This Is Long...but Powerful

NLYP · #1 03-12-2007, 11:29 PM

This was posted on another forum.....

I am third generation United Pentecostal. My Grandfather (who is now deceased), my Dad (who is 83 and still licensed and preaching the Gospel), numerous Uncles, Aunts, & cousins on both my Dad and Mother's side, either are or have been licensed pastors, ministers, evangelists, District Officials and District Board Members, etc. in the United Pentecostal Church. My children are fourth generation United Pentecostal. The United Pentecostal Church is my heritage. And, I thank God for that heritage.

I am 47 years old. I have been preaching this Gospel for almost 27 years. My whole life has been invested in ministry. I do not want the attitude of Cain, Balaam, or Korah. And I trust that those of us who do have differing opinions are not branded in one of those three categories. I do feel that this is the case at times, which is why many men have felt that they no longer can be a part of this wonderful organization.

I have a number of concerns today. These concerns are not my concerns alone. Many ministers that I personally have spoken with are voicing the same concerns that I have. I have found that I do not even need to voice these concerns; they are voiced without any persuasion whatsoever. And, because the Tennessee District has been branded through the years as a "loose" District, I will be quick to say that it is not only Tennessee brethren, but also brethren from outside the Tennessee District. Furthermore, I would line the Tennessee District alongside most Districts and I believe that we would measure up with and perhaps even surpass many Districts where Doctrine & separation from the world is concerned. The fact is I am not speaking for them, only for myself.

A major concern that I have is the unbelievable emphasis that is placed on the "Manual" of the United Pentecostal Church by some. I personally do not believe the Manual to be inspired by God. There may be certain things in the Manual, such as Scripture quoted that is inspired by God, but the Manual as a whole, I do not believe to have been inspired by God. I do not believe the Manual has the power to save me or anyone else. I think extreme caution should be set forth by any religious organization, even our beloved United Pentecostal Church, where it comes to insisting that men and women form, fashion, and live their lives according to every jot and tittle of a man made dogma or creed. Then if they do not, they are ostracized, or even worse, made to feel that they probably aren't even saved. I do marvel at hours spent at authoring another resolution and another resolution and another resolution, many times just for the sake of having resolutions, then the sometimes hours spent in making decisions on those resolutions. Please do not misunderstand me - the administration of the UPCI must be kept up to date and we must make needed changes in the varied departments of the UPCI as times change. I do support those needed changes as they come about. I do not believe, however, that the "Manual" is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. I'm sure some in our organization would consider the statement I just made blasphemous, and, that saddens me. On the other hand, and let me make this perfectly clear, I do believe that certain things were put in the Manual that were and do remain words of Godly wisdom.

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NLYP · #2 03-12-2007, 11:30 PM

What brought the United Pentecostal Church into being? By this, I mean the merger? My understanding from the book, United We Stand, published by WAP and endorsed by our former and present leadership, Bro's. Urshan, Becton, Tenny, Gray, and others, is that two diverse organizations decided to come together. These organizations being namely, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated. Bro. W. T. Witherspoon, our first Assistant General Superindent wrote, "While in prayer a few days ago, the Lord burdened me with the terrible conditions, not only in the world, but in the Jesus Only church. It seems to me that God is letting enough happen to show the brethren of like precious faith the absolute necessity of getting together, regardless of machinery or offices. No one group can point their fingers at the other. Division is keeping back God's power. The only division there should be is between righteousness and unrighteousness: holiness and sin."
I believe that God did speak to Bro. Witherspoon. He was an instrument of God in bringing together two organizations that were at the time in disagreement of how certain Scripture should be interpreted. There were doctrinal differences. I quote again from the book, United We Stand: "The Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ and the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated believed in repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, and receiving the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues. To be a minister in either organization, one must have obeyed these gospel precepts, and must teach and preach them. But in general, the two groups differed in the spiritual significance attached to each of these "steps" in the plan of salvation. The vast majority of the ministers in the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ believed that water baptism in Jesus' name remitted sins and was the birth of the water. They further believed that the baptism of the Holy Ghost was the birth of the Spirit. The belief of some in the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated was identical with this. Others, however, believed that the word "for" in Acts 2:38 meant "because of," and that one was baptized because his sins had been remitted, through the efficacy of Jesus' shed blood, at the time of repentance. The Pentecostal Church, Incorporated had accepted ministers who believed either way, seeking to keep the unity of the Spirit until they all came into the unity of the faith."

