from pages 205-207
Attitude Determines Altitude
The greatest problem in evangelizing the world is our attitude toward each other. That's our number one problem. It's not the devil. It's not the world. It's our own sorry attitudes.
...I love the UPCI, but it's not been possible for us to have a crusade here in North America the magnitude of, say, a Billy Graham crusade or a Benny Hinn crusade Such a thing has not been possible for the UPCI because of an attitude among us that we will not allow any one of us to become that popular. Whenever one of us becomes too popular, he is targeted for ruin. The reason is simply because it is a political organization It is a man-made, political organization.
Now, I'm a member of the UPCI, and I would not even think of leaving. And there are spiritual people within the organization. But the organization itself is not spiritual. People come intoour ministerial fellowship thingking that the organization is going to feed them and help them spiritually, and they are disappointed because it does not happen. It is a political organization, and the most authority in the organization is elected offices; not spiritual ofices. We have a place for apostles and prophets among many of our people today, but these apostles and prophets have a very subordinate place, not a place of authority. (This is heavy stuff).
Preachers are some times disillusioned when they try to get spiritual encouragement from the organization and it does not happen. One must turn to a spiritual individual.
We foster an attitude such that once we grow, we devour those are in spiritual leadership. We destroy each other because of our intolerance. We make heaven-or-hell issues over things that are nothing more than just opinions. We have preacher who preach heaven-or-hell over issues that do not warrant it. For instance, we have preachers who are so opposed to a man wearing a beard that they'll preach him straight into hell for it. And there is not one verse of scripture for that. In fact, Jesus Christ had a beard, apparently. The Bible prophesied of Jesus that His beard wuld be plucked by those who would smite His back (
Isaiah 50:6). Yet, in some of our churches, if you wear a beard, they will preach you straight into hell; they make a heaven-or-hell issue of it. If the Apostle Peter showed up today an had a beard (he very likely did have a beard), some of us would run himout on a rail.
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