UPC Manual Question
 

I know a 22 year old preacher in the UPC. He holds their 1st tier liscense (I forget what it is called). He was taking a few appointments regardless if they were UPC churches and he ministers on Wednesdays for his grandfather, who has an independent church.
His UPC pastor, who is also the district super. just had a meeting with him and told him that if he ministers anywhere that the host pastor must contact him (the UPC pastor). The reason he gave was that "you are young and I don't want you to get messed up with a false teaching." And he said it was a manual requirement.

Why does the UPC have this as a requirement? It seems to me that whatever the motivation might be, that the effect would be to completly shut down any ministry outside of the UPC since almost no pastor is going to call a UPC pastor and be questioned about his beliefs when all he wants is to book a guest minister. And what if the host church was trinity, word of faith, etc., cannot an UPC minister to those people if invited?

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

Some districts are very strict on this policy. When we had left the UPC a good pastor friend invited my husband to speak for him. It was the not the state we lived in. Our pastor friend was reprimanded after the fact for allowing this.
Your question is another angle on the "control" factor within the UPC. They can put whatever spin on it they wish to......it's all about control.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

Some districts are very strict on this policy. When we had left the UPC a good pastor friend invited my husband to speak for him. It was the not the state we lived in. Our pastor friend was reprimanded after the fact for allowing this.
Your question is another angle on the "control" factor within the UPC. They can put whatever spin on it they wish to......it's all about control.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

Just for me to understand....
In regard to my question about host pastors contacting the ministers pastor is all about UPC contol of their ministers?

And then your story means that:

The UPC does not allow a non UPC minister to preach in one of their churches unless it is pre cleared by district?

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

Quite a few years ago (in the nineteen sixties) I was going to a UPC Church and doing some preaching in non-UPC churches. My pastor did not comment on it or reprimand me. One of the men from our church (Bro. Estep) started a new church in the small city he lived in. It was Ludlow, KY and across the river from the Cincinnati area where we live and where the UPC church was that we attended. The pastor of the new work was UPC and I was the speaker for the opening service. The place was packed out (mostly people from the UPC church where we went) and it was a good service.

A couple of months later this pastor was the host pastor for a UPC youth rally. It was held in a local school because his church was too small. The speaker was an ALJC preacher from Dayton, OH. The next day the UPC pastor (Bro. Estep) was notified that two of the Kentucky ministers from that area had "filed charges" (that was the term he used if I remember correctly) against him because he had a non-UPC minister preach. Bro. Estep left the UPC and joined the ALJC.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

Usually in the UPC the concensus is that if you go to another town to preach at a non-UPC church whether its apostolic or not you are supposed to call that area's sectional presbyter to let him know.

On one hand I can see it from a territorial viewpoint because it would be a nightmare for a independent apostolic church that left the UPC or has a less than stellar relationship with the UPC to have a major big name evangelist come there and draw the "sheep" from other churches to view that popular evangelist for that evening.

On the other hand it shows a plantation mentality from the pastoral core that such a official or unoffical rule needs to be there in the first place depending on the district.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

The UPC is not the only organization to do things like this. Back in the 1970's I was a licensed minister with the ALJC and was sectional youth leader. I went to a district conference and attended the business meeting. One matter of business was one of the ALJC pastors in the state had had a Church of God minister preach for him. I guess it had happened more than once and maybe he had been told not to do that. The pastor was not present at the meeting. It was proposed and approved by vote to pull his license/ordination. I was a young man (almost 40) and did not say anything because of respect/fear of the elders but I did not like that. I did not like the idea of an organization telling a pastor who he could or could not let preach in his church.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

TFT ignores that rule and goes and preaches wherever he wants to.
But, who is gonna call him on it?

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

A extremely foolish district superintendent who didn't want to get re-elected.

Re: UPC Manual Question
 

TFT?