Testimony of James Swinton
A Search For Truth
James @ age 12, Aug.28, 1957
WHY I WROTE THIS STORY
The purpose of this story is five-fold. First, to encourage everyone who reads it not to settle for false Christianity or false religions. If you do, your life will be affected in some degree, which may scar you for life. [Please note this story is my journey to freedom in Christ. I do not recommend the Berean Society by Cornelius Stam, or Berchah Church by Robert Thieme. But World Wide Church of God has changed and now teaches fundamental biblical doctrines; it has been renamed "Grace Communion International" to reflect its doctrinal changes. It is Christ-centered, teaching Trinitarian Theology (click on the following for its meaning: Trinitarian Theology].
Secondly, to encourage Christians to quit talking about loving one another but start proving it by their actions. I wonder how many souls, after visiting our churches, have not returned because they found us very cold? Because many Christians in traditional Christian denominations do not display genuine Christian love, many are accepting false, cult-like religions where people display love, and offer them some answers and solutions to their daily problems - not just only a pie-in-the-sky hope.
Thirdly, this story is to encourage fellow Christians not to be like the Corinth Christians Paul addressed his letter: There is among you envying, strife, divisions, adultery, etc. (I Corinthians 1:2; 3:3; 5:1,9-10,11; 6:9-11). When non-Christians read such examples as this in their newspaper about division in the church, does this help in our call to the ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:17- 18,19-20,21)?
"Factional squabbles have temporarily closed the venerable Baptist church...The 133-year-old...church is torn by infighting so severe that the pastor gets heckled during sermons and police once had to shut the place down when arguing got out of hand."1
The fourth purpose of my story is very personal. I am one of many young souls who have gotten involved in a [once] cult church at a young age, the effects of which is still being felt in my personal life even now.
My fifth purpose of my story is to help you recognize a cult and their false teachings when you hear or read of them. Most cults teach one or more of the following:
* Salvation: You are saved, receive eternal life from God ONLY IF you are a member of their church group [Examples: Mormons, Herbert Armstrong, Jehovah's Witnesses].
* Works are required for salvation. Works may include keeping the Sabbath (Saturday) [Example: Seventh Day Adventist], Jewish festivals/ holy-days, food laws (certain meats to eat and not to eat).
* Jesus Christ is not God. Most cults deny the Deity of Jesus Christ [Examples: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses].
* No triune God - the Trinity [Examples: Jehovah's Witnesses, Herbert Armstrong].
* Predicts the date of Christ return [Example: Herbert Armstrong].
* Reincarnation (a process whereby, at the death of the body, the soul passes into the body of a lower animal or another human in an ever-rotating cycle (from body to body) until purification from sin is accomplished.
What does the scripture say about these teachings? "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).
The purpose of this story is five-fold. First, to encourage everyone who reads it not to settle for false Christianity or false religions. If you do, your life will be affected in some degree, which may scar you for life. [Please note this story is my journey to freedom in Christ. I do not recommend the Berean Society by Cornelius Stam, or Berchah Church by Robert Thieme. But World Wide Church of God has changed and now teaches fundamental biblical doctrines; it has been renamed "Grace Communion International" to reflect its doctrinal changes. It is Christ-centered, teaching Trinitarian Theology (click on the following for its meaning: Trinitarian Theology].
Secondly, to encourage Christians to quit talking about loving one another but start proving it by their actions. I wonder how many souls, after visiting our churches, have not returned because they found us very cold? Because many Christians in traditional Christian denominations do not display genuine Christian love, many are accepting false, cult-like religions where people display love, and offer them some answers and solutions to their daily problems - not just only a pie-in-the-sky hope.
Thirdly, this story is to encourage fellow Christians not to be like the Corinth Christians Paul addressed his letter: There is among you envying, strife, divisions, adultery, etc. (I Corinthians 1:2; 3:3; 5:1,9-10,11; 6:9-11). When non-Christians read such examples as this in their newspaper about division in the church, does this help in our call to the ministry of reconciliation (II Corinthians 5:17- 18,19-20,21)?
"Factional squabbles have temporarily closed the venerable Baptist church...The 133-year-old...church is torn by infighting so severe that the pastor gets heckled during sermons and police once had to shut the place down when arguing got out of hand."1
The fourth purpose of my story is very personal. I am one of many young souls who have gotten involved in a [once] cult church at a young age, the effects of which is still being felt in my personal life even now.
My fifth purpose of my story is to help you recognize a cult and their false teachings when you hear or read of them. Most cults teach one or more of the following:
* Salvation: You are saved, receive eternal life from God ONLY IF you are a member of their church group [Examples: Mormons, Herbert Armstrong, Jehovah's Witnesses].
* Works are required for salvation. Works may include keeping the Sabbath (Saturday) [Example: Seventh Day Adventist], Jewish festivals/ holy-days, food laws (certain meats to eat and not to eat).
* Jesus Christ is not God. Most cults deny the Deity of Jesus Christ [Examples: Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses].
* No triune God - the Trinity [Examples: Jehovah's Witnesses, Herbert Armstrong].
* Predicts the date of Christ return [Example: Herbert Armstrong].
* Reincarnation (a process whereby, at the death of the body, the soul passes into the body of a lower animal or another human in an ever-rotating cycle (from body to body) until purification from sin is accomplished.
What does the scripture say about these teachings? "Prove all things; hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21).
James @ age 15
INTRODUCTION & SHORT BIO
Mankind, since the beginning of the world, has been searching for their purpose in life. I am no exception. I was raised in a traditional Baptist church by my mother. Therefore, Christianity has been part of my heritage. Like many others who were attending church, it became time when I desired to become a Christian. I did become a Christian, but got side-tracked by the cult teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, the head of World Wide Church of God, the speaker of The World Tomorrow radio program. I was born in Kansas City, Kansas on March 27, 1945 to Jessie and Inez Swinton. I am the youngest of six children: four sisters and one brother, who is the oldest. Our family left Kansas City and moved to Kenwood, Arkansas in 1947. Two years later, my parents divorced and my mother moved my sisters and I to Sardis (Mt. Zion) community, approximately five miles southeast of Morrilton, Arkansas. Our brother remained with our father, who is now deceased.
