Highways and Hedges Project - Part I: The Holiness Baptist Family.

I have mentioned earlier about the Highways and Hedges project, and as part of it I want to share the history of some oft-overlooked smaller denominations and fellowships with you.  The information I am presenting here is not meant to be comprehensive, but merely a glimpse of the material I will be doing for the bigger project and it also serves to show where my research is coming to this point.  Also, new material comes my way all the time, and as it does updated information is a necessity as well.  That being said, I want to begin this series - which will not be consecutive - with a good synopsis of one group of these churches I have been researching to this point.  

Yesterday in the mail, I got a long-awaited and much-welcomed package from Rev. Robert "Cricket" Watson, who pastors the Antioch Holiness Revival Center in Perry, FL, and is also the moderator of a small fellowship I have had interest in called the Holiness Revival Center Association.  This particular group (hereafter for space sake referred to by initials HRCA) is part of a family of churches that is itself unique and has been of interest to me for many years, and these all have roots in a group called the Holiness Baptists.   Today, I want to share a little bit of the family legacy of this group of fellowships, as it adds a bit of color to the oft-stereotyped field of Pentecostal/Charismatic studies, which although needed, oftentimes focuses more on the histories of large groups like the Assemblies of God rather than these little "highway and hedge" fellowships.   So, it is time to share their story with you here today.

The story here starts with a group called the Holiness Baptist Association, an old body that originated in 1893 in Wilcox County, GA, when a group of Southern Baptists began to teach a more Wesleyan-flavored doctrine of "sinless perfection" which got them duly disfellowshipped from the Little River Baptist Association, which itself dates back to 1880 according to its website (www.littleriverassociation.com).  The Holiness Baptists organized into an association the following year, 1894, and a Dr. S.R. Mitchell served as its first Moderator.   Unfortunately, there are no pictures available of these two pioneering churches to show you here, but for the most part, all of the early churches of this Association were in southern Georgia and northern Florida, where most continue today.   As of 1989, the Holiness Baptist Association reported in their Minutes that they had 29 churches and around 1000 members.  Of the 29, all but one were in Georgia.  

The Pineview Holiness Baptist Church, Tifton, GA - one of the 29 congregations of the Holiness Baptist Association.



Wray Holiness Baptist Church, Wray, GA

Holiness Baptist Church, Waycross, GA

In my research, I discovered that the Holiness Baptist Church in Georgia also has a "correspondent" (this is a uniquely Baptist term meaning that churches can share pulpits, etc.) relationship with two similar Holiness Baptist associations in North and South Carolina.  The North Carolina Holiness Baptist Association is still very much active, and is centered around Hendersonville, NC - Lexis.com research listed two incorporated churches, Union Hill and Clear Creek, both in Hendersonville, that are in this fellowship.   The South Carolina Holiness Baptist Association is centered around Greenville, SC, although headquartered in Columbia, and has three churches in the Greenville area and one in Columbia.   I am in the process of trying to obtain more information on these two associations, as this was recent knowledge, but they are definitely of the same background as the Georgia churches.

Union Hill Holiness Baptist Church and cemetery, Hendersonville, NC

It is also worth mentioning that in Arkansas at the turn of the century, another group calling themselves the "Holiness Baptist Association" existed, but in 1914 they were assimilated into the Assemblies of God, and its founder, W. Jethro Walthall, later served as District Superintendent for the Arkansas District Council of the A/G (Charles Edwin Jones, A Guide To The Study of The Pentecostal Movement, Volume One. {Metuchen, NJ:  The Scarecrow Press, 1983} pp. 267).  This group, however, was unrelated to the existing Georgia group, as it had different origins.  However, it is worth mentioning as a historical note. 

Like many church bodies, the Holiness Baptists were not immune from schisms and disagreements, and two of those occurred in the course of its history.  The most recent of those happened in 1977, which resulted in the formation of the Calvary Holiness Association.   This small fellowship of 14 congregations, centered around Broxton, GA, and similar in many ways doctrinally to its parent body, was formed in 1977 by disaffected members of the Holiness Baptists due to some confidence issues in the trustee committee of the parent body.  Its first moderator was a minister from one of the dissenting churches, Rev. James A. Harrell, and they based their campmeeting tabernacle in Broxton where they have a yearly meeting during the third week in July annually.   Although I have been unsuccessful in getting any print material on this body, they have recently gotten a fairly informative website online that has most of the information on their group available - it is at http://www.calvaryholiness-broxton.org/Home.  They have approximately 1000 members as well, and they are fairly active in fellowshipping with other conservative Holiness/Pentecostal groups, and have a considerable involvement in publications such as The Holiness Messenger, a widely-distributed periodical based out of Oklahoma that has a wide base of readership among many independent conservative Holiness/Pentecostal groups and fellowships (The Holiness Baptists, in particular the Wray, GA, congregation, also participate in this).

The Calvary Holiness Association campground tabernacle near Broxton, GA.

The second schism occurred in 1934, when Rev. Luther Turner(8 August 1888-7 September 1979), a Holiness Baptist evangelist based in Salem, FL, founded the Baptist Purity Association which is still based in Salem to this day.   Luther Turner, born near Abbeville, GA, was actually a colorful person and a dynamic preacher who had convictions over the Holiness Baptists using wine or grape juice in Communion - Turner had the conviction that only cold water should be used to represent the Blood of Christ, and he actually became pretty dogmatic on the issue, which became a defining principle of the Baptist Purity Association and its churches later.  Turner's daughter by his first marriage, Ida Gutierrez, self-published an excellent and heart-felt biography of  her father and his ministry entitled Sawdust Trail several years back that is well worth the read - it is a hard book to find, and I was thankful that her brother-in-law and current moderator of the Baptist Purity Association, Rev. Bobby Joe Hires, provided me a copy of it as well as with some other valuable materials for this research. 

The Baptist Purity Church in Salem, FL - headquarters church for the Association.

Dorms at the Baptist Purity Campground outside Salem.





Sermon booklet by Rev. Luther Turner

Rev. Luther Turner(1888-1979), founder of the Baptist Purity Association

The teachings that Luther Turner communicated through his abundant sermon material (Rev. Hires provided me with 2 books of his sermons for this research) can be summarized as follows:

1.  Water in communion instead of wine or juice.

2.  Eschewing consumption of alcohol, tobacco, soft drinks, tea, coffee, chocolate, and chewing gum.

3.  No movies or sports.

4.  Given the Missionary/Southern Baptist roots of both the Baptist Purity Association and its parent body, the Holiness Baptists, Turner also taught the eternal security of the believer in Christ.

5.  Divine healing was highly emphasized, and the use of doctors and conventional medicine was not forbidden but was strongly discouraged.

6.  A Holiness emphasis on sinless perfection, similar to that of other old-time Holiness/Pentecostal groups.

7.  Conservative dress - also along lines of similar Pentecostal/Holiness groups.

8.  Tongues taught as initial evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as alluded in Acts 2- same as other classical Pentecostals. 

The Baptist Purity Church is mildly Calvinistic, strictly Holiness, fully Pentecostal, and also premillenialist in eschatology, although premillenial in this case definitely is not synonymous with dispensationalist (many similarly-minded old-time Pentecostals were actually post-tribulational, and this seems to be what I understand as well the position of the Baptist Purity teachings on this).  That being said, the Baptist Purity Association, like the Holiness Baptists, is definitely both clearly Baptist and clearly Pentecostal.  And, that was one of the reasons I chose it as part of my project. 

The Baptist Purity Association is still very active today, although it is small in number.  It is primarily centered in north-central Florida, although there are two congregations in Georgia as well.   The stats I have from their 2007 Annual Report have them at 8 churches - 6 in Florida and two in Georgia - but no membership statistics as none are reported in their minutes, although I would estimate that they possibly have an estimated 2000 members total in all their congregations.   They are headquartered still in Salem, FL, where they have an annual campmeeting and quarterly association meetings.  They do even have a church fairly close to us, in Plant City, FL (Sharon Baptist Purity Church) which is pastored by their Association secretary, Rev. Richard Joyner.   Overall, they are actually a pretty fascinating group, and are definitely worth more consideration and study.



