Why You Should Vote IN FAVOR of Resolution 4
 

Why You Should Vote FOR Resolution Four

I know this will come as a shock, but after much consideration, I have come to the conclusion that voting in favor of resolution four (advertising on television) is in the best interest of the United Pentecostal Church. I will do my best to enumerate the reasons succinctly and straightforwardly.

1. Passing this resolution will bring unity. It has become obvious that those who have continued to vote against this measure are dividing this organization. On more than one occasion, they have said a resounding, “NO!” to what a number of other men dearly want. Their continued stand for what has been is evidently the cause of extreme divisiveness and animosity. They should stop standing in the way of “progress” and allow this fellowship to make this bold new move. By doing so, they will bring unity to the body, thus resulting in unprecedented endtime revival.

2. Passing this resolution will provide an easier method of evangelism. I, for one, am tired of knocking doors. I mean, how many churches have been built by such antiquated methods? Let’s be real – putting together a television ad (or, better yet, a program) will enable me to reach MILLIONS of people. Since the majority of the world has televisions, my ad/program will be all the world needs to start flocking to the UPCI in droves. I can have more free time, since I will no longer have to devote my Saturday mornings to other more ineffective methods of evangelism. In fact, we might as well recall the missionaries. Let the FMD put together ads in the various languages of the world and put them over the airwaves. People will undoubtedly be receiving the Holy Ghost during the time these things air. Since receiving the Holy Ghost is the main focus, by the way, that’s all they need. The Spirit will then lead them into the rest of the truth.

3. Passing this resolution will save us money. In light of the facts presented in the previous paragraph, I won’t have to spend money on things like fliers, door hangers, Bible study charts, OR missionaries! I have been told that cable advertising is as cheap as – or cheaper than – radio. Thus, it is obviously a wise monetary decision to stop wasting church funds on things that are not reaching the world. A few dollars more wisely spent on television advertising/programming will be the last thing I will EVER need to spend money on – it will reach the WORLD!

4. Passing the resolution will purge the organization of unwanted and unnecessary members. We’ve all heard the “whiners” – “If you don’t play by the rules that have you’ve always used, we’re taking our toys and going home.” By voting in favor of this resolution, these people will either “put up or shut up.” Furthermore, I was personally told by a top official of this organization that we “don’t need” men who oppose the progressive agenda of the modern era. We are “better off without them,” he said to me. Far be it from me to be a weakening factor in the strength of this movement. By helping to pass this resolution, I will be able to walk away with my head held high, knowing I am making the UPCI better by my absence.

Well, there you have it. These are the reasons why I am encouraging everyone to vote in favor of resolution four.

By the way, I’m not being sarcastic. However, I have written this with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek.

Are you needing a little attention this morning KP, feeling a little lonely way out there in Kansas?:driving:driving

sar·casm http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/premium.gif http://cache.lexico.com/g/d/speaker.gif (sär'kāz'əm) Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A cutting, often ironic remark intended to wound.
2. A form of wit that is marked by the use of sarcastic language and is intended to make its victim the butt of contempt or ridicule.
3. The use of sarcasm.

sarcasm


A form of irony in which apparent praise conceals another, scornful meaning. For example, a sarcastic remark directed at a person who consistently arrives fifteen minutes late for appointments might be, “Oh, you've arrived exactly on time!”

37.(with) tongue in cheek, ironically or mockingly; insincerely.

www.dictionary.com

It's sad when people can't make a decent appeal and have to resort to these sort of methods that serve more to get a back slap or high five by others of likemindedness than to actually defeat someone else argument and show the the truth.

It's no wonder there is so much disunity....there has always been differences with unity.

Do the preachers' wives get to vote? Or at least influence the vote?

I wonder how many of these wives of pro-tv UPC preachers have realized that ALL televangelists have mistresses.

This whole thing is just stupid.

ALL? LOL!

I can't think of any television evangelists that I really support, but I can't see lumping them all together like that either.

Maybe if the UPC did open up to TV ministry I would be able to find a tele-evangelist I could support.