Mankind, since the beginning of the world, has been searching for their purpose in life. I am no exception. I was raised in a traditional Baptist church by my mother. Therefore, Christianity has been part of my heritage. Like many others who were attending church, it became time when I desired to become a Christian. I did become a Christian, but got side-tracked by the cult teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong, the head of World Wide Church of God, the speaker of The World Tomorrow radio program. I was born in Kansas City, Kansas on March 27, 1945 to Jessie and Inez Swinton. I am the youngest of six children: four sisters and one brother, who is the oldest. Our family left Kansas City and moved to Kenwood, Arkansas in 1947. Two years later, my parents divorced and my mother moved my sisters and I to Sardis (Mt. Zion) community, approximately five miles southeast of Morrilton, Arkansas. Our brother remained with our father, who is now deceased.
Step-father & my mother (Inez)
I attended elementary school in Mt. Zion and high school at L.W. Sullivan in Morrilton, graduating in May 1964 as class valedictorian. In May 1980, I graduated from Kansas City Kansas Community College, acquiring an Associate in General Studies degree, majoring in business. I also have attended University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas majoring in African Studies.
I am a self-taught Bible student who has been married to my wife, Janice, since July 1975. I taught several Bible classes at Theological Institute of the East in the Philippines, while there as a missionary, October 1987 through February 1988. I also spent eighteen years as a member of the Worldwide Church of God, once a cult, between February 1965 and March 1983. [Please note that the World Wide Church of God, once called the Radio Church of God has changed its name, it is now "Grace Communion International", which teaches Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology. Click on "A Short History of Grace of Grace Communion International" to learn about the transformation of the denomination.] I left Worldwide in 1983 in search of Christ. In 1996, my wife and I were pastors of Breaking Free Fellowship in Lawrence, Kansas before moving to Maine.
I am a self-taught Bible student who has been married to my wife, Janice, since July 1975. I taught several Bible classes at Theological Institute of the East in the Philippines, while there as a missionary, October 1987 through February 1988. I also spent eighteen years as a member of the Worldwide Church of God, once a cult, between February 1965 and March 1983. [Please note that the World Wide Church of God, once called the Radio Church of God has changed its name, it is now "Grace Communion International", which teaches Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology. Click on "A Short History of Grace of Grace Communion International" to learn about the transformation of the denomination.] I left Worldwide in 1983 in search of Christ. In 1996, my wife and I were pastors of Breaking Free Fellowship in Lawrence, Kansas before moving to Maine.
My father Jessie Swinton
BECOMING A CHRISTIAN For me becoming a Christian meant joining the local Baptist church. It was my mother's tradition to take us, my sisters and myself to church regularly. It was a small congregation with approximately twenty-five to thirty in attendance. Usually we walked to church, which is about one and one-half miles from home. It was called "Mt. Zion Baptist Church." I do not remember much about what was preached there, but I do remember the pastor coming to our home for his after church serve lunch; all church families took turns in providing lunch in their home for the pastor. He preached every other Sunday at the church.
I desired to join church at the age of eleven, but traditional Baptists do not allow anyone to join church until the age of twelve. When I became twelve, the same desire had slacken. The following year, at the age of thirteen, I again wanted to become a Christian and join church. But before I could come a Christian, as a candidate to join the Baptist church, I had to sit on the mourning bench, a row of seats in front of the church directing facing the minister while he was preaching. For several nights, during the church revival, the minister would preach abut God, Christ, salvation, etc., and the church congregation would sing all those old gospel songs like "Give Me That Old Time Religion" that would emotionally stir anyone. I do not remember how many candidates were on the mourning bench, but I was one of the last ones who experienced that Holy Spirit possession that made you come-off the mourning bench. This was the traditional way for young men and women to become Christians in the Baptist church. I do not remember the actual event of coming off the bench, but I do know I did. This occurred the last night of the annual evangelistic campaign. I was baptized the following Sunday.
I desired to join church at the age of eleven, but traditional Baptists do not allow anyone to join church until the age of twelve. When I became twelve, the same desire had slacken. The following year, at the age of thirteen, I again wanted to become a Christian and join church. But before I could come a Christian, as a candidate to join the Baptist church, I had to sit on the mourning bench, a row of seats in front of the church directing facing the minister while he was preaching. For several nights, during the church revival, the minister would preach abut God, Christ, salvation, etc., and the church congregation would sing all those old gospel songs like "Give Me That Old Time Religion" that would emotionally stir anyone. I do not remember how many candidates were on the mourning bench, but I was one of the last ones who experienced that Holy Spirit possession that made you come-off the mourning bench. This was the traditional way for young men and women to become Christians in the Baptist church. I do not remember the actual event of coming off the bench, but I do know I did. This occurred the last night of the annual evangelistic campaign. I was baptized the following Sunday.
LOST FIRST LOVE
From age thirteen to seventeen I was faithful in attending church, and felt that one day God would lead me into ministry. Sometimes at home I pretended I was preaching to others. But even at that age I did not like the preaching style I had become acquainted with. Around the age of about seventeen, I became dissatisfied with Christianity in the Baptist church. Why? One of the traditions in some black Baptist churches is the Holy Spirit possession one experience during the preaching or singing, the same experience I believe I experienced when I came-off the mourning bench. Later on I often observed others having this Holy Spirit experience, but I never experienced it again. I called it "getting happy" because the individual would began shouting and praising God, and sometimes would fall on the floor. There were times when I wondered if there was something wrong with me. But as Christians, we shouldn't be looking for an emotional experience as evident of being a Christian. Another reason I learned later for my dissatisfaction was the lack of discipleship and good Bible teaching I received after becoming a Christian.
RADIO MINISTRY
[Please note that the World Wide Church of God, once called the Radio Church of God, no longer exist, it is now "Grace Communion International", which teaches Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology. Click on "A Short History of Grace of Grace Communion International" to learn about the transformation of the denomination.]
For entertainment as a youth, I would always listen to the radio; our family did not own a television at that time. I would listen to every Christian program I could. The Christian ministry I listened to the most was "The World Tomorrow" by Herbert W. Armstrong; soon he was the only one I was listening too. When one program went off, I would switch to another station, to hear sometimes the same message. Because his program was on so many radio stations, I would listen to him several times a night. Why him?
It was the content of the message and the messenger. Mr. Armstrong spoke with authority. His voice was so dynamic that it demanded attention. He talked as if he had the answers to today's problems: why are we here and how to get there. He talked and taught about real issues we face in our daily life, offering biblical solutions. While in comparison to the traditional Baptist church I was attending, all I could see was emotional experiences which I could never connect with. I learned later that we as Christians don't always respond to the Holy Spirit the same. Some Christians respond to the Holy Spirit outwardly while others inwardly.
