The Other or the Original Pentecostals?

(Several years ago, I responded to the following mentioned article.  You may be interested in reading this reprint.)

Charisma, a popular charismatic magazine takes a look at the UPCI in the past month’s issue in an article entitled, “The Other Pentecostals.” Predictably, some who share the writer’s viewpoint gloated, while their polar opposites voiced outrage. Among the majority of UPCI readers, some concern has been expressed about the impact the article will have upon Oneness Pentecostals. After reading and hearing the varied responses to J. Lee Grady’s musings from around the country, I have come to believe that it will redound to our advantage. My take has little to do with the accuracy and tone of the piece itself. Rather, I am gratified at the clarification it has already prompted among us regarding who we are and where we’re going.

Before I explain, let me say that, in my opinion, Mr. Grady wrote with a thinly veiled agenda: to expose an alleged breach in a large and growing Pentecostal organization. Apparently, he desperately wanted the world to believe that all is not well with the Oneness Pentecostals. His constant editorializing and calculated characterizations such as “a world apart,” “nasty doctrinal feud,” “hateful name-calling,” “labeled heretics,” and “mean-spirited hardliners” reflects more on his own negative bias than on us. But even more indicative of the intent of the article was the extensive space given to the detractors of the UPCI and the miserly amount given to our leadership. His methodology followed textbook rules for biased journalistic selectivity in distorting the character of an organization. But back to my belief that the article will ultimately do us good.

It gives us exposure. If Charisma did nothing else, it rocketed the United Pentecostal Church International to the foreground of its readership. Not everybody who reads the article will buy into the writer’s viewpoint. Some may read between the lines and search out the truth.

It indicates that our successes must be troublesome to other groups. No major article appears in a large magazine on an insignificant group. We must be doing something right. Certainly the phenomenal stories out of Ethiopia, Central and South America, New Guinea and other places have caught the attention of many worldwide. Mr. Grady’s sub-headline, “Who are these people?” speaks volumes.

It calls attention to doctrinal issues. We have long been aware of the critical nature of Bible doctrine. It occupies a central place in our preaching and teaching fare. In noticeable contrast to this, almost all doctrine has suffered from a growing disdain among most Christian denominations in the last two or three decades. Perhaps this article will stimulate interest in doctrinal study. We wholeheartedly welcome such a renewed study.

It locates the source of much animosity against us. Mr. Grady’s article brings an end to any lingering naiveté we may have had about his publishers and their associates. He represents many who want the UPCI to either go away or join up with them. When they come among us, as Mr. Grady did in Alexandria, we may be assured that their true intentions are not to support and affirm our doctrines.

It reinforces our identity. We do have distinctives that differentiate us from others. When faced with scorn over these “ta stigmata”, we are strengthened, not intimidated. Yes, we believe in the mighty God in Christ, water baptism in the name of Jesus, the infilling of the Holy Ghost speaking with tongues, and living a holy life separated from worldliness and ungodliness. Instead of dislodging us from these foundational doctrines, articles like Mr. Grady’s provide fresh zeal to proclaim them more loudly and fervently than ever.

It clarifies our direction. Mid-course corrections are not bad. Have we indeed been unwittingly drifting toward a more liberal position? Have we slackened our grip on fundamental tenets of faith? Has our resolve to confront the opposition been weakening of late? If so, this article sounds a clarion note. Residual grays that color modern Christendom must not overtake the UPCI. Subtle shifts in direction at the source translates into light years of error at the ultimate destination.

We are not the “other” Pentecostals. We are the originals. Anyone who challenges that can compare our faith with the Pentecostals on the inaugural day of the church. We preach the same God in Christ, the same plan of salvation, the same lifestyle of the first disciples. Others may pass their judgment upon us, but our course remains unaltered.

WeLovePeople.Com

The First Apostolic Church takes its mission in the world from the commandments given to us by Jesus Christ. We want to reach every person possible within our community for Christ. Sometimes this goal becomes blurred, we get distracted by lesser goals, or we forget why God placed us in the church in the first place. It is time to take a fresh look at our mission.

We know that Jesus Christ died to save people from their sins. What we often forget is why. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” Romans 5:8 adds. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The most important truth that must energize us by scriptures like these is that God loves people! In saving us, His love for us came first. After that, or because of it, he died to save us. He did not save us and afterwards learn to love us. He loved us first and devised a means to save us.

Any highly active church, or one with a high number of family ties in the congregation, has members who spend much of their time in each other’s company. This leads to closely knit groups that can keep others on the outside, with no way to break into the group. Such a development never happens on purpose. Rather, it is the eventual outgrowth of a way of thinking. That’s why we must look closely, even critically, at who we are and what we are doing. Are there any obstacles that seem to block the love of God from flowing freely through us as individuals and as a congregation? Do we truly love people to the same magnitude that Christ did?

In projecting a strategy for the future, it is absolutely necessary for our church to begin from these starting blocks of God’s love for people. We must demonstrate love for people in every way possible—-our attitudes, our programs and our vision as it is implemented. If we fail to show love for people in what we do, we must change. If we overlook opportunities to love people, we must change. If we love ourselves, our routines, our traditions or our personal friends more than people, we must change. Whether these failings are by design, default or delusion, we must change.

This new thrust will truly work only if we, as a congregation, accept the responsibility to make it happen. Our human targets ought to be as all-inclusive as we can make them: new converts, former members, people who have come to church but never committed themselves, or people who have had an experience with God but have deep personal problems.

Let us begin searching for ways to love people so that they may find salvation. Will you help? We must not simply identify the problem(s) and then send it back to the pastor or a few leaders to fix or implement. No solution is complete unless it involves every single person in the church in some way. The paramount question must be: “What can I and what will I do to start the positive change in making this church can could live up to WeLovePeople.com. If we want people to believe that we love them:

• They must sense that we mean it by giving them priority.
• They must hear it in our initial greeting and in our worship.
• They must feel it in our handshakes and hugs, as well as in our spirit.
• They must hear it in our conversation and our teaching and preaching.
• They must read it in our literature.
• They must see it in our faces.
• They must know it through the amount of time we give them and by the way we operate.
• They must be treated to Christ-like love from the time they enter to the time they leave.

This Christmas season needs to emphasize to us more than the fact that Jesus came. It must also remind us of the love that motivated him to come. In so doing, we will transform Christmas from a commemoration of a blessing past into a blueprint for future revival.