In 1966, a schism occurred in the Baptist Purity Association when two of its ministers, Rev. Charles Stephens (1933-2009) and Rev. Riley Pridgeon (1918-2007) chartered the Macclenny Holiness Revival Center Association (later shortened to Holiness Revival Center Association, or HRCA) just outside Jacksonville, FL.  According to a taped interview transcript of Rev. Pridgeon's testimony taken in 2001, the separation from the Baptist Purity Association was a cordial one, and for the most part, most of the doctrine and convictions of the HRCA are pretty much the same as the Baptist Purity Association.   Rev. Pridgeon and his late wife Josephine had a long and fruitful ministry that began in the 1940's, when both of them sang and preached throughout north Florida, and their efforts resulted in the planting of many congregations.   Often subsiding on fish and cabbage and living in tents (at one point, the Pridgeons had only milk and crackers to feed their baby), their road to ministry was a tough one, but it was rewarding for them (Luther Turner, founder of the Baptist Purity Association, also had a lot of early trials, as money was often scarce and they had to rely a lot of God's provision - I have heard this testimony many times from a number of great old-time ministers, and it is an inspiration to me personally).   Their testimony is actually a record of God's provision for them as they did what they believe God called them to do, and it is quite humbling to read things like this in lieu of the "superstar" status many seek today in ministry.   Rev. Stephens testimony is less documented at this point, but he also ministered for many years with his wife, Corliss, and at present she serves as a secretary for the HRCA.  Stephens' daughter, Michelle, is also the wife of the current HRCA moderator, Rev. Robert "Cricket" Watson, who also pastors the main church, Antioch Holiness Revival Center in Perry, FL, which Pridgeon was a founder.  In 1973, according to a letter I received from Rev. Watson giving me some background on the HRCA, the original charter was dissolved although a current charter was filed in 2009 with the State of Florida.  

The Holiness Revival Center Association today currently consists of three congregations - in Perry, FL; Steinhatchee, FL; and Macclenny, FL.   In the past there seems to have been more documented, including one that closed recently in Fitzgerald, GA, but despite the lack of numbers they persist as a fellowship still.   They hold an annual campmeeting in June at the Perry church, and each one of the congregations has its own homecoming service as well.   As of their 2010 Annual Reports, the HRCA lists a total Sunday School attendance at all three of its congregations at about 2,513 people, which for three churches is impressive.   Community outreach seems to be a major factor in these churches' ministries too, especially in Perry, FL, where their activities are very well-documented in the local papers there.   There is also some "correspondent" fellowship carried on with both the Baptist Purity Association as well as an independent fellowship, Full Gospel Assembly in Panacea, FL, pastored by Rev. B.B. Barwick.  It is not known whether there have been any schisms or daughter fellowships formed out of the HRCA, but this is a subject that definitely will be researched in the future. 

Antioch Holiness Revival Center in Perry, FL - headquarters church of the HRCA

Rev. Riley Pridgeon (1918-2007), one of the founders of the Holiness Revival Center Association

Rev. Robert "Cricket" Watson, current moderator of the Holiness Revival Center Association.

This pretty much gives the story thus far on these unique fellowships that form the legacy of the Holiness Baptists that started in south Georgia and north Florida in the late 1800's, and it is quite a legacy as will be that of many groups I will be documenting in the future.   The purpose of these articles and the project as a whole is to tell the story of these groups as a witness to their own interesting and unique heritages, and it is also meant to be more than a scholarly discourse (although it is hoped that scholars will take this material seriously).  I have come to know a number of these people personally, and they are decent, sincere people that really believe they are called to serve God in their respective ministries.  I am not going to say I see eye-to-eye doctrinally with everything these groups teach, and indeed that is not what this project is about, but they are definitely my brethren in Christ and I respect them as such.  As we continue this project, I will be sharing more with you later on other groups and fellowships that are equally unique and interesting, and you too will be enriched with the knowledge of those little "highways and hedges" churches and fellowships no one seems to have taken time to get acquainted with.  Some of you may live in areas where these churches are, and some of you may have even drove past one of their congregations.  Some may even have looked at the church sign and said "Hmmm...that looks interesting!  Baptist Purity; what is that?"  I have taken that basic curiosity, which I too have had, to a new dimension by getting to know the people that are part of that roadside church with the interesting name.   And, hopefully, this will encourage you to do the same, as it is a rewarding experience.  God bless until next time.

___________________________________________________________________________________

I want to take this time to acknowledge the people who have provided much of this information, as without them a project like this is not possible.  First, my thanks to Elder Philip Popwell, of the Antioch Holiness Baptist Church in Brunswick, GA, who provided me with copies of his Association's minutes many years ago.  Also, my appreciation to Rev. Bobby Hires of Salem, FL, for giving me an abundant wealth of printed material on the Baptist Purity Association and its founder, his father-in-law Rev. Luther Turner.  Finally, I acknowledge Rev. Robert "Cricket" Watson and his wife Michelle, who pastor the Antioch Holiness Revival Center in Perry, FL, and also have provided a wealth of information on the HRCA and on the ministry of Rev. Riley Pridgeon, one of its founders.   God bless and be with each of these individuals for their time and generosity.



Many Are Called, But Few Are Chosen - Some Thoughts.

Yesterday was the fourth Sunday of Lent, and the Epistle reading for the day in Mass (at least in the old Anglo-Catholic lectionary we use at our parish) was in Galatians 4:22-31.   Our priest gave a good homily on this passage, and it got me thinking about some things that I wanted to share here with you today. 

The passage in Galatians is a teaching the Apostle St. Paul gave to his readers about being "called" as opposed to being "chosen," and it centers around the story in Genesis dealing with the births of Isaac and Ishmael.   Ishmael, as the Apostle notes, was born of the flesh to a bondwoman, and thus was in bondage; Isaac though was born of the freewoman and a promise, and thus was the heir of freedom and life.   Reading this passage over the years, there are actually two dimensions to it, one being literal and tangible and the other conveying a spiritual truth through and allegorical interpretation of the verse, and both are correct.  The Bible, you must remember, is not a one-dimensional book, but is rather the written Word (LOGOS) of God Himself, and therefore it doesn't read like any other book.   It is multi-dimensional, for one thing, and one passage can rightly convey two different truths - no human author can do that.   And, this is one of those passages.  

The literal reading of this text is historical fact - there is an enmity between the two physical sons of Abraham and their descendants, the modern Arabs and Hebrews.  It is prophetic in that it aptly describes much of what we see in the Middle East today, and it establishes the divine right of the Hebrew nation to the geographical land of Israel.   The Arabs, the "sons of the bondwoman," are today under a greater bondage, that of the religion Islam.  And, this passage in Galatians says that he who is born of the flesh (Ishmael and the Arab nation) persecutes those born after the Spirit (Isaac and the nation of Israel), and even the text says that this persecution continues even now - have you read the newspaper lately?   To understand that further, we look at a passage in Genesis 16:12, which says that Ishmael shall be like a "wild ass," and that his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him, as well as the fact that he shall dwell in the presence of his brethren (Israel).  God also says in the next chapter that the sons of Ishmael will have some blessings as well (oil maybe?).   in other words, Abraham and Sarah disobeyed God big-time when Sarah (the free woman) encouraged Abraham to "knock up" Hagar, the "bondwoman," and there has been strife since.   However, throughout most of history, until the seventh century AD, you never heard much about this until a demon-driven camel merchant in Arabia named Mohammed came into the picture, and then a religion called Islam was born that has driven the sons of Ishmael to behave like "wild men" and also has caused their hand to be against every man and every man's hand against them.  More could be said about that, but that is a whole other topic altogether for later.  The GOOD NEWS though is that Jesus Christ came, and through Him - a physical descendant of Isaac through his mother - many of us have become children of the Covenant, including a number of Ishmael's physical descendants - Arabs have been part of the Church since its earliest times, and through the Blood of Christ many of them have been incorporated into the Body of Christ, and thus made heirs to the promise.   Jesus breaks every curse and judgment for those who submit to Him and accept His gift of salvation, and that includes Arabs as well.   And, that leads us to the other truth in this passage.

