CHURCH OF GOD
Evangel FEBRUARY 2016
“The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light” (Matt. 4:16 NKJV).
The Church’s
MISSION
Time to Shine Loving Loudly Pure Pentecost
Contents
february 2016
volume 106 n issue 2
“WE LIVE in uncertain times that present new challenges and opportunities for churches to try new ways of reaching people with the gospel of Christ. As the church moves forward with creative and contemporary ministries, we also must remember our faith foundations. “The best way to do this is to keep Jesus at the center of the church. He presents to us the perfect model for reaching those who are lost, developing true disciples, building the church, and engaging cultures with the Gospel. The apostle Paul cautioned Timothy, ‘Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel’ (2 Tim. 2:8 NIV).”—Thomas J. Doolittle (“The Primacy of Mission”)
mission of the church 10 What Is the Church’s Mission? by Bill Effler Exalting Jesus is the primary quest. 12 Astonishing Acts of the Spirit by Alton Garrison My dad’s deliverance, calling, and message
14 Living Loudly in Middle Tennessee by Lance Colkmire An interview with Jason Daughdrill 21 A Very Personal Question by Michael P. Horban “Ask him! Ask him!” 2 “Prophesy to the Cornfields” by William McCarty 2 Healing Waters Worship Center 24 Teaching Is Good . . . by B. Randall Parris columns Spirit-filled teaching is best. 5 In Covenant, Mark L. Williams
26 A Church-Planting Pastor 7 On My Mind, Lance Colkmire in the Northeast 34 Chronicles, Phyllis Thompson by Lance Colkmire departments An interview with 4 Ministry Snapshot Othon O. Noel 6 By the Numbers
28 Pure Pentecost 8 Currents by James E. Cossey 17 GlobalConnect Signs following . . . 30 Viewpoints or following signs? 32 People and Events EVANGEL • feb 2016
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PUBLICATIONS MINISTRIES DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR M. Thomas Propes DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS Terry Hart MANAGING EDITOR Lance Colkmire
MINISTRY SNAPSHOT Reverend Wallace Sibley, third assistant general overseer of the Church of God, recently received the Spirit of Azusa Award in honor of his 52 years in ministry. By his side is his wife, Dorothy; presenting the award is David Roebuck, director of the Pentecostal Research Center.
CENTRAL DISTRIBUTION COORDINATOR Robert McCall CFO Wayne Walston PRINTING DIRECTOR Mike Burnett
EVANGEL STAFF EDITOR Lance Colkmire EXECUTIVE SECRETARY Elaine McDavid COPY EDITOR Esther Metaxas GRAPHIC DESIGNER Bob Fisher
EDITORIAL AND PUBLICATIONS BOARD Tony D. Cooper, Les Higgins, Ray E. Hurt, David W. Jarvis, Cheryl Johns, Antonio Richardson, T. Dwight Spivey
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Mark L. Williams, David M. Griffis, J. David Stephens, Wallace J. Sibley, M. Thomas Propes
CHURCH OF GOD congregations meet throughout the United States and in more than 180 other countries. To find a church and times of services near you, access the church website, www.churchofgod.org, or fax your request to 423-478-7616. Publication of material in the Evangel does not necessarily imply endorsement of the Church of God. The Church of God Evangel (ISSN 0745-6778) is edited and published monthly. n Church of God Publishing House, 1080 Montgomery Ave., P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250 n Subscription rates: Single subscription per year $17, Canada $24, Bundle of 15 per month $17, Canada $28, Bundle of 5 per month $7.50, Canada $11.25 n Single copy $1.50 n Periodical postage paid at Cleveland, TN 37311 and at additional mailing offices n ©2016 Church of God Publications n All rights reserved n POSTMASTER: Send change of address to Evangel, P.O. Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250. (USPS 112-240)
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EVANGEL • feb 2016
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Church of God DECLARATION OF FAITH WE BELIEVE: 1. In the verbal inspiration of the Bible. 2. In one God eternally existing in three persons; namely, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 3. That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of the Father, conceived of the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary. That Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. That He ascended to heaven and is today at the right hand of the Father as the Intercessor. 4. That all have sinned and come short of the glory of God and that repentance is commanded of God for all and necessary for forgiveness of sins. 5. That justification, regeneration, and the new birth are wrought by faith in the blood of Jesus Christ. 6. In sanctification subsequent to the new birth, through faith in the blood of Christ; through the Word, and by the Holy Ghost. 7. Holiness to be God’s standard of living for His people. 8. In the baptism with the Holy Ghost subsequent to a clean heart. 9. In speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives utterance and that it is the initial evidence of the baptism in the Holy Ghost. 10. In water baptism by immersion, and all who repent should be baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 11. Divine healing is provided for all in the Atonement. 12. In the Lord’s Supper and washing of the saints’ feet. 13. In the premillennial second coming of Jesus. First, to resurrect the righteous dead and to catch away the living saints to Him in the air. Second, to reign on the earth a thousand years. 14. In the bodily resurrection; eternal life for the righteous, and eternal punishment for the wicked.
IN COVENANT mark l. williams general overseer
let’s invent a church
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ET’S SUPPOSE you came to a world where the church had never existed, and you were given the task of devising it. What would you design it to be and do? In this imaginary world, however, you will not be left to your own ingenuity. You will be given one tool to inspire your creativity: a copy of the New Testament. It sounds far-fetched, doesn’t it? Yet when we ask ourselves, “What is the mission of the church?” this might be the best way to get at the heart of the matter. If we had nothing but the Bible to form our picture of the church, what would we discover? Perhaps the earliest descriptions of the church—this unusually attractive and effective expression of the body of Christ—are the ones in the Book of Acts and the epistles of the New Testament. These writings portray local bodies of believers functioning in their communities, cities, and regions, proclaiming the Gospel and nurturing new converts. We see believers from various churches cooperating to care for the needy and spread the Gospel to places where it is unknown. Delegates from the churches gathered in a central place when the need arose to discuss matters of faith and practice, and the congregations on a local level accepted and implemented the decisions of the gathered body of leaders. Evangelism is primary. We believe the church may be legitimately involved in many ministries, but the highest priority should be soulwinning. Sin has separated individuals from God, and our primary calling is to mediate the saving message of Christ to the world in order to reunite them with Him. Abundant evidence exists in Scripture to undergird the primacy of
evangelism (see 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Eph. 3:112; Phil. 2:9-16; Col. 1:18-29). Nurturing and training are given attention. In the Book of Acts, much importance is attached to training. Jesus, in His parting instructions, had emphasized the teaching function of the church (Matt. 28:19-20). Passages in Acts 4 and 5 affirm that the disciples took seriously His command. The Church of God devotes much of its resources of people, time, and energy to the ministries of teaching and training. A careful analysis of pastors’ pulpit content usually reveals a strong teaching emphasis. The church must gather for worship and praise. The Psalms provide a model for lifting voices together in glorifying God and praising Him for His mighty works. The church enjoys fellowship. The Acts picture of the church shows them in frequent company with one another. Christians worship together in the Temple, eat together in homes, pray together, observe the Lord’s Supper together, and spend time together as friends. Their togetherness obviously goes beyond the formal union that takes place in a worship assembly; they delight in being with one another.
If we had only the Bible to form our picture of the church, what would we discover?
The church prays. The pattern of the Master was not lost on the early church. They realized Jesus Christ did what He did as a result of His prayer life, and they emulated His example. Prayer kept them in active communion with the Lord of the church. This brief description of the church’s mission hits the high spots, but it is incomplete. We need to mention stewardship, caring, benevolence, and more. The important truth is that we find our reason for being in Scripture. When we follow it, we cannot go wrong. EVANGEL • feb 2016
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BY THE NUMBERS
MUSLIM VIEWS OF ISIS ACCORDING TO NEWLY released data that the Pew Research Center collected in 11 countries with significant Muslim populations, people from Nigeria to Jordan to Indonesia overwhelmingly expressed negative views of ISIS. One exception was Pakistan, where a majority offered no definite opinion of ISIS. The nationally representative surveys were conducted as part of the Pew Research Center’s annual global poll.
Note: Due to rounding, percentagesmay not total 100%. Source: Spring 2015 Global Attitudes survey. Q12n (Pew Research Center)
MOST INFLUENTIAL ON DECISION TO ABORT LIFEWAY RESEARCH surveyed more than 1,000 American women who have terminated one or more of their pregnancies. Of those women who called themselves “churchgoers,” here’s who they said was most influential in their decision to abort. Medical professional.......................................................... 34% Father of baby..................................................................... 32% My mother or father.......................................................... 16% An abortion provider............................................................2% Local church...........................................................................1% 6
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RECORD SHARE OF YOUNG WOMEN LIVING WITH PARENTS A LARGER SHARE of young women are living at home with their parents or other relatives than at any point since the 1940s. You’d have to go back 74 years to observe similar living arrangements among American young women. Young men, too, are increasingly living in the same situation. Young adults were most likely to live independently of family around 1960, when just 24% stayed in the nest. But that figure modestly increased from 1960 to 2000 and then sharply increased after that, especially with the onset of the Great Recession in 2008. The labor market recovery since then has not reversed the trend; in fact, it’s become even more pronounced. In the 1940s, women typically lived with their parents until they married and only a small share attended college. Indeed, even in 1960, only 5% of 18- to 34-year-old women were college students. Today, women are five times more likely to be enrolled in college.—Pew Research
Not Leaving the Nest: Women Living With Family Returns to 1940 level Share of 18- to 34-year-olds living with parents of relatives
Note: Living with family means residing in a household headed by a parent, aunt/uncle, or other relative (but not a spouse). Source: Pew Research Center tabulations of U.S. decennial census data, 1940-2000 and 2010 and 2014 American Community Survey (IPUMS)
ON MY MIND lance colkmire editor
TIME TO SHINE
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HEN LIGHTS started flickering in one of our home’s bedrooms . . . then in an adjoining bathroom . . . then in a hallway and another bedroom . . . I called Mr. Light, the electrician. (Yes, that really is his name.) Took him two hours and cost me $185, but he finally tracked down and fixed the loose wire that was causing the problem. In the two months hence, all those lights have been shining bright. Lighting problems are frustrating in a home, but can be catastrophic in the Church, whose members are supposed to be “the light of the world” (Matt. 5:14 NASB). I could categorize the deepening darkness in our world from A (Abortionists destroying unborn babies) to Z (Zealots who murder in the name of Allah), but you probably can do the same. My concern here is, Will we in the Church shine brighter as the world grows darker? Paul told the Ephesian church, “You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8 NKJV). More specifically, he told them to separate themselves from darkness, expose darkness, and redeem the time. Separate from darkness. Just last week in my Sunday school class, a student asked, “Why do so many church couples think it is OK to live together without getting married?” Those couples are ignoring Ephesians 5:3-4, which lists activities Christians must separate themselves from: “Sexual immorality, impurity, or greed . . . have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you” (NLT). We can sing about Jesus and wear “I love Jesus” T-shirts, but if off-color comments and sexual impurity characterize us, we are disconnected from the One we
claim to serve. “You can be sure that no immoral, impure, or greedy person will inherit the Kingdom of Christ and of God” (v. 5 NLT). Expose darkness. While we must not “participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness” (v. 8 NASB), neither are we to cloister in our churches. Instead, we must walk in obedience to God’s commands, thereby exposing the works of darkness around us.
