What is the best group of Christians with whom to associate?

To answer this question we should first identify which one was the New Testament group, and then ask whether the modern day practitioners are keeping faith with the original.

I wrote precis of Acts 19-23, with a view to understanding the group that Saul of Tarsus identified.

Background on this Saul/Paul character. From his speeches (and his itinerary is also extensively noted,) he claimed that although he was a Jew of the Pharisee persuasion, he claimed Roman citizenship. A major turning point in his life came when he was in Caesarea, Israel. As a product of a disagreement with the ranking Roman Captain (Claudius Lysias) over why the province Philippi was _called_ "Philippi" (he apparently was supposed to have argued that it was named after his buddy Philip who lived there, but the province was obviously older than the man,) the Roman Captain nearly had his local Centurion (roman rank over 100 men,) submit Paul to corporal punishment. On a technicality this would have been a crime (presumably with consequences,) and Paul had to make the point that in spite of the fact the he was from Cilicia (known Jewish territory,) he legitimately held Roman Citizenship (Tarsus was his home town in the province of Cilicia.) Things were apparently pretty confused, because the Captain started out under the impression that Paul was Egyptian (of all things.) In trying to straighten things out, Mr. Lysias spared little effort, and had Paul remanded to the local Jail, with the contemporary equivalent of armored transport to the Religious Court in town (the Jews were self governing by arrangement with Italy.) In a tip of the hat to conspiracy, Paul's nephew sussed out a plot to have him put out of the way, and clued the Captain in, with good results. Mr. Lysias wrote the Governor (Felix) and made the point that Jews were trying to do away with a Roman citizen (big news in the provinces.) He (Lysias) kept Paul on ice in Antipatris while the situation developed. It's worth noting at this point that back then they went by elevation, not by North, South, East, West, so when they said 'up to Jerusalem,' it was pretty much true, no matter where you were coming from - it was not the Capital in absence of military thinking. Pretty quick (administratively speaking,) the Jewish Leader Ananias came down from Jerusalem, bringing with him one of Paul's old competitors from Gamaliel.edu days - Tertullus. Despite the historical significance of Jerusalem, the Romans appeared to have used Caesarea as their governmental hub, and Felix was already there, Lysias just hadn't bothered him before (he was no less than Governor.) I'm not sure how long the trial went on, but it appears to have been short and sweet. The Jews had their say, and Paul had his, but he was moved from remand to house arrest while Felix waited around TWO YEARS for a bribe. They didn't have gubernatorial races back then, but the next Governor was Festus. Well Festus wasn't one to let justice be denied, and he hadn't been in office three days, before he was going up to Jerusalem to get the lowdown on why exactly the Jews were all so hot. When he got back, he called Paul into his court/office, and asked him if he was willing to stand trial in Jerusalem proper (in a reverse application of a Change of Judicial Venue for a fair trial.) I'm pretty sure Paul expected the same sort of treatment that Jesus got, before he joined 'The Way,' (as Saul he had been right there with the 'in crowd,' of the Pharisees,) and deemed it prudent and necessary to invoke the Roman right to appeal to Caesar. Now if you thought the Philip/Philippi discussion was a problem, wait till you get the point of the Caesarea/Caesar discussion, bearing in mind that Caesar was in no way older than Caesarea. Now things did not really move along too quickly, because Paul was still not at liberty when Festus had to take time off to entertain some foreign dignitaries. Not only so, but these dignitaries hung around and didn't leave very quick until Festus told them about Paul out of pure boredom. Well then it turns out that this visiting King had administrative jurisdiction in Caesarea by the Jewish system, and wanted to hear the case. So Paul gave him his whole long spiel about how Jesus was not dead, but not still alive because he had been killed and resurrected, and so on and so forth. Festus got really nervous and started politically distancing himself from Paul, even going so far as to call him a mad scientist. Well, for whatever reason Agrippa didn't take the Jews' side (without being truly convinced of Paul's side either,) but wanted to let him go; but when they looked it up in a book, Paul wasn't free to go; on a technicality he still had to go before Caesar. The rest of the 'story' appears to be a retelling of all the drama involved in the trip to Rome for the trial. Augustus Caesar delegated one of his own Centurions (Julius - go figure,) to the job. They traveled to the city of Myra by way of Sidon and Cyprus, and Julius bought commercial tickets to Italy from Myra on... a ship of Alexandria.

For review, Saul of Tarsus persecuted 'The Way,' but had a change of heart and capitalized on an arranged introduction. He ran afoul of the Jews, who gave him a choice of crucifixions, which he avoided by invoking Roman Citizenship, and appealed to Caesar. I note that Churches back then had cityname characteristic. Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossians, Galatians, etc. I'll posit that the first move away from this was at Antioch. Acts 11;26. Of further interest is the (possibly shocking,) observation; on the way to his appearance for trial in Rome (before Caesar,) Paul stopped at Ephesus, and took a minute to write ahead, by Chariot Express, to Rome. His BTW point; 'The Churches of Christ salute you.' Ro 16;16. He had already noted that Rome was not universally imbued with the Spirit of the Lord. Slavery was also a possible point up for discussion.

Concluding then, Paul learned about 'The Way,' they came to be called 'Christians,' and in groups they referred to themselves as 'The Churches of Christ.' His initial experience to certify his intentions was baptism (Ac 22:16.)

End Precis.

I have had others tell me that most Churches will not baptize by immersion. Catholics will sprinkle given a choice; Of the Churches that practice immersion, I can name Baptists, Disciples of Christ, Churches of Christ and Christian Church. Although Jesus' witness that he was from God, his cousin John, is their preferred source by choice of name, they appear to practice immersion baptism for local membership. Of the other three, the Churches of Christ was most of interest, and they will honor a precipitous decision to be baptized at 'all hours,' as the saying goes. They will question fairly closely with regard to counting the cost, but will accommodate you in most cases. Other groups will actually talk you out of immersion, or turn you away. I have not attended many Christian Church groups, but Churches of Christ make it a tradition to offer access to salvation at the end of every service.

These last notes are for those who have a particular interest in Churches of Christ:
1. Bible used cityname convention before Antioch. What the Catholics might call 5th John (Revelation,) cites 'the church of the Laodiceans.' In other places, it shows that Laodecia Church of Christ met at a home, and did not affiliate cityname. I am unable to find the name of the street for precedent. My previous notes about Saul Of Tarsus might be useful for contrast.
2. Boston Church of Christ (it's local satellites and national affiliates,) will show differences by having a leadership Chain of Command. This is established in context of confessional, just like Roman Catholic, and does not prove them a cult by itself.
3. Streetname Church of Christ have standing offers of debate with atheists at Educational institutions. I know of AUM and UTD. For comparison, an investigator might check if LA C of C (cityname affiliate,) has bothered challenging UCLA. If the cityname people are using the streetname people to fight their battles FOR them, offering 'Campus Crusades,' in compensation, you have to wonder what exactly these college students are being led to believe.

Just as changing Bible versions is a big deal (you can't find the passages if you become confused about the wording,) I recommend careful consideration if changing affiliations. Please make your course for Heaven accordingly - no area of spiritual investigation is more fruitful territory for the devil.