Apostolic Friends Forum - The Role of a Saint of God, as in 1 Cor 14

We have redefined almost everything according to the whim of leadership elected and appointed by men to rule over other men - it is called an organization that decides who is, and who is not, called of God into a given ministry. It is generally defined as a 'good old boy's club' or just a family tradition.

For example

Holiness is what we do, not who we are.

It is our standards that separate us from the world, not our attitudes.

Those things that pertain to a man are defined as his pants, not his weapons, tools, etc, that De 22:5 identifies in the Hebrew language. (Hint: The verse does not say that a woman is not to wear the clothes or garments of a man. I can supply a Hebrew world view translation for those interested.)

Worship is our performance in church, as judged by a church leader, not the context within which we live our lives

'Good preaching' is when we feel good and experience an emotional high, not in how well the message contributes to improving our walk in the Spirit or improve our relationship with Christ or bring unity to the body.

Contributing (giving) to God is maintaining the local church building (or another building fund), not meeting the needs of those who attend there.

Tithing is the basic law of the church, where as many people who attend the church (10, 20, 50, 100 or more) are to give 10% of their resources to one man. This is not the biblical principle where eleven extended families provided the food requirements of one extended family - who were prohibited by law from working for their food. Also, out of this came food for the poor and even the 'non-Jews' who needed assistance. One has to wonder how it would be received if each family in a church brought 10% of their groceries and piled them on the platform (or in the church storehouse) - normally three to four times a year - as required by the law? But, I digress -

The primary qualification for ministry within the assembly is based on the amount and frequency of one's giving, not the call of God or one's spiritual gifting for the edification of the body.

And, the list goes on....

We enjoy a performance based religion, rather than a love based relationship.

God, because of His promises, owes us whatever we want, rather than we owe everything to God, with or without His promises. That is, we follow after God for what we can get out of Him, rather than for what God can get out of us - obedience.

Spiritual obedience is obeying the pastor, and if God happens to agree, so much the better. Yet, Obedience to God is accomplished only by first gaining the pastor's permission.

We have the Holy Ghost, and 'it' (not 'Him') has lead us into all truth. Even so, most folks only give lip service to the Spirit's leading, and seldom, if ever, actually walk in that Spirit.

We think another discussion (preaching/teaching) on holiness standards, how misguided the Trinitarians are, and Acts 2:38 is bringing to light the three central themes of Christianity.

We think that being a committed Christian is being in church whenever the doors are open - and 'having church', rather than simply being the living church (body of Christ) in the world (living stones).

We claim to follow the teaching of the Apostles, but except for a hand full of notes from Paul and a couple from Peter and James, in a few letters, we don't even know what it was the rest of the Apostles actually taught. - Hint: They taught what Jesus taught and commanded His disciples to teach, and only a few Apostolics know what Jesus taught, and most of that is without understanding!

Most Pentecostals don't even know what the day of Pentecost is or even why its important to the Christian faith. The experience of speaking in tongues is more important than the reality of the event. So, we try to recapture the experience of Pentecost (the Church of the Holy Feel Good) without ever knowing its spiritual reality or how to apply it to our lives to produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Back to the Spirit: The Spirit will lead us in all truth - how many church members can you witness concerning that they actually know where the Spirit is leading and is, in fact, following Him? Hint: Don't take anyone's word for it - test it for yourself!

I'm tired. So finally, if the Oneness, Apostolic Pentecostals are the new chosen people of God, how come we are so powerless? Fragmented (separated from even those within the same religious organization)? Righteous in our own eyes (we are going to heaven, Trinitarians are going to hell)? WE have the truth and teach 'sound doctrine', while everyone else teaches false doctrines, and are going to hell because of it. The problem with that position is that I find every preacher I have ever studied under make errors in their teaching (including me!). Therefore, by our own confession we are all guilty of teaching false doctrines (any teaching that contains errors is, by definition, false). So, even our judgments against others stands before God as a witness against us.

It really is time that we stop playing the Pharisee of Mt 23, and start playing the role of a saint of God, as in 1 Cor 14.