There is a spiritual as well as a literal dimension to this passage as well, and it has to do with differentiating between two words, called and chosen.   The companion verse that backs this up is found in Matthew 22:14 - "many are called but few are chosen."  Over the years, this has been one of those verses that has created a lot of debate and issue due to misunderstanding of what it meant, and in order to understand it you have to have the passage in Galatians 4 mentioned above.   Our Calvinist friends have used this for centuries to support their doctrine of "limited atonement," or absolute predestinarianism, but this is not what the verse means at all.   If that were the case, there would be no need for the Great Commission in Matthew 28, because evangelism and missions would be futile - we are called to "make disciples of all nations," and also Jesus died as the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, for the sins of the whole world, and not just for a select few.   Therefore, it must be understood what this means, and to do that we go to the parable of the feast in Matthew 22:1-14, in other words, the story preceding the passage.  You all remember it well I would imagine - a rich man throws a party and invites all his friends, who beg off for various reasons.  So, although ticked off, he can't waste a good meal, so he has all these people brought in off the street to participate, but one is found without a garment and is thrown out.  The bad dresser aside (a whole other subject for another teaching), the point is that many are indeed invited to come to the table of the Lord, but few actually do.  And, now this is where it gets a little more involved.

When this concept of "chosen" is used, it is more or less in a covenant sense - the choosing goes both ways.  The Lord "calls" all of us, and He "chooses" those who "choose" to accept the call.   In other words, the "Chosen" are those who also make the choice to be chosen.   That, of course, is also a Biblical concept, as it has evolved between to Old Testament and the New - Abraham, for instance, was "chosen" because he chose to follow God, and thus, his bloodline became the conduit through which the Savior, Jesus Christ, brought salvation to everyone else in the world later.  Israel had no choice - because Abraham chose, the whole nation of his descendants, via his grandson Jacob, became a Chosen People (and still are, I might add).  When Jesus came along a few centuries later, something new happened - God had provided a way, through the Chosen, to call us (through Christ) to be chosen as well.   Does that nullify the Jews and their covenant?  Not at all - as a matter of fact, God hasn't forgotten natural Israel, as one day it will be grafted back into the Covenant by the same Jesus who grafted us in; in other words, they will be born again into the Kingdom just as we are, but it will happen in a more dramatic way according to the teachings of Scripture and the Church.  That is why that old worship chorus from years ago, "I Have Decided To Follow Jesus," is appropriate when it comes to this message - we choose to be Chosen!  We in essence also become "blood descendants" as well, because we are made chosen by Jesus' Blood.  Therefore, am I as a Christian a blood descendant of Abraham?  Absolutely - Jesus shed His blood for me on the cross!  I personally consider myself doubly-blessed though, as I am also a physical descendant of Abraham as a descendant of Anusim myself.  One day indeed, the whole thing is going to come together in such a way that ultimately all of us will be blood-bought who choose to accept the call of Christ.   This is a message you don't hear much in today's "Purpose-Driven" nonsense, and apostates like Joel Osteen are also ashamed of the message of the Blood of Jesus because it is "offensive" to them.  But, it is the Blood that makes us the Chosen of God, and only through the Blood is salvation possible.  Anyone ashamed of the Blood or the Cross is ashamed of their faith, and will not inherit salvation in Christ, because He plainly said that those who deny Him will be denied by Him - so, you "Purpose-Driven" people who think the Blood is too offensive to get you the big numbers to make you look good, take notice!  We who are of a sacramental/liturgical mindset are reminded of the Blood every Sunday - we partake of the Body and Blood of Jesus every time we receive the Eucharist, and His Real Presence is in those elements.   I have come to cherish the Cross and the importance of the Blood more so as a Catholic Christian in recent years than I have done throughout most of my Christian pilgrimage, and it has made my faith more alive and I understand better what that is about now.   And, I know now that I was chosen from the moment I said "yes" to Jesus when He called me to salvation 26 years ago in that little Baptist church in Rowlesburg, WV, when I was born again through the Blood of Jesus shed for me and by His Holy Spirit.  Thanks be to God for that too.

So much more could be said about this today, and indeed, the called/chosen subject is something that we as Christians need to understand in order to fully grasp what Jesus did for us all those years ago.  But, hopefully this will be something that will enlighten and encourage all who read this, and may you understand the Blood and its importance in the way Jesus chose you.   And, if you don't know this yet, Jesus has called you to be part of His Chosen - He has died for the sins of the world, and it is a gift that He, as the Agnus Dei, offers to us all.  However, the significance of a gift is not so much in its giving but in its acceptance by the recipient.  And, this is a gift you do not want to pass on, trust me - the alternative is not pretty, as you will die in your sins and spend eternity in eternal hell and separation from a God who loved you so much to even die for your sins.   You are called, but it is up to you to decide to be chosen - make sure today you make the right choice, because it is eternal.  God bless you until next time.

Highways and Hedges - The New Project!

And the lord said unto the servant. "Go out into the highways and hedges..."

Luke 14:23

It has been a while since I have been around to write, as I have been waiting on a printer before I write too much as I do copy these articles and save them in a large book I have in my office.  But, after the first of the year and with a new job and all, I have been catching up on some reading.   Anyone who has followed these posts enough knows I am a person of varied interests (perhaps too many!).   However, one of those interests has been ongoing for many years and I wanted to finally move it forward to the next level.   Today, that is what I want to talk about.

I of course became a fully sacramental Catholic just over 16 years ago, and I would not trade that for anything, as the sacramental aspect of my faith has enriched me so much.  But, I also have another side - it has roots in the Appalachian Holiness tradition I grew up in, and although I am not formally part of it anymore, it is still an integral part of my history, and a lot of it is good.   Many of the Holiness churches I grew up around were independent fellowships, many of which had no denominational structure whatsoever - churches like Rev. Jeff Carbaugh's little Pentecostal church my step-grandmother attended in Falling Waters, WV, as well as the Sycamore Grove Church just outside of Parsons, WV (where I was born) and Calvary Temple in Mount Storm, which was for years pastored by a very dedicated minister named Pastor Wesley Georg who used to broadcast on local radio.  The unfortunate thing about so many of those tiny congregations was that they never properly recorded their history, and what a loss that was - they, more so than big Pentecostal groups like the Assemblies of God, represent the essence of what Pentecostals started out as.  Therefore, I have had this interest over the years in finding out about some of these little groups and churches, and in doing so I have uncovered a rich legacy of faith that oftentimes the history books neglect.   Some of these are independent congregations that are basically self-contained autonomous units, while others are small fellowships of congregations over a given area, but they all have pretty much the same traits - they are generally small in number (megachurches are unknown among them, as a congregation of 50 is oftentimes considered large by their standards), are generally pretty conservative doctrinally, and they are largely rural or small-town congregations (although a few are in the cities too).  As I learned more about many of these groups, a number of them have caught my attention in particular, and they are the ones I have spent a lot of time tracking down and getting to know.  In the days that come, I hope to get together some material to begin focusing on some of these groups as a bit of a project, and being I am starting back to graduate school early next year, they will also be the core of my thesis.  And, now the project has a name - Highways and Hedges!

