Wednesday, January 23, 2008 

NewWorldSon Plays Gospel With Old-School Finesse

Posted by: Ron Giesecke

Sadly, a number of supremely-talented apostolic musicians continue to undergo a sort of "pirates curse," one where the moonlight of secular noteriety wipes away all identifiable origin.

But that doesn't mean that modern Christian music is completely devoid of musical consecration--it just seems that it has to come from outside--from those who have not yet seen the fundamental truths that set us apart.

If you haven't heard NewWorldSon, it's just that you haven't heard them--yet. Described various ways, I personally find them to to be an amazing amalgam of blues, r&b, with an old style hip-hopped Frank Sinatra.

Not beholden to the trappings of modern performance demands (i.e., state-of-the-art keyboard patches, click tracks, overcompressed bass and guitar, etc.) They simply set up, and play. With real instruments.

And do they ever. See their website video rendition of "Do Not Pass Me By."

Their complete album is due out in February.

12:02 PM | |

Friday, January 18, 2008 

Yes, Believe it or Not I'm Alive

Posted by: Denelle

After a rather lenghty absence from Collideoscope (for reasons that would surely bore you) . . . I'M BACK!!!!

It's a new year, we have new bloggers, exciting things are happening all over. And I had a wonderful update all put together and ready to go but Blogger is being extremely uncooperative (with images, links and embedding) lately. Therefore, I'll simply leave you with the notice to be on the look-out for something new around here when Monday's edition goes live.

12:45 PM | |

Tuesday, January 15, 2008 

With Wings As Eagles

Posted by: kdc

Seniors at McKenzie High School in the Oregon countryside recently experienced a painful loss when one of their classmates was killed in an ATV accident.  At the funeral Isaiah 40:31 was read.  Inspired by the verse, the McKenzie High Eagles’ seniors decided to adopt the following class motto: “They that believe shall mount up with wings as eagles.”

 

Unfortunately, their motto was rejected by school officials.

 

It wasn’t because of what the motto said.  Belief is a generic enough term to be accepted by even the most hardened atheist.  It could be belief in oneself, belief in “Eagle Pride,” or belief in any number of non-religious things.  The reason behind the rejection of the motto was merely its source.  Because it was inspired by the Bible it was not allowed.

 

Now, any sane person could recognize the fact that using the above motto does not violate the constitutional separation of church and state (see the 1st Amendment which, incidentally, also protects free speech).  And this is where I am supposed to go into the rant about how the secular agenda is squeezing God out of our country.  Christians are losing the culture war.

 

Sorry, I just don’t buy that line.  This type of censorship comes, not from some evil agenda, but from ignorance and fear.  Ignorance of the Constitution and the law and fear of lawsuits and overreacting parents lead people such as this to take the safest course of action—self-censorship.  Unfortunately, in trying to take the safest course on one direction, it often steps over the line in another, in this case free speech.

 

So what should be the Christian response to incidents such as this?  I would like to hear your thoughts on the matter.

 

Josh R

2:44 PM | |

 

Presidential Candidate attends Ap Service!

Posted by: kdc

On Sunday, January 13, 2008, a Republican presidential candidate attended a United Pentecostal Church in Michigan - and played bass?

Get the full story tonight, in our fresh, mid-week cover on what happened and how we responded.

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10:31 AM | |

Wednesday, January 09, 2008 

Worldwide Pentecostal Fellowship: Haney Letter

Posted by: kdc

While our original post on the WPF is continuing to pick up comments, it appears letters are being sent via email from prominent members of the United Pentecostal Church leadership - including General Superintendent Kenneth Haney.

Since he ends it with this statement: "*Please note that should you desire to share this letter, you have my permission to do so." I am going to take him at his word. After opening his e-letter, he states:

As Moses, Caleb, Joshua, Nehemiah and numerous others of God's Generals have stood at the forefront of an emotional storm; when a handful of voices among them sought to bring division, they as God's Generals, spoke with Authority & Assurance! God was with them, and the storm passed over; thus, it will be the same with us.

 have been to a number of meetings in the last month and a half, and my
heart has been greatly warmed by the host of ministers who have come to me
personally to assure me of their loyalty and that they were in much
prayer. They could not understand why men would conduct themselves in this manner. This is the feeling of most of the UPCI. I was moved by their love and
prayerfulness for God's work, and my heart was touched by their spirit.
I felt that we, as God's leaders, need to seize the moment and speak calm to the storm, and also discourage any of our brethren from going to the Tulsa event. No good
would come from their going - only that they would be used. At this point,
it is time for the Generals to forcefully and clearly "without hesitation”
strengthen the hands of God's people.