Enter Bro. Witherspoon again. Bro. Witherspoon, as these two groups met, left the committee room and went downstairs to the Pentecostal Publishing House and, he authored, I believe again, as the Lord moved upon him, the Fundamental Doctrine of the United Pentecostal Church International. I'm sure you have read it many times but I do want to quote it again. "The basic and fundamental doctrine of this organization shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance. We shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views to the disunity of the body."

Bro. Witherspoon was an instrument of God to bring this merger about. He later summed up the success of the merger like this, "Truly it was nothing less than supernatural, the way the blessed Spirit of God enabled the brethren to overcome. It means more than the average preacher can understand to bring about the uniting of two such bodies, with the many, many matters that have to be considered (bold emphasis my own). There were practically no dissenting voices, and as we look back over the proceedings of the convention, we can only exclaim, 'What hath God wrought!'" I agree that this was a God thing. However, I do not believe it would have happened had the Fundamental Doctrine not been authored properly. Here is the fact, the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ, and the Pentecostal Church, Incorporated, merged because of what they agreed upon, not what they disagreed upon. Each organization could live with "The basic and fundamental doctrine of this organization shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance." They were willing to embrace this. But, I believe that the latter part of the Fundamental Doctrine was truly the deciding factor of the merger, and this is my opinion, but I also believe United We Stand and our History bears this out. "We shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views (bold emphasis my own) to the disunity of the body."

The merger came about despite the "many, many matters that had to be considered." The merger came about despite the fact that there were at the time disagreements of how certain Scripture should be interpreted. The merger came about despite the fact that there were some doctrinal differences. The merger came about despite the fact that there were "different views."

More and more, the allowance of "different views" is being done away with in the UPCI. I'm sad to say today - I'm not certain this merger could take place if it had been proposed in 2004 with the current "United Pentecostal Church." I'm even more certain that the debate over the latter part of the Fundamental Doctrine would have eventually prohibited any such merger.

I want to quote from a letter I received a few weeks ago. I quote, page 1, paragraph 5, the first sentence, "Of major concern to many is the subtle and gradual ignoring of the Manual of the United Pentecostal Church." I share that concern, because the Manual is indeed being ignored. Our Fundamental Doctrine Statement is being ignored - at the very least, the last paragraph is being ignored. "We shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views (bold emphasis my own) to the disunity of the body."

My understanding from the historical facts of the merger is that two oneness organizations came together with the full recognition that there were some different views. They could fellowship and accept one another despite these different views permitting that the brethren hold fast to the first part of the Fundamental Doctrine, "The basic and fundamental doctrine of this organization shall be the Bible standard of full salvation, which is repentance, baptism in water by immersion in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (which in 1973, the words "for the remission of sins" were added after this phrase), and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance." My concern is that the division spoken of in the letter is because many of us absolutely embrace repentance, water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance; many of us embrace without equivocation, separation from the world, and holiness without which no man can see the Lord; you can come to the churches we serve as pastor to and see the evidence of this; but we have serious problems with the continuing effort and even success in making the United Pentecostal Church International a legislative body with more and more legislative language being inserted into the Manual by this "less than 25% of our fellowship voting" as was stated in the letter that was sent.