Hey, it was all in fun.

Wordnet defines "tongue-in-cheeK" as "cleverly amusing in tone."

The American Heritage dictionary defines it as "ironically or facetiously."

"Facetious" is defined as "1. not meant to be taken seriously or literally; 2. amusing; humorous."

Believe it or not, there was nothing hateful intended by my post.

KP, nice satirical thread! :thumbsup

Keep in mind that there is nothing in the resolution REQUIRING any church to quit buying the door hangers and tracts to hand out to the masses!

Hey...this was effective in the 50's and 60's, so I don't see why it wouldn't be effective today!

Nobody is required to use billboards, newspaper, radio, magazines, internet or TV to advertise because we all know that these forms of advertisement also have beer and/or cigarette ads also! Some may not want to be associated with the world in any way!

Door hangers and tracts RULE!!!!!!!! :D

This stupid TV crud dont' mean jack to the average ordinary individual. Nobody gives a hoot about it except for the political-minded goobers.

:crazy

You speak the truth! Since the world has not changed since the beginning of the 50's I think door knocking works. Unless you are one of the people that get a gun pulled on you then it might be a different world after all. PM, you your satirical statment is perfect. I remember jsut before joining our church in Knoxville the pasto put up a large billboard with a somewhat cheesy slogan. "It's a great day at Apostolic Church,' with his face on the billboard. The billboard was an advertisment for the broadcast. That was 20+ yrs ago and the slogan is still what we are known for. It worked for them.

I think that door knocking or meeting face to face is the most effective form or outreach. Though I think it is much easier if you have a repore with the person to lead them to Him. This is as oppose to meeting someone in the store and telling them they need the HG they might call the cops. I know you will agree...this is a totally different world and must be approached differently!

You have Malvaro's stamp of approval.... :tiphat

:D

TIC...Sarcastic....or....Truth ????? hehehe

I won't comment on a particular resolution coming up at a conference... simply because I have not been UPC for many a moon, but I will just add that I do think about this debate when I see a few of the people in our church who are sitting there as a result of seeing our Public Access program. Hardly ANYONE watches anything on cable public access regardless of the program, but occasionally the right people flips to it at the right time in their lives.

OH, God purge me of self...purge me of Janice and fill me running over with your Holy Spirit. Fill me with your love set my eyes upon you and let me see the world as you see the world.
I pray for Kansas Preacher and all those who will write on this thread. May we be consumed with love only for you O Lord. Love for your word, keeping your commandments and statues. Let them be not only bound around our necks but may they be burned into our hearts.
Cleanse us from the world and all the entanglements of the world.
HELP US to love dear God what you love and hate what you hate.

and one to one must work in our day the Jehovah´s Wittnesses and Mormons seem to think so and they have television in their homes.

You are planning to leave if the resolution is passed? Or was that for dramatic effect?

If it doesn't pass are you wanting those that supported it to walk away?

Truth. :hypercoffee

lol...well Im sure someone thought it was amusing...if not all that clever :killinme

And infact nobody with half a brain has suggested this is the end all approach to outreach. It's really just another cog in the machine.

I have acccess to free advertising with our local community access station. I used them to promote our children's crusade. They aired our commercial at least six times a day. They gave me unlimited time for the commercial. A week later I hit the streets. I mentioned the ad and people said they seen it. We had over 100 first time guests that Saturday and Sunday. So far 3 people got the Holy Ghost a mom, a teenager, and a boy... All in the same family. Point being. Tv advertising can be effective and adds credibility to your one on one witness. When they see you on tv and meet you in person and you are just as real to them in person as you are on tv, they are going to want what you have.

Even though it was said that people will stop face to face evangelism if television, not one shred of evidence will support that claim. The West Coast Prophet and the Indiana/Illinois Apostle can stop spreading that rhetoric.

I've changed my mind.

I am now ALL FOR UPC TV!!!



