Quote:
Originally Posted by embonpoint
Another thread got me to thinking about this.
Let me first state that I am not a part of the UPC and have no intention of joining the WPF. So I don’t really have a dog in this fight. That being said there is a real irony that strikes me in my observation from the sideline.
One of the most vociferous and repetitious attacks on these men, and conservatives in general, is that they are motivated by a desire to control and a hunger for power. But what real power or control will they wield in the WPF.
These so-called controllers of the WPF do not
License ministers
Affiliate churches
Have Districts with all their officials
Preclude anyone from participation based on affiliation thus the assertion that they are not truly an organization as we know them today.
But their detractors want to kick them out because they
Held a meeting without permission
Invited ministers without org approval
Have financial involvement out side the org
I wonder who is interested in controlling whom here?
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You are wrong.
1. Paragraph # 2 does not take into account that some of the WPF's critics have become such after many years of observing the individual actions of the collective "T-6" and their detractors. Give it a little time, and you will see the heavy hand of these men - especially when dissention among
their ranks occurs.
2. While the WPF does not at this time appear to do the things you mention, have you considered that since this is a "start-up," just maybe they are going to accrue capital for a period of time before embarking on an infrastructure expansion? Could it be that a few of the
larger churches affiliated with the WPF will in fact ordain ministers from other
smaller churches, offering them a "daughter work" package, providing the support and resources that these pastors will lose by leaving the UPC? After all, what are those dues and tithes they intend to collect going to be used for anyway?
3. The detractors want to kick these men out because they have betrayed the "good faith" ascribed to them by their affiliation with the UPC, and have in fact breached the contract they joined into by affiliating. I don’t want to be mean, but the UPC isn’t the only corporate entity where a person can excel and gain notoriety, power and wealth by simple virtue of their smooth speaking ability and perceived wisdom. This is not rocket science, no, it is much more important than that. However, some seem to believe that by adding a few letters to the end of their name, they have increased in stature and power. A humble grandmother who reads and believes her Bible with a clear God-given understanding can accomplish more than a misguided, puffed-up suit in crocodile shoes with a degree in exegetical theology. On the other hand, there is most definitely nothing wrong with furthering ones knowledge by attending seminary; I just want to be clear that some are easily swayed by simple verbal wordsmithing. These men were/are licensed ministers with the UPC, and as such agreed to the statement "...admonishing all brethren that they shall not contend for their different views to the disunity of the body."
4. Of course the WPF places no restriction on affiliation. After all, one of the "T-6" is running a Bible college affiliated with Patten University, a Trinitarian organization. Ask yourself this question: What is more harmful - advertising a UPC church on TV, or affiliating with a group that willfully spreads false Trinitarian doctrine? If said T-6 member wanted to have a Bible College, he should have petitioned the UPC for the currently unused charter formerly assigned to Conquers Bible College in Portland, Oregon. Then again, maybe that wouldn’t have fit into the long-range planning that is finally coming to fruition.
So, to answer your question, no one in the UPC is trying to control these "wayward" bretheren. They are simply going to hold them to the terms of the agreement that their affiliation entailed.