There is no panic or fear, but only concern that some precious ministers may
be isolated for some reason or other from the main stream of the Fellowship.
It could be by distance or lack of closeness to fellow ministers, and all
they know is what they read on some web site or what comes in the mail.
Neither of these gives the true picture. Several men, whose names were
listed in the items being mailed out and distributed, contacted me and were greatly
concerned that their names had been included. In some cases, men said
they had not given their consent; in other cases, that they called or notified
whomever was in charge and told them NOT to list their names, but they
were listed in spite of their protest.

The brethren of our Districts must be assured that the church, the United
Pentecostal Church International, is blessed of God and stands staunch as a
Holiness movement, a revival movement, and a doctrinally sound movement, and
that there is no compromise. As a matter of fact, we have history, as an
organization, to prove this. Each generation in times of crisis has
risen to the challenge; therefore, we will, and have done so also.

From my experience in traveling the length and breadth of our Fellowship, it
is my opinion that we are as solid, strong, and as passionate as we have
ever been. Any new group attempting to start will do so without history or
track record, and it is yet to be proven what they would really do in the
midst of crisis. In the history of the UPCI, there have been other groups who
have attempted to do this also, but have failed to rally to the challenges, and
thus came to naught.

In the final analysis and when the dust settles, we will be a stronger
organization and a more passionate movement. We will be more united against
worldliness and more united for the cause of World Evangelism -
proclaiming the unadulterated Gospel of the New Testament as we impact this world for the cause of the Kingdom. The United Pentecostal Church is growing rapidly. New churches and daughter works are being planted each day, and a host of new
ministers are being added to the already great number. For instance, our
General Secretary, Brother Jones, just spoke to me and said that since General
Conference, we have lost 27 ministers due to the passing of the
resolution. In the same period of time, we have licensed 128 new ministers. The church is strong and will not, and must not, be distracted from our real mission: to reach our cities, states, and the nations of the world with TRUTH and an
uncompromising message.

In conclusion, in reminiscing over my life, I have found that each trial and
each valley I have journeyed through, that AFTER the trial, I have been much
stronger and more blessed. I do believe that there is a great deal of good
that will be achieved as a movement when we pass to the other side of this
storm, and we will be bonded closer together and our purpose will have
greater clarity.

For a United Church and respectfully yours,

Kenneth F. Haney


This is the second letter I have seen that states some names on the WPF website are not there by permission.

Ongoing . . .



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11:15 PM | |

Tuesday, January 08, 2008 

The Only Thing Missing Is . . .

Posted by: Ron Giesecke

Looks like those pesky Russians are planning on landing a comrade on Mars within the next seventeen or so years.

Russia is leading the race to complete a manned mission to Mars and could land a Russian on the Red Planet by 2025, a leading scientist was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"We have something of a head start in this race as we have the most experience in piloted space flight," the director of the prestigious Space Research Institute, Lev Zelyony, told Interfax news agency on Tuesday.

The goal of becoming the first country to land a human on Mars is "technically and economically achievable" by 2025, he said.
It occurs to me that in a race to a distant planet, a God-less regime would always prevail against a society that still acknowledges Him (at least in form, anyway). Why? because the latter would have the burden of bringing their traveler back. I, for one believe the Russian space program fusses not about such "trivialities."

And if anyone thinks such a conundrum will be the sticking point to launch schedule, well . . . let's just say the man going better take out a really good life insurance policy, with the "causation" clauses fully and legally vetted. That's all I'm saying.

4:22 PM | |

 

"Wrong Will Be Right . . ."

Posted by: Ron Giesecke

I was listening to the O"Reilly Factor on my home XM system (yes, I admit, a rather tortured way of saying I wasn't staring blankly at a televsion screen when I heard this), when the most unbelieveable assessment came across my ears: A paid Clinton ally attempting to spin a New Hampshire loss to Barak Obama as a "victory" if the loss is below double-digits. See for yourself:


By this currency, we also won Vietnam, needed the stock market crash of '29, and gained three thousand citizens from the World Trade Center.

It's the pathlogy behind the whole thing that's the most disconcerting.

12:09 PM | |

Monday, January 07, 2008 

Pentecostalism for the Exurbs

Posted by: kdc

                                                     

I have respect for Joel Osteen.  When he came toOrlando, it was headline news that he was one of the few televangelists who doesn’t frivolously blow obscene amounts of his parishioners’ money.  On the other hand, this article presents an interesting critique of his version of the Prosperity Doctrine. 

 

God does not want you to be poor or sick or suffer in any way.  You can claim victory over that suffering and enjoy a pleasant, prosperous and healthy life in this world.  The biggest problem with this theology, however, is that it is not biblical.  Can you imagine what Jesus’ ministry would have looked like had he espoused these ideas?  Of course, first he would have had to be born into an upper-middle-class family.  He would have had to be more successful than a homeless, itinerant prophet.  And that whole beating and crucifixion thing would have to have been skipped altogether.

 

In fact, Hebrews tells us that Jesus’ suffering was important to our own salvation.  Paul also suggests that it is through suffering, not the avoidance of pain that we identify with Christ.  An examination of the Scriptures finds more evidence for our suffering than for our prosperity.  At the very best, books like Ecclesiastes and Psalms indicate that our lives will be filled with both prosperity and suffering—regardless of the amount of our faith.