Will we shine brighter as the world grows darker? Tedashii Anderson grew up in church and thought he was a “good kid” . . . until he enrolled at Baylor University, where a fellow student confronted him about the way he talked about young women, saying, “I think the Bible would call that sin.” Tedashii was furious and pushed the guy aside, yet that student continued to shine his light. Tedashii eventually came “face to face with my sin and neediness” and accepted Christ, he told Christianity Today. His witnessing friend encouraged him to put a Christian message in his rap music, and today Tedashii is a best-selling Christian hip-hop artist. Redeem the time. “Be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil” (v. 15 NASB). We must walk in the light today, reflecting Christ’s light around us, not knowing if we will have the same opportunity tomorrow.
On the 35th anniversary of his becoming a Christian at age 41, Charles Colson blogged about that experience. He came to Christ through the witness of his lawyer, Tom Phillips, before Colson went to prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal. He wrote: Never before in Tom Phillips’s life had God told him to share the Gospel. Never before had he done so. But in total obedience, Tom followed God’s lead, and the result? A ministry [Prison Fellowship International] that now spreads all around the world to 114 countries, tens of thousands of men and women coming out of prison being redeemed by the blood of Christ, and then finding their place in community; and the whole Church being sensitized to the needs of the least of these in our midst. So how do you celebrate 35 years as a Christian? By recommitting yourself to use every available moment, every ounce of energy, in service of the King. For what He has done for me, how could I ever do less?
Our “Mr. Light” is no mere electrician; He is Jesus Christ, “the Light of the world,” who radiates “the light of life” through His followers (John 8:12). It is time for us to shine.
Four ways to contact the editor: •
[email protected] • 423-478-7592 • Church of God Evangel on Facebook • Box 2250, Cleveland, TN 37320-2250
EVANGEL • feb 2016
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CURRENTS The purpose of CURRENTS is to inform readers of trends and events influencing the culture.
pregnant chinese pro-life activist safe in U.S. n THE DAY BEFORE Thanksgiving 2015,
Chinese pro-life leader Sarah Huang, her husband, and their 5-year-old son landed in Texas, the answer to months of tearful prayer. Finally, the baby in Huang’s womb was safe from the reaches of China’s family-planning officials. Crying, she called China Life Alliance (CLA) founder Matthew Li (not his real name). “We made it out,” she told him. “As soon as the wheels were up in Beijing, I knew my baby was safe.” Over the years, Huang (not her real name) has helped more than 100 women dealing with over-quota pregnancies only to find herself pregnant with a second child this fall. Friends and family urged her to abort the baby as the family could not afford the $35,000 fine, and her husband’s job was on the line. But Huang knew the baby had been given to her by God. She feared she would face the same fate as women she’s helped in the past— that she’d be ratted out, officials would drag her to a clinic, strap her to a metal table, and forcibly abort her baby. While forced abortions are officially illegal in China, they still occur in rural areas.
“Sarah Huang” (face hidden for personal security) 8
EVANGEL • feb 2016
Even China’s recent change from a onechild policy to a two-child policy wouldn’t help Huang’s situation. She got pregnant before the announced change, and the implementation of the new law will take place gradually throughout the country. Her options dwindled to getting a divorce, raising a child without hukou (China’s household registration), or traveling to the United States to give birth. While weighing their options, the Huangs applied for travel visas and hid in a safe house, where Huang continued trying to help other women even as she faced danger herself. One night she called Li saying police officers with dogs were at her door, and she refused to let them in. At that point, Li knew they had to get her out of the country. Once the Huangs received their visas, CLA and China Aid helped arrange plane tickets and places for the family to stay in the United States. After arriving in Dallas, Li said border patrol officers viewed them suspiciously, questioning why they needed to spend six months in the country just to visit friends. They eventually allowed the family to stay only one month. But somehow the Huangs got six-month stamps on their passports, allowing them to stay long enough for the baby’s birth. Huang was invited to testify before the Congressional Executive Commission on China to tell her story and explain how China’s change to a two-child policy will continue to perpetuate human rights abuses. She testified, “In America you have a choice—you can choose to speak up for the innocent or to stay silent. In my country, women are told they cannot speak up for their own bodies or for the children in their womb. In China this struggle is not about ‘pro-life’ or ‘prochoice,’ but about enduring torture (a forced or coerced abortion) or enduring strict punishment for disobeying.”
Although she spoke from behind a screen to protect her identity, she worried about the backlash back home and whether her husband will lose his job once they return to China. A gofundme account was set up to pay for the Huang baby’s birth.—WNS
Teen Epidemic: Explicit Text Messaging n A COLORADO SEXTING CASE involv-
ing more than 100 teenagers left local prosecutors with a quandary. Should they prosecute the minors under child pornography laws, which would have lifelong consequences, or charge them with lesser offenses that might not reflect the severity of the crime? This and other recent sexting cases have sparked concerns that state laws— originally drafted to protect children from exploitation by adults—are out-of-date and ineffective when applied to sexting minors in the smartphone age. In early November 2015, an anonymous student from Canon City High School, a school of 1,000 in a small southern Colorado town, called a state studentsafety hotline with a tip about the widespread sharing of explicit photos via text message, referred to as sexting. School officials investigated and initially turned over one phone with several hundred photos to police. Some students were reportedly using a password-protected app that looks like a calculator to collect and hide nude photos of themselves and fellow students. An unspecified number of students were suspended, and the high school forfeited its last football game of the season due to ethical questions about the players. Under Colorado law, the possession of an explicit photo of a minor, even a photo shared between two consenting minors, is a felony. A conviction often requires registration as a sex offender.
“That’s where there is a clear line being crossed,” Hughes said. “If you put something out there, you have to know that you are posting criminal content.” Nearly 30 percent of teens have sent a naked picture of themselves via text or email, according to a study by researchers at the University of Texas. The study also found 31 percent of teens reported asking someone for such a text, and more than half (57%) said they had been asked to send one.—Kiley Crossland (WNS)
Similar cases are raising questions about child pornography laws, and whether sexting minors should face felony charges. Late last year, two Long Island 14-yearolds were charged after one of them shot video of the other having sex with a girl and sent it to other teens. The two boys face felony charges, and nearly 20 students at a neighboring school were suspended for viewing, possessing, or sending the video. Last year, courts charged two North Carolina 16-year-olds, a boyfriend and girlfriend, with felony sexual exploitation of a minor for exchanging nude selfies. A judge reduced the charges to misdemeanors after a public outcry. Donna Rice Hughes, president and CEO of internet safety group Enough Is Enough, says this is a good dialogue to have, especially given the epidemic nature of sexting among today’s teens. “How do we treat the production and distribution of this kind of content among ‘consenting’ youth, and treat it with the seriousness that it should be treated, but possibly set it apart from existing child pornography laws?” she asked. It is important for prosecutors, judges, and juries in sexting cases to look at the particular nuances of cases, Hughes said. She draws a line between minors exchanging explicit photos privately, and posting or sharing those images online.
Romanian Serving the Homeless
n FOR OVER A DECADE, Alina Sharebe-
nescue has been cooking soup in a small kitchen at the Light and Life center in Bucharest, Romania. She prepares homemade food for people without homes. “Many were rejected when born, left in the hospital or actually in the street. They grow [up] in the street and come here and know us,” she said. In addition to the people who come to the center, she also prepares portions for three families. Many of them are Roma, or gypsies. They are often despised and live in rough conditions. One family of seven picks up food at the center because they have no electricity or kitchen appliances. Light and Life also offers job training, housing for orphans, and other services, but Sharebenescue cooks. She comes in early to chop fresh vegetables for one of her many kinds of soup that simmer in big pots on the stove. “Romanian tradition is very large, and we have a lot of soup. . . . Every day it is another kind and fresh food,” she says. Sharebenescue also serves up love, something the homeless have never known. One man said his parents left him in an orphanage when he was 4 years old. He stayed there for five years until some older boys took him out against his will.
That was in 1989. Since then, he’s never had a stable home. He goes to church, though, and likes to sing. Others have families but find it hard to resist the temptations of the city. A boy of 18 talked about his pastor father and accountant mother. Three months earlier, he’d left home to become a vagabond— his word—and his adventure turned out badly. He was left begging for food at Ikea and eating at Light and Life with men two decades older than him. He planned to go home and knew his parents would welcome him. However, not every story has a happy ending. Sharebenescue said many of the homeless die from drug use, starvation, or disease. “Somebody has to do something for this,” she says. “It’s the job that God gave to me. He called me to do this for poor people because I have children, and I’m a mother also. . . . I know what it is to be somebody who does not receive love or other things that you need in your life. Because you don’t need only food and clothes. More than everything, you need to know that somewhere there is someone loving you just for the way you are.”—Susan Olasky (WNS)
Alina Sharebenescue
EVANGEL • feb 2016
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by bill effler
what is the church’s mission? it starts with exalting jesus
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HE CHURCH EXISTS by mission as a fire exists by burning,” theologian Emil Brunner famously said. One might ask Brunner, “How does fire combust in the first place?” Here is a possible answer. Jesus was a spiritual arsonist: He ignited fires everywhere, and asked whoever followed after Him to keep His messianic fires aflame. At some point in history, however, entire churches exchanged their birthright of being igniters of His Spirit for a “calling” sadly resulting in questionable theology, predictable programming, an institutional herd mentality, unbridled internal backbiting, and cultural blindness. Exalt Jesus There will be no advance of the kingdom of God which does not first encompass authentic personal conversion through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Authentic personal conversion begins with church leaders. The primary quest of the church is not to increase membership, build more impressive facilities, open another food pantry, or offer the finest worship services available to its local constituents. Instead, the exaltation of Jesus Christ is primary, 10
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remembering Jesus’ words: “And I, when I am lifted up . . . will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).* As a new believer, I was, in the words of writer Tommy Tenney, a “God chaser.” I read Jesus’ teachings daily and looked for ways to serve others. While engaged in street ministry in the red-light district of Hollywood, California, I witnessed great pain and heard stories of people who were willingly and wildly living apart from God. I then encountered my own desolation abroad as a 20-year-old missionary to South Korea. For a brief summer season, far from home for the first time, I was confronted with starvation conditions. On one occasion, I saw a young mother leaving her earthen dwelling in the early morning to bury her infant child who had died in the night. Later that same evening, I read these words from Scripture, “Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see” (Lam. 1:12). In recalling those memories and many others, I ask myself, Do I still have the same clarity of vision and depth of passion I had as a new believer? I share my intimate inner questions about vision and passion because vision and passion are easily corrupted and forgotten (see Rev. 2:4-5).