TEACHINGS OF WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD
Soon I began receiving every possible literature that was mentioned during Mr. Armstrong's radio program, The World Tomorrow. Their two major publications offered to the general public were "The Plain Truth" magazine and the "Ambassador Correspondence Course." The Plain Truth magazine wasn't written to teach doctrines of the church, then called the "Radio Church of God." It was written to appeal to the general public. It had Christen teachings in it that would be helpful to all Christians regardless of denomination, even though there were at times doctrinal issues in it. But the "Worldwide Church of God" did have a separate magazine, "The Good News," written especially for its members.
One of the main tools used for teaching the doctrines of the church was the Ambassador Correspondence Course. In response to a question I asked regarding best colleges to attend, included in the letter that was sent to me was a statement about the Ambassador College Correspondence Course:
"Certainly, we recommend that all those who desire to understand the Bible enroll for their free subscription to the Ambassador College Bible Course! It makes the Bible plain and vivid, explaining the meaning of prophecies for our day, why we were born, the purpose in human life, as well as important doctrines."2
It covered all the basic doctrines of the church, e.g.: Where Is the True Church? [They taught they were the only true church.]; the Sabbath (Saturday) should be kept instead of Sunday; the Jewish holy-days should be kept (Passover, Pentecost, Feast of Tabernacles, etc.); the food laws (certain meats were not to be eaten). I was a dedicated Bible student. I spent most of my spare time studying my lessons in the correspondence course. Usually I studied all day Saturday and Sunday. In each lesson I learned new knowledge I had never known before.
FIRST VISIT TO "WORLDWIDE CHURCH OF GOD"
After many months of listening to "The World Tomorrow" program, studying the "Ambassador College Correspondence Course," reading "The Plain Truth", and other literature from Mr. Armstrong, I became convinced the "Worldwide Church of God" was the only true church, that salvation could come only by belonging to that church, and everyone else was going to "hell." Therefore, I wrote to them asking if I could become a member of their church, the true church.
Have you ever been presented with the gospel with the added message that their group is the only group God is working with now, the only true church of God? Their church is the only church where by you can be saved? The Worldwide Church of God once said they were that church. The Jehovah's Witness, there are others, still claim they are.
"The Bible says that actually there is 'one faith' (Ephesians 4:5). Who, then are the ones who form the body of true worshipers today? We don't hesitate to say that they are Jehovah's Witnesses."3
In response to my request, the Worldwide Church of God sent me a letter regarding baptism. They also sent a representative to visit me from their local church in Little Rock, Arkansas. He said he could only invite me to visit their local church, but he could not baptize me yet. Since they didn't accept my original baptism, to them it was invalid, I would have to be re-baptized.
"At the time of early youth, most young people sincerely intend to 'do better' or 'follow their church'. AFTER BAPTISM IN A WORLDLY CHURCH [that was any church other than themselves], such people don't immediately began to study and understand the Bible...Such people have not truly repented and their baptism was probably not valid! Theirs was only a ritualistic 'dunking' in the water...Did you stand in the water and go through the ordinance of baptism simply to 'join' the group with whom you had been fellowshipping? Were you baptized because you temporarily though it was the 'right thing to do?' If you were baptized for any of these reasons, your baptism was probably not a valid baptism...".4
Because I lived five miles outside of Morrilton, I first had to get to Morrilton to ride a bus to Little Rock. Since I didn't own a car, I had to get a ride or walk, which I did often.
After arriving to my first church service of the Worldwide Church of God, I was very excited, but I was also leery because this was my first time attending a predominately white church. Many welcome me there. I was surprise to find a few African-Americans who were also attending. I attended the Little Rock church during the summer about three or four times in 1963. Because of lack of financing, I couldn't continue to afford the bus ticket to Little Rock.
LACK OF BROTHERLY CONCERN
Since I quit attending the Baptist church where I was a member, not once did anyone, pastor or members, come to ask me why I stop coming. We as members of the Body of Christ, especially members of a local church, should have enough concern and love for one another to be always aware of who has not been attending regularly. Perhaps if enough brotherly concern had been shown me at that time I may have recognized some of the false teachings I had accepted. This is one of the main reasons every church should have a disciple training program.
It was several years later before I ever heard anyone speak against Herbert W. Armstrong. It was during my father's funeral that the pastor used Mr. Armstrong as an example of a false religious teacher during his funeral sermon. I wondered if he knew I was a member of Mr. Armstrong's church.
BECOMING A MEMBER
It wasn't until after I graduated from high school in May 1964 and moved to Kansas City, Kansas that I was able to attend Worldwide Church of God on a regular basis. After attending the local Kansas City branch of the Worldwide Church of God a few weeks, I had the opportunity to attend my first Feast of Tabernacles in Big Sandy, Texas. Even though I had very little money, a Kansas City member offered me a free ride and someone else gave me a place to live.
After proving my faithfulness in attendance, I was granted permission to join Worldwide Church of God as a member. I was re-baptized on February 28, 1965, nine months after arriving in Kansas City.
BEING A MEMBER
After being a member of the Worldwide Church of God for a number of years, I was well indoctrinated into their teachings. I had a sense of identity; I was one of the elect ones, chosen to know the truth, and to be part of the true church.
It was preached to us that we shouldn't attend other denominations or listen to their ministers on the radio or television, nor read their literature because they weren't interpreting the Scriptures correctly. This was a guaranteed way of keeping its members from being influence by others, keeping us from questioning anything that was taught us. The Worldwide Church of God taught a lot of good Christian principles, but they also taught legalistic principles as a requirement of salvation: faith plus works, which I mentioned previously being taught as part of the "Ambassador College Correspondence Course." One of the great mysteries God revealed to Paul was that we are now saved completely by grace, not by any works we may perform (Ephesians 2:8-9). No amount of charitable contributions you may give, serving the needy, or keeping the law can ever earn you salvation.
Besides the legalism principles being taught, they predicted the date of the second coming of Christ. First, it was 1972, and later, 1975. But the Scripture plainly states that no man will be able to predict the date of the second coming of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:36). Yes, we are living in the end-times, but we should never stop planning for the future as long as we have breath. The end-times have been upon us for nearly two-thousand years. No man knows whether Christ's second coming or the rapture will occur tomorrow or one-hundred years from now.
