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Originally Posted by stmatthew
Where do you see the Apostolic movement (UPCI, ALJC, AMF, and the likes.) at this point?
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From my perspective as a concerned, conservative parent that is marginally involved and marginally connected, (whew!) I observe things like the magic hair testimony in the Herald and the series of letters, authored by headquarters heavy-hitters, that tell us there's no cause for alarm, just a handful of people have turned in their cards, etcetera, and I get an image of the UPC as a Roman galley riding high on a sandbar, and everybody inside is just pulling and pulling and pulling as hard as ever stirring up the quicksand outside with their oars because they can't see outside the ship. The UPC ship has run aground, and pieces are breaking off. Closing our eyes and banging on kettles won't change the situation.
I don't see that the average UPC parishoner has more than a marginal awareness that such things as the AMF, ALJC, Axxx, Ayyy, and Azzz even exist. People are busy with their own lives, and struggle to fit in the time demands of just their ONE church, much less anybody else's.
Some say (mostly here) that the UPC has become little more than a culture club, a miniature civilization within a civilization, with its own self-serving royal court, royal families, arranged marriages, political subterfuge, and nepotism. I catch glimpses of things that might
hint at the existence of such a fanciful construct, but I suspect the reality is somewhere in the middle.
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What do you see as problems within it?
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Continual inflation of our growth numbers. Exaggerative testimonials of revival here and abroad. Countless other ways and means of lulling ourselves into a sense of complacency that the UPC is still everything it once was and requires no tinkering, whether it be minor adjustment or major overhaul.
Lack of enforcement of the licensing requirements. The extension of grace, by conservatives, to those that one way or another were making an end-run around the spirit of the rules. Rather than boot them out so they could "pursue their interests," the problem has festered and grown from a movement to a majority. Now the very people who were concerned about the influence of TV on ministers, but were afraid that to say something would be to appear hard-nosed, now appear hard-nosed as they drop out. Selective enforcement of rules brings trouble to everyone, eventually. Leniency to those who are "liberal" with the rules has never, in any context, been a proven winning strategy.
And the drop-outs will skew the "average" on our ministerial "political" spectrum more towards the liberal side.
Running church as a business.
Following "church growth" paradigms instead of the Spirit.
Platform and payroll double standards for family.
Nepotism large and small.
Considering the role of pastor to be the role of OT priests.
Widespread membership ignorance of fundamental UPC doctrines and the bases behind them.
Widespread membership ignorance of the scriptural principles corraborating some of our "cultural" peculiarities.
Certain key texts by UPC authors on various doctrinal subjects rely on quirks in the KJV translation. Our movement will continue to suffer a doctrinal debating disadvantage until we have a bullet-proof translation of our own.
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What are the strengths of todays movement?
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For all our fractiousness, we're still fairly unified, especially on foreign missions.
We've got some good momentum.
We have good bible colleges.
We have many, many churches that have regular moves of the Holy Ghost. We have some wise leadership. We may still be capable of achieving a biblical paradigm and finding God's will.
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Where do you think we are headed as a movement?
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I think the "upheaval" we are presently experiencing are merely the tremors of we Apostolics-in-a-can being fastened good and tight into God's giant paint shaker. There are some bumps and bruises, some oohs and aahs, but the silly thing hasn't even been powered on yet.
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What is your advise to the generation that is to follow us.
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Pull up your pants and get a haircut!
But seriously, I would advise anybody who believes that there is a call of God upon their life to get serious about it. If it's really God you won't have to wait until uncle or daddy or grandpa makes room for you on the "ministerial team." You can simply go to some little town that doesn't have a Oneness presence and be friendly to people until an opportunity to teach a bible study arises.