Identify With Humanity Jesus’ mission commenced when He identified with humanity (John 1:1-2; Heb. 1:2). So it should be with the mission of the church today. Jesus recognized temptation, hunger, thirst, love, and betrayal at the deepest of extremes. “In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God . . . should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. . . . Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Heb. 2:10, 18). Church advancement today occurs as believers live out the incarnation of Christ in personal, communal, and concrete ways. Jesus’ identified mission was developed further as He met both the physical and spiritual longings of people. So it should be with the church today. If a person was in need of grace, Jesus offered grace. When a desperate father came to Jesus because his son required healing, Jesus healed him. If people were hungry, Jesus fed them. If clear teaching was needed, Jesus taught. When people expressed an interest in following Him, Jesus extended an invitation. Any time an individual or congregation responds to the physical, spiritual, individual, or corporate needs before them, the mission of the first-century church is reenacted and replicated. Do Jesus’ Work An additional facet of Jesus’ mission was His sending forth His disciples to do the very works He was performing. Jesus’ followers were to be seen as extensions of Himself. So it should be with the church today. Feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, and visiting the prisoner will provide evidence of a person’s identity as a believer upon Jesus’ glorious return (Matt. 25:31-46). This notion of doing the works of God was further developed by the apostle Paul. He taught the believers at Corinth and Ephesus that God bestows differing gifts; no one person can do everything. Just as the human body has diverse elements
with each serving a different function, so it is with individual lives in the church body (1 Cor. 12:12). In some way, all Christians are called to be witnesses, and all are called to love their neighbors (Matt. 10:32; 22:39). As a final reminder related to doing the works of God, Jesus prophetically declared, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). What an encouragement this is!
Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12). Spread the Good News The primary reason Jesus wanted His followers to believe His teaching, follow His example, and do the works He did was that “the world may believe” (John 17:21). The apostle John, as he concluded his Gospel, said its purpose was that “you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (20:31). This is Jesus’ ultimate goal and mission—belief in Him. So it should be with the mission of every church. When the church is faithful to the life and teaching of Jesus, preserves the unity of the believers, and is both deliberate and intentional about being immersed in community, it becomes the most powerful force for drawing those who have yet to hear and accept the Good News. The mission of Christ’s church is advanced when a congregation perceives itself as an instrument of God and thereby acts as an agent of change in the culture where it exists. A church is not set ablaze when believers gather together, but rather when
God’s people are dispersed throughout the world throughout the week. Anticipate Jesus’ Return One cannot know if the early disciples ever fully understood Jesus’ mission before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Peter’s question to Jesus before our Lord’s ascension and before Pentecost, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6) leads us to think he still did not understand Jesus’ wider understanding of the Kingdom. Peter was still thinking little k. Jesus’ reign goes beyond politics, geography, gender, ethnicity, or denominational preferences. A short time after Jesus ascends into heaven, Luke records angels from heaven calling out to those gathered, “Men of Galilee . . . why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). This angelic question was a commissioning for the forward movement of what Jesus had begun. The angels were in effect saying, “It’s time to get to work.” Is today’s church much like the pre- Pentecost men of Galilee who were caught up in star-gazing? Were these pre-Pentecost leaders, like today’s church, more concerned with filling a leadership vacancy (v. 26) than waiting in anticipation for the promised Holy Spirit? The mission of the church today is to be looking for the “bright Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16). Today’s church is called to live in anticipation of Jesus’ second coming. Until Jesus’ coming, the Church is to know she is the empowered bride of Christ, fully capable of doing the works her resurrected Lord prophesied. Yes, it is time. It is far later than anyone of us can imagine. It is time to carry out, at a deeper level, the mission to which Jesus called us. *Scriptures are from the New International Version. Bill Effler, D.Min., is a professor of theology at Lee University. EVANGEL • feb 2016
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EFORE MY FATHER was known across our community as Pastor C. H. Garrison, he was far better known as an alcoholic. An oil-field worker, he had dropped out of school in the 10th grade and endured a very dysfunctional life of hard work— when he could keep a job—and equally hard drinking. C. H. and Alese Garrison were married when he was 30 and she was 18. They did not have children for seven years, during which his drinking rarely abated. Had I been born and raised in that environment, I almost certainly would not have found God’s path for my life. But when I was about to be born, under the influence of the Holy Spirit (to which my dad was completely oblivious), he began to get serious about quitting drinking. While Dad tried unsuccessfully to give up alcohol, he was only marginally successful at holding down a job. When he was able to find work, he would hide his paycheck in an attempt to keep from spending it all on drink. Inevitably, he would find the check and spend it all in a night. He averaged a fifth of whiskey a day. Deliverance About six months before I was born, my parents had been to a Fourth of July celebration. Dad had been drinking. He and Mom were headed home in southeast Texas where they lived. As Dad drove, he suddenly felt as if he were having a heart attack. His fear was if he died, he would wreck the car and kill Mom and the baby they were expecting. Without explaining to Mom why, he slowed the car down and began to plead with God. “I don’t know how to pray,” he said under his breath, “but my mother used to pray. If You heard her prayer, maybe You’ll hear mine. Spare my life to see my child; save me. And if I ever take another drop of liquor for as long as I live, I want You to poison me and let me drop dead.” At that moment, Jesus Christ looked beyond all of my father’s past failures. He healed, saved, and delivered him. 12
EVANGEL • feb 2016
by alton garrison
astonishing acts of the spirit My Dad’s Deliverance, Calling, and Message
Calling Just weeks later, Dad was baptized in the Holy Spirit. Dad’s life changed, and he gave up smoking and other destructive habits. His two sisters had also been saved and were attending a little independent Pentecostal church in Sour Lake, near Beaumont and just a short drive from the Gulf Coast. The church was still getting on its feet when the pastor left, so Dad and his two sisters went to nearby Beaumont to meet with Harry H. Hodge, pastor of Sabine Tabernacle and founder of United Gospel Tabernacles. As they appealed to Brother Hodge to send another pastor to Sour Lake, he looked at Dad and said, “There’s your pastor.” Dad had only come as the driver. He looked around in surprise. He had only recently come to Christ and had been a hopeless drunk only months before. Brother Hodge told Dad, “Go home and pray about it; and when God speaks to you what He spoke to me, you come back.”
In a couple of weeks, Dad returned to Beaumont and was appointed pastor of the Sour Lake church. He had never finished high school . . . never been to Bible college . . . never preached a sermon. And he was the pastor of a church. Dad stayed in that church 22 years. Just a few years ago, my wife, Johanna, and I went back to preach an anniversary there. It is still not a large church—just a little white building that holds about 90 people—but the lives that have been impacted and the testimonies coming from that congregation speak of an astounding and continuing work of the Spirit. While my dad’s situation was certainly exceptional—his having no education to speak of—we know the Holy Spirit can compensate for our inadequacies. Message After 22 years in Sour Lake, Mom and Dad moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, where Dad pastored Calcasieu Tabernacle.
After a decade there, Dad was stricken with Alzheimer’s disease. It did not seem fair to me. He had served the Lord so faithfully, yet now it was an agonizing, seven-year struggle that left his mind and body destroyed. I received a call to come to the care facility. My father was close to death. The doctor was leaving Dad’s room as I arrived. He told me Dad was no longer with us for all practical purposes. All measurable brain function tied to cognition had ceased. Dad had not spoken for more than three months; it was physically impossible for him to speak. He was so close to death, but for some reason his body was hanging on. The doctor fully expected Dad to die and knew he was beyond the help of any medical intervention. “It’s your mom I’m worried about,” the doctor concluded. “She is physically and emotionally depleted. You’re going to have to do something.” When the doctor left the room, I battled a wave of discouragement clearly sent by the enemy of our soul. How do you preach faith when your dad is lying here in this condition? a voice jeered in my mind. What do you tell people about God and healing and service? All of these years he was faithful, and now look how he has ended up! But as I stood at my father’s bedside, God gave me the words from Scripture to win that struggle: “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Cor. 5:1 NASB). “Devil,” I said, “you’re not going to win. When Dad closes his eyes in death, that old tabernacle, that tent, falls away. He’s going to be in the presence of the King of kings and Lord of lords!” When I stepped out of Dad’s room, my mother was waiting. She asked what I had been doing. I said I had been praying for Dad. What she said next shocked me profoundly. “Why are you praying for him?” she asked bitterly. “It won’t do any good. Son, it’s a
joke.” She poured out all her anguish over the previous years’ prayers that appeared to be unanswered. “When you need God the most, He turns His back on you,” she said. Then she pointed her finger in my face and said, “Son, don’t you ever pray in my presence again.” As I drove home, reflecting on everything that had taken place, I began to cry. “God,” I prayed, “if Dad passes, he will be in Your presence; but if something happens to Mom, she’s lost her faith.”
Dad had never preached a sermon . . . and he was appointed pastor of a church. That night as I cried and worried over my mother’s loss of faith, the Holy Spirit showed me the truth: She had not lost her faith at all. She had been trained and educated through decades of service to Christ in a faith that would never leave her. She knew in her mind the promises are true; but in her despair, she had lost hope. The devil takes the only path he can. It is easier for the devil to discourage you emotionally than it is for him to defeat you Scripturally. He can manipulate circumstances, but he cannot alter the Word of God. “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Rom. 15:4 NASB). Four days after my mother’s angry, bitter, and hopeless outburst, she went back to the hospital to visit Dad. There, to her astonishment, she felt the presence of God. “I didn’t want to feel it,” she told me later, “but it was like an anointing cloud.”
In the Old Testament, they called it the Shekinah glory. God is so powerfully real. He has an essence about Him we can sometimes sense. It was this essence of God’s Spirit that came over my mother when she walked into Dad’s room—and accompanying that essence, she heard a voice in her head. Four days earlier, the voice in my own head had been the Enemy trying to destroy my hope; but this day, it was the voice of the Holy Spirit whispering to my mother, Get ready . . . he’s going to talk to you today. That was crazy! The doctors had already told us Dad was “gone.” Even if he came out of the coma, it had been months since he had spoken. His speech for three-anda-half years leading up to this crisis had been unintelligible. My mother had lost all hope, but now the voice of the Spirit was nudging her hope gauge just a little bit from “empty” to “full.” She sat down by Dad’s bed and waited with anticipation for what he would say. “I don’t know if I was there three minutes or three hours,” she told me later, “but I was looking right into his eyes when they cleared up and he looked right at me. All of a sudden his mouth began to move, and with a strong voice he said, ‘You know what, honey? God still answers prayer.’ ” For the next 10 minutes, my father lay there, praying in an unknown tongue under the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, he slid back into the coma. He died soon afterward. “Son, nobody else could have spoken that phrase to me,” my mother declared afterward. “Not you, not any preacher, not any prophet—nobody could have spoken that phrase for it to have meant anything to me. The only man who could say that and it mean anything to me was your daddy— and he was brain-dead! But God let him preach one more message, and it restored my hope!” Alton Garrison is assistant general superintendent of the Assemblies of God. Excerpted from Spirit-Filled Preaching in the 21st Century (Pathway Press). EVANGEL • feb 2016
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evangel interview
by lance colkmire
loving loudly in
middle tennessee a conversation with jason daughdrill
Jason Daughdrill is lead pastor of Gateway Church of God in Shelbyville. Describe your spiritual upbringing. My dad was an alcoholic who got radically saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit when I was about 5 years old. We attended an old-school Pentecostal church in Jasper, Alabama. That church taught me to love the presence of God and not just going through motions. I remember the night I got called into the ministry. It was an incredible service. I preached my first sermon at 15. My pastor at the time told me, “Don’t think about what you’re going to say. Don’t do notes. Just open your mouth and God will fill it.” So I did that, and I had nothing to say. I screamed everything I knew for the next seven minutes. I then decided I wasn’t going to get in the pulpit again unless I had something to say. I had some bumpy roads for the next couple of years trying to figure everything out and growing up in a church that was heavy on the condemnation side. I never really felt good enough, never felt worthy. While struggling with condemnation, I discovered the Manchester Church of God. When I realized that God, rather than looking for just any reason to send me to hell, exhausted all of heaven to get me there, it changed how I saw things. I started living from grace instead of trying to earn His love. Then I went on to Lee University. How significant was your time at Lee? Lee was a big deal for me. I wanted to go somewhere I could study God’s Word, be true Biblically and theologically, and at the same time be empowered by the Holy Spirit. 14
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I studied on campus my first two and a half years, and then finished in Lee’s external studies program. I met my wife, Sylvia, at Lee, and we worked in churches in Ohio and outside Atlanta. We were going to plant a church in my hometown. We went back to Jasper, and I worked as a hospice chaplain there. When you are with dying people and their families day in and day out, you understand how short life really is. Pastor Jason Daughdrill
We found out that to plant a church, you have to have money. We didn’t have it, so we met in some small groups. We started assimilating some of those small groups into other churches. We went from there to pastor Gateway Worship Center in Whitwell, Tennessee. We spent two and a half great years there. I grew as a preacher—preaching on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights. We loved the people.