But there were some not so good consequences in my personal life as a results of this false teaching. After 1975 came and past, many members including myself became disillusion, some left the church, but the majority remained because we felt there wasn't any other church to go too. Must of us had been well indoctrinated into believing that the Worldwide Church of God was the only true church.
However, I do have some fun memories while being a member. The most enjoyable was our annual Feast of Tabernacles I attended, first in Big Sandy, Texas, and later at the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. This was the highlight of the year for most members, our planned vacation.
One of the three tithes required to take from our income was used primarily for this festival. The first tithe was given to the church. A third tithe, required every third year, was used to help the needy in the church.
Since nearly everyone had plenty of money, we enjoyed ourselves tremendously. Members from across America came to the festival. Some lived in motels, while others camped-out, eating delicious meals and having fellowship. For seven days, we listen to inspiring sermons from ministers from our headquarters in Pasadena, California, and pastors of local churches. Our highlight speaker was always Herbert W. Armstrong or his son, Garner Ted Armstrong.
There were many other things about Worldwide Church of God that were good while I attended the church. The best things were the opportunities I had for fellowship, the church activities, personal relationships I developed, and the Ambassador College Spokesman Club. The speech club helped us developed our speaking ability. It consisted of twelve speeches, starting with an autobiography and ending with an attack speech. We also had many dinners with our wife or date during speaking assignments. The church was always having activities for its members. Picnics were held often during the summer. Besides the fellowship that occurred before and after church services and annual holy days, home fellowships often occurred.
COMING OUT
In April 1982, my wife and I moved to Mississippi. We attended the nearest local Worldwide Church of God in Jackson. Moving here turned out to be a blessing for me spiritual; I wonder if I would have ever left the church if we hadn't moved to Mississippi. After nine months, I moved back to Kansas City because of the problem I had finding a well-paying job which contributed to a marriage problem that led to separation, and later divorce. Coming out of the Worldwide Church of God was not that difficult. After moving back to Kansas City, I just didn't return. Since it was the policy of the church to not fellowship with those who leave, this made it easier to leave.
A NEW SEARCH FOR A CHURCH HOME
For a while I began attending a spin-off of the Worldwide Church of God, the United Church of God, a church fellowship started by a minister who had also left the church. Because the Sabbath (Saturday) tradition was deep in my soul, I was still looking for churches which kept the Sabbath. I also attended the Church of God Seventh Day only because they kept the Sabbath.
But thanks to a former pastor in the Worldwide Church of God, Ernest Martin who now heads A.S.K., I began reading articles written by him explaining why many doctrines taught by Mr. Armstrong were not biblical correct. Gradually I began to understand biblical what he was writing was correct; the keeping of the Sabbath was among them. Now that I longer had the Sabbath to hold to, what's next? Next came the holy days, the three tithes, and then the meat laws. By this time I began again listening to every radio station and watching every Christian ministry's television program I could. None of the ministries were consistent with my present understanding of scriptures. God was still renewing my mind, step by step, and day by day. They all taught some main doctrine I couldn't agree with. Many of them I found taught some form of legalism, even though they taught salvation by grace. My old habit of looking for good Bible teachers was deep in my soul. Unfortunately, you will find many Bible teachers contradicting and condemning each other. New babes in Christ must be very selective to whom they listen too because they aren't well grounded in the Word, they can get very confuse.
After my wife and I remarried for the second time, May 4, 1984, and moved back to Kansas City, soon thereafter, she began attending charismatic and Pentecostal churches. That's how I got acquainted with charismatic churches. First, she attended Full Faith Church of Love, and later, Sheffield Assembly of God. Even though I never joined these churches, I was welcome there and found the people having and showing an outgoing Christian love for each other.
James & Pastor Larry
LIFE IN THE PHILIPPINES On October 24, 1987, my wife and I went on a four month missionary trip to the Philippines. My heart wasn't in it, but it turned out to be the most rewarding adventure for me spiritually. God uses this trip to the Philippines to open my eyes to an even better understanding of His Word. While teaching in a Bible school there, I read and studied intensely the Bible and other biblical literature the Bible school had in their library. I came to a very good understanding of God's grace and basic church doctrines.
After our plane landed at the Manila International Airport, and entered the airport terminal, the first thing we noticed was the humidity - hot and sticky. We then proceeded through the entrance gate to the baggage pick-up area for our luggage. We waited and waited, but our luggage was not there. We checked with the lost and found agent. She said that all luggage, packages, etc., which were on the plane we had flown on, had been taken off the plane. We were assured by her our luggage would arrive on another flight. But it was two days later before our luggage arrived in Manila.
After our plane landed at the Manila International Airport, and entered the airport terminal, the first thing we noticed was the humidity - hot and sticky. We then proceeded through the entrance gate to the baggage pick-up area for our luggage. We waited and waited, but our luggage was not there. We checked with the lost and found agent. She said that all luggage, packages, etc., which were on the plane we had flown on, had been taken off the plane. We were assured by her our luggage would arrive on another flight. But it was two days later before our luggage arrived in Manila.
James & Pastor Larry of T.I.E.
With only the luggage we carried with us we met our two hosts, who had been waiting for us over four hours outside of the airport, because no one is allowed in the airport unless you are an employee or a passenger with a passport and ticket for leaving the country. Our hosts, Jan and me then took a cab to the bus terminal about five minutes from the airport. The ride between the airport and the bus terminal was very exciting. It seemed that all the drivers drove like they all had the right-away, with horns blowing and people walking in traffic barely getting out of the way before they were hit.
Our Hosts @ T.I.E.
The bus took us to our destination, Urdaneta, Pangasinan, which is about four hours' drive from Manila by bus. It rained a little before we arrived in Urdaneta. After we arrived, we took a tricycle (a motorcycle with an extra seat on the side) to our host's home. The following day, Sunday, my wife spoke at the International Christian Missionary Church, a home church, the place where we were living. Later that evening, she spoke at another church. For the first month, my wife spoke in many churches on Sundays plus many days during the week. Later on, I spoke at a few churches.
Janice & James Ministering
Until we purchased a cooking stove, we ate with our hosts. We found some difficulty eating some Filipino foods because we could not adjust to them. Before coming to the Philippines, I had agreed to teach on "Modern Cults" at Theological Institute of the East (T.I.E., a trans-denominational Bible school). It came as a shock to me, but I learned more than the students while teaching the subject. The reason I did is because of the textbook that was suggested I use, "Witnessing to the Cults," a practical study course by Alex Wilson and Christine Tetley. The authors explained the scriptures cults use to prove their false doctrines, even the former cult which I had been a member, the "Worldwide Church of God."