I chose this name because in reality a lot of times you have to go into the proverbial "highways and hedges" to find these churches and fellowships, and sometimes the hedge can be thick to penetrate too!  Some of these groups I am still coming up empty on - I know they are out there, and that they exist, but it takes some work making the initial contact and getting material from them.   But, it makes the project more fun.  And, for pretty much all of the contacts I have made, I have met and befriended many wonderful people in these groups that I still keep in touch with.   Obviously, they are not perfect - they are small churches and have their problems and issues just like anyone else, and they themselves are very honest about that fact - but their sincerity is inspiring and they have been a witness to me of their own faith.   Therefore, that is why I want to tell their story.  In the months and years to come, it will also mean a lot of interviews, visiting a lot of revivals and campmeetings, and of course lots of photos for the project, which of course will require funding.  I am in the process now of making some applications for grants and endowments to take this project to the next level, but this too will take time as well.  And, it of course will take a lot of prayers, which is what I ask of you now who read this.   And, unlike many projects and books where the initiating scholars are often detached from their projects and research, this will not be the case - the campmeetings for instance, are something that will be spiritually beneficial to us, and I am going to be treating these people as my fellow Christians and not merely as some lab rats to be observed through a fishbowl.  And, it means being honest with them - I won't agree with them on everything to be sure, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate and respect them either.  Too many people think that all these churches are exactly alike - they are Pentecostals or Holiness, so there is supposed to be some uniform stereotype according to such people.  Nothing could be further from the truth - many of these groups I will be focusing on are groups that have their own histories, many of them are regional fellowships that are part of the identity of where they are located, and some of them have colorful stories behind their origins and growth.   And, they are not like your typical First Assembly of God or charismatic megachurch either - a lot of times these little groups view the bigger ones as worldly and apostate, and they lament the fact (as do I) that some of these larger Pentecostal denominations have lost their way.   Many of them were at one time part of a bigger group like the Assemblies or the Church of God, but as modernization crept into these bigger bodies, many of these people felt displaced and felt that the only way to preserve who they truly are was to pull out of the bigger denomination.   There are many small, strong Assemblies and Church of God congregations in the same area too, many of whom are indistinguishable from the independent fellowships in practice, but they manage to hang on as part of the larger group.  It is one thing that makes American Pentecostalism as colorful and interesting as it is, but unfortunately it is a source of shame and contention to the bigger denominations who seek to find "respectability" and often do not like to be reminded of what they came from, and these small churches remind them loudly!  I think it is a good thing though - many "mainline" denominations have lost something as they seek to follow the fads and fashions, essentially focusing on the quantity of the church rolls that make them look good in front of the denominational brass, rather than focusing on quality discipleship to make solid church people.  It is a scandal in American Christianity, and I believe one of the reasons why our nation is experiencing so many problems today - we have strayed from and fotgotten our roots.  However, these little rural independent fellowships represent a remnant, a ray of hope, in the midst of the spiritual desert much of American Christianity has gotten itself lost in, and perhaps by sharing the testimony of the "little people" of the Church to the wider Body, it can be a witness and a challenge to the rest of us.   So, this project has a spiritual as well as an academic purpose. 

So, in coming months, I will be sharing some of project in this blog too, as I introduce many of you to groups like the Holiness Baptists, the Wesleyan Pentecostals, the Baptist Purity Association, the Living Word of Faith Fellowship, and the Free Will Baptist Holiness Church, among others.   I also want to include some independent Catholic groups as well that are part of this, as it isn't limited to just Pentecostal groups - jurisdictions such as the Orthodox Church of the East, headquartered in Vashon Island, WA, and an unusual but interesting group called the Pentecostal Orthodox Church, come to mind automatically.  And, there are a few non-Pentecostal traditions - I have come across groups like Primitive Free Will Baptists, independent Churches of the Nazarene in Indiana, and the Christian Baptist Church of God in Ohio.  All-in-all, I would say that this project over the years has entailed some 40 or more groups.   And, more could be discovered as time goes on and I find out more.  Just that random sampling gives you an idea of how diverse this really is, and if you think that is interesting, wait until you hear their stories individually!  But, I warn you - if you think Church History is a boring subject, or if you are one of those people who laments about "all these denominations,' then you may not appreciate this as much.   "That we all may be one" is unfortunately something that will not happen in this life, as our limited human nature is ever-present, and the reality of denominational divisions is an evidence of that fact.  Therefore, instead of worrying about "so many denominations," why don't YOU take the first step and do something like this and get to know who the people in those other denominations are??  You might surprise yourself if you are open to it.

And, then there are the scoffers and skeptics who like to belittle and explain the way the existence of such small groups as "ignorant holy-roller hillbilly churches" or something to that effect.   People like that I have little respect for, because they are the ones who are ignorant and stupid - I am sorry to be so blunt, but fact is fact.   It amazes me that those who claim to be so "enlightened" are often the worst as far as being bigoted, prejudiced, and small-minded - they may have college degrees, and think they are something, but the Bible has something to say about those people  - Romans 1:22 says that these people, professing to be wise in their own eyes, have become fools, and by fools, truly stupid.  Many of these same people also claim to be atheist or agnostic, and on that the Bible really says something - the fool saith in his heart that there is no God (Psalm 14:1).  It is unfortunately not the first time these types have belittled the little churches, particularly those in the Appalachians, as it started with one thing - greed!  David Kinbrough, in his excellent book on the serpent-handling churches entitled Taking Up Serpents (Macon, GA:  Mercer University Press, 2002), discusses this at length starting on page 82, when he says that these greedy super-capitalists (the "Robber Barons" of the late 1800's and early 1900's) had a willing ally in some supposedly enlightened (in their own eyes anyway) "Missionaries" of the mainline churches, who viewed the Appalachian people as barbarians and savages in need of "civilizing."  So, with the "missionary" wolves in sheep's clothing slowly trickling their sweet-tasting poison, the industrialists cheated many of these mountain families out of their land to exploit and pollute it, and many people ended up in poverty, and it is something our people in the Appalachians still haven't recovered from even today.   Dr. Loyal Jones, one of my mentors and a real scholar who is himself a son of the Appalachians, calls these people in his book Faith and Meaning In The Southern Uplands (Urbana, IL:  University of Chicago Press, 1999) "agents of uplift," because all they wanted to do was make mountain people conform to their image and they were anything but true missionaries (if anything, they should have been evangelized themselves by those unlettered but godly mountain preachers!).  However, later it was to get worse when an evil woman by the name of Margaret Sanger birthed a monster called Planned Parenthood, which had a single goal of ridding society of "human weeds" (Blacks, Catholic immigrants, Appalachian mountain people, and anyone else that Sanger viewed as "inferior"), and once again, mainstream "missionaries" spread this perverted "gospel of destruction" with the full bankrolls of the Rockefellers, the Fords, and others backing up their work.  I remember stories when my mother worked in Hopemont State Hospital in Terra Alta, WV, when I was in high school of patients (or "residents") being forcibly sterilized because they were mentally retarded or physically handicapped because in  Sanger's eyes such people shouldn't be allowed to breed in order to create a "master race" of "thoroughbreds" out of ideal human specimens without the "pollution" of the genepool by these "inferiors" - that is what is called eugenics, by the way, and it is the biggest waste of scientific research ever!  Yet, a lot of times, it didn't stop perverted "aides" from abusing and raping these poor people (which resulted in more murdered babies by abortions incidentally, as one of Sanger's minions - usually a quack doctor that flunked out of med school and did abortions to fatten his own bank account - was readily available to "take care of the problem.").  Pardon me for going off on the rabbit trail with this, but it proves my point - good people get a lot of persecution from those who are pseudo-intellectual (my interpretation - they are dumb enough to believe a fable that a gorilla was their grandpaw!) because it isn't "sophisticated" enough for their understanding.  Well, again, God addresses that subject too - His Word says in 1Corinthians 1:27 that oftentimes God will use things that are considered "foolish" to confound the "wise."  Simply put, it needs to be looked at through different lenses - who truly is the fool??  That, again, is another reason for the Highways and Hedges Project - it is time some of these "foolish things" (at least to some) get their due respect.   In that vein, I want to now say that in relation to this project I have come across two remarkable individuals who demonstrate to me true scholarship, but they are not lettered in any way.   One of those is Reverend Richard Crayne, who pastors a tiny Free Holiness Church in Morristown, TN.   Pastor Crayne has never been to college, and he pastors a church of fewer than 100, but when it comes to independent Holiness/Pentecostal groups, he is the man with the material.  He published a small book 30 or so years ago called The Pentecostal Handbook that tells the stories of the independent Holiness/Pentecostal movement in such intricate detail that even known scholars in the field of Pentecostal studies, such as Dr. Cecil Robeck, have taken notice.   Another man that is even more humble in appearance nonetheless possesses a wealth of knowledge on his tradition, and he too has written a book, although the man never finished high school!  The man I speak of is Pastor Jimmy Morrow, and he pastors the Edwina Church of God in Jesus' Name in Tennessee - I might add also that he believes very much in taking up deadly serpents as part of his faith.  Yet, with the assistance of Dr. Ralph Hood of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, he wrote one of the best histories of the serpent-handling movement that contains information you won't find in many of the books out there, but he knows what he speaks.  I have had the privelege of getting to know and befriend both Pastors Crayne and Morrow, and their books actually have been valuable resources in my own research.  As a matter of fact, I plan on expanding on some of Pastor Crayne's information on a couple of the groups I am focusing on in my project, and intend to give him full credit for laying the groundwork - he deserves it because he did a tremendous job.  That all being said, I have now given you an introduction to Highways and Hedges.