I’m not prone to have visions, but the Lord showed me a vision of a logo for Gateway Church. Afterward, I got a call from the state office asking me to accept another church. I said, “I’m not interested.” But when they told me the name was “Gateway Church,” I thought, You’ve got to be kidding me. So that’s how we ended up coming to Shelbyville in November 2011. Describe the church when you arrived. The previous pastor, Bill Woodruff, and his wife, Amanda, did a lot to get the church organized, ready for us to step in. Before them was Bobby and Holly Scott, who were here eight or nine years. Bobby did a lot of the tough things to bring about change that I didn’t have to do. So I am indebted to those before me. When we got here, we found people that were hungry for vision, hungry to move forward. They were loving. We started teaching every Wednesday night on vision, about where we’re going and who we are. We saw numerical growth even though we were just focusing on health. It showed us that if you focus on being healthy, the church naturally begins to grow. How did you move from the previous building into the former Walmart? In two or three years, we went from 65 to averaging between 200 and 300. We had to hold two Sunday morning services. In the meantime, I was serving on the board of a local ministry, and the gentleman who owned the Walmart building was on the board with me. He goes to an Episcopal church, but he wants to leverage his resources for the Kingdom. He began to talk with me about the building, but I wasn’t having it. We were debt-free, so we were good.
gatewayshelbyville.com See the church’s welcome video here: https://vimeo.com 138158271
At the Tennessee Church of God Prayer Conference, Pastor Tony Stewart [from Tampa, Florida] told the story of his church’s growth, and it provoked something in me. So we called a 5 a.m. prayer meeting. We began praying, and the Lord stirred up my faith. One of the ladies said, “We need that building.” So I called the owner and said, “Ron, would you be willing to sell me half the building?” The next Tuesday we met at the building. I’m thinking, This is 72,000 square feet, has a new roof on it with a 20-year warranty, on 16 acres; God, what do You have me here for? You know what our income is. As I was coming into the building, I had a Scripture verse of the day on my phone. It was Isaiah 61:7: “Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance” (NIV). Ron said, “I’m not going to sell you half the building. I’m going to sell you the whole building for less than what I would sell you half the building.” He brought the price down twice after that, and financed the renovation. He believed in us. So we went into phase one, renovating 15,000 square feet, while leasing part of the building to a trucking company. This revenue was paying for the building, but we ran into some politics; the trucking company had to move out based on a zoning issue. So it took us a little while to get the building going. We finally were able to launch here in August 2015. We have an incredible staff, but they were tired and I was tired. I lost my mom
suddenly during the build-out process over the summer. It was a very trying season for us. As a faith family, we had to look at each other and say, “OK, we’re here.” This building does not speak to our accomplishment; instead, it prophesies to our potential. We say, “God, You’ve given us this tool to use for Your glory. So let’s do that.” We now have over 400 in Sunday attendance. One of your church’s core values is offering “informed worship.” Explain. We engage the head and the heart so people understand why we do what we do. If we dumb things down and don’t preach the truths of God’s Word—what we believe and why—it doesn’t create solid commitment in people because they don’t understand what they are part of.
Part of your church’s vision statement is to “love loudly.” How is this done? I may be preaching on something totally different, but somehow in that message I have to weave in “we’re going to love people.” It’s got to be over-communicated and tied together with the mission of Jesus. Our mission statement is, “To extend the ministry of Jesus to all people.” If we are an extension of Him, we have to have the same heart, values, and passion for lost and hurting people. We also tell individuals’ stories. When members are able to hear about the church loving and welcoming people, it’s like pouring gas on a fire. It erupts and becomes normal. Tell stories of people you have reached. One is the Foe family. We joke often that we love our enemies and our “Foes.”
Gateway coffee bar
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We were doing a “Love the City” event where we choose a business and serve breakfast to their employees on a Saturday morning, and then invite them to come to church. The Foes had been out of church, but they came to visit the next Sunday. Just because of an intentional act of love, they have become pillars of this church. Fred is on the media team. They are youth leaders. We have a guy named Nick who grew up in a strong Christian home and went to a Christian school. He sent me a long message about how he hated church until his friend brought him here. Nick said it’s made him love God and the church all over again. There’s the Statts family. They just sent me a card talking about how she had never been in church and didn’t understand church. She would feel dumb because she didn’t know what everybody else was doing. She started coming here and felt loved and welcomed. She talked about how the Spirit of God is beginning to change her family. We had a couple serving on a ministry team who we thought were husband and wife. They were serving in hospitality and on the parking lot team when someone told me they were living together but not married. I talked with them and loved on them, and they ended up getting married. I then shared their marriage story with our church. Three more couples repented, saying they were living together but wanted to get married. I used to stress over such things. I felt like I was the watchman on the wall. Then I told the Lord, I’m going to preach Your Word. I’m going to love people and I’m going to trust You. How do you get new people engaged in church life? I do a brunch on Saturday with people who are wanting to become involved in our church. We want them to understand early in discipleship that serving matters. When I grew up, it seemed like when people got saved they were supposed to wait a few years before they were able to serve, but we were discipling them into inactivity. We try to get people serving as soon as possible to let them know this is normal. 16
EVANGEL • feb 2016
Talk about your church staff. They carry a heavy load of work. Growing means change, and change means work. They have done a great job of managing it. Most are bi-vocational and some are volunteers. I tell them all the time we could not do what we do, or be what we are, without them. My wife makes it where I get to do what I do and know everything else is taken care of. She is an incredible wife and mother. She leads women’s Bible studies and serves on a rotation in the nursery. You have someone called a “community liaison.” That’s Mary Faxon, who works for the Center for Family Development (CFD), which ironically bought our old church building. They do a great job of serving the needs in the community. Mary is a Lee graduate finishing at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary now. She does an incredible job of connecting us with needs in the city. For a couple of months this summer, we fed about 90 kids breakfast during the week, and then tutors from Middle Ten-
nessee State University provided enrichment in math, science, reading, and selfesteem. Then the kids would eat lunch and go home. That led to a big blow out with about 900 backpacks being given out. We worked with CFD and Johnson Residential Housing. Synergy can take place when you find out who is doing something rather than starting your own. Mary is the one who connects us. Is your congregation unashamedly Pentecostal? Our church began to grow the most right after a Pentecost Sunday service when 22 people were baptized in the Holy Spirit. Our church didn’t just get the manifestation of Pentecost; they got the mandate of Pentecost. It was just one of those amazing days for a Pentecostal preacher. I remember the Holy Spirit saying, “Now what?” I explained to the church we are empowered to witness. We focused on a culture of invitation. We believe if we can get our loved ones with us on Sunday, they’ll get saved. We have seen incredible stories of salvation.
TIM HILL Director
Ethiopia From the Director
“And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste
JOHN CHILDERS Assistant Director
Global Connect January 2016 WORLD MISSIONS LEADERSHIP Tim Hill, Director John Childers, Assistant Director Dee Raff, Missions Administrator
places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many gen-
EDITOR Bill George
erations; and thou shalt be called, the repairer of the
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Janet Polen Price
DESIGN EDITOR Mark Shuler
breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12 KJV). Church development has been difficult for the Church of God in Ethiopia, East Africa. While capable individuals have guided the denomination and led its constituents to further growth, the path has been a challenging one. As with any organization at times, finances continue to be a large hurdle. The most populous landlocked country in the world, Ethiopia has over 100 million inhabitants. Christians comprise almost 63 percent of the country’s population, but Muslims are quickly increasing in number. The good news is there is great potential for the work of our brethren in Ethiopia. Despite the church’s unique challenges, it has developed into a stalwart ministry with some 42,000 members in 160-plus congregations.
In addition, the Harvest Church of God supports an incredible ministry with some 7,000 children in at least 75 kindergarten and primary schools, some of which are located in Muslim tribal areas. During the latest meetings with leadership, groundbreaking took place for the longawaited construction of the National Ministries Center in Addis, a recent YWEA project. It is imperative leaders, ministers, and workers be trained to effectively spread the Gospel and be productive administrators. The celebration was one of great joy and exuberance as special prayer was offered over those involved in its undertaking. Overseer Hiruy Tsige has served in Ethiopia since 1994.
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Missionary Couple Celebrates 40 Years Dr. Richard and Janice Waldrop will complete 40 years of missionary service in April 2016, but they have not begun to think about quitting. They are making a good faith effort to contact all the people who have contributed to keep them on the field for four decades. Although the Waldrops have visited scores of schools and churches on four continents as guest teachers, their permanent assignments have been in Latin America, primarily in Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. They have pioneered several educational institutions and programs, including the first extension plan. Casa Shalom, the Guatemala orphanage that became a model for many other Latin American homes for children, was established in 1986 during the height of that nation’s civil war. When the war was ongoing, Waldrop was stopped on a roadway by soldiers, forced from his vehicle to the ground, where a rifle placed against his head penned him against the road. That incident was only one of the many adventures they and their coworkers recount. Until Richard and Janice began their work, little attention had been given to Pentecostal social ministry. As a result of their efforts, along with visionary church leaders, the denomination now emphasizes efforts with children-at-risk, abused women, medical outreach, and other similar ministries in all the nations of Latin America. The effectiveness of the Waldrops’ ministry has brought them invitations to 30 institutes in 27 nations. Their influence is far-reaching. The Waldrops’ 40-year anniversary theme is “40 Years of Service--$40,000 of Support.” They aim to attract this support by the fourth day of the fourth month (April 4, 2016.)
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They have pioneered several educational institutions and programs, including the first extension plan.
