Professor Jacob Paul Nelson – A Man of the Word

     When it comes to Professor J. P. Nelson where does one begin?  There are so many memories that stand out to me; the numerous class lectures he gave from Genesis to Revelation.  There were those private moments as well when I would impose upon his private time in the afternoon just to talk.  He was always so kind and gracious; I always left his office feeling like a prince leaving the presence of a king.    

     In particular, I still remember a beautiful mid-morning in the fall of 1984. The sun was shining through the row of east facing windows bringing with its light and warmth almost as though the very presence of God was manifesting.  Professor Nelson was wearing his traditional light blue suit, white shirt, and who could forget his wide blue patterned tie.  He was lecturing using his usual number-letter fashion on the epistle of Paul to the Corinthian church when, wham, his words went from a metered pace to a crescendo.  Actually, it was more than that, it was rhema.  His words took on the unction of the Holy Ghost that resonated in my spirit like a direct message from the Lord Himself.

     The impartation of truth that took part that day changed my life and still affects me to this day.  I often think about that one particular moment, especially when I teach or preach to those gathered before me to hear the Word of God.  It is moments like these that transcend a typical college lecture and makes Gateway College of Evangelism what it is; a spiritual institution wherein the heritage, tradition, and future of the Apostolic Pentecostal movement is passed on to the next generation.   

*My experiences are drawn from the time I spent at Gateway College of Evangelism 1983-85

Petra Pentecostal Church’s New Home

Petra Pentecostal Church has a new home. Come and join us for our Easter worship celebration featuring Deacon Patterson and his gospel funk saxaphone.  You will be blessed and uplifted.

Map of 10152 Rancho Carmel Dr San Diego, California by MapQuest.

Pastor Keck

Planting New Churches

by David K. Bernard

Through Global Impact, we have established a goal of doubling our constituency, including the number of churches. To do this, we need local, district, national, and global strategies, and we need to work together as never before. The most effective method of planting new churches is for existing churches to establish daughter works and preaching points, because this approach provides for oversight, mentoring, accountability, spiritual and logistical support, and unlimited ability to reproduce.
In the past, we have relied primarily upon an entrepreneurial, pioneer model that has been effective in many ways but can sometimes result in isolation, kingdom building, turf protection, lack of accountability, and abuse of authority. Today, however, there is a greater need for a team model of planting many churches in an area so that diverse ministries can reach more people. Such an approach might resemble that of a business such as McDonald’s or Starbucks that seeks to increase its outlets. By multiplying locations, the company increases exposure, name recognition, and desire for what it offers. It thereby grows its customer base and benefits all its stores.

Specifically, we must plant more churches in population centers, and we need to identify target areas. We should target all counties, cities, and ethnic groups that do not have a United Pentecostal Church. At the same time, we must also target those that are under- reached, not just unreached.

For example, when the South Texas District established its growth goals, there was approximately one church per 60,000 people. Since the goal was to double, the district realized that there needed to be one church (or daughter work) per 30,000 people. If a city of 50,000 had one church, then it needed a second church. If a city of 100,000 had one church, it needed two additional churches. Cities of 1,000,000 or more needed as many churches as possible. Of course, in the process of aggressively starting new churches, districts need the input of existing pastors, and they need to emphasize ministerial ethics, accountability, and cooperation.

We have outstanding past examples, such as the work of David Gray in San Diego and James Kilgore in Houston. In recent years, exciting new examples have emerged such as efforts by James and Steven Beardsley in Delaware, Garland Hanscom in Ottawa, and Raul Orozco in Los Angeles.

As a founding pastor in Austin, Texas, for 18 years, my goal was to grow our church as big as we could, but since one church could not reach everyone I also wanted to partner with and plant other churches. We started 16 daughter works, eight of which are now self- governing and eight of which own a building or land on which they are preparing to build.

Growth often requires a change of operation or even a paradigm shift. To be frank, it involves sacrifice of time, money, labor, and personnel, but it is worth the investment to see the growth of the kingdom of God.