James & Greg @ T.I.E.
Because of the difficulty in getting a ride to T.I.E. Bible School from where we lived, a month later we moved there. I continued teaching on "Modern Cults" and my wife lectured during the Monday and Friday chapel service. One day during an inventory of the school's library, I came across booklets written by Cornelius Stam, then president of the Berean Society in Chicago, Ill. I found out he was teaching Bible doctrines I had already become familiar with.
During Christmas break, my wife and I visited some friends who had a Bible school and church in the province of Infugao, which is a five-hour bus ride from T.I.E. We had met them earlier before we came to the Philippines, when they were visiting churches in the United States. While I was looking over his library, I noticed a large collection of booklets written by Robert Thieme, pastor of the Berachah Church in Houston, Texas. As I read them, I discovered he and Cornelius Stam taught the scriptures from a grace, dispensation point of view. I didn't think any ministry existed that taught these doctrines (no legalism): salvation by grace, not by works; no Sabbath (Saturday) or holy-days required; no three tithes required; no meat laws; and no condemnation for drinking alcoholic beverage (only drunkenness was condemned). I discovered that both Mr. Stam and Mr. Thieme were teaching nearly every doctrine I had come to accept, because of the literature I had been reading and studying from a former Worldwide Church of God pastor, Ernest Martin, from the United States.
During Christmas break, my wife and I visited some friends who had a Bible school and church in the province of Infugao, which is a five-hour bus ride from T.I.E. We had met them earlier before we came to the Philippines, when they were visiting churches in the United States. While I was looking over his library, I noticed a large collection of booklets written by Robert Thieme, pastor of the Berachah Church in Houston, Texas. As I read them, I discovered he and Cornelius Stam taught the scriptures from a grace, dispensation point of view. I didn't think any ministry existed that taught these doctrines (no legalism): salvation by grace, not by works; no Sabbath (Saturday) or holy-days required; no three tithes required; no meat laws; and no condemnation for drinking alcoholic beverage (only drunkenness was condemned). I discovered that both Mr. Stam and Mr. Thieme were teaching nearly every doctrine I had come to accept, because of the literature I had been reading and studying from a former Worldwide Church of God pastor, Ernest Martin, from the United States.
My Class I Taught
While we were in the providence of Infugao, we were invited to a Bible translation camp, the Wycliffe Summer Institute in Bagabag, for a Christmas dinner. Their environment was like living in the United States with all the conveniences, and we enjoyed the fellowship. After returning to T.I.E. and the beginning of the next trimester, I was given three courses to teach: English I, Pauline Epistles (I & II Corinthians & I & II Thessalonians), and the continuation of Modern Cults. My wife taught one course, Poetical Books, and continued speaking during chapel services on Fridays.
Book Donation
The next place we visited was the number one vacation spot in the Philippines, Baguio. The climate there was ideal; it was mild, not as hot and humid as other areas in the Philippines.
Previously in December, we toured another tourist's attraction, One Hundred Islands. These are a group of very small islands, only a few of them anyone lives on. This was my first boat ride, and last one without a life jacket, since none was provided.
Previously in December, we toured another tourist's attraction, One Hundred Islands. These are a group of very small islands, only a few of them anyone lives on. This was my first boat ride, and last one without a life jacket, since none was provided.
Benny & James in "Infugu"
My wife's mother had written her and asked about the Negritos, black people whom she believed original came from Africa who lives in the Philippines. My wife asked questions about their where-about and found out a group lived in the province of Zambales, which is approximately a four-hour drive northeast of where we were living in Urdaneta, Pangasinan. We mentioned our desire to visit them to a man who was visiting us. He said he had done some ministering with them and would help us in finding a way to visit them. With the assistance of another minister (the owner of the truck who had also done some ministering with the Negritos), a student from T.I.E., my wife and I, we started off to visit the Negritos in the province of Zambales on February 7, 1988.
Negrito Chief & James
The first village was "San Isidro," a forty-five minute drive from Olongapo (Subic Bay area) where the United States navy base was once located. After arriving there, we found out that all the Negritos had left the village to work in the mountains, except for one family. There were others in the village, but they weren't Negritos.
The following day, February 8, we traveled to the village of "Ka Kilingan." The people were very warm and open to us. We were able to speak and preach to them about Christ. All were encouraged and many accepted Christ as their personal Savior. They told us they needed a church building and a minister to pastor and teach them.
The next village we came to was "Ibad." Unfortunately one of the major cults in the Philippines had already been there, Iglesia ni Christo (Church of Christ). This isn't the same Church of Christ as in the States. Iglesia ni Christo teach that they are the only true church, and don't accept the Deity of Christ. We sang songs and preached to them, but they did not receive us very well. Most of the Negritos had left the village and returned to the mountains because of sickness among the children. Many of their children had died. They thought God had placed a curse on them for leaving the mountains.
The following morning, February 9, we stopped by one more Negrito village, "Kal Kala-basa." There were many Christians in this village and we were received with open arms. This village also didn't have a place of worship or a minister. When asked what they needed most, the captain of the village said they needed someone to teach their kids basic education because the nearest public school was too far away; their children weren't able to attend school.
The following day, February 8, we traveled to the village of "Ka Kilingan." The people were very warm and open to us. We were able to speak and preach to them about Christ. All were encouraged and many accepted Christ as their personal Savior. They told us they needed a church building and a minister to pastor and teach them.
The next village we came to was "Ibad." Unfortunately one of the major cults in the Philippines had already been there, Iglesia ni Christo (Church of Christ). This isn't the same Church of Christ as in the States. Iglesia ni Christo teach that they are the only true church, and don't accept the Deity of Christ. We sang songs and preached to them, but they did not receive us very well. Most of the Negritos had left the village and returned to the mountains because of sickness among the children. Many of their children had died. They thought God had placed a curse on them for leaving the mountains.
The following morning, February 9, we stopped by one more Negrito village, "Kal Kala-basa." There were many Christians in this village and we were received with open arms. This village also didn't have a place of worship or a minister. When asked what they needed most, the captain of the village said they needed someone to teach their kids basic education because the nearest public school was too far away; their children weren't able to attend school.
Negrito Village
James w/friends in Baguio City 1980
BACK IN THE UNITED STATES
After returning home in the United States, I found the location of the local branch of Robert Thieme's church and Berean Society's affiliated church. Mr. Thieme had a phone-hook-up service, which broadcast his church service sermons. I visited it first, but I didn't like it because there were only two other men there, and they didn't extend me a good welcome.