When
Men of God
EntEr a Country
While on our most recent mission trip, we had an interesting situation arise at a border crossing. Our guys are used to the normal red tape we were being subjected to on this particular day. For the most part, everything seemed to be typical considering we were entering a country that is considered “closed” to the Gospel. We were finishing getting our documents stamped and fulfilling any remaining customs requirements and were almost ready to proceed past the guard shack, when to my amazement, one of the officers approached and made a statement that I will never forget. He said, “When men of God enter a country, they always leave a gift.” My traveling companions and I were both completely blown away by his statement. The officer’s statement immediately put my senses into high alert. We had not mentioned what our purpose was for entering their country, nor had anyone asked. I thought to myself, how did this man know that the “tourists” before him were men of God? Were we in trouble? Had our cover been blown? Was the officer looking for a bribe, as many do? Before my brain could answer all the questions confronting me, I heard myself offering to pray for him and his country. And right there, at a military checkpoint in a country that is closed to receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ, I shared with this gentleman that there is power in prayer. It was a powerful moment and one I will never forget. As members of their military stood with AK47s all around us, under a makeshift shelter to block the sun, Jesus’ love was shared. This country that is severely separated from Christ was
As members of their military stood with AK47s . . . Jesus’ love was shared. now receiving prayer by members of our team. We prayed that the knowledge of Jesus Christ would become a reality in this officer’s country. Whether the officer realized it or not, his own spirit longed for prayer. And at this moment, the divine appointment that the Holy Spirit had orchestrated for us was being fulfilled. This is one of many incidents that I have been privileged to experience where the Holy Spirit has aligned certain events in order to allow believers to proclaim the name of Jesus in unlikely places. Unreached people groups have prompted a lot of talk in the last few months. Unreached—defined as geographically or culturally hard to reach and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. As we pray for countries and people groups to know Jesus as Lord, we should never forget that we are His representatives and this is His will. Please pray for missions as we are in a period of reaching out for those divine appointments like never before. We are in a period of extending our reach to some of the most dangerous places on the globe. As we are on the ground and on the move, we appreciate our supporters who through being a part of World Missions are furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ. —Ronnie Hepperly
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What’s Happening in Missions NEws FrOm ArOuND ThE glObE
Christmas Miracle!
Although missionaries Tommy and Poppi Smith continually see God’s hand at work in their area of ministry, they recently experienced a true miracle on their doorstep. The LPG gas bottle exploded and destroyed their stove/oven causing fire and gas fumes in the kitchen, creating smoke throughout the house, and shutting the electricity off most of the day. It could have been worse, but God’s wonderful hand of protection kept them safe!
Sri Lanka
Nelum Ginigalgoda, wife of the overseer of Sri Lanka, Premadasa, visited World Missions recently. Although Sri Lanka is predominately a Buddhist country, it is slowly changing its approach to Christianity. However, after the tsunami, the orphanage was targeted and encountered raids and difficulty registering with the government. The local church the Ginigalgodas pastor is 100 percent converted Buddhists. A new church in the mountains is 100 percent converted Hindus. Recently, 15 former Buddhists were water-baptized. Converts suffer great persecution, and the children of the converts are expelled from school, young adults are driven from home, and no one is given a job after conversion. God continues to move in Sri Lanka and they are grateful for His presence.
Manifestation of the Holy Spirit in Brazil
Missionary Charles Thornton held a seminar at the seminary in Goiania, Brazil. He preached 14 times in 12 churches and hundreds of people were prayed over. Prayer times consisted of praying a general prayer over the entire group and then laying hands on each one until the anointing flowed into them. The power is in the anointing, and people received powerfully. In another service, the congregation shouted “Jesus!” and when hands were laid upon them, almost 70 percent fell under the power of God. God wants the church to take His power into the community, the workplace, and neighborhoods. Thornton connected with two separate Christians in Pakistan … one a preacher and the other a 16-year-old who teaches Sunday school. He gave them enough money to purchase 82 Bibles for them to distribute. While preaching in Brazil, he was spreading the Word in Pakistan!
Hinterland Convention
The New Testament Church of God in Guyana recently hosted its second regional convention with the theme “We Are One.” Hinterland has 21 churches and more than 1,000 members, but its distant location makes it difficult and expensive for individuals to travel to the annual convention. Leadership attending had to travel by road and then by river to arrive in Hinterland. Caribbean Field Director Ishmael Charles delivered a powerful message and 200 precious souls accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives. An historic event was the credentialing of Bishop Ferdinand John, the first and only ordained bishop among the indigenous community of NTCOG in Guyana.
Visit globalCONNECT online at
www.cogwm.org
for updated information weekly. 20
a very
by michael p. horban
personal question
As the plane was lifting into the air, the little girl nudged Cunningham once again and said, “Ask him if he loves Jesus.” Cunningham said, “I can’t do that. That’s too personal. I don’t feel comfortable saying that to him.” But the girl smiled and insisted, “Ask him! Ask him!” Cunningham turned to the fellow one more time and said, “Now she wants to know if you love Jesus.”
O H
N A FLIGHT from Atlanta to Dallas, missionary Milton Cunningham happened to have the middle of the three seats on one side of the aisle. To his right, sitting next to the window, was a young girl with Down syndrome. She began to ask him some simple but direct questions. “Mister,” she said to Cunningham, “did you brush your teeth this morning?” Cunningham squirmed a bit, and then said, “Yes, I brushed my teeth this morning.” The young girl said, “Good, ’cause that’s what you’re supposed to do.” Then she asked, “Mister, do you smoke?” With a little chuckle, he told her no, he didn’t. She said, “Good, ’cause smoking will make you die.” Then she said, “Mister, do you love Jesus?” Cunningham smiled and said, “Well, yes, I do love Jesus.” The little girl smiled and said, “Good, ’cause we’re all supposed to love Jesus.”
About that time, just before the plane was ready to leave, another man came and sat down on the aisle seat next to Cunningham and began to read a magazine. The little girl nudged Cunningham again and said, “Mister, ask him if he brushed his teeth this morning.” Cunningham was really uneasy with that one, and said he didn’t want to do it. But she kept nudging him and saying, “Ask him! Ask him!” So Cunningham turned to the man and asked, “Mister, I don’t mean to bother you, but my friend here wants me to ask if you brushed your teeth this morning.” The man looked startled, but when he looked past Cunningham and saw the young girl, he could tell her good intentions, so he took her question in stride and said with a smile, “Yes, I brushed my teeth.” As the plane taxied onto the runway and began to take off, the young girl nudged Cunningham once more and said, “Ask him if he smokes.” Good-naturedly, Cunningham did so, and the man said he didn’t smoke.
The man could have responded like he had to the two previous questions—with a smile on his face and a chuckle in his voice . . . and he almost did. Instead, his expression became serious. Finally, he said to Cunningham, “You know, in all honesty, I can’t say that I do. It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that I don’t know Him. I don’t know how to know Him. I’ve wanted to be a person of faith all my life, but I haven’t known how to do it. And now I’ve come to a time in my life when I really need that very much.” As the plane soared through the skies between Atlanta and Dallas, Milton Cunningham listened to the fellow talk about the brokenness in his life and shared his personal testimony. He explained how to become a person of faith. He did that all because a little girl with Down syndrome asked him to ask the fundamental question that all Christians should be finding a way to communicate: “Do you love Jesus?” Michael P. Horban was lead pastor of Cedarville Community Church (Newmarket, Ontario) and a prolific writer. Adapted from a chapter in God Has Never Failed Me, by Stan Toler). EVANGEL • feb 2016
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by william mccarty
“prophesy to the ” cornfields healing waters worship center
I O
N JULY 1999, I received a phone call to “fill in” for a morning worship service at an old post office in Carrollton, Virginia. My wife, Amanda, and I (married then for 3 years) along with our children, Mason (19 months old) and Elizabeth (1 month old), went and ministered to eight people in the very small building. We loved on the people though we thought we would never see them again. As we drove home, my phone rang, and I was asked to fill in a second week. The church was potentially going to cease operation soon, as no one was willing to go there as pastor. We went the second week, and after the service we felt the nudging of the Lord to stay. Amanda and I, both 22, stepped in and began a journey with hurting people that continues 16 years later. One Sunday morning during our first six months meeting in the post office, I
sensed the Lord telling me to lift the window blinds and tell our few folks, “Speak and prophesy to the cornfields, for out of them will come your harvest.”
new homes, shopping centers, 400 apartments, and more were coming. The property we eventually purchased was once a cornfield. God is amazing!
This sounded crazy. The building was surrounded by cornfields, and I wondered, Could this really be God?
From the post office we moved into the Ruritan Club’s building across the street. Filled with the scent of vinegar and fried fish, we would set up every week for service (Sundays only, as a Wednesday venue was not available).
Three months later, an evangelist friend of mine came to preach. In the middle of his message, he paused and said, “The Lord says to remind you of the words of your pastor, Speak and prophesy to the cornfields, for out of it will come your harvest.” I started weeping, yet I didn’t have a clue what this meant. Almost a year later, we were driving along a main road in our county—not far from the property the church now owns—and saw giant signs in the front of all the cornfields. Hundreds of acres of cornfields were being rezoned and sold, and 1,500
Then called the Smithfield Church of God, we were about to embark on a journey that would change the course of many lives. We believed the Lord was dealing with us to rename the church. The land we were purchasing was not in Smithfield, and a Carrollton Church of God was in existence at that time. We began to cast vision for a church where the total family could come and be made whole, finding a place to catch their breath from the craziness of this life. Reaching hurting people In last October’s “Angel Walk 2015,” Healing Waters reached out to families who have experienced neo-natal and early infant deaths.
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in the world and the church was the mandate. The name was changed to Healing Waters Worship Center while we were meeting in the Ruritan building.