(Reverend David K. Bernard is the General Superintendent of the United Pentecostal Church International)

Where do we stand on the emergent church? by Rodney Shaw

There is a lot of shifting right now. We are on the fault line of an emerging age. Things are changing. Much of the change and unrest is directly related to the prevailing philosophy of our day, postmodernism. Postmodernism is the overarching philosophical framework by which many Westerners comprehend the world. Unlike the modern world that preceded it, which was built upon propositions, scientific law, and cause and effect, postmodernism denies absolute truth; distrusts authority, theories, and institutions; and has a deconstructionist approach to traditions and social conventions. Postmodernism has affected architecture, art, music, and most every other discipline including faith. Click on the link below to read more from Pastor Rodney Shaw on the emergent church.

 http://rodneyshaw.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/where-do-we-stand-postmodernism-the-emergent-church-and-apostolics/

Five Strategies for Finding and Keeping New Worshippers

Guest Blog: Jack Cunningham FIRST: Understand how and why new people flow in and out of your church. When evangelizing any community or culture we must first understand the people we are tying to reach. Billy Cole once told me, “To reach the lost, you must understand them. You don’t have to agree with them, or even appreciate them, but you do have to understand what makes them tick.” SECOND: Develop and utilize various strategies for finding new people, and be willing to adapt, or even change, ineffective and/or nonproductive strategies. One of our greatest mistakes is that we marry ourselves to man-made programs as if they were holy. If you are using something that is not working give it a decent burial and move on to something that will produce fruit. Don’t expend precious man hours, finance and effort on a non-producing program. THIRD: Manifest a genuine concern for new people and a determined desire to meet their needs. George Barna wrote a book entitled “The User Friendly Church.” In it he tells pastors “It is imperative that we improve our church’s visitor consciousness.” FOURTH: Utilize music, message, service structure, etc. to create an atmosphere in every service that will produce a desire in the heart of the sinner to know Jesus Christ. You best accomplish this by continually presenting Jesus as the answer to every situation and circumstance. FIFTH: Make a commitment to discipleship. The bottom-line of church growth is keeping new converts (making disciples). T. Wynn Drost said, “Church Growth can be wrapped up in one word – RETENTION.” Church growth is not measured by how many you have in Sunday School, Bible Study, in leadership, or even how many have spoke with tongues at your altars. Real church growth is based on … Retention. How many are we keeping? (Jack Cunningham is the Director of Global Impact for the United Pentecostal Church International. He also serves as the District Superintendent of the Virginia District, and is pastor of Bible World Church in Chesapeake, Virginia)

The Son’s of Issachar

Now and Then

On April 28, 2006, I participated in the centennial celebration of the Azusa Street Revival.  I was awe struck by the knowledge that the explosive growth of this movement was neither planned nor calculated.  It was not haphazard, but a sovereign move of God taking place in His time and on His terms.

It began on April 14, 1906, in a small, wood frame house at 214 North Bonnie Brae Street in Los Angeles, CA.  Richard and Ruth Asberry invited evangelist William J. Seymour to conduct preaching and prayer meetings in their home.  With a small band of multi-ethnic believers assembled, they prayed until the Holy Ghost fell.  This mighty band of prayer warriors gladly shouldered the rejection of their community, friends, and churches, in exchange for the approval of God. 

After the tour, I walked away from Bonnie Brae Street with a profound sense of the sovereignty of God and the importance of intercessory prayer.  Since then, I have often rehearsed my initial experience, and each time, I am left with the same conclusion.  Knowing God in the power of the Holy Ghost is the greatest privilege of my life, for knowing God’s power is what makes me truly alive.

Something Old Something New

This brings me to the current buzz over the emergent church debate. Over the last four years, I have observed intently as emergent theology and postmodern ideology has gained acceptance within enclaves of the oneness Pentecostal movement.

 [1]Andrew Perriman of open source theology defines one aspect of emergent theology, “A theology that is broadly but not slavishly postmodern in its epistemology, wary of absolute formulations, tolerant of diversity and plurality, sensitive to the social manipulation of texts.”  

As you can see, this theology affects everything from Soteriology to organizational structure and everything in between.  I have witnessed the effects of this ideology on young and old alike.  Many are taken aback and confused, blown to and fro like tree branches in a summer storm.  And then there are others, those who scurry about trying to gain perspective, but seem overwhelmed by the speed and voracity, in which this theology/philosophy has over taken preacher and church alike.  Some well known, others unknown, yet all seem to have shed at least a portion, if not most of classical oneness Pentecostal theology.  All for relevancy in the modern world, but to what end?

 I recently came across a profound description of postmodern philosophy in the [2] Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: That postmodernism is indefinable is a truism. However, it can be described as a set of critical, strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyper-reality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning. 

When encountering theological controversies one must ask, “Is it within the scope of scriptural hermeneutics?  Will it be profitable to the manifested Church?  Will it increase the effectiveness and health of the body of Christ?”

It is important that we thoroughly explore the scripture, in order to gain proper perspective, when approaching questions concerning Church doctrine.  The absolute worst thing we could do is to respond out of emotion or even tradition.  We know that paradigms shift according to culture, economics, and politics.  We also know the scripture is timeless, thus relevant in any culture.  So then, the basis of any question regarding the church and it function, must be addressed judiciously and from a well founded scriptural viewpoint. 

