ALASKA BAPTIST ASSOCIATION

By: Anonymous

Seeking a Christ Jesus preaching and teaching church, I have personally visited and interacted with a number of Baptist churches in Alaska. One such church is the Big Lake Independent Baptist Church in Big Lake Alaska.
This church is run by a "pastor" who has made the statement that he "appointed" men who would agree with him to the leadership council. This following a lengthy dissertation on two previous church members who had attempted take overs of the church. When this pastor noticed the shock on the person’s face he spoke to, he amended his statement with an, "I was just kidding." remark.
In subsequent meetings, one which included a council meeting, this pastor unilaterally appointed an "assistant pastor," instructing this person that they would see what they could do later about getting him credentialed as an actual pastor. This man immediately started calling this "assistant pastor" Pastor. Then the council voted 100% to confirm the unilateral appointment, whereupon in later church services, this man was presented as the assistant pastor, prior to it being voted upon by the membership.
The Deacon, the pastor's son, during one men's Sunday school, stood up and screamed at a man who was sharing the importance of presenting Christ to the unsaved, to "SHUT-UP, let the man speak!" referring to the Sunday school presenter. When two of leadership were approached concerning this disruptive behavior, no resolution was taken. The Deacon was privately approached and the matter discussed, while he admitted he was wrong for what he had done, he gave a mitigator, in his mind, that the man speaking whom he had yelled at, had been a problem for 2 years; that the Deacon's dad (pastor) would take care of it when he came back from his 5 week vacation to visit other churches and to help clean out his father's garage. No apology was extended o anyone in the class. Come to find out, the man harshly dealt with had been present when someone had attempted takeover of the church. Instead of picking sides, he sought to continue fellowship with both sides and to adhere to the statement: "In Essentials - Unity; in non-essentials - Liberty; but in all things Love." Because he chose not to be a part of the ungodly battle, he was ouster sized by leadership.
This church is full of fear, and they pass it on to the membership. Decisions are made unilaterally by the pastor, then presented to the council, following that to the membership, who all know that to get along, you go along. Nearly everyone being considered for leadership, who was or is a pastor, is grilled about whether they are there to take over or not.
Sermons go all over the place; bunny trails get most confused. It is a complicated task to single out what the message was about.
The people attending are friendly and warm, until leadership determines a person to not fit their mold; then the atmosphere drasticly changes. If you enjoy fear, turmoil & confusion this is the place for you.