A lot of work lies ahead for me in the coming days, as it's a lot of ground I must cover, but I look forward to it because it will be a fun project as well as both intellectually valuable and spiritually edifying.  Keep in touch, and you will see some of that fruit coming to harvest here as well.   Any rate, I have rambled for enough today, so I will go for now until  our next visit.  Just remember though that when the main road gets too boring and you start groaning "Ugh!' at what you see, look to those hedges and get off the beaten path - you might be surprised at how much more exciting the trip will get!  God bless until next time.



New Year and New Business

As we have entered a new year, many new opportunities have come our way and I want to detour from our usual teaching and theology material today to just "talk shop" regarding my vision for the coming year for this page.   Sacramental Present Truths has been in circulation now about 2 years, and I have covered a number of controversial topics as well as presenting some teachings on various aspects of my personal faith, in concordance with the Holy Tradition of the Church and the Bible of course.   I will continue doing that for as long as God allows me to do so, and you will be seeing some things I have in the works here in the near future that should be fascinating.   I want to spend some time talking about that, as well as a specific vision I feel I have for this year too.

I have devoted a considerable amount of time in the past to covering prophetic issues, polemics and apologetics, and will certainly continue to address issues that pertain to those as they arise.  However, you are going to notice a difference in my teaching this year as I begin to present more material on doctrinal issues, going back to basics.  I have felt the need for some time, as a matter of fact, to publish a series of lessons on the spiritual gifts, and also want to give some attention to teachings the Church holds concerning Mary the Mother of Jesus.    Therefore, in coming months we will be writing on those subjects.  Also, I have had some requests from some friends and others to repost a research thesis I wrote in college some years back on the gift of tears in lieu of Syriac Patristic writings, and with more comprehensive reference material I plan on presenting a revision of that here too.   Another thing I want to begin featuring is some church history material, as I feel like a lot can be learned from certain aspects of Church history in regard to some things - two in particular I want to address are spiritual renewal movements in the history of the Church and I also want to do something on the yurodivi, or "fools for Christ," in the Eastern Christian tradition.   Over the course of 2012, you will be seeing a lot of this material, and I hope it will be interesting reading and that it will enlighten you to some things that maybe you haven't heard before from a fresh perspective.  Fresh perspective is something I try to maintain in these articles, because in my collective experience and study I have gained some insights into things that many writers have missed, and I feel that they will enhance our understanding of the way we study Scripture and also our spiritual lives as we individually live them.   We must, as II Timothy 2:15 says, "study to show ourselves approved," and often with that study comes some challenges that can rock our world and make us totally rethink some long-held beliefs on things.  That, folks, is however what is called spiritual growth, and it is lifelong.   I still discover things at times, and sometimes I find I was wrong in some previously-held position I may have had and it can be difficult to accept at first - I have struggled with that many times, but God is merciful and gives me the wisdom.   No doubt, many of you have been there too, and although it can be painful it is also nothing to be ashamed of.   Keep that in mind as you read anything - my posts or other material - because I grow too, being a fallible human with the typical limitations we all have.

That being said, I want to share something now with you all that is a little on the personal side.  Over the past several years, I have been on a spiritual journey of my own, and originally thought that I was supposed to be part of an independent Catholic group I have been corresponding with for several years called the Synod of Saint Timothy.   The many friends I have made among the Synod are wonderful people, and they are some of the best examples of Christian spirituality I can document at this point.  However, in the past year or two, I have been doing some soul-searching, and it seems as if God has been directing us to an Anglican Catholic Church parish for a reason, and recently being licensed as a Lay Reader by the ACC has confirmed something I have long thought about but was apprehensive to act on.   That being said, as of this year I am going to be formally affilliating with the Anglican Catholic Church and will make that my official church home for good.  I still will remain in good fellowship with the Synod of Saint Timothy, and as Christians they are still some of the best people I have had the privelege of knowing, but a formal identification with them is not practical as they do not have a parish church close by nor do they have the resources at this time to do a lot of church planting.   Therefore, I begin the year as formally an Anglican Catholic, but be assured my beliefs and convictions are still the same.  I am also coveting your prayers about possibly pursuing the permanent diaconate in the ACC, as opportunities are starting to present themselves and some friends of ours have sort of sparked that thought with me.  That being said, I have a spiritual vision I want to share with you all now too.

For anyone who has been following my blog articles for any length of time, you know that there is a crisis in the American Evangelical denominations as some bizarre things are taking root in them that are sending alarms in the church world.   A couple of weeks back, I reviewed and wrote something here regarding an article that the Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church, Archbishop Mark Haverland, authored entitled "Our Baptist Friends and Their Difficulties" in the September-October 2011 issue of The Trinitarian, the Anglican Catholic Church newspaper.   I noted that the Archbishop observed that due to a growing secularization in American Evangelical groups (he focuses on the Southern Baptists, but it could equally apply to the Assemblies of God, Nazarenes, and other denominations as well) could mean a potential audience for the message of the ACC and other traditionalist Catholics and Anglicans - in other words, the Archbishop says there is a mission field ripe for our harvest!  That being said, recently my good friend and fellow Falangist comrade Christopher Rose brought to my attention another article that pretty much anchors this - it was an article authored by Adelle M. Banks a couple of days ago entitled "Churchgoing Has No Effect On 50% of Americans, According to Survey."   In her article, Banks notes that 46% of people attending churches in the US, according to a Barna survey, don't feel like they have been impacted by what they hear on Sundays.   The people she is referencing are not Unitarians or Episcopalians either, but supposedly "born-again" Evangelicals!  This actually comes as no surprise to me, as you will see by my past articles, because many churches in the US are so watered-down and "seeker-sensitive" that they have no real substance and people are starving - doesn't the Bible say something about that in Hosea 4:6 - God spoke through the prophet to backslidden Israel and proclaimed "My people perish for lack of knowledge."   The "knowledge" it talks about is not just any random recitation of facts, but rather the knowledge of the deeper things of God, which many churches neglect these days - most offer a junk-food diet of fluff and entertainment rather than discipling their people, and as a result people are dying spiritually.   To tie all this together, what the Archbishop said about a potential audience among these disaffected Evangelicals along with the fact most churches are neglecting to solidly disciple these people means a potential and radically different new mission field, and THAT is where I am going now, because it is something I feel the Lord is stirring within me personally.

For years, many of the bigger Evangelical and Pentecostal groups in this country have pushed missions - I was a Missions major in college, and I remember hearing a lot of terminology about the "10/40 Window," "Fields Ripe Unto the Harvest," etc.   I have seen the mission teams going to Africa and Asia, and also inner-city ministry, etc.   However, something tragic has happened - many of these same denominations today are placing a lot of emphasis on that - and in the wrong spirit I might add - while so many people in the pews are spiritually starving.  There needs to be a re-evangelization of American Evangelicals, as many of them are apostasizing fast as they give into entertainment-led church and statistics rather than proclaiming the Gospel.   That of course has created a couple of different types of Evangelicals.  The first type is the poorly-discipled - they identify as Southern Baptist, Assemblies of God, etc., but they lack a fundamental understanding of what being a Christian is all about and may even question cardinal doctrines such as the reality of hell or even the Lordship of Christ.   The second type is the disaffected churchgoer - these people are sincere believers, some being pillars of the church, who feel out-of-touch with many things going on in most of the larger Evangelical denominations today.  They feel in their spirit that many things going on are not of God, and many of them have tremendous testimonies of where God has brought them.   However, the "New Church Order" has no place for them - they are often called "obstacles," are accused of having "religious spirits," and some have even found themselves thrown out of churches they helped to establish all because they felt a check in their spirit about some of the innovations being brought in.   It is the ostracism of this second group, as a matter of fact, that has led to the rise of the first.   Thing is, this presents a challenge to the rest of us - we have the same Great Commission and the same Scriptures that contain it as Christians, and these people need to be reached.  And, it is time that we independent Catholics and Anglicans seize that opportunity and start aggressively evangelizing these people.  I was one of the disaffected myself at one time - I felt like a square peg in a round hole in many Evangelical churches in recent years due to the fact the "worship" and other stuff seems foreign to me and the spirit of such things is just, well, wrong...God is not in much of what is going on.   Becoming an independent Catholic has given me the underpinning I need spiritually to grow and maintain the spirituality and faith I have, and thanks be to God for good people in the independent Catholic movement who reached out to me.   Now, I am feeling it is my turn to do likewise, and my vision is to view American Evangelicalism as a mission field to reach out to.  This year, my biggest challenge will be to present this vision to the Archbishop and get his input on it, as this is something that is uncharted territory.   In doing so, of course, some attitudes and ways of doing things need to change in the ACC and other independent Catholic and Anglican churches, and I want to address some of that now too.