Next I visited a group which was affiliated with the Berean Society which met in Paola, Kansas, a town forty miles south of Kansas City. I attended there approximately a year until there was an internal conflict, and the Bible teacher decided to resign his position.
Instead of going back to Mr. Thieme's local phone-hoop-up service, I decided to get his teaching tapes for myself via the mail; they were only three months behind his current church service. During this period of visiting other church groups trying to obey the Scripture to not forsake the assembling together, and trying to find a church that I felt taught the Word correctly, especially without legalism, a disaster occurred in my relationship with my wife, a second divorce. Since leaving Worldwide Church of God, divorcing and remarrying, my wife and I could never agree on a church to attend nor doctrinally. As a result, we mostly attended different churches. We felt each other was completely wrong in our interpretation of the Scripture. I became very dogmatic trying to persuade her she was wrong, but that only made her fight back more, disagreeing. This conflict between two strong-will persons finally led to divorce.
I believe the reason I felt that way is connected with years of believing the Worldwide Church of God was the only true church. Accepting others who believe differently from me, especially my wife, I hadn't arrive in my road to recovery of accepting all Christian churches which accepted and taught the basic fundamental doctrines of Christianity as being part of the Body of Christ.
After I found out Mr. Thieme had Bible conferences all over the United States, I decided to attend one he was having in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was perfect for me since I could stay with my brother who lived near. I only had to drive one-hundred miles (fifty miles each way) for four nights. The conference was very disappointing because most of those attending seemed very unfriendly. On the last night, a pastor's wife from Hope, Arkansas introduced herself to me. During our conversation she stated that the biggest problem with Mr. Thieme's teaching was learning the meaning of his terminology, otherwise you may have some difficulty understanding his teachings. She suggested that I listen to sermons from the pastor of a church in Conway, Arkansas (which is only twenty miles from where I was living with my brother). She gave me his address.
After returning to Kansas City, I ordered some Bible teaching tapes from this church. Soon there after I visited the church to check it out, thinking I might move there, since I was looking for a good Bible teaching church demonstrating "true Christianity." A few weeks later I visited the church again. Afterward I decided it wasn't what I was looking for - I did not feel welcome there either. I felt it was lacking in brotherly love. I was looking for a church I believed taught God's Word correctly, but also displayed the fruit of the Spirit, "love."
While visiting this church in Conway, I noticed a bulletin board listing churches which taught similar doctrines. One was located in Kansas City (Beth Haven). Upon my return to Kansas City I called the church office, found out the time of their church service, and there I went. I met and got to know more people there than some who had been there for more than twenty years. I attended the church about a year. I left soon after close friends, who had been members of the church for many years had left; one said the pastor was now teaching some doctrines differently than he had taught in the past years. But I left for more personal reasons. One of the best things I can tell you about the people at this church that nearly everyone made me feel welcome.
Soon after I left Beth Haven, one of the ladies said she desired to have a Bible study in her home. We all agreed to come. It was a very good Bible study group, but due to health problems of our Bible teacher, the Bible study ended after a year.
One of the great blessings I received while attending these churches was the "free" Bible tapes. During the period I receiving hundreds of free Bible tapes from Robert Thieme. His ministry through tapes served their purpose ministering to me during this difficult time of reevaluation of Scriptures, and accepting the fact that I had been part of a church that was a cult (Worldwide Church of God). [Today it is no longer a cult but a fundamental Christian church: The World Wide Church of God, once called the Radio Church of God has change its name, it is now "Grace Communion International", which teaches Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology. Click on "A Short History of Grace of Grace Communion International" to learn about the transformation of the denomination].
TRUE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP - WHERE?
Afterward, I got in contact with my Bible teacher who had led the Berean Society's church fellowship that had dissolved before. He said he was starting the Bible fellowship again and asked if I was interested in attending. I said I would come. We then renamed the group "Grace Believer's Fellowship." Unfortunately, the fellowship lasted only six months, due again to another internal conflict. Once again I was on the outside looking for true Christianity.
One prime lesson a believer should know and accept, when you agree to be part of a Bible fellowship, is that you as an individual cannot make a fellowship change its basic biblical doctrines. If you can't agree with them, it's best that you leave the fellowship instead of destroying it.
There was one more Bible fellowship I visited before moving to Lawrence, Kansas to attend college. I had heard about it from a radio program I listened to occasionally by Bob George. A man who had just started a local congregation was advertising his fellowship during Bob George's program inviting people to his fellowship. After finding out a friend I had met while attending a previous church was attending, I decided to visit the fellowship.
Because of my personality and the many years I spent in the Worldwide Church of God, I found it difficult adjusting to the new fellowship's worshiping style. I stopped attending after a month because the Worldwide Chuch of God had conditioned me in not accepting other types of worship.
MOVED TO LAWRENCE, KANSAS
After remarrying my wife for the third time, I moved to Lawrence, Kansas in May, 1992 where she was already living. Because a co-worker had invited my wife to a predominately black church, she decided to visit. After a few visits, she felt God had led her there, and later joined. I attended there occasionally with her, but my heart was not there. It reminded me of the Baptist church where I was a member when I was a teenager. Their form of worship was too emotional for me. Later on after I had attended a few months, I began to accept their way of worshiping because I believe they were doing it unto the Lord. Even though there was more choir singing than preaching, I began to look forward to the singing each time I went.
While I was attending college at the University of Kansas, I was required to take a "Field Experience" course, which meant I had to do a project that related to my major at that time, "African Studies." For my field experience assignment, I decided to do a paper on a local minister who had been a guest speaker in another class I had taken, "Black Leadership." He impressed me with his ability to defend the Christian faith among mostly anti-Christian students. The best results from this field experience was that I found it beneficial in restoring my ability in accepting different Christian faiths as all being a part of the Body of Christ.
Since I was only attending another church occasionally, this gave me the opportunity for the first time in my life on a consistence basis to observe and hear a black preacher who had biblical college training. He also did not preach completely in the black preacher's rhetoric style which I had gotten accustomed to as a youth.
For four months, February through May, 1994, I attended his church. He ministered mostly to college students and his congregation was a mixed group, black and white. His sermons each time he preached, he encouraged the students to avoid fornication. He said he felt God had called him to minister to the youth.