I have a serious concern that our true mission and vision is being clouded and even hindered by this continued feeling that we must legislate to our ministry what they can and cannot do. Then we as ministers are required to abide by that, even if we disagree, and then language is even inserted instructing us that we are to legislate the same to our “autonomous” churches. “You cannot go here and be United Pentecostal. You cannot go there and be United Pentecostal. You must first get permission from us to do this or that if you want to be United Pentecostal. You cannot preach here or there and remain United Pentecostal. You cannot have this or that and be United Pentecostal. You cannot use this to preach the Gospel or that to preach the Gospel and be United Pentecostal.” The list seems to grow and grow each year. I mean, what truly is our goal here?

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NLYP · #3 03-12-2007, 11:34 PM

At some point along the line in the existence of the United Pentecostal Church International, "less than 25% of our fellowship voting," again as was stated in the letter, have made the decision to violate the spirit and text of our Fundamental Doctrine. There is a movement that has existed for the past 30 years or so, to dis-fellowship, demean, and force out of the United Pentecostal Church International those who love this Message with a PASSION, but have different views concerning some things that have been placed in the Manual by "less than 25% of our fellowship voting" that we emphatically believe are not Scriptural Text; have nothing to do with the salvation of the soul according to Scripture; are unnecessary yokes, prohibiting the entering into the Kingdom of God multiple thousand of souls who are so hungry for God; and the continuing desire of some to legislate the personal choices of how one chooses to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ . Yes, I am concerned. I am further troubled that the danger of us voicing our concerns is that we will be labeled as having one of the three attitudes that was mentioned in paragraph 6 of the letter - "the way of Cain, which was self-will, the error of Balaam, which was compromise, and the gainsaying of Korah, which was rebellion against authority." God forbid that any of these three attitudes reside in my spirit. The utmost desire of my heart is to please God.
My concern is that some within the UPCI feel that they have attained a depth in Christ that even the Apostles did not reach. There are some Scripture that we may just as well remove from our Bibles because we cannot answer to them. We can put our own private interpretations and reasoning into play where they are concerned, but we cannot answer to them. I have for a long time now been concerned about Deuteronomy 4:2, Galatians 1:8-9, and Revelation 22:18-19. In Deuteronomy 4:2, God said through Moses, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." God is saying here, “If you add to my word or diminish from my word, you will not be keeping My commandments – if you add to or diminish (take away) from My word, it becomes your word, not Mine. I tell you not to add to or take away so that you will be able to keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” In Galatians 1:8-9, God spoke through the Apostle Paul and said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Paul prefaced these two verses with verse 6 and 7 by saying, I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. He said, “Guess what? If you’re preaching anything other than what we have preached unto you – it’s not the Gospel!! If you’re declaring that it takes anything else to be saved other than that which we have declared to you – you’re in trouble with God – you’re accursed! You have perverted the gospel of Christ!” Plain and simple! There is no other Gospel! Then in Revelations 22:18-19, God spoke through John, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Again, here in Revelation – don’t add to or take away! If you do EITHER – the judgment is the same!

My concern is that some within the UPCI feel that they have attained a depth in Christ that even the Apostles did not reach. There are some Scripture that we may just as well remove from our Bibles because we cannot answer to them. We can put our own private interpretations and reasoning into play where they are concerned, but we cannot answer to them. I have for a long time now been concerned about Deuteronomy 4:2, Galatians 1:8-9, and Revelation 22:18-19. In Deuteronomy 4:2, God said through Moses, "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you." God is saying here, “If you add to my word or diminish from my word, you will not be keeping My commandments – if you add to or diminish (take away) from My word, it becomes your word, not Mine. I tell you not to add to or take away so that you will be able to keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.” In Galatians 1:8-9, God spoke through the Apostle Paul and said, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Paul prefaced these two verses with verse 6 and 7 by saying, I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. He said, “Guess what? If you’re preaching anything other than what we have preached unto you – it’s not the Gospel!! If you’re declaring that it takes anything else to be saved other than that which we have declared to you – you’re in trouble with God – you’re accursed! You have perverted the gospel of Christ!” Plain and simple! There is no other Gospel! Then in Revelations 22:18-19, God spoke through John, "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." Again, here in Revelation – don’t add to or take away! If you do EITHER – the judgment is the same!

