I am thankful for the church that God has placed me in. A good pastor makes all the difference!
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If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV
He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:8 KJV
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:2 KJV
Please read all the verses and ask yourself if you see this in the UPC? No doubt one can see this in the other orgs too, and in fact, in independent churches, there's almost an invisible denominationalism that goes on. We need to prevent this amoung ouselves. Also, the sole, senior pastor model contributes to a lot of problems we see in the UPC and other Apostolic assemblies.
ICorinthians 1:10Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
11For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. 12Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
13Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
14I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;
15Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.
16And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
Titus 1:5For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee:
1 Peter 5: 1The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:
2Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
3Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock.
4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
5Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
Matthew 23: 5But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,
6And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Matthew 23: 10Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
11But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.
12And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
13But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
GOD BLESS!
Bro. Alex
I see nothing about plural pastors in scripture. In addition, understand that Peter and Paul were so divided, they had to part ways, but neither of them considered the other to be sinful in their beliefs. Wrong, yes, but not in a sinful way.
You said you see problems with a senior pastor model, but isn't that exactly what Paul was to all those churches? He appointed several men to several places and churches but he oversaw it all.
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I've gone and done it now! I'm on Facebook!!!
I see nothing about plural pastors in scripture. In addition, understand that Peter and Paul were so divided, they had to part ways, but neither of them considered the other to be sinful in their beliefs. Wrong, yes, but not in a sinful way.
You said you see problems with a senior pastor model, but isn't that exactly what Paul was to all those churches? He appointed several men to several places and churches but he oversaw it all.
The UPC with the pastors who sit up high in throne chairs, along with district superintendents and the General Superintendent, are not the way the 1st century Apostolic church looked. The hierarchial model is priest worship all over again (the roots of the word hierarchy in Greek or Latin mean "priest worship"). The term senior pastor, is akin to Chief Shepard, or the Greek word archepoimen, which is used only once in reference to JESUS in 1 Peter 5:4, all the other ministers are "poimen."
Well, I can only speak for myself. I don't want to speak for others ya know.
Wut I really love about the UPCI is..........ummm.......more often than not........more than likely.......and with a passion.........
The Coke machine in the Fellowship Hall!
*sigh*.....get back on the bus !!!
LOL...that was good....
__________________ You can't reach the world with your talents. People are sick and tired of religious talents. People need a Holy Ghost annointed church with real fruits to reach out and touch their lives. ~ Pastor Burrell Crabtree
In fact I think that the insinuation of "hateful" Pentecostals is coming mostly from the fertile imaginations of bitter, backslidden ex Apostolics who are constantly trying to find a way to justify their actions. ~ strait shooter
__________________ You can't reach the world with your talents. People are sick and tired of religious talents. People need a Holy Ghost annointed church with real fruits to reach out and touch their lives. ~ Pastor Burrell Crabtree
In fact I think that the insinuation of "hateful" Pentecostals is coming mostly from the fertile imaginations of bitter, backslidden ex Apostolics who are constantly trying to find a way to justify their actions. ~ strait shooter
I figured that someone had to stand up for the org. It was good to see the positive responses not only from fellow UPCers, but from others as well.
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Isaiah 53:5: "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."(KJV)
"God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves." Dwight L. Moody
I figured that someone had to stand up for the org. It was good to see the positive responses not only from fellow UPCers, but from others as well.
Some of my fondest memories were as a child growing up in a UPCI church: Bible quizzing, travel, conferences, Buckeye Lake Campmeeting. As a young woman; Jackson College of Ministries, marriage, and ministry, home missions, evangelizing, and Pastoring.
I'm not UPCI but I love all those groups like ALJC,AMF etc,etc I don't belong to these groups but I appreciate the true christians in them.
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People who are always looking for fault,can find it easily all they have to do,is look into their mirror.
There they can find plenty of fault.
The UPC with the pastors who sit up high in throne chairs, along with district superintendents and the General Superintendent, are not the way the 1st century Apostolic church looked. The hierarchial model is priest worship all over again (the roots of the word hierarchy in Greek or Latin mean "priest worship"). The term senior pastor, is akin to Chief Shepard, or the Greek word archepoimen, which is used only once in reference to JESUS in 1 Peter 5:4, all the other ministers are "poimen."
GOD BLESS!
Bro. Alex
Fact is... 99% of churches in the world don't look like the early church in model.
I believe firmly that the Lord is still moving with us, in spite of us.
__________________ Mrs. LPW
Psalm 19:14
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
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