Many independent Catholics and traditional Anglicans come from Roman Catholic and Episcopalian backgrounds, and unfortunately many of them are very unfamiliar with American Evangelical Christians - their judgements are often tainted by such things as huckster TV preachers, stereotypes of the "fundamentalist Holy-rollers," (a term I heard one of our older church members use derisively yesterday, which I didn't really appreciate too well), and the "Religious Right" and its political emphasis.   However, I was raised Pentecostal, and prior to becoming Catholic myself I served as a minister in a major Pentecostal denomination for many years and also graduated from an Assemblies of God college here in Florida, so I have been around it all my life.  I have seen the good, the bad, AND the ugly;  as I have said many times in the past, the stories I could tell!  That being said, I can say that American Evangelicals are actually a lot more diverse than they are given credit for, and have always been - Southern Baptists, Assemblies of God, Nazarenes, and others may look alike on the surface, but there are some theological differences.   Also, the emphasis on an outreach to these people should by no means be treated in the same way as going to some remote tribe in the Amazon - these are Christians, some nominal and some committed, and there are different ministry needs for these people.  Some, for instance, just need a more solid church home - they have been dispossessed by their own churches and want a solid Christian community to be part of.  Others have not had a proper Christian discipleship, and need to be taught.  Still others are only "culturally Christian" - they may have been in church most of their lives, may even know the Bible and went up on a few altar calls at revivals, but they have no real relationship with Jesus Christ.  All different needs, but all need to be reached, and we as the ACC have the capabilities of doing just that.   However, it will require some adjustments on our part - for one thing, one Sunday morning Mass isn't going to cut it for some of these people, especially the stronger Christians who are looking for a stable church environment.  Although not so much today, in the past Evangelicals used to have no less than three church services as week - Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and midweek.   Then, they had interspersed through the year prayer meetings, Bible study groups, revivals, Sunday schools, etc.   Traditional Protestant Evangelical Christianity calls for a high level of commitment to fellowship and spiritual growth, and that is not a liability but an asset - they take seriously Hebrews 10:25:  "Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together..."  Most Anglicans and Catholics consider it sufficient to just partake of the Eucharist once a week and maybe a coffee hour afterwards, along with holy days and such, and that is as far as it goes - this works if you are a cradle Catholic or Episcopalian, because you understand it that way.   However, if we are to effectively reach the disaffected and nominal Evangelicals, we need to do better than that - bringing back the parish mission (the Catholic equivalent of the revival meeting) would be a good start, as well as weekly informal Bible studies for parishioners as well, maybe focusing on some Anglican and Catholic distinctives as they are based in Scripture and Tradition.   Also - and this is for our ACC flock as well - there needs to be a little more education and understanding in regard to Pentecostals and charismatics.   Yes, some "claiming" to be Pentecostal/Charismatic have been guilty of some ridiculous excesses, and TBN and other religious TV venues have reinforced a lot of negative stereotypes, so I can understand the chagrin some traditional Anglicans and Catholic have in regard to that.  However, let me also say that although no longer part of a Pentecostal denomination myself, I still believe fully in the spiritual gifts, I do speak in tongues, believe in healing, and I do practice what I believe - there is evidence, both in Scripture and in the history of our own Church traditions, that these things are valid and legitimate expressions of Christian spirituality.   Therefore, to my readers who are clergy or lay leaders in ACC or other parishes, let me challenge you not to discourage people who may be charismatics from being who they are in your parish communities - give them the guidance they need to avoid the excesses, but also see them as a valuable asset to the spiritual life of your parish family, and they will be a blessing to you.  Also, be informed as to what Pentecostals and charismatics are - they are one of the fastest-growing segments of global Christianity, and they transcend denominations and are thus diverse; there is no stereotypical "typical Pentecostal," I would argue.   The ACC needs to have the spiritual vitality strong parishioners with Pentecostal convictions can bring to the table, and they will enrich us as a church too.  These are just some things to keep in mind as we see the rich harvest of people the ACC has and can reap. 

I want to eventually codify all of this information into a formal letter to Archbishop Haverland sometime this year, and it is my hope to even have a personal audience with him to present this whole thing in person.  I have had the privelege of getting to meet and know the Archbishop personally, and he is a man of vision, so this is something I feel will be of interest to him.  I just ask for your prayers as we begin to embark upon these tasks, as our work is cut out for us.  In the meantime, please keep up with my posts, as I will be presenting some good information in coming weeks as we go into a "back to the basics" emphasis that focuses on certain doctrinal truths and distinctives.   I also hope to use this page as my own evangelistic tool to educate and disciple disaffected Evangelicals who are searching God for a church home, and to those of you out there who fit that description, feel free to check out the ACC - we welcome you in our parishes, and hope we can be what God desires for you, because he is listening to your concerns and wants you to be all he has called you to be.   God bless you all, and will be seeing you soon.


___________________________________________________________________________________

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The Secularization of American Evangelicalism - The New Mission Field For Us

Recently, I read a very interesting editorial by Archbishop Mark Haverland, the Metropolitan of the Anglican Catholic Church, entitled "Our Baptist Friends And Their Difficulties."  The article was published in the ACC newspaper, The Trinitarian, in the September/October 2011 edition, and it was very insightful.   Barb and I attend an Anglican Catholic parish ourselves, and I have had the privelege of meeting Archbishop Haverland - he is a very astute scholar and he has a good finger on the pulse of the American religious spectrum.  Therefore, what he has to say is actually quite insightful, and honestly he nails the issue well as far as this article is concerned too.  Reading the Archbishop's thoughts got my own wheels turning, and I wanted to expound on what he said by writing this article myself, and adding a couple of other things to what he talked about as I feel they add another dimension to his article also.

Archbishop Haverland''s article focuses primarily on some trends in the Southern Baptist Convention, which by and large with 16 million adherents is the largest Evangelical Protestant denomination in the US.  In reading the article, I see the Archbishop making two very important (and I must say correct) assessments that many of our Evangelical friends would do well to take notice of.  First, he mentions that the "Mainline" churches often turn "Sideline," based on terminology from Richard John Neuhaus, and inevitably some societal tendencies could "sideline" the "mainline."   Going further, Archbishop Haverland observes that the "Mainline" of yesteryear - groups like the United Methodists and the ECUSA, among others - has become the "Sideline" while larger, more conservative groups - the Southern Baptists, Lutheran Church/Missouri Synod, Presbyterian Church in America, Assemblies of God, and Nazarenes, among others - have by their increased numbers become more "Mainline."  Yet, as the Archbishop also alludes to, the conservative Evangelical "Mainline" of the present is in danger as well, and he notes it is due to what he calls "profound individualism" on the part of many Evangelicals in regard to soteriology and spirituality - the danger he notes, citing specifically the great increase in divorce rates, is a changing in attitudes regarding key moral issues based on societal peer pressure, to use my own translation of what he said.   Toward the conclusion of his article, the Archbishop says Baptists have a choice - they can either slowly secularize as many of yesterday's "Mainliners" have and decline, or they can begin to commit to a creed and tradition that would anchor their convictions better - he notes the rise in a movement called Reformed Baptists (one of my good college friends is active in this group) among former Southern Baptists due to the fact the Reformeds offer a more solid grounding in tradition and stability that some Southern Baptists feel are lacking.  Indeed, the Reformed Baptists are a growing phenomenon too, and although a little too Calvinistic for my taste, they nonetheless have retained some things that many Southern Baptists once had and lost that are beneficial to maintaining a strong Biblically-sound faith.   Therefore, I concur with the Archbishop that this may be something good. 

