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Stranger in a Familiar Land: Crossing the Organizational DivideBy Cara Baker I'm kind of an apostolic organizational mutt. A product of several different organizations, I'm not a pure-bred UPCer (United Pentecostal Church) or ALJCer (Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ) or whatever is your organization of choice. Yet what results is an Apostolic with a unique perspective on her faith and organizations. In my lifetime, I've been a member of three churches of different organizations. All of the men in my family on my mother's side are ministers holding ALJC, IAF (International Apostolic Fellowship) and AWCF (Apostolic World Christian Fellowship) cards. Most of the conferences and churches we fellowship with are within those organizations. I appreciate the "organization" organizations bring to Apostolic people, but I hate the way it separates fellow believers from one another. Although I attended a UPC church until I was 5, until recently I didn't fellowship much with the UPC outside of a local assembly. And that's only because I didn't know anyone with whom to fellowship. And that's what I hate. That's what happens when we set up organizations and discourage fellowship outside of that organization. I'm not saying we're taught by our leaders not to attend "outside" Apostolic meetings, but I do believe failing to encourage that fellowship is in fact discouragement. Two weeks ago a friend asked me to go with her friends to a young ministers' conference called "Touch the Future 2000" held at Soul's Harbor, James Varnum's UPC church in Belleview, Florida. I realized I wouldn't know anyone, but thought it would be a worthwhile journey. The conference featured key speakers Jerry Jones and Lee Stoneking. Although I'm sure they're common names to many reading this and I have often heard about these men, I have never heard them speak. I was practically in awe of the teaching and preaching I heard. I couldn't believe how I've missed out not hearing these men speak at conferences over the years. The highlight for me came in the Sunday afternoon service with Lee Stoneking. He shared some experiences he had preaching camp meetings in Singapore a few years ago. He told about the workings of the spirit realm there, described Buddhist worship, and the Taoist temple he visited. The descriptions of the rituals sounded violent and painful, full of darkness and evil. He told about driving a Muslim witch out of a camp meeting he had. He related how the power of the Holy Ghost demonstrated there was possessed by fellow Spirit-filled Apostolics. He painted a picture of how realistic the biblical promise of "greater is he that is within us than he that is within the world" is, but how little we exercise it. He urged us to realize the potential in the spirit realm we hold to push back the forces of evil. I sat soaking up the word, then the power of the altar services. I looked around and realized I didn't know a soul other than the family I was with, yet I felt such a strong connection with those people through the Holy Ghost. Socially, the conference was different for me than most I attend. But for the same reasons, I got more out of it spiritually. I wasn't worried about who was there, what I was wearing, who was looking at me or who was wearing the same dress as me. It's interesting to worship alongside people whom you don't know a thing about and who don't know about you. I encourage you to step outside of your comfort zone and attend an Apostolic conference outside of your organization, perhaps one where you don't know many people. Be surprised at what you get out of it spiritually, hearing new speakers and worshipping with others of like faith whom you don't know, but are connected with spiritually. In the business world we're told to "think outside the box." Do the same in church. Realize those organizational lines we've drawn do nothing but separate like believers from uniting and becoming a more powerful force in the kingdom. Let's rally around the power in the name of Jesus! Let's learn more about each other. You'll find there are more similarities among these organizations than there are differences that separate us. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25 NIV) Below are links to the Events calendars for different Apostolic organizations. If you're in the area, or planning your vacation around summer camp meetings and conferences, take a look at these schedules. A visit to a meeting outside your organization may hold a refreshing change for your spirit. ninetyandnine.com © 2000, Cara Baker -------- Cara Baker graduated Cum Laude from Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee this May. A native of Nashville, she is currently working on freelance projects and taking every opportunity to travel this summer before settling down to a real job.
United Pentecostal Church (UPC) link to events in every district http://www.upci.org/events/index.cfmAssemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ http://www.aljc.org/dates.htmApostolic World Christian Fellowship Southeast http://www.angelfire.com/nc2/seawcf/events.htmlHave an opinion on an article? Let us know how you feel! Click feedback & fill us in. |
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