Side Note: It's 1:00AM and time to write, so I tune to the music channel and finally select True Country for my blogging support. Choices are Today's Country, True Country, Classic Country. Often I choose Easy Listening, similar to what my generation called Elevator Music, and writing, vacuuming, washing a car or the tub is easy work; tonight requires something different.
Lately, seasons of answers have been rolling in from unexpected sources. Blogs, websites, news, etc. Well, maybe NOT the news as for a reliable source but anywho. If you are familiar with religious organizations: Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, Pentecostal and so on, you may have asked where these came from including the doctrine they believe. I have learned to ask these type of questions silently or from sources not connected to the organizations.
Two nights ago, I was on the Wikipedia site for Oneness Pentecostal, then linked to Holiness Pentecostal, then Ex-Oneness, Holiness, UPCI Pentecostal.
Wait, News Flash: My music just stopped and my cable is doing something weird and now shut the box and TV off. I'll be rite back. Okay, we are good. Idiot electronics.
Anyway, as I read the history, I read UPC turned into UPCI and then a group broke off to become WPF and another one called GAAAP. I am totally NOT kidding you.
Watch this:
Such denominations today include the Affirming Pentecostal Church International, the Global Alliance of Affirming Apostolic Pentecostals and Reconciling Pentecostals International. There is an Association of Former (Ex) Pentecostals and one for Recovering Pentecostals. WHAT!?!?
And you wonder why...
Let me get back on track. Sooooo, the next night I return to confirm it was not the pizza or meds. I have always, whether in or out of church, trusted my Bible for truth, taught our daughter and anyone else interested to do the same. I remarried after my first wife passed on, and our respective, collective, extended, expanded family RCEEF was and is taught the same.
Hang on for more to come:
Like any other business or company that has Management and Non-Management (often called Employees) the church has it's structure - Ministry/Clergy and Laity/Saints. In UPCI, the ministers are actually members of the parent organization where as the saints are not. I suspect the ministry calls us Saints hoping we will act better but we don't. I am a Layman or Saint and therefore member of our local congregation with an intense curiosity which has often caused some concern for our church ministry.
I digress.
Recently, several blogs came to my attention that were more of a revelation than just information. The authors were expressing their experiences with betrayal, addictions, severe rejection and how they survived. They are honest, open and, incredibly, trusting themselves to unknown readers that could destroy them in writing. After reading, I carefully and respectfully replied to each author thanking them for insight into places I have not ventured.
Blogs and articles written by certain Ex-Pentecostals were written in the same openness about their experiences with Christian groups and individuals that were not Christian in lifestyle. A Backslider from Christianity is often a miserable to everyone, ugly acting and talking, foul mouth abuser of drugs (smoking, drinking, injecting). What is worse is the Backslider still professing to be a Christian because their facade confuses young and/or naive people.
Frequently, a well meaning but dysfunctional Christian can be hurtful to a person in difficult times, causing them to believe God hates them and they leave the refuge intended to save, secure and rebuild them.
Connye, my wife and friend, were discussing certain aspects of Church people, not Christianity, but actions of people that can often discourage and drive the strongest away. We agreed that the only defense to these type of encounters is too fixate our eyes on Jesus Christ. Our obligation and duty is to assist the wounded back to safety.
I purchased three small LED flash lights about a year ago. We kept one in the house and put one in the truck.
The house flash light continued without fail but the truck flash light became intermittent. Over approximately three months, I inspected the item and did my best to diagnose the problem to no avail. Finally, I concluded to either trash the light or repair it and set aside time to focus only on the defective item. Resolved and working perfectly.
Frequently, injured people need a person to dedicate themselves to their rescue. Is every injured person going to respond to rescue efforts? No! Rescuers must employ wisdom with caution to decide who best to serve and save. Jesus could not save every one and did not continue to try when they rejected him.
Whether the World stops working this year, next or next century, our life will end independently so we should live to the fullest, most productive, with joy and peace. We only have ONE chance, so smile every day stormy or not.
Oh my, look at the time.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day.
BTW, the early Christians were called such because of the way they lived. Connye and I are Primary Titled Christian subtitled whatever.
The organizations I mentioned early kept morphing into a more Holy unit (according to the members). Imagine, humans getting MORE Holy than other Holy humans??
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