However, there is something even better that really caught my attention as the Archbishop concluded his article.  In his closing words, he wrote this statement - "The Anglican Catholic Church and its clergy need to look for growth not only to the former Episcopalians - a small and shrinking group - but also to the millions upon millions of conservative Protestants."  All I have to say to that is this - AMEN!!!   More so than ever, America is a ripe mission field for the harvest, but unlike the missionary endeavors of the past, this is a little different - we need to start casting out lifelines to dedicated people, who are Christians, that are finding themselves dispossessed by a lot of paradigm shifting in the American religious landscape.   Many of us -myself included! - have been there; we love the spiritual upbringing of our youth, but we also have been disturbed by the fact that many of the churches that once nurtured it are now eschewing and ridiculing those foundations.  I was raised in a Pentecostal environment, born again myself in a Southern Baptist church, graduated from a Pentecostal Bible school here in Florida, and for many years was an active minister in the Foursquare Church (a large Pentecostal denomination).   Yet, I grew very disenfranchised with what I was seeing as a departure from the old-time faith of these churches in many congregations, and it seemed as if their leadership was more hung up on running their denominations like Fortune 500 companies rather than spiritual centers that they should be - therefore, it seems as if the trend was in many of these Evangelical, supposedly conservative, churches was more toward entertainment and relevancy versus discipleship and spiritual growth.  With the rise of such things as the megachurch, Rick Warren's "Purpose-Driven" ideology, the whole "seeker" movement, and the Emerging Church cult, many distinctives of Evangelicalism became deconstructed, redefined, and even "de-christianized" to the point some of these formerlly Evangelical "churches" are hardly recognizeable as Christian anymore!  It seems like these "churches" were more interested in rock bands, shopping malls in the sanctuaries, and other nonessentials than they were in their mandated mission laid down two millenia before by Christ Himself, and therefore a number of people in these churches found themselves dispossessed and basically "spiritual orphans."   Archbishop Haverland said early in his article "I have argued that American Fundamentalists are merely the slow lane to secularization," and to be honest, he is tragically correct - churches, via Rick Warren and other innovators, are becoming more secularized every day because they are ashamed to be identified as "Christian."  In many of these groups that have adopted this mentality - and it is spreading like a cancer unfortunately - it has become a cardinal offense to mention words in a sermon or anywhere else such as "sin," "hell," and "repentance," as well as becoming taboo to preach on subjects related to it such as Bible prophecy and the Second Coming.  Altar calls and revivals - once the spiritual "bread-and-butter" of the Evangelical churches - are now deemed "antiquated" and "irrelevent."   Worse, societal ills have crept into churches that just a few decades ago wouldn't have even entertained the notion of accepting - divorce rates are at an all-time high among professed Christians, as is consumption of alcohol and pornography, and I see a lot of religious syncretism going on as more and more supposedly "spirit-filled" Christians are dabbling in occultic practices such as reading horoscopes, etc.   It has gotten so bad that once I remember in an office I worked that the manager - a self-professed Pentecostal Christian - would often ogle pornography while listening to "praise" music!  What blasphemy!!  However, it gets worse, especially when one sees what is happening to the youth in churches.   In 2006, noted Evangelical speaker/author Josh McDowell published a book entitled The Last Christian Generation (Holiday, FL: Green Key Books) and the premise of the book was the fact that many professed Evangelical Christian youth are in a crisis of faith due to the fact they are not being properly discipled and reached.   He notes, on page 18, that George Barna conducted a poll in which 98% of "Christian" young people simply "believe in Christ" but do not reflect Christian attitudes or actions.   But, it gets scarier - on page 15, Mcdowell notes some other disturbing statistics among church-going youth:

1. 63% don't believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God;
2. 58% believe all faiths teach equally valid truths;
3. 51% don't believe Jesus was bodily resurrected;
4. 65% don't believe Satan is a real entity;
5. 68% don't believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity

McDowell correctly notes that much of what these kids are believing comes from a distorted view gleaned from the world around them - they get much of their inspiration from crap like these reality shows, or from nonsense like "Glee" or "90210," or they follow the Gospel According to Oprah.  Since this book was written in 2006, something more disturbing has happened - of the 35% that do accept Satan as real, many of those are following his deceptions and are getting involved in the occult and other stuff thanks in part to stuff like the "Harry Potter" phenomenon as well as this proliferation of romanticized vampire fantasies from the Twilight movies and other similar media.   In a very insightful book I read recently entitled God's Ghostbusters by Tom Horn (Crane, MO: Defender Publishers, 2011) an essay in the book entitled "The Blood is the Life" by Derek Gilbert sums up something about this whole thing - he says, and I quote:

The transformation of the vampire from monster to hero reflects the gradual decay of of the Christian faith into an anemic shell of its former self.  The critical role of the blood shed by Jesus Christ for the redemption of our sins has been replaced in many churches today, eithe by an emphasis on our own works, or by a kinder, gentler Jesus for whom the greatest sin is being untrue to our innermost desires.   (Horn, 70)

This goes back to Archbishop Haverland's assessment that profound individualism on the part of Evangelicals will over time lead to secularization.   The stats and quotes I have supplied here are evidence that this is not something for the distant future - it is happening now!  And, not only is secularization a threat, but worse, many of these kids will soon discover that secularization doesn't fulfill the spiritual void and they will start looking for something to do just that - it is a field day for Satan, because as this vampire trend (we have talked about that before) becomes more popular, it is going to introduce kids to the dark side of spirituality, and that could mean their very souls are at risk.   All of this while Rick Warren and his many disciples fiddle around and play "Purpose-Driven Church" - it's all good to them, because their salaries are getting paid and their bank accounts are fat!  They have "dumbed-down" the Gospel so much that it is hardly recognizable, and as a result, people have a spiritual hunger.  If those of us who know the truth do not take advantage of this, many souls could be lost for eternity and accountable from our hands, as their blood will stain us crimson.   And, that is all the more reason why I believe Archbishop Haverland's article is important - he sees the opportunity the Holy Spirit is giving to us as conservative Catholic Christians, and he I truly believe has been given this insight for the Holy Spirit. Now, let's talk about that.

The Archbishop talks about the dilemma among the Southern Baptists - and among Evangelicals in general - generating a huge potential audience for our message.  What is our message?  It is the historic Catholic Faith, grounded in Scripture and Holy Tradition, and as the Archbishop correctly assesses, it is exactly what many of these people need.  Although many youth, for instance, are being secularized, or worse even being drawn into occultism through the proliferation of vampire cults and such, there are a Remnant of young people who are discovering the historic Liturgy and spirituality of our faith, and they want it!  Unfortunately, they are not going to find it in Rome - the Roman Catholics have their own issues that parallel the Evangelicals - and they unfortunately will not find it in the Christian East - the East tends to, despite a beautiful and rich spirituality, degenerate into legalism and triumphalist mentality when it comes to the idea of other Christians.   So, it is up to those of us who are independent Catholics and Continuing Anglicans to reach these people.   Youth are searching, and older sincere Christians also end up being dispossessed a lot of times as their former congregations, many of which they were pillars of at one point, have embraced entertainment, Rick Warren, or the Emerging Church, and when these dear people see something is amiss with all that garbage, they are often thrown out like yesterday's garbage from churches they had contributed so much to in the past.   All of these people need a home, and they need spiritual communion - we can offer that.   And, we should.  The harvest is indeed ready for the American mission field, and we who are independent Catholics and Continuing Anglicans need laborers to gather it.   Let us catch that vision, and let's give the orphans a secure home - they are our brothers and sisters in Christ, as they are already dedicated Christians, so they need us too.   May we take this to mind in all of our parishes as our Archbishop has presented us a challenge.  May we, as the Roman Catholic Mass rightly says, "go in peace to love and serve the Lord" by providing a spiritual home to our dispossessed brethren.  Amen.