Need of the Hour

I propose that the Church is in need of “Son’s of Issachar.” We need men that have an understanding of the times and know not only what should be done, but also, how to accomplish the desired result.

            Permit me to explain.  Doctrinal questions, such as emergent theology with its far reaching implications, need to be looked at with a great deal of scrutiny.  I have lifted a text from 1 Chronicles that deals with establishing David’s throne in Hebron.  I would like to submit it as an idea, dare I say, a possible solution to the difficult questions we face today.

Biblical history shows us David understood the pitfalls of King Saul and his terrible decisions, accompanied by poor counsel.  David knew he needed men who understood the spiritual, social, and political climate of Israel.  He needed men whose allegiance was to the kingdom, not self promoters with political ambition.  The tribe of Issachar came to Hebron and joined themselves to David because they knew that he was God’s man.  “And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.” -1 Chronicles 12:32

Eighteenth century theologian Matthew Henry commented on this passage: [3]. “The men of Issachar were the fewest of all, only 200, and yet as serviceable to David’s interest as those that brought in the greatest numbers, these few being in effect the whole tribe.  They were men of great skill above any of their neighbors, They understood the natural times, could discern the face of the sky, were weather-wise, could advise their neighbors in the proper times for plowing, sowing reaping, or the ceremonial times, the times appointed for the solemn feasts;…the political times; they understood public affairs, the temper of the nation, and the tendencies of the present events…they were greatly intent on public affairs, had good intelligence from abroad and made a good use of it… They were men of great interests; for all their brethren were at their commandment. They knew how to rule, and the rest knew how to obey. It is happy indeed when those that should lead are intelligent and judicious, and those who are to follow are modest and obsequious.”

It would behoove oneness Pentecostals to train up young men such as ben Issachar, educated, scholarly, gifted, wise, and faithful.  Men called of God, grounded in scripture and prayerfully seeking only the advancement of His kingdom.  We must take and stand and address any misguided or heretical teachings, with conviction and brotherly love. It is not my intent to neither throw stones nor cast aspersions.

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”  -Isaiah 58:1

The first century Church was significant to their generation because they preached the full council of God without fear or favor.  They did not preach what people wanted to hear, they preached what sinners needed to hear.  What makes our day any different?  Why would we want to move off of the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, with Jesus himself as the cornerstone?

Peter did not say come join our community, Peter said, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call… And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved”. –Acts 2:38-39,47

Paul did not say come as you are and share so that we might all learn from one another’s spiritual journey.  Paul said, “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you…And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent:”  -Acts 17:23,30

The Church has and always will need apostolic leadership.  “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:”  -Ephesians 4:11-12

 Yet to Come

            As we are push into the political globalization of our world, national borders will disappear, yielding to the worldwide socioeconomic system.  We must be prepared, as the church, not to resist physically, but rather, to engage spiritually through intercessory prayer and preaching.  Our teaching must be more than relevant talks based on pop culture references.  Apostolic preaching draws the believer to a closer relationship with Jesus.  Apostolic teaching illuminates the mind and provokes thought, while creating a hunger for the bread of life.  We have been commissioned by Jesus to go into the entire world, “Teaching them (everyone) to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” -Matthew 28:20

            It is in my estimation that we are living in the greatest hour of the church.  I understand this statement may seem laced with hyperbole; however, we read throughout the scripture, beginning in Genesis, that God’s plan brings everything full circle and to completion.  I do not believe the Church will not be rescued from a position of weakness and ruin, but rather it will rise from the fires of worldwide revival.  Paul, the learned Hebrew scholar and Apostle, emphasizes this fact from his closing statement of the eschatological passage to the Corinthians.

            “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” -I. Corinthians 15:58

            In order for us to stay above the fray, we must put our ideology under the scrutiny of scripture.  All of us are found wanting in some area.  We would do well to heed Simon Peter’s final admonishment to the dispersed church. [4] “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and forever. Amen.”-2 Peter 3:18

 

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[1] http://www.opensourcetheology.net/

 [2] http://plato.stanford.edu/

[3]  http://www.ccel.org/ccel/henry/mhc.i.html

[4] All scripture quotations are from the KJV

Welcome to GODSPEED

Question:  Do we really need another blog?

Answer:  Yes, Let me explain. As citizens of the twenty first century we are… moving at the speed of life.  Daily we are bombarded with questions and challenges to traditional mores. 

Many people find themselves overwhelmed and need help making sense of it all. Godspeed is here to provide clarity concerning life’s issues and questions from a biblical worldview.