Pastor William McCarty
During a 2001 church business meeting with 16 adult members, the doors swung open, and the smell of alcohol filled the room as a hurting man came stumbling inside. He looked around, visibly in distress, and finally took a seat. As a young pastor, should I say something to this intoxicated man? How should I react in the middle of a business meeting about financing the building of a church? I asked for any further discussion, and this man raised his hand. Should I call on him? What would he say? Awkward silence filled the room as all eyes looked to me. Upon addressing the man, he stood and began to cry, relaying the broken condition of his life and family due to alcoholism. He added that other churches wouldn’t pay him any attention. I froze the business session and asked him to come to me. My new white dress shirt became soiled with his sobbing, I held him as he cried. I too wept over his soul and his condition. The first hurting person had walked into the newly named Healing Waters Worship Center. He gave his life to the Lord, and was healed and delivered that day. His family was restored, and he found a job. During that business meeting, God tested the heart of the ministry, and from there things started moving rapidly. In 2004, we built the main facility on five acres. The building holds 220 people, and we moved in with 27 members, including children. Today, more than 300 people attend Healing Waters Worship Center, and we have over two dozen venues of ministry. We offer support groups for a variety of needs, and a food ministry that feeds over 250 people each month. We have purchased seven more adjacent acres for expansion. God has been faithful. I was told early on that the best way to gauge the effectiveness of a church’s ministry is to imagine the community without
that church. Would the church be missed, or would it simply be a building that occupied space? I am now 39 years old, and have seen so many miracles here. Severely broken marriages have been restored . . . people with cancer have been healed . . . severely oppressed and drug-addicted individuals have been set free . . . children without fathers have been mentored . . . adults who have lost their children have been strengthened. We embrace people hurting in mind, body, and soul, and equip them through discipleship, worship, and accountability, thus adding value to them as fellow Christians. Then we empower these believers through the gospel of Jesus Christ to be His hands to serve. God took a church, established in 1979, that had formerly been transient in the Isle of Wight County, and established us. He took a church that ministers had
written off (I was told, “Nothing good will ever come out of that place if you go”) and made a place where His goodness flows daily. He took a broken people, healed them, and now uses us as a place of healing. No matter what you are carrying or how you’re struggling, you can come to this place where there are no strangers, but just family, and find hope. We now have two full-time pastors on staff, two part-time, and one volunteer pastor, and nearly 40 leaders and workers combined. We have added smaller buildings to facilitate children’s ministries, and are overcrowded already. Having been here for over 16 years, we have seen many lives changed, including our own. In a broken world, Christians are wounded healers bearing the message of hope beyond our pain. William McCarty is lead pastor of Healing Waters Worship Center in Carrolton, Virginia. www.hwwcnow.com EVANGEL • feb 2016
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by b. randall parris
teaching is good. . . spirit-filled teaching is best W ITH ALL THE political correctness, lazy scholarship, and outlandish doctrine that quietly contaminates today’s church, many congregations are experiencing a virtual famine of healthy, God-honoring, Spirit-filled teaching. Even some “Christian” television can dilute the already anemic understanding of God’s Word and sound theology. How can this problem be combatted? The church needs men and women who teach the Word of God and rely heavily on the Holy Spirit to help them do so. Human Teachers Need Divine Help Perhaps most any literate person could read enough books, attend enough seminars, watch enough videos, and observe enough good models to eventually become a decent teacher. As important and commendable as such efforts might be, God never intended for teaching, preaching, and other ministry to be done only through human determination. That is precisely why He sent us the Holy Spirit. Primary roles of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers (and perhaps especially faithful teachers) are Helper, Teacher, Comforter, and Guide. When a Christian teacher feels less than suitable for the task— perhaps undeserving of the responsibility, or inept at presenting lessons that are inspiring—he or she needs to lean into the power of the Spirit of the living God. In order to help students (from children to senior adults) lead a Spirit-led life, the teacher
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must inspire and model Spirit-led living and teaching.
Spiritually mature people concede God is not looking for “super teachers”; He’s looking for people who will allow the Holy Spirit to help them teach. Christian teachers face the same life challenges of those they are discipling. Life’s problems—flat tires, burnt toast, financial hardship, serious illness, pain, loss, and other trials—do not sidestep the teacher anymore than they evade other Christians. Consequently, someone who has accepted the call or opportunity to teach and disciple others must not try to carry this load alone. Instead, they must learn to rely on the Helper, the Holy Spirit, to provide strength, guidance, and sustaining power. The Holy Spirit Is the Best Teacher
What can the Holy Spirit do when a Christian teacher allows His presence to guide their preparation and teaching? The Holy Spirit can help reveal the “deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:911). It takes dependence on the Holy Spirit and a determination to not rely on human wisdom to grasp truths from the Word of God. To understand and teach others deep things, it is vital to be taught by the Spirit of God. Teaching is good, but Spirit-led teaching is best. The Holy Spirit guides believers (and teachers) “into all truth” (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is the divine Teacher.
No teacher, no matter how gifted or devoted to the task, will ever be as effective as the Holy Spirit at work in the heart of believers. Bible teachers need “an anointing from the Holy One” (1 John 2:20 NKJV) to know and communicate spiritual truths. The Holy Spirit reminds believers of the words of Christ. The Holy Spirit can bring particular teachings of Christ to the teacher’s heart and mind just when needed most. Jesus told His disciples, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit . . . will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26 NKJV). When a teacher feels at a loss for the right words but then, suddenly, a scripture comes to mind, the Holy Spirit is doing what Jesus promised. Characteristics of Spirit-Filled Teachers Spirit-filled teachers desire to grow closer to Jesus and stronger in their faith. Why? As they draw closer to Jesus Christ, the more likely they are to commit time and energy to teaching preparation. Simply put, the more a Sunday school teacher, children’s pastor, or small-group leader loves Jesus, the more he or she will likely love teaching and following the Holy Spirit’s lead. Life-giving, Spirit-filled teachers know the Book. How do NFL quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning always seem to know just what to do, when to do it, and how to achieve it with distinction? They have spent countless hours studying the playbook, watching film of the opponent’s moves, studying defenses, and practicing meticulously run drills. A major reason these quarterbacks are so good at what they do is they know the playbook so well. Spirit-filled teaching requires someone who makes a sacrificial and uncompromising commitment to know the Word of God. Teaching that galvanizes a student’s faith comes best through teachers who commune regularly with the Holy Spirit through consistent engagement with the
primary medium He uses to speak—God’s Book. Perhaps this is part of what Jesus meant when He said “rivers of living water” would flow out of the “innermost being” of those who are led by the Spirit (John 7:37-39 NASB). Effective teachers are continually growing in Bible knowledge Holy Spirit-filled teachers know the Holy Spirit can help them communicate more clearly. Paul stated, “My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor. 2:4-5). Paul was a well-trained, superb communicator, yet he acknowledged he could not preach and teach successfully in his own power.
Capable teachers learn how to blend preparedness with openness to the Spirit’s prompting. Spirit-filled teachers let the Holy Spirit guide their teaching and their class. This kind of teacher knows how to follow the Spirit’s leading and thereby accomplish what is best for the students. It is important to avoid rigidness. Sometimes the Holy Spirit is limited because a teacher is too inflexible. Capable teachers learn how to blend preparedness with openness to the Spirit’s prompting. The Holy Spirit specializes in guidance. The Power of Spirit-Filled Teaching My senior high Sunday school teacher was named Priscilla. Every Sunday, she had a student share an opening devotional. (She
was good at getting us involved.) One Sunday, it was my turn to share. I was about 16 years old and already felt called to ministry. Speaking on Psalm 150, I shared how everything that is breathing should praise the Lord. I challenged my peers to join me in just two minutes of heartfelt praise to God. Somewhat to my surprise, they really worshiped the Lord for those two minutes . . . five minutes . . . and then 15 minutes! It was a rare and special moment, but as the praise faded, it was time for the lesson. We never opened the curriculum that day. I suspect we never took attendance or passed the offering basket. We didn’t take turns reading from our books or have any discussion. Instead, Priscilla flowed in the Spirit. She encouraged us to praise God and allowed Him to minister. By the time that move of God was complete, the morning worship service was well under way, and our pastor was preparing to preach. With “fear and trembling,” I walked down the church’s long aisle, stepped onto the platform, and apologized to our pastor for the interruption. He leaned down to me, and with tears streaming down my face I said in his ear, “I thought you might like to know that six of my friends received the baptism in the Holy Spirit in our Sunday school class!” He rejoiced and danced before the Lord. He then told me to tell the congregation what I had just told him. I did as he instructed, and that church had an experience that would long be remembered. Why? Because a teacher in a senior high class, was not just teaching; she was teaching in the Spirit. B. Randall Parris, D.Min., serves as international coordinator of discipleship and leadership development for the Church of God Youth and Discipleship Department. He is passionate about teaching and developing local-church leaders and workers.
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evangel interview
by lance colkmire
othon o. noel
a church-planting pastor in the northeast Othon O. Noel, D.Min., is founding and senior pastor of the Christian Life Center Church of God in Boston, Massachusetts. What is your background? I am from the southern part of Haiti, a city named Cayes. I was raised in a Christian family, and saved at a very young age. My father was the founder of the Church of God in southern Haiti. After high school, I went to seminary in Haiti, and graduated back in 1971. I was also pastoring in northern Haiti. I came to the United States to attend seminary in Cleveland, Tennessee. After that, I went to Boston, Massachusetts, where I had some friends. How did you go about starting Christian Life Center? First, I thank God for my call. As long as you receive your call from God, He will make provision for you. My wife and I started the church in 1975 with seven people in a living room. God kept on adding members to the church, and now we have about 750. But besides that, we have founded so many churches. We have founded almost 40 churches—one every year for 40 years!
migrated here. Others were already living here. We train them in our Horeb School of Ministry, and they receive their certificate of Christian education. After that, I trust them to the Ministerial Internship Program (MIP). We started our school in 1995. They learn how to lead a Haitian church in the United States. They are well-trained for the ministry. When we plant a church, we train the people, the deacons, the deaconesses, and the ministers. Was it your plan to plant an average of one church per year? Back in 1977, Carl Richardson was director of Forward in Faith [Church of
Where are those churches located? Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut—we have planted churches in each of these states. Most of those churches have 150 members and up. Where do the pastors come from for those congregations? Some of them we called in from Haiti. We brought them here with a visa—they
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Othon and Marie Noel
God media ministry] and Dr. Raymond Crowley was director of Church of God Evangelism. They said you can plant a church in every city if you’re willing to do so; God will provide for you. So I accepted that challenge, and then I challenged and involved my church. I told them, “Let’s go to the cities.” It has worked. Training is very important to you and your church. We accept the Great Commission to go and make disciples. We have to make disciples and reach the lost at any cost. This is the vision of the pastor and the church. That is what makes this a great Pentecostal church in the city. In evangelism training, we teach not only to reach out but to reach in. So when people come to the church, they feel like they are home. Everyone has something to do. What is different about being a pastor now compared with the 1970s? Is it more difficult? Back in the ’70s when we started planting churches, most of the people we had were from Haiti. They were very receptive. They had been challenged in Haiti, so they knew how to carry the load of the ministry. But in the late ’80s with the immigration problem, we had to convert them and then train them to embrace the ministry. From the late ’90s to now we have a new vision. The kids have been born in our backyard, and they speak English fluently. Some of our young people became professionals. So everything we are doing —especially in Christian education—we
have to divide. We have teachers that speak English only with the kids. Now we have two worship services— one in English, and one in French Creole. We reach out to speakers of English, and now we have many who come to that service. But the French-Creole service is the largest. How is your wife, Marie, involved in the church? She’s a minister. She’s the president of women’s discipleship and also the leader for Christian education. She teaches. My wife is 100 percent in the ministry with me. She is the cofounder of the church. Does she preach sometimes? She preaches much of the time and, to tell you the truth, the people prefer to hear her rather than me because she can give you a 10- to 15-minute message! What about your children? They are Phil and my daughters Ketsia, Ketura, and Rebecca. Phil is in charge of the first [English] service. He and Ketsia are credentialed ministers. The other two are involved in the children’s department. Besides the English-speaking church and the Creolespeaking church, we also have children’s church. My son is a minister and the music director. Ketsia is also a minister in the first service and coordinator for the church. Tell the story of someone your church has won to the Lord. We prayed for this one young lady, who got baptized in the church. She loved the church so much that she went to music school and now she is the director of the choir. It is the greatest choir in the district. Her name is Fannie Desange. She loves the church no matter what. We know how the church functions— people came and people left—but she would say, “This is where I was born,
Offering time at Christian Life Center
baptized, and now am the minister of music in the church. I intend to keep my membership no matter what.” We sent a young man, Robert Charles, to the Pentecostal Theological Seminary [in Tennessee], and he has received his master’s and doctorate degree. Another young man is at another seminary. What’s in the future for you and for your church? The proverb says, “If you want to have a legacy, you have to make one.” So, we are trying to give input to the lives of the young people, to have more people involved in the legacy. So that means 20 years from now, we will have young people to carry the load of the ministry, the legacy will remain, and the church will be alive. We are positioned for favor in the city. What advice would you give a pastor starting a new church? Besides the MIP or whatever training you have, you have to make sure you have
a call. There are three aspects of the call: you have been called to be saved, you have been called to follow the Lord, and you have a personal call from God. If you have your personal call from God and you believe in Him, He will provide so many things for you and He will never forsake you. Make sure you have received the call. Remain faithful. As long as you are faithful, God will always make a way. That doesn’t mean you won’t have trials. But at the same time, He will make a way. Is there anything you would like to add? I thank God for the 40 years we have had input into the lives of so many. I also thank God for my family and all my children and their support. They give 100 percent to the ministry. I thank God for all the members and their prayers to help us and keep the ministry alive. My heartfelt thanks to everyone.