The times I enjoyed most while evaluating his ministry for my paper were the Saturday morning talks he and others had; I was included. It was a giving and sharing from personal experiences and the Word of God.
After carefully evaluating his ministry, I felt he was fulfilling the ministry of reconciliation of Christ to college students. This field experience was another step in my recovery from cultism and acceptance of various Christian churches in the Body.
While attending college at the University of Kansas, I began taking video Bible classes from Grace School of the Bible by Richard Jordan. Because I could not financially afford the cost of the video Bible classes, I had to withdraw from the Bible school. I'm very please I did that now. Why? He taught we are to use the King James Version only.
SISTAHS MAGAZINE
In September 1994, my wife and I lunched "Sistahs," a magazine for Christians black women. Even though my main responsibilities for the magazine were bookkeeping, billings, mailings, editing and promotion, I did write two articles in the section "Brother's Corner." The reason I am quoting from these three articles is because these autobiographies helped me to finally accept the calling of women in ministry, even though it's not a popular belief accepted by most fundamentalist Christians, men nor women. I am also giving a third example from the book I used for the two articles.
The first article for the May/June 1995 edition of Sistahs was the "Life & Religious Experience of Jarena Lee," born in Cape May, New Jersey on February 11, 1783:
Lee said the voice of God told her "Go preach the gospel." But she was not sure it was the voice of God or Satan, because she knew Satan had the ability of deception. She immediately went to a secret place of prayer, asking God to confirm His calling her to preach. Lee said God confirmed His first calling by the literally formation of a pulpit with a Bible lying on it.
Two days later, Lee visited Rev. Richard Allen, the head of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church to tell him of her calling by God to preach the gospel. But he told her it was against the church policy to permit women to preach in the church, but they could exhort and hold prayer meetings. Then it occurred to her, didn't Mary Magdalene, a woman, preach about the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:11-18)? Once again the Spirit led Lee into prayer, and there appeared a man dressed in a white garment, saying: "Thou shall never return from the cross." And from that day forward in 1807, Lee never once doubted God's ability to keep her from falling during her ministry....
Lee had an opportunity to hear Rev. Richard Williams, a delegate to the first General Convention of the A.M.E. Church in 1816, preach at Bethel Church. But after he had given his text, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), he hesitated for a moment; Lee immediately sprang to her feet and started expounding the text. After she had sat down, she thought Rev. Williams would expel her from the church, but instead, he expressed his belief that she surely was called by God to preach. 5
My second article appeared in our last issue of Sistahs, FALL 1995, was the "Memoirs of Julia Foote," who was born in Schenectady, New York in 1823:
As days past, Julia felt the impression that God wanted her to work in the vineyard; this led her to pray about the matter. As an angel appeared before her with a scroll which read, "Thee have I chosen to preach My gospel without delay." One night as Julia was seeking the Lord to remove this burden from her, an angel again appeared and said, "You are lost unless you obey God's righteous commands." Two weeks later, for the third time, an angel again spoke these words: "You have I chosen to go in My name and warn the people of their sins." Julia immediately said, "I will go, God." Julia soon faced opposition, but mostly from her local pastor. He didn't only refuse to allow her to preach in the local church, but didn't want her to be allowed to preach anywhere else in Boston. In regards to this matter, Julia held a meeting in her home with various members in the congregation. Because her pastor felt she had broken some church rule, Julia was excommunicated. Julia later submitted her grievance to the church conference, held in Philadelphia. But her complaints were not even considered, but thrown under the table. 6
A third example of a black woman accepting the call of preaching was "Mrs. Zilpha Elaw," born in the state of Pennsylvania around 1790:
In 1817, Zilpha, while attending a gospel camp meeting, a voice spoke to her and said: "Now thou art sanctified; and I will show thee what thou must do." Afterward, as she appeared not to be on earth, she prayed publicly. Many came requesting her to present their petitions to God, thus began her "ministry of prayer." Before the end of the gospel camp-meeting, the Holy Spirit revealed to Zilpha that she was to be like another Phoebe [Romans 16:1-2, a colleague of Apostle Paul] who was to visit families; she was to speak to them about salvation, the state of their soul, and to visit the sick. This revelation confirmed what her sister, after recovering from a near death experience, had stated a year previous. Her sister had said she had seen Jesus, had been in the society of the angels, and that an angel came and told her that Zilpha must preach the gospel.
Both of these revelations still did not move Zilpha to preach...It was nearly one and one half years later before Zilpha attended the next camp-meeting. While at the camp-meeting, a voice said to her, "Go outside of the tent while I speak to thee." Immediately, Zilpha went outside of the tent, and began to speak, as if involuntarily, exhorting the people. After Zilpha had finish speaking, she said, "I sat down and closed my eyes; and there appeared a light shining round about me as well as within me, above the brightness of the sun; and out of that light, the same identical voice which had spoken to me on the bed of sickness many months before, spoke again to me on the camp ground, and said, "Now thou knowest the will of God concerning thee; thou must preach the gospel; and thou must travel far and wide." This is my commission for the work of the ministry, which I received, not from mortal man, but from the voice of an invisible and heavenly personage sent from God...my ministry was commenced in the midst of thousands who were both eye and ear witnesses of the fact.
After Zilpha returned home, she got the approval of all the ministers in the Methodist Society to preach, but jealousy soon developed toward her among many of her local class members. She became a personal witness to Matthew 13:57, "A prophet is not with out honor, except in his own country, and his own house." 7
I know you may not accept the above stories as factual as I once would not have, but I have come a long ways since my cult background and traditional non-acceptance of women in ministry. In nearly every ministry I have known, the men often emphasized women should not be in ministry, except teaching children and women. This biblical debate continues on today. Even these ladies themselves, at first, doubted their calling. These visitations were special cases under unusual circumstances. But we should always keep in mind that many souls have been misled by satanic visitations; those who have, have often started cult churches.
Christians may disagree on some biblical issues, but we are all part of God's body, His church. These issues should not cause such major debates as they do in the church. All Christians must learn to accept each other with love, as I have, coming from a church which once believed it was the only true church.
After returning home in the United States, I found the location of the local branch of Robert Thieme's church and Berean Society's affiliated church. Mr. Thieme had a phone-hook-up service, which broadcast his church service sermons. I visited it first, but I didn't like it because there were only two other men there, and they didn't extend me a good welcome.