 

But what really bugs me about Osteen’s prosperity message is the way it reflects who God is.  Take a look at the sub-title of the above-mentioned article: Joel Osteen’s God really wants you to dress well, stand up straight, and get a convenient parking space.  When we preach, teach, write or talk about our faith we are reflecting on God.  What God do people see when they look at us?  Do they see a God only for yuppie exurbs (I love that word), or do they see a God who can be for anyone, even the poor and suffering?  This is a question of our most basic theology, and the answer will be in every single conversation we ever have about God.  If we don’t think it through, we may be espousing a theology that is not biblical.

 

My challenge is simple—think it through.

 

Josh R.

 

5:17 PM | |

Saturday, January 05, 2008 

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

Posted by: David

I'm reading an excellent book called Shakespeare by Bill Bryson, so I guess that's what has prompted me to title this final post the way I have.

Yes, after ummm...I've lost count of the years, but I think it's around 5 or so...I have made the tough decision to leave the Collideoscope blog. This probably isn't too much of a shocker given the dearth of posts from me over the last several months, but I did want to hop back on board and post one final goodbye.

The History
My brother in law, Bradley McDonald, started a 90&9 blog way back called The Benchwarmers, and after he gave me the chance to guest post during his absence, invited me on as a co-blogger. One thing led to another, and the blog slowly morphed into the Collideoscope that you see today with it's multiple contributors.

The Reason
And now time has brought me to the place where I must go. My wife and I just had baby number 2 (Elayna Noelle born on 12/28), and in May our lives will again change drastically when we move to Northern Ireland to work as AIMers with the Terry McFarland family. I just feel that with both of these transitions that I would not be able to do the blog justice. Kent has been very understanding and promises to keep me around and involved, so I may turn up occasionally in some form or another either here or at 90&9.com.

And speaking of Kent, a heartfelt thank you to Kent and all of you wonderful readers for the opportunity to do this blog and for being so supportive. It has been a thrill.

A Few Parting Thoughts
With all of that said, let me leave you with a few ramblings for 2008. First, if you are looking for a great book, the afore mentioned Shakespeare is great. I've never read anything by Bill Bryson that was not informative and entertaining, and this book is no exception. I told my wife that I've read many books on Shakespeare that I just kind of had to grit my teeth and struggle through, but this rendition is a page turner. Other books I've read recently are The Bourne Identity (haven't seen the movie so I'm not sure how it compares, but I thought the book was good) and The 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell. Put these on your must read list for 2008.

Politics
I've said all along that I don't think Clinton is a guarantee for the Democratic nomination, and this week has turned out some interesting developments (I admit it is still very early). I think we'll see an Obama nomination and would not be surprised if he wins the White House. I think the jury is still out on who the Republican nominee will be.

Church
Be sure to get involved in the UPCI's 30 days of prayer and fasting and the Global Impact initiative. Great stuff. Regarding the new organization, I'm still holding out hope that it will not go through and unity will be preserved. But perhaps I'm naive.

Contact Me
Gentle readers, again let me say that writing this blog has been a blast. If you want to stay in touch, I'm setting up a website at www.ibunch.org (still under construction so check back) and you can also find me on Facebook (I love the lay out much better than My Space - less clutter, fewer adds). So I look forward to hearing from you at either of these two places.

Godspeed to you all,
David

4:07 PM | |

Friday, January 04, 2008 

Eliminating The Comedic Deficit By One (More)

Posted by: Ron Giesecke


The dearth of halfway palatable christian comedy-- at least that which seems to have a reasonable grip on the genre--was something I thought was only being chipped-away at by comedian Brad Stine (Who, incidentally, is promoting a new album himself).


But it appears another guy's been out there plugging away for a number of years, and judging by his website, comedian Tim Hawkins understands his audience.

7:57 PM | |

 

Apostolic Guitarists Now Have Long-Overdue Forum

Posted by: Ron Giesecke


Fresh out of the inaugural Gospel Guitar Jam, Bro. Larry Carter has spearheaded the Apostolic Guitarist forum.


Maybe a suprise, off-the-radar throng of unknown axe-wielders will make themselves known. Either way, a much-needed-and-instrument-centric outlet.


Check it out

6:32 PM | |

 

Chuck Norris Doesn't Endorse A Candidate...

Posted by: kdc

Chuck Norris Doesn't Endorse A Candidate--He Tells America How It's Going To Be

                                        

The results of the Iowa Caucus, for anyone who cares, were very surprising to most.   Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama came out the definitive leaders with Giuliani and Clinton trailing further than expected.   Of course many more stops lay ahead on the campaign trail and anything can happen, but right now, it looks like these gentlemen are the ones to be paying attention to.

9:33 AM | |