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NLYP · #4 03-12-2007, 11:35 PM

I am concerned about these verses. I believe that God was saying to us through His inspired Word - "Leave My Word alone! You cannot make it any better than it is! In fact, your additions or diminishings make it your word not Mine!" I am concerned that we have taken the Manual of the United Pentecostal Church and have done something that the Apostles were not bold enough to do. That is, add to the word that God commanded, add to the Gospel that was preached, and add to what was written in the Book. Then even take our enforced additions far enough that men feel comfortable to stand in congregations and in our conferences, and preach, “Except you abide by these additions, you cannot be saved!” God would not even allow His own Apostles to do this. He placed men of wisdom in their midst who were bold enough to stand and say, "You cannot do this! If you do this, you are doing something that will not please God."

You know the account very well. As other matters of importance were put into Scripture, it also seemed pleasing to the Holy Ghost for this matter to be placed in Scripture, as an example to His Church today. The matter is found in Acts 15. I'm sure there are those who wish it were not in the Bible because it addressed an issue where men held different views. Acts 15:1-11 contains the account of what took place. And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved (What? You cannot be saved? My own insertion). When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Then James spoke in agreement with Peter; then the Apostles and Elders were pleased, along with the whole Church, to send men who wrote letters agreeing that it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to them, to lay upon them no greater burden then these necessary things... Of course, we only practice one of those "necessary things" in the United Pentecostal Church International - they are, abstaining from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. We do, or most of us do, abstain from fornication.

My point is, sure, there are some things that are "necessary things." The Fundamental Doctrine of the UPCI set those "necessary things" forth so beautifully. Even the Articles of Faith set forth certain "necessary things" that are without question Scripture. But so many additions have been made through the years that I and many others believe violate the spirit of the Fundamental Doctrine of the UPCI. I truly believe that the spirit of the Fundamental Doctrine was to make possible there to be a large group of Ministers who believe, without equivocation, that repentance is essential, water baptism in the Name of Jesus Christ is essential, and that the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of God gives the utterance is essential. I believe that these men believed in separation from the world and in holiness without which no man can see the Lord. But the one thing that brought those two organizations to the place of merging was "We shall endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith, at the same time admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views (bold emphasis my own) to the disunity of the body." They embraced brethren who held different views. They even called them brother or sister.

Continued.....

NLYP · #5 03-12-2007, 11:36 PM

There are so many brethren who today hold different views. The television issue is one of those different view areas. Their different views are not shared outside of their arena of friends because they fear the danger of being removed or forced out of an organization, which they dearly love. They also fear the removal from the fellowship of brethren that has been a safety net of accountability to them for so many years.

In the letter, which I received, there were four "facts" presented. They were 1. Unity (Why vote for something that will cause disunity?) 2. Financial (Why vote for something you can't afford?) 3. How many will our being on TV save? (Why vote for something that doesn't work?) 4. What about our holiness position? (Why vote for something that destroys what God loves?)

1. Unity. If we embrace the spirit of our Manual, and dare I say, the Spirit of the Word of God, it should not cause disunity. The Manual provides fellowship for those with different views, and the Word of God provides fellowship, as shown in Acts 15, for those with different views. This is not a Scriptural issue - it is an issue of someone's right to make a personal choice about how they want to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And, if God allows a Church to become a "mega-church" that grows and is able to have programs, and other things that my "smaller church" cannot have - then I should rejoice in their success and blessing and not allow a spirit of jealousy to overtake my heart. I have found these "mega churches" to be a major blessing to me personally and also to the people I pastor who I have taken to their conferences and workshops. And I disagree that it will provide an outlet for people to stay home from church and still be fed. Most religious television that I have viewed, the churches and conferences are packed with people. They're not staying home to watch.