This way we will have the phonies, philanderers, moneygrubbers and egocentrists leaping to the forefront voluntarily to identify themselves, instead of having to deal with uncertainty and waiting. :uhoh

True Christians don't belong on TV, nor do they belong in front of it, beside of it, under it, or behind it. If people without the HG can figure out its corrupting influence, why can't we? :rant :doh

Same applies to the internet of course.

Why does it matter whether or not TV passes? I mean, conservative men have generally preached against alot of things that UPC allows, i.e. jewelry etc. ; it seems to me that even though the UPC might allow another "thing" that conservatives disagree with, conservative men could stay just keep their anti TV stance for their churches and STAY IN the UPC. It's mind boggling the inconsistencies in many of these arguments pro AND anti TV!....

Very well written, KP, and I sensed no animosity at all in your post. In fact, this is brilliant, in my opinion, because you've taken the very argument that is being used to propogate TV advertising, and proven your own point.

I'm all for TV advertising, but I must say, your article made me think! Nice job.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BobDylan (Post 225427) Why does it matter whether or not TV passes? I mean, conservative men have generally preached against alot of things that UPC allows, i.e. jewelry etc. ; it seems to me that even though the UPC might allow another "thing" that conservatives disagree with, conservative men could stay just keep their anti TV stance for their churches and STAY IN the UPC. It's mind boggling the inconsistencies in many of these arguments pro AND anti TV!....

Most of the bluster is about control and self justification. From my experience it seems as though some "conservatives" have a compulsion to stand up at conferences and to write letters to justify their own salvation.

It's as though they feel they must declare themselves to be holier than the rest of the assembly in order to seal their place in the Kingdom of God. Meanwhile behind closed doors or at private parties they tell obscene jokes and gossip and backbite like school girls.

For their own good, for the real salvation of their own souls, we must do all that we can to help these "conservatives" to see that they can have no place in the Kingdom of God without Jesus justifying them and accounting them holy. Otherwise, all of their bluster, speeches, letters and articles are just filthy rags.

You have those types of people already in the upc. It's harder to sweep their indiscretions under the rug when tv camera is in their face. The upci does a great job in hiding its dirty laundry. I can understand why people are afraid of television...

True Christians are highly judgmental?

Do I have time to join and after the voting then quit?:nah

In the past you could just sneak into the meeting and vote. I haven't been to a GC business session in almost 10 years, but I was always surprised about how open the thing was. They would just announce that they wanted only "voting ministers" to be seated on the floor or in the front part of the floor.

One time I saw some friends who were unlicensed at the time sitting in on a "closed" business session. They were never challenged and I was too afraid to rat them out... LOL.

I served on the tabulating committee once in a GC at Salt Lake City. We received buckets of ballots that had been handed out to the "voting ministers" and it was all on the honor system. The counting was accurate and fair- but a bunch of Mormons could have seated themselves up front and voted right along with everybody else.

In other words, you may not even have to "join" to vote. Just show up and see how far you get. You might even find yourself standing for an office!

Sorry, we don't take men in hats. Have you thought of going Amish?

I appreciate your suggestions here, but I consider myself conservative. I am personally not in favor of the TV thing, don't have one and haven't had one since I've been in church. I don't think that everyone who is anti-TV is self righteous or self-justifying. I just don't understand the "I'm going to pull out if TV passes" mentality. As I said before, there are ALREADY things that UPC does and allows that conservative men have been against for years. But the Con's have held their stance in spite of what the UPC does. Why can't they do the same here? i.e. keep their anti TV stance, vote, and then whatever happens just keep preaching what they believe in their own churches? Again, I am boggled by the mentality.

Oh, yeah . . . :rolleyes2

Push versus pull media . . . :doh

True Christians discern that the broader effect of the overall product that is television programming produces undesirable character traits in children, and lowers the self-esteem of adults by focusing on perfecting the flesh and fulfilling the desires of the flesh. When they watch a lot of television, children quarrel and fight more, become dissatisfied and materialistic, and are less likely to read or play creatively.