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by james e. cossey
pure pentecost signs following . . . or following signs?
S H
O, YOU WISH to live and move more in the realm of the supernatural? You crave signs, wonders, miracles, and mighty demonstrations of the Holy Spirit to be manifested in your life and ministry?
the Spirit.” Mega bucks are paid to conference leaders who offer instruction on how to “live and walk in the supernatural.” Modern Pentecostals must be taught that speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophetic utterances, and spiritual manifestations—as valid as they are—are not an end in themselves. Speaking in tongues is not the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It is rather the initial evidence of the Baptism, which is a supernatural enduement of power from on high (Luke 24:49).
As Pentecostals, most of us do, yet we must be careful that our motivations are Biblical—that signs and wonders flow out of our relationship with God and not the other way around. I am not a cessationist (one who believes the miraculous gifts and signs of the Holy Spirit ceased with the original apostles and no longer function). What God once did, He still does. There is not one shred of Biblical evidence that God withdrew the miraculous either with the death of the last apostle or with the completion of the Canon of Scripture. Both Biblical and historical evidences speak to the perpetuation of Pentecost and to a continuation of the gifts of the Spirit. The Pentecostal Movement, which grew out of the Shearer Schoolhouse and Azusa Street revivals, gives worldwide witness to this truth. At the inception of this movement, its people did not seek after signs, wander after wonders, or strive to be mesmerized by the miraculous. From the beginning, signs followed believers (Mark 16:17), but Biblical Pentecostals were never seekers after signs. Frustrated by the spiritual deadness of the churches of Appalachia, Richard Spurling cried out for a spiritual renewal that resulted in expulsion from the existing churches and the formation of the Christian Union in 1886, which was renamed the Holiness Church in 1896, and the Church of God in 1907. The motivation was a revived passion to seek after God, and for the restoration of the New Testament church. 28
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Rather than seeking after signs, wonders, and miracles, the early members of the Church of God sought after the Lord. In response, the Holy Spirit, with His accompanying gifts and manifestations, was poured out on them. When early Pentecostals were baptized in the Holy Spirit, spoke with tongues, and were used to manifest supernatural gifts, many of them had to go to the Scriptures to substantiate these experiences were of God. Scripture supported what these believers had received but had not necessarily sought after. In recent times, there has been a shift in many circles away from signs following believers toward believers following after, and seeking for, signs. I recently viewed an Internet video in which a person demonstrated and gave exercises on how to “learn to speak in tongues.” Many are the advertisements for hungry people to come to certain gatherings to “receive an impartation,” or “learn how to flow in the gifts of
Divine healings, miracles, signs, and wonders are not the power of God; they are manifestations of His power. When we seek manifestations, we often experience wildfire, emotional excess, and confusion. When we seek after God, desiring to love and honor Jesus Christ, and He subsequently manifests His glory, it will be in decency and in order (1 Cor. 14:40); it will bring edification, encouragement, and comfort to the church (v. 3); and it will be attractively convincing to unbelievers (v. 25). These manifestations are designed for the singular purpose of proclaiming God’s glory in confirmation of the preached Word (Mark 16:20). No great move of God has ever grown out of conferences on how to experience God but, rather, out of prayer meetings. Revival has never broken forth from a seminar on signs and wonders, but from private and corporate repentance. Nobody taught believers how to speak in tongues or prophesy in the Book of Acts, or at Azusa Street. Paul never sponsored clinics on how to heal the sick, and Peter never conducted rallies inviting people to come meet his mother-in-law who had been raised from the dead. While we are correct to educate ourselves in the interpretation and exegesis of
Scripture, and while we should seek as much knowledge as possible about history, homiletics, and methodologies for effective ministry, the gifts and manifestations of the Holy Spirit are caught rather than taught. A few years ago, I pastored at the epicenter of one of the great revivals of my generation. While some questioned and ridiculed it, I visited it and witnessed it to be a genuine move of God at its inception. However, it fell apart when the leadership tried to perpetuate the revival by instructing others how to experience it, and sought to market it to other churches as a replicable product. Numerous churches across the country and around the world faced confusion and division when their leadership tried to reproduce a sovereign move of God. The church that once hosted that great revival is now but a shadow of its former self. Why? Signs follow believers; believers do not follow signs.
Divine healings, miracles, and wonders are not the power of God; they are manifestations of His power.
used to call “falling under the power”), I am hungry for a move of God that doesn’t merely cause people to fall down, but that causes us to get up, go out, and walk with Jesus. I’m hungry to see drunkards delivered, the perverted purified, sinners saved, and believers sanctified and saturated with the power and presence of God. I’m hungry for signs to follow believers.
As a lifelong Pentecostal, I am hungry for a fresh demonstration of the Holy Spirit comprised of more than loud music with catchy phrases that are easy to hop up and down to. I am passionate for more than a good old gospel song that prompts a senior saint to run the aisle.
In every historic instance of a dynamic spiritual awakening, three elements were invariably present and obvious: solid Biblical preaching and teaching, fasting and prayer as a tandem discipline, and holiness of heart and life. We Pentecostals desperately need to rediscover that power flows out of passionate preaching, signs flow out from spiritual submission, and wonders flow out of our walk with Christ. This is pure Pentecost.
While I do not disparage the sight of people being “slain in the Spirit” (what we
James E. Cossey is executive administrator of Church of God USA Missions.
VIEWPOINTS
How is God ministering in the state/region where you are serving as administrative bishop? COMMUNITY AND COMMITMENT TOBY MORGAN is administrative bishop of the Church of God in Arkansas.
THE CHURCH OF GOD in Arkansas is a wonderful group of believers who present many aspects of the beauty of being part of the body of Christ. One special characteristic of the saints here is the sense of community. Although spread from the delta regions to the heights of the Ozark Mountains, the Church of God in Arkansas finds the ways and means of coming together and celebrating their common love for Jesus. Whether it is in a camp-meeting setting or a regional gathering, the ministry and laity of Arkansas will congregate with their brothers and sisters in a wonderful display of family celebration. In times of need and duress, the love shared among the church family in Arkansas is more than simply a phrase; it is played out by caring people who traverse the state to provide care for those in need. In addition to the love displayed for each other, the church in Arkansas is open and welcoming to new people. Whether it be a new family coming to the state due to a job transfer, or relocation due to some unfortunate circumstance, or a new ministry family coming from another state to undertake a ministry assignment, the people of Arkansas know how to practice the gift of hospitality and bring newcomers into the community. Equally powerful is the sense of commitment to a cause greater than any one local church. The people of Arkansas love the Church of God and the myriad ministries conducted at home and abroad. One example of this commitment is displayed each month as every church in Arkansas devotes an extra 1 percent of their tithe to maintain Pathway Campground—the state-owned camping facility just outside Little Rock. This facility enables the state to have many different ministries through the year which impact people within and outside the Church of God. An additional level of commitment was displayed during Camp Meeting 2015, when the ministers of the state overwhelmingly adopted a Partnership Program through which several offerings during the year are devoted to enhancing ministries that reach beyond the
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local church and enhance ministerial training, youth and discipleship, and retired ministers and widows. World Missions continues to be a powerful thrust in Arkansas, with churches small, large, and in-between working feverishly to spread the Gospel around the planet. One such project is the Casa Emmanuel Orphanage in Honduras, which was birthed from the passion and vision of Eric Downs, an Arkansas pastor. The people of the state have caught this vision and are rallying to build this house of care for Honduran orphans they will never meet. Anyone looking for a global vision will feel at home in Arkansas. The Church of God in Arkansas stands ready for the future. Determined to grow where we are, a warm welcome is given to all. Excited about going where we are not, the Great Commission is boldly embraced by all. Determined to give to make it all possible, the church is boldly devoting resources to make the greatest possible impact for God’s kingdom.
VBS at Arkansas’ Prairie Grove Church of God
ANSWERING THE CALL TO CARE
RON K. MARTIN is administrative bishop of the Church of God in the Great Lakes Region.
THE GREAT LAKES REGION consists of some of the finest pastors, ministers, and members in the body of Christ. This family ministers throughout the urban areas of Chicago; the metropolitan area surrounding Chicago; the Wisconsin cities of Milwaukee, Green Bay, Fond du Lac, and Kenosha; and numerous rural cities and communities throughout Wisconsin.