In The Image - A Radical New Perspective

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  (Genesis 1:27 NKJV)

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privelege of hearing a singing evangelist by the name of Jeff Steinberg at a local church where he was in concert.  Jeff is not your typical evangelist - he is a little person, was born without arms, and spent most of his younger life in hospitals going through corrective surgery.   He holds the microphone as he sings and speaks with a prosthetic hook, and he autographs his books and CD's with a pen in his mouth.  Yet, this amazing guy is someone God is continuing to use mightily, and his testimony is one of the most inspiring things you will ever hear.  I finished reading his book, Masterpiece in Progress,  just recently, and there is something he taught me from reading it that certainly I hadn't seen before, but it makes perfect sense in the light of the total context of the Bible - being created in God's image doesn't mean we look necessarily like clones of the Most High, but rather that God created us in the image He personally saw of us!  Think about that for a moment, as it will rattle some theological cages, but it will revolutionize your view of yourself and of human nature in general if you grasp it.  I was so inspired by it personally that I decided to do this study on the whole thing, and hope it will be a blessing to you as well.

Humanity is far from perfect - we sin, we have physical issues a lot of times, and as we age we get fatter, more wrinkly, and less hairy on our heads and more hairy in other places.   Reason for that is simply because our mortal flesh was not meant to be eternal, but our souls and spirits are.  And, with the sting of sin affecting humanity, one of its consequences is that all mortal flesh will die someday - one in one die, let's face facts!  Now, that doesn't detract from the fact that there will be a resurrection of the body, but like Scripture says, if we are dead in Christ we will be raised incorruptible in glorified bodies, being restored to that which God originally intended.  However, on this earth, we deal with physical pain, bodily inperfections, and death as part of the process.  I said all of that now to say something that will shed new light on the verse that I opened this study with, so let us begin.

Sickness and suffering, as mentioned, are a consequence of the fall and we all are subject to that at some point.  However, God always has plans for things, and in a lot of cases He can even use our limitations to His greater good, and thus this verse.  When God said he created us in His image, that by no means implies we are to look and act exactly like God Himself.   Much bad theology over the years has resulted from a misunderstanding of that, and in many cases it has had tragic consequences.  Take, for example, this whole "health and wealth" nonsense in these charismatic churches that is often piped from the peepers of TV preachers like bad elevator music.   If half of that heresy were true, then we should all be walking around looking like Romanesque statues or something - have you looked in the mirror lately though?  I know I don't come anywhere close to an Adonis personally, and sorry, but neither do you!  And, sorry to say to those crooks on TBN, but neither do they - one of the idiots teaching this weighs about 400 pounds for instance, and another one - and Lord forgive me for saying this - is this woman Bible "teacher" who is uglier than a mud fence!  Their issue is not what they look like, but rather what they are saying - they have not only disqualified (in their not-so-humble opinions) 99% of the human race from God's blessings, but they have disqualified themselves.   Thanks be to God that HE is in charge, and His truth has more sense than some people selling his name like cheap moonshine.   Another example recently that my good friend Johnny Lee Clary, a wonderful evangelist with a tremedous testimony, shared with me was this church who decided that, due to some "revelation," they were going to ban fat preachers from their pulpit!  Well, that rules out a lot of good ministers in the South down here then, don't it?  Do you think God really cares what we look like on the outside?  I mean, seriously, there is nothing wrong with healthy living and exercise, and we all need those to be sure, so that is not what I am talking about.  What I am talking about is this mentality that all women need to look like Playboy centerfolds and men like GQ models, and sadly that mentality has entered into the Church - especially with these "Purpose-Driven" and "seeker-friendly" fads that are a bi-product of the Emerging Church cult.   However, God never said that to be "in His image" meant you had to look perfect - He meant that we are created in an image He had for us, as an individual, from the beginning of the world.  God doesn't mass-produce babies in heaven, but each of us is, as Psalm 139:14 says, "fearfully and wonderfully made."  And, that aspect of our creation goes hand-in-hand with Romans 12:4-5, which talks about us being one Body with many members, as well as the diversity of gifts in the Body of Christ it talks about in Ephesians.   The talent and creativity you have personally and individually is not an accident - God gave it to you!  And, if we are to follow Christ, we learn to use those talents and creativities to His glory and to the best of our ability.  Jeff Steinberg is a man who does that well, I must say - not only him, but so many others.   Take Jacob Berry, for instance - he is a young Free Will Baptist evangelist in Oklahoma I believe who was born with muscular dystrophy, and although he cannot talk and has to be in a specially-made wheelchair, he is in God's eyes a great creation, and God has used him to touch many lives.  Then there is David Ring, the Southern Baptist evangelist from Arkansas with cerebral palsey - in the 30+ years he has been in public ministry, untold numbers of people have been touched by his testimony as well.   I also need to mention Joni Earickson Tada, who for decades has produced so many things such as paintings, music recordings, and books, and yet she is a quadraplegic who cannot move a muscle on her body.   And, there is my friend Bill Burtoft, whom I went to college with - Bill has been in a wheelchair, yet he not only has a strong and unshakable faith, but he also has a sharp mind and you couldn't find a more capable technology whiz than this guy.    If the establishment (and some heretical TV preachers) would have had their way, all of the above would have been cast by the wayside and even aborted at birth, but God uses what the world casts out as "foolish" oftentimes to confound the idiocy of worldly wisdom, and all the individuals I have mentioned - all handicapped people I might add - have been used greatly of God to touch and improve many lives.   The testimonies of these people have prevented suicides, healed marriages, and more importantly, brought people to the altar to be born again of the Holy Spirit in Christ.   Appearances can indeed be deceiving sometimes, and we need to be more discerning of that as a Church.  What is created in God's image may not always be what we think, and sometimes those perfect specimens of humanity we think are "blessed" of God may often be no more than prettily-packaged compost heaps as God sees them.   Which is why I believe God can use a person in a wheelchair more often than not than he can a supermodel, because looks indeed can be deceiving - my friend Bill, for instance, is secure with who he is, and while he lives his life as God intended, the next "America's Top Model" is puking her guts out in the bathroom sink due to the fact she ate a Lifesaver and is tormented about that.  Which one of them do you think is more in God's will?  Think about that.  

It is not just physical disabilities though that people often flippantly dismiss, but other factors as well.  Some people, for instance, are born into money and they get all the opportunities, all the prestige, and all the accolades due to the fact they have Donald Trump as a grandpaw or something.  Yet, often, these same people cannot operate a toaster, yet they are in places of authority.   On the other hand, there are people much like myself who were reared in poverty, with a single parent, and had to fight and scratch and scrape to get somewhere, and often those people are written off as statistics.  Let me tell you about me - according to the "official" statistics, I should have been an alcoholic, had a girl knocked up at 16, and should have been dead 10 years ago.  Yet, I was a great student in school, never had a taste for alcohol, and finished college and made something of myself, and still have no kids!  Reason is, I followed God's plan instead of man's, and thankfully I did that.   I was created in the image God made me, and He knew just what would bring out my best and thus made the way for that to happen.   God wants to do that for all of us, but oftentimes we are so blinded by what the world thinks that we miss it, and oftentimes the world too writes us off because we don't fit into their profile for success.   God, however, is greater than the world, and if He wills something for your life and you are yielded to what He wants to do, you will be that person God intended you to be as an individual.  It may not involved great financial riches, and you may not be a great superstar or model, but you will know within the depth of your being that you are where you are supposed to be.  People may give you opposition for that - expect it, as a matter of fact! - and you may even screw up on occasion along that pilgrim trail (I could tell you stories of my own on that one, believe me!) and you may get impatient and discouraged at times because things may not be where you think they should be.  However, remember this - we need to trust God to guide our steps.  It is hard, and honestly as I write this it is something I struggle with just as some of you do, but we need to find peace within ourselves to understand God doesn't steer us wrong.   Remember again, we are created in HIS image - not necessarily a carbon clone of Him, but in the image He made us - and that means something in the greater scheme of things.   So, be encouraged today as you read this, and hope to visit you again really soon.