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Re: Hell Bound? Says who???
Awww... let's give them compassion, and not mention hell... It's truly compassionate to mention hell.
Now, I'm going to give my own personal testimony and experience here, and I'm not here to UPC bash, but to say what I saw. While I was in the UPC church, I remember that pastor (a young man) being very much against my method of telling people they're going to hell. His response was, "Find needs and meet them" and "Don't be so harsh, Alex, you got to give people time" and he even mentions my "hell-fire and brimestone style evangelism" over the pulpit now that I'm gone (or so a sister tells me).
So, a lady called the assembly needing diapers, we brought diapers to her house, and offered her a ride to service. She accepted and came consistantly for two or three months (never got baptized or filled with the HG). Her life got better, working arrangements made it so she could provide better, and she no longer needed us... she was gone. After sitting under the preaching in that UPC church she was no better than when she came in, her baby just had a clean bottom, that was it!
We had a man with 11 kids, all full grown, and they were inner-city like and what not. He'd bring a few along here and there, and they would LITERALLY fill up the assembly hall and we'd be REJOICING! And then they were gone... And then a few stuck around for their kids when there was conventions... and then they were gone...
And there was just case after case of; "Oh, look what the church has to offer!" "You're going to have your best life yet!" "Come to all our family fun nights, even if your not consistent with service attendence!" "Praise the LORD brother/sister (even though you haven't obeyed, neither have you interest in obeying the Gospel), good to have you back!" "Oh, you got a divorce, but you want to get married for a third time- well, if you fall off the horse once (or twice) keep getting back on!"
I could go on and on... I left that place. Oh sure, a lot of relationships were built, but no one wanted to step on any toes. As for church membership there, it's a revolving door policy, they go in fluxes. As for church membership in larger UPC's where they follow the same model, well... there's always some new program being offered, keeping those would be "revolving door" people always coming back for more, so they keep those people... The assembly I now attend is larger and we don't have a revolving door system, and souls are coming in, in fact we had a young lady get baptized and filled with the HG just two weeks ago. But size of the assembly doesn't matter, the assembly I was sent to preach at on Sunday had 3 people from that assembly (and four from mine) there that service (when the pastor's there there's his family also)... It's NOT about size people! That was my experience in the UPC and with their "soul-winning" methods.
GOD BLESS!
Bro. Alex
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