In addition, their view of society is warped by the agenda held by the writers and producers of television. (See David Kupelian's book about it) Male authority figures are almost always portrayed as buffoons, females are fit, pretty and witty. Gays are portrayed as happy, well-adjusted, clever, successful, and usually having the answer.

I disabled my television in 2000. If you watch children play for 10 or 15 minutes, you can easily spot the ones who live in a house where the TV is constantly on. It most certainly influences children, and it's a rare adult indeed that cannot be influenced as well.

By broadcasting services, a church implicitly endorses the medium in general, not just the 3 channels that seldom broadcast things inappropriate but including the 297 channels of societal 'collateral damage.'

Christians should pray for discernment about what things are good for them and what things are bad. They should pray for discernment about what things help them to keep their minds focused on God, and what things cause them to think negatively, or to think that their face, their body, or their car is no longer good enough.

People without the Holy Ghost can discern the effects of television programming. Or they can just observe them, or even *gasp* :uhoh read the research and studies! :faint

The militant anti-TV crowd views acceptance of TV to be a litmus of gullibility, discernment, and maybe even spiritual depth. There's no question it can quickly become a time waster, and in some cases people feel addicted to it.

People who feel that TV programming negatively influences the development of character in their children are innately going to prefer to fellowship with like-minded believers. They don't want their children exposed to people who glorify TV, yet are considered brothers.

I can understand the viewpoint, even if I'm not quite fully there myself. Yet.

There are a couple of things that influence "the mentality" of "pulling out if TV passes," even though "there are ALREADY things that UPC does and allows that conservative men have been against for years." One is simply the old "straw that breaks the camel's back" concept. While you are correct that conservatives oppose MANY things allowed by what appears to be the majority of UPC ministers, there comes a time in which a line must be drawn and individual says, "enough is enough." If there is not SOME line, then gradualism will cause us to accept ANYTHING that comes down the pike.

The second factor is based upon personal experience. I was a relatively new convert when this issue was first discussed (and dismissed by a majority of the brethren). I had just been to a youth camp at which one of the major proponents of TV usage had been the speaker. I came back with an overwhelming sense of admiration and appreciation for his preaching. Then, I received from a backslider informing me that he had just seen the preacher in question on television. I did everything but call him a liar. When the conversation was over, I called my pastor who confirmed the story. I was literally distraught. (I was only 14 years at the time.) I sat down and wrote the man a letter. (He did not respond, however. He chose to ask his secretary to write a response instead.)

Had the UPC decided to allow the use of television in the 1970's, I would NOT have sought to be licensed with them. I joined this organization understanding that it was opposed to the use of television. If they change that stand, then they cease to be the same in substance as they were when I was licensed in 1982.

These are some of the reasons that I will allow my license to lapse if the resolution passes. It is not about being "judgmental" or "holier-than-thou." It is not about "taking my toys and going home" because "I didn't get my way." It is merely a matter of principle for me. I will not go out with a bad attitude. I will not spend my time railing on the organization. I will just sadly walk away, feeling that the UPC has left me, not vice-versa.

I hope that helps to clarify the stand of a number of men, including myself.

Sorry, and with respect, that just doesn't compute. How have they left you?

Turn it around. If you changed a decision or a demand that you made 20 years ago and someone leaves your church or chooses to walk away from your leadership then that means you've left them?

It doesn't quite make sense really. :)

Will you still fellowship men who may disagree with the tv thing, but choose not to exit the organization at present?

Felicity, that one sentence by itself may not make sense, but taken in light of the fact that I JOINED the UPCI with that one issue being a strong factor, then it makes perfect sense to me.

If someone joined my church based on the fact that I was opposed to television (not this alone, but in examining other apostolic churches in the area, mine was among the few which held this stand), and then I changed my stand, then, yes, I would say they could intimate that I had left them.

(How's THAT for a run-on sentence?)

Whether or not a person is in the UPC has absolutely no bearing on whether or not I fellowship them -- nor will it EVER have a bearing on my decision. If I get out, I will not criticize -- let alone disfellowship -- those who remain in.