This region represents the third-largest metropolitan area of the United States. It includes scores of cultures—from Native Americans to Asians, Europeans to Middle Easterners. Many were born in the United States, and many others have moved into the region from every part of the world. In the midst of all our diversity, we face challenges common to every state and region—pressures that accompany the end times in which we live, trying to isolate people from God and each other. We continually face weapons of spiritual warfare, including moral compromise and decline, along with economic pressures affecting every family, church, workplace, and community. These challenges are no respecter of persons or culture. The pastors and ministers in the Great Lakes Region continually strive to love the Lord God with all of their heart, soul, and mind, and to love their neighbors as they love themselves. They are committed to honoring God and His call to care. This is more than a vision or mission statement. It is about prioritizing awareness of our relationships with God and our brothers and sisters. This enables us to be the church God has called us to be. We are committed to connect, affirm, resource, and encourage. Connect: We refuse to allow the Enemy to lead anyone into isolation from God or each other. We do this through renewed emphasis on prayer and embracing God’s Word and will in our lives. Further, we stay connected through fellowship and promotion of creative ideas, and by encouraging relationships which allow every person to fulfill their calling from God and take their place in the body of Christ. Affirm: We lift up the love and purpose God has for every person as often as possible. God saw each of us before we were formed in our mother’s womb, and He does have a plan for our lives. Affirmation of one another is vital in this age where the Enemy is working hard to tear down, rob, kill, and destroy. Resource: Making disciples is a continuous process, and today there are many discipleship tools available. While God and His Word have not changed, the opportunities to resource, communicate His Word, and do His work are greater today than ever
before. While the various age groups and cultures we seek to reach and disciple are diverse, so are the means to reach them. The use of live-streaming, webinars, conference calls, and the mountains of printed materials make it easier than any time in history to make available quality resources for discipleship. These vehicles break down hindrances which time and distance have caused in the past. Encourage: “Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad” (Prov. 12:25). The words we speak indicate who we really are. “The tongue has the power of life and death” (18:21 NIV). Every Christian has the ability and responsibility to be an encourager. How many times have you thought to call, write, email, or visit someone to check on them or encourage them, but something came up and you just “didn’t get around to it”? We should discipline ourselves to seize every opportunity, and even create opportunities, to be an encourager. Someone’s life may depend on it! The pastors, ministers, and members of the Great Lakes Region have committed themselves to care through word and deeds. Because of this commitment, God is richly blessing and moving, and churches are growing. God is no respecter of persons. He will do the same for all who care. Congregants at the Chicago North Side Tabernacle of Praise
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PEOPLE AND EVENTS
fighting for life Leoma, TN―I looked into my Aunt Petty’s sparkling brown eyes and asked, “Is life still worth the living?” This question had been burning in my heart ever since her accident. I held my breath, waiting for her answer. She surveyed the nursinghome room that had become her permanent residence; she had lost her beautiful home, and her finances had drained away. She looked down at her paralyzed legs and turned her gaze to her crippled hands and fingers that were drawn and useless. Looking up, she held my gaze and answered with a resounding “Oh, yes!” As tears came to my eyes, I slowly released my breath and thanked God for her answer. Why was her answer so important to me? For more than 14 years I had been an advocate
for life, traveling from church to church to proclaim the sanctity of life. Now Aunt Petty’s condition was testing the strength of my pro-life convictions. She had fallen and broken her neck as I stood watching helplessly; she became a quadriplegic
Jill Beard
in an instant. In a moment she declined from being an active, young 72-year-old who walked a mile every day to being a helpless invalid. A team of doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Hospital had been able to save her life, but could do little for her paralyzed body. The doctors also found her heart was damaged, causing her to have small strokes. Weeks, months, and then years passed as I watched her suffer. I struggled with answers to one of life’s most-profound questions: How far do we go to save life, and when do we simply let go? Through all this, my aunt seldom complained, never losing her capacity to give love or receive love. When all else was taken from her, it seemed the light of her life only shined brighter, drawing those around her to its source, God’s love. Am I still pro-life? My answer to that question is the same as Aunt Petty’s, “Oh, yes!” The pas-
sion for life burns in me brighter and stronger than ever. Life is God’s precious gift to us and only He has the right to say when our life here on earth should end. My passion for the sanctity of life was ignited in my heart at the age of 17 when my young love and his little niece and nephew lost their lives in a tragic accident. God was able to heal and restore not only my heart but also my emotions, delivering me from the fear of death and enabling me to trust Him with my life and with the lives of those I love. Now 50 years later, my life is a living testimony that there is no hurt too deep or any tragedy too great for God’s love and healing hands to touch. Jill Beard is an ordained Church of God minister who leads Ladies for Life and is a staff member at Calvary Hill Church of God. Her new book, Life Is Something Beautiful, tells her complete story. http:// ladiesforlife.net/jbeard.htm
building a health-care center in trinidad Penal, TRINIDAD―The Sanctuary Church of God in Orlando, Florida, in partnership with the New Testament Church of God in Trinidad and Tobago, is building Grace Villa―an assisted-living facility for senior adults. For decades, the project’s chairman, Orlando’s Hafeez Ali, dreamed of opening such a facility in his island homeland. A Christian businessman in Trinidad donated the two acres of land in rural Penal where the facility is being constructed. The goal is to have the Christian facility functional in early 2017. A Florida nursing agency has agreed to send volunteers to train staff for Grace Villa. To learn more, contact Hafeez Ali: gracealf321 @gmail.com (At left) Hafeez Ali, Alonzo Jones, Raghunath Mahabir, Stephen Mohammed, Clyde Ramlochan, and Darin Mohammed breaking ground for Grace Villa assisted-living facility
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For daily news updates about what’s happening in the Church of God and Evangelical world, visit FAITH NEWS NETWORK, at www.faithnews.cc.
2016 General Council Agenda Items TO: ALL CHURCH OF GOD MINISTERS In anticipation of the 2016 International General Assembly, this notification serves to communicate the process for the submission of items for consideration and possible placement on the International General Council Agenda. Potential agenda items are to be sent to the International Executive Council (IEC) in order to be considered for the International General Council Agenda. The IEC is charged by the Bylaws of the Church of God with the responsibility of setting the agenda for the International General Council. The notifications below are made in light of the requirements of the Bylaws of the Church of God as well as the International General Assembly Minutes: Submission of agenda items relating to the Bylaws of the Church of God need to be sent to the IEC by January 8, 2016. This will allow the IEC time to consider these items by its January 2016 meeting. There is a 90-day notification deadline to the International General Council required by the Bylaws of the Church of God concerning amendment of the Bylaws (2010 International General Assembly Minutes, pp. 64-65). Submission of regular potential agenda items for the International General Council need to be sent to the IEC by March 25, 2016. This will allow the IEC time to consider these items by its April 2016 meeting. There is a 30-day notification deadline to the International General Council required by the Bylaws of the Church of God concerning regular International General Council items (2010 International General Assembly Minutes, pp. 67-68). Submission of agenda items regarding doctrine as prescribed by the Declaration of Faith are to be submitted to the IEC 12 months prior to the meeting of the International General Council (2010 International General Assembly Minutes, pp. 69-70). The deadline for submission of these items for the 2018 International General Assembly is April 1, 2017. Submissions should be sent to: Church of God International Offices International Executive Council P. O. Box 2430 Cleveland, TN 37320-2430 We look forward to seeing you in Nashville, Tennessee, for the 2016 International General Assembly, scheduled for July 19-22.
DECEASED MINISTERS BALDWIN, Leroy F.; 81; ordained bishop; South Carolina; Sandra Poindexter (daughter)
LETT, Henry Dearl; 80; ordained bishop; Alabama; Paul A. Lett (son)
BESHEARS, Jerry Wayne; 77; ordained minister; Oklahoma; Betty Beshears (wife)
LONG, Gary Clarendon; 59; ordained minister; Alabama; Judy Long (wife)
BRADLEY, A. C., Jr.; 77; exhorter; Tennessee; Sonja Reeves (niece)
McCLUNG, Enetha H.; 92; ordained minister; Tennessee; Alan McClung (son)
BROWN, William E.; 87; ordained bishop; Illinois; Mike Brown (son)
McDOWELL, Charles T.; 81; ordained bishop; Alabama; Teresa Smith (daughter)
CARVER, Ronald Elmore; 69; ordained minister; Florida; Stephanie Hughes (daughter)
MONROE, Joe Edward; 84; exhorter; Tennessee; Rita Monroe (wife)
COMBS, Daniel Elijah; 82; ordained bishop; California; Hettie Combs (wife)
PRATT, Jewell Irene; 93; ordained minister; Tennessee; Lloyd Pratt (son)
CROSS, Don; 67; ordained minister; Tennessee; Julie Cross (wife)
SHANKLE, Clyde F.; 85; ordained bishop; Tennessee; Kathy Rowan (daughter)
FORD, Ernest, Jr.; 91; ordained bishop; Florida; Mildred Ford (wife)
TATE, Robert Douglas; 60; ordained bishop; Pennsylvania; Robin Tate (wife)
HOLLIS, Hannah T.; 82; ordained minister; New Jersey; Alexander Bright (nephew)
WALKER, Charles Ellis; 62; exhorter; Mississippi; Sandra Walker (wife)
LAMEY, Perry Edward; 83; ordained bishop; Georgia; Thelma Lamey (wife)
WEST, Bobby L.; 70; ordained minister; North Carolina; Ruby West (wife)
CHAPLAIN WOOD HONORED
Augusta, GA―A Church of God minister, Thomas Ryan Wood, received the prestigious U.S. Army Chaplain Maurice Witherspoon Award in November. Presented annually by the National Bible Association, this is one of the premier accolades across the Department of Defense for a military chaplain. Captain Wood is assigned to the 782nd Military Intelligence Battalion. EVANGEL • feb 2016
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CHURCH OF GOD CHRONICLES by Phyllis Thompson
Oliver A. Lyseight:
“It Sounded Impossible”
O
LIVER LYSEIGHT, born in 1920 in Jamaica, migrated to Great Britain in 1951 in search of work. He traveled across the seas on the Britannica and made Wolverhampton his home. Determined to sustain his faith in the early years in Wolverhampton, Lyseight made efforts to connect with fellow Christians and local congregations. Some rejected him because of his ethnicity. When his search led to a few non-Pentecostal churches, he did not find them “spiritually satisfying.” Consequently, he sought “a Pentecostal church where I could worship,” he wrote in his book, Forward March. During 1952, I attended Sunday service at Bordsley Green, Birmingham; this was a white Assemblies of God Church. During the devotions, I felt the move of the Holy Spirit to speak in tongues, but I tried to suppress the feeling. To my surprise, the pastor stated that ‘someone has got a message in tongues, don’t be afraid.’ Immediately, I spoke in tongues, and he gave the interpretation, that ‘God is going to use the West Indians mightily for His cause’ or something of the kind. We were also attending the Apostolic Faith at Charles Street, Wolverhampton, and in that same year, the pastor spoke in tongues, and gave a similar message. . . . We would command a great church in thousands throughout the country, but I could not comprehend it all at that time. It sounded impossible then.
Yet, God did use Lyseight and the New Testament Church of God (the Church of God in England and Wales), which he established. He said, “As the years went by, we came to the realization of the truth of these revelations. By the 1980s, we commanded approximately seven thousand baptised converts, about six
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thousand adherents, plus over thirteen thousand youth and children. . . . To God be the glory.” In 1985, Lee College awarded him an honorary doctorate of theology. In 2004, he was voted joint-second in the 100 Great Black Britons survey. On September 20, 2013, 60 years after the New Testament Church of God was formally organized, he was posthumously awarded the renowned blue plaque in recognition of his service to the church and the community at large, locally and nationally. Reverend Lyseight ends Forward March with words of counsel to church leaders: “I would advise that you do not go and sit down with your congregation among the four walls of the building, but trust that you will go out into the streets and highways and evangelize,
and reap the harvest for the Lord.” Today the New Testament Church of God congregates in 107 branches across England and Wales and reports approximately 30,000 adherents. The membership and leadership are positively engaged in Christian service and witness in the United Kingdom within all of the so-called spheres of influence including the arts, business and economics, media, education, government, family, science, technology, and medicine. The legacy of Dr. Oliver Lyseight continues to “command a great church in thousands throughout the country”— more than he dared imagine. Reverend Phyllis Thompson is education director for the New Testament Church of God in the United Kingdom.
A circular blue plaque is a historical marker in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person or event. Oliver Lyseight is standing with his wife, Rose.