2. Financial. The issue is not how many among us can afford a TV program. Not all of us can afford a TV program. I know of at least one Church presently in our fellowship that has had a TV program for years that has been made possible for them free of charge. And it is true that there are churches on television which have had mega-money channeled to them to enable them to use this media to spread the Gospel. That is not the issue. If a Church can afford to use television as a method to preach the gospel, then I should not legislate that they cannot simply because I cannot.

3. How Many Will Our Being on TV Save? Luke 15:10. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth. If it only saves one then heaven will be doing more than some of those who are opposed to this method of evangelism. If one sinner comes to God because they were channel surfing and happened across the TRUTH being declared on television, then, PRAISE GOD! This isn’t the issue.

4. What About Our Holiness Position? Why does it have to destroy our holiness? Why is this always the issue? The Church I mentioned earlier that has been on TV for years has not lost their standard of dress. They still pray. They still fast. They still preach the TRUTH. They still look the part. They're not all wearing makeup. And they certainly are not involved in showmanship whatsoever. There are Churches that are still affiliated with the UPCI and yet do not have TV programs that lost their standard of dress years ago. It doesn't take being on TV to lose your standard of dress.

Finally, I respect Bro. McCary's position as the Secretary of the Apostolic Men's Ministry and Presbyter on the Arizona District Board. But to reason, that because his Dad made the wrong choices and decisions, that if someone else goes on TV it will cause them to make the wrong choices and decisions also, isn't really fair. TV is not the issue here. It's a heart issue. If you have it in your heart to do wrong - it doesn't take a TV to lead you down the wrong path. As far as I know, Cain, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Samson, Saul, David, Solomon, Demas, and on and on I could go; they had no television. They did not even preach on television. They had an issue of the heart. They had a sin issue. Some of the most “conservative” men in our fellowship have fallen. They would never have owned a television. What caused them to fall? They had a sin issue. Their hearts were not right with God.

Some no doubt will say, it wasn't just Bro. McCary's Dad who made wrong choices, but it was so and so, and so and so, etc. In 1975 and 1977 the General Conferences voted to take away the safety net of the UPCI from any Brother who so chose to preach on television. They were not all bad men. But they made wrong choices because their fellowship was removed from them. They had a call from God to do something that others did not have and could not afford. I sat in those Conferences as a young man. I felt the divisive spirit that was spewed against these men. It shocked me and saddened me. I watched them hang their heads and walk out of the fellowship of their brethren because the UPCI voted that they could not have their different views and remain in fellowship. What was taken away was their safety net and their accountability. They had no one.

There are a number of men who feel it to be right and pleasing to the Holy Ghost to advertise on television and/or preach TRUTH on television. In 1977 “less than 25% of our fellowship voting” voted to surrender the television airwaves to Satan. I have felt since 1977 that we crossed a line as the UPCI that we should not have crossed. I personally have felt that the decision was displeasing to God. Our Brethren, who feel to do so, should be allowed to take those same airwaves and spread the TRUTH of repentance, water baptism in the lovely name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost with the initial evidence of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit of the Lord gives the utterance. It's being done by Internet - it should also be allowed to be done by television.

In closing – I’m not sure you caught the irony of Resolution #12 – but many of us did. The last paragraph of that Resolutions reads, The purpose of the United Pentecostal Church International is to carry the whole gospel to the whole world by the whole church: to establish an effective organized effort; to encourage the opening and establishing of new works; to evangelize the world by every means possible; and to produce and maintain a clean ministry and fellowship. This resolution falls short of the truth the way “less than 25% of our fellowship voting” believe it. The resolution should have been amended to read, by every means possible, accept television.

One other thing, I am ashamed that this vote was politicized. I believe it is sad when one of the largest voting audiences in the history of our movement shows up to vote against a method we could correctly use to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then I overheard one man say, “It was a God-thing.” Far from it! The vote was manipulated, partially by letters written, and partially by other meetings that were held and telephone calls that were made, and partially by men spending thousands of dollars for the expenses of other men to come and vote - they bought men's votes. I strongly believe it was wrong and that it was displeasing to the Lord.

ALL I CAN SAY IS WOW!!!