Thumbs way down on the worship, in terms of style (which I admit, is personal) and more importantly, in the theological themes of the lyrics.
The "speaker" was Ron Proctor, who introduced himself as a counselor who typically does "one on one" discipleship. His "sermon" (no title given) was basically, "How to live out your faith in the process of sanctification." Normally, these subjects would be awesome topics to cover within the context a related passage. Unfortunately, Mr. Proctor's misuse of Scripture completely subverted fundamental biblical truth.
While there were several examples of this, I will focus on the one most central to his message, a personal definition of faith that Mr. Proctor gave to start his teaching: "Faith is choosing to live as though God's Word is true regardless of circumstances, emotions, and cultural friends. Faith is volitional. It is a willful decision to live according to Scripture." (I got this verbatim because he was so adamant that we write down this definition, repeating it 5-6 times.) Mr. Proctor did not give any scriptural support for this definition, he only said that it had proved useful in his counseling ministry. Mr. Proctor then fired off three separate verses, Hebrews 11:6, Romans 14:23, and 2 Corinthians 5:? (I think it was "7," but he said these so fast and only paraphrased each one so it was hard to get them all).
Anyway, his whole point was to emphasize the importance of faith in the Christian life (which I do not disagree with)--however, the issue is that his definition of faith was not the same as used in the context of his cited passages (and does not conform to Scripture, overall). How do I know this? Because Hebrews 11:1 tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." (all NKJV) Certainly, this does not sound like a volitional choice to live as if God's Word is true. In fact, it says something quite different. It says that faith is a type of propositional knowledge, a real thing ("substance") based on "evidence." Mr. Proctor ignores the external nature of faith (unlike the author of Hebrews), and incorrectly claims that its essence is an internal nature that rests on the action of the individual. So how does one acquire "faith?" As Mr. Proctor quoted in my discussion with him after the sermon, "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17) I agreed with him here, that faith does not originate from an internal, individual action, but it is the external work of the Holy Spirit by means of God's Word. This we know also from Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." If faith were a volitional choice, then it WOULD be a work, and we would have something of ourselves to boast about (as Christians). In the end, Mr. Proctor could try to cite all sorts of passages that talk about faith, which on the surface I would not disagree with, except he isn't using a Scripture-based definition of faith. For instance, he quoted Hebrews 11:6, which says, "But without faith it is impossible to please [God]." Mr. Proctor's definition makes this a totally works based salvation, saying, "But without [a willful decision to live according to God's Word] it is impossible to please [God]." That certainly sounds like a personal "work" to me. As I just showed, faith is an assurance that is a grace-gift of God, and without this it is impossible to please God. This is the truth about the gospel: Your faith, which is 100% a gift of God, is the only way to please God. This is what propitiation teaches us: we are forgiven due to the works of Christ alone and made holy by His works alone. It is ALL CHRIST (sola scriptura, fide, & gratia; solo Christo; Soli Deo gloria).
Sadly, the lead pastor got up after the message and specifically affirmed Mr. Proctor's definition of faith. I recommend avoiding this church if you are interested in hearing those capable of "rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)

It's all about perspective. Coming from a non denominal background, I find Baptist churches a little too rigid in some areas....since they don't acknowledge the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as portrayed in Acts, they are limiting the power of the Holy Spirit in their services. On the other hand, my kids went to school there and it was one of the most positive and happy times for us, and my kids really grew in their faith. The love and support they received will stay with them the rest of their lives. If you live in Chesapeake/Virginia Beach and want a church for your whole family, then Atlantic Shores is the place to be!

Love ASBC....n they love you too....friendly caring people. Excellent children's programs. Very happy. ....knowing God led me here!