Originally Posted by RockNaHardpl
The overall issue isn't about television, advertising, broadcasting our services, the internet, or even personal responsibility (even though the last one is a favorite of mine)...the overall issue is about UNITY.
We've had people beating each other's spiritual brains out over this mess for as long as television has existed. Jesus got onto the Pharisees for overlooking the weightier matters of the law, love, mercy, grace, etc. This is the 21st Century renaming of an old issue. We like to accuse the world of putting new names on old sins...when we in the Apostolic movement do the same thing.
I confronted the UPCI AM Forum members a few weeks ago while they were debating this issue and other issues. They are blind to the fact that UNITY is the real resolution...but you don't see anyone from either camp drafting an emergency resolution for that, do we?
A post on their forum to discuss the "new organization" was promptly squashed by the admin and deleted. For the most part, names such as "renegades, rebels and rogues" seems to be the order of the day.
What we need to understand is that there are great men of God on both sides of this issue. I had a pastor tell me last week that God "got rid" of a cancer in the UPC body. How insulting! We've now come to calling men and women of God, souls for whom Christ died...a cancer! Of course we've been calling anybody that doesn't believe exactly as we do the same way for years, so what is amazing about that?
He was totally afronted when I told him that they still have a cancer and that if we don't learn the lessons about loving our brother and sister, no matter about minor issues, God will send a storm among us to keep dividing us until we learn to unify and love our brother. He resoundingly told me I was wrong and that the organization had learned it's lesson about unity. I beg to differ. The cancer wasn't the TV issue. The cancer is a lack of love and unity. God is going to teach us all a harsh lesson on this before long...no matter the organizational name over the door. The time has come for all of us to come together as oneness believers. The pull of the Spirit is to labor together.
Considering a very well known evangelist confronted me on another forum last year, telling me the UPCI would not split, I think current circumstances showed the truth in the matter. I don't keep my ear plugged into the politics of the movement. I try to keep my nose planted on the carpet and wait until God talks to me.
I bear no malice to either side. I was out of church for a decade, running from the call of God on my life and past failures. I don't hate any organization. I've friends in most of them. I'm conservative, yet I work in the visual information field, supervising photography, video, graphics and tv production for a government agency. Can it work? Yes. Do we need it? Some metro areas do. Will it make some of our people compromise their stance on television? Too late for that.
My favorite former pastor commented on this several years ago, stating that what we attempted to do has not worked. Approximately 90% of our people have a television, watch it on a daily basis and are addicted to it. We did the wrong thing by not teaching them to make Holy Ghost-led decisions in their lives and walks with God about what they should and should not watch. Don't say it can't be done...or unplug your computer and shut off your internet service when you do.
You can't legislate holiness and righteousness by a list of rules and a manual. It has to come from the heart.
UNITY has to come from the heart also.
God bless.
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