UPC Pastor Convicted of Slander in Pulpit!

[DAII]

The following is from a Pentecostal Herald article authored by Mark Fogarty.

I believe gives insight as to the mindset of Pastor Fogarty and what he clearly defines as 3 levels of Christian Character/Holiness and his opinions of the role of a pastor in the lives of saints.

I submit it for discussion as to whether you agree or not. What bothers me is the lack of any mention of Holy Spirit being the source of our holiness but rather puts the onus, even its "enforcement" apparently on the pastor.

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Three Levels of Christian Character by Mark Fogarty.
Published in October 2004 issue of The Pentecostal Herald.

There are three levels to Christian character. This character is developed and matured by the level of holiness to which we have adhered.

First, there is Biblical holiness. This cannot be argued, disputed, compromised, or taken away. No individual is exempt from following Biblical holiness; it is the entrance level of walking with God. This level is forever settled, as stated in Psalm 119:89. Liberty should be granted to any minister at any time to preach Biblical holiness. In our efforts to be considerate of other ministries and churches, we often eleminate one of the identifying factors of the Apostolic church - that we are a holiness people. Never should we place restraints on the pulpit when it comes to preaching the Word of God. The preaching of the Word breeds holiness into people.

Second, holiness involves local church government. This refers to local church standards. No one can set these standards except the pastor. The responsibility lies with the pastor to preach, teach, and enforce the standards that he feels necessary for the church that he pastors. Ezekiel referred to the pastor as a "watchman" (Ezekiel 3:17). The Scripture plainly states that the pastor has the responsibility to set the standard (Ezekiel 44:23). Pastors violate and profane the law of God when they make no difference between the clean and the unclean (Ezekiel 22:26).

The responsibility and the burden of preaching, teaching, and enforcing holiness lies only with the pastor. No visiting minister, evangelist, or neighboring pastor can set a standard of conduct for a church that he does not pastor. Anyone who endeavors to do this is in violation of God's command. This level of holiness and character does and should control who is in the leadership of a church. If someone does not desire to climb to this level of holiness and character, he should not be used in a local assembly. To involve someone who does not adhere to what the pastor teaches causes confusion, and God is not the author of confusion.

The third level of Christian character involves personal convictions. Everyone should have personal convictions. Hearing and responding to preaching builds in us a desire to be holy and separated. Personal convictions are just that, personal. Never does a personal conviction need to be a test of fellowship with someone else. We develop personal convictions because of our backgrounds. Some people may feel strongly about involvement with certain things because of their previous involvement before they were saved. Never should one saint try to force the church or someone else to accept or live by his or her own personal convictions. Personal convictions are between individuals and God.

Understanding these three levels of holiness will help us determine the level of our Christian character of an individual. when someone does not want to step up from level one to level two and follow their pastor's direction, this is a flaw in his Christian character. A church member cannot be right with the Master and wrong with the pastor.

Christians cannot expect to go to heaven without being submissive to the Word of God. Neither can they expect to please God if they will not go to the next level and be involved in the work of God in their local church. Anyone who climbs to level two will also climb to level three and thereby fulfill Jeremiah 31:33: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they will be my people."