Next I visited a group which was affiliated with the Berean Society which met in Paola, Kansas, a town forty miles south of Kansas City. I attended there approximately a year until there was an internal conflict, and the Bible teacher decided to resign his position.
Instead of going back to Mr. Thieme's local phone-hoop-up service, I decided to get his teaching tapes for myself via the mail; they were only three months behind his current church service. During this period of visiting other church groups trying to obey the Scripture to not forsake the assembling together, and trying to find a church that I felt taught the Word correctly, especially without legalism, a disaster occurred in my relationship with my wife, a second divorce. Since leaving Worldwide Church of God, divorcing and remarrying, my wife and I could never agree on a church to attend nor doctrinally. As a result, we mostly attended different churches. We felt each other was completely wrong in our interpretation of the Scripture. I became very dogmatic trying to persuade her she was wrong, but that only made her fight back more, disagreeing. This conflict between two strong-will persons finally led to divorce.
I believe the reason I felt that way is connected with years of believing the Worldwide Church of God was the only true church. Accepting others who believe differently from me, especially my wife, I hadn't arrive in my road to recovery of accepting all Christian churches which accepted and taught the basic fundamental doctrines of Christianity as being part of the Body of Christ.
After I found out Mr. Thieme had Bible conferences all over the United States, I decided to attend one he was having in Little Rock, Arkansas. It was perfect for me since I could stay with my brother who lived near. I only had to drive one-hundred miles (fifty miles each way) for four nights. The conference was very disappointing because most of those attending seemed very unfriendly. On the last night, a pastor's wife from Hope, Arkansas introduced herself to me. During our conversation she stated that the biggest problem with Mr. Thieme's teaching was learning the meaning of his terminology, otherwise you may have some difficulty understanding his teachings. She suggested that I listen to sermons from the pastor of a church in Conway, Arkansas (which is only twenty miles from where I was living with my brother). She gave me his address.
After returning to Kansas City, I ordered some Bible teaching tapes from this church. Soon there after I visited the church to check it out, thinking I might move there, since I was looking for a good Bible teaching church demonstrating "true Christianity." A few weeks later I visited the church again. Afterward I decided it wasn't what I was looking for - I did not feel welcome there either. I felt it was lacking in brotherly love. I was looking for a church I believed taught God's Word correctly, but also displayed the fruit of the Spirit, "love."
While visiting this church in Conway, I noticed a bulletin board listing churches which taught similar doctrines. One was located in Kansas City (Beth Haven). Upon my return to Kansas City I called the church office, found out the time of their church service, and there I went. I met and got to know more people there than some who had been there for more than twenty years. I attended the church about a year. I left soon after close friends, who had been members of the church for many years had left; one said the pastor was now teaching some doctrines differently than he had taught in the past years. But I left for more personal reasons. One of the best things I can tell you about the people at this church that nearly everyone made me feel welcome.
Soon after I left Beth Haven, one of the ladies said she desired to have a Bible study in her home. We all agreed to come. It was a very good Bible study group, but due to health problems of our Bible teacher, the Bible study ended after a year.
One of the great blessings I received while attending these churches was the "free" Bible tapes. During the period I receiving hundreds of free Bible tapes from Robert Thieme. His ministry through tapes served their purpose ministering to me during this difficult time of reevaluation of Scriptures, and accepting the fact that I had been part of a church that was a cult (Worldwide Church of God). [Today it is no longer a cult but a fundamental Christian church: The World Wide Church of God, once called the Radio Church of God has change its name, it is now "Grace Communion International", which teaches Trinitarian, Christ-centered theology. Click on "A Short History of Grace of Grace Communion International" to learn about the transformation of the denomination].
TRUE CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP - WHERE?
Afterward, I got in contact with my Bible teacher who had led the Berean Society's church fellowship that had dissolved before. He said he was starting the Bible fellowship again and asked if I was interested in attending. I said I would come. We then renamed the group "Grace Believer's Fellowship." Unfortunately, the fellowship lasted only six months, due again to another internal conflict. Once again I was on the outside looking for true Christianity.
One prime lesson a believer should know and accept, when you agree to be part of a Bible fellowship, is that you as an individual cannot make a fellowship change its basic biblical doctrines. If you can't agree with them, it's best that you leave the fellowship instead of destroying it.
There was one more Bible fellowship I visited before moving to Lawrence, Kansas to attend college. I had heard about it from a radio program I listened to occasionally by Bob George. A man who had just started a local congregation was advertising his fellowship during Bob George's program inviting people to his fellowship. After finding out a friend I had met while attending a previous church was attending, I decided to visit the fellowship.
Because of my personality and the many years I spent in the Worldwide Church of God, I found it difficult adjusting to the new fellowship's worshiping style. I stopped attending after a month because the Worldwide Chuch of God had conditioned me in not accepting other types of worship.
MOVED TO LAWRENCE, KANSAS
After remarrying my wife for the third time, I moved to Lawrence, Kansas in May, 1992 where she was already living. Because a co-worker had invited my wife to a predominately black church, she decided to visit. After a few visits, she felt God had led her there, and later joined. I attended there occasionally with her, but my heart was not there. It reminded me of the Baptist church where I was a member when I was a teenager. Their form of worship was too emotional for me. Later on after I had attended a few months, I began to accept their way of worshiping because I believe they were doing it unto the Lord. Even though there was more choir singing than preaching, I began to look forward to the singing each time I went.
While I was attending college at the University of Kansas, I was required to take a "Field Experience" course, which meant I had to do a project that related to my major at that time, "African Studies." For my field experience assignment, I decided to do a paper on a local minister who had been a guest speaker in another class I had taken, "Black Leadership." He impressed me with his ability to defend the Christian faith among mostly anti-Christian students. The best results from this field experience was that I found it beneficial in restoring my ability in accepting different Christian faiths as all being a part of the Body of Christ.
Since I was only attending another church occasionally, this gave me the opportunity for the first time in my life on a consistence basis to observe and hear a black preacher who had biblical college training. He also did not preach completely in the black preacher's rhetoric style which I had gotten accustomed to as a youth.
For four months, February through May, 1994, I attended his church. He ministered mostly to college students and his congregation was a mixed group, black and white. His sermons each time he preached, he encouraged the students to avoid fornication. He said he felt God had called him to minister to the youth.
The times I enjoyed most while evaluating his ministry for my paper were the Saturday morning talks he and others had; I was included. It was a giving and sharing from personal experiences and the Word of God.
After carefully evaluating his ministry, I felt he was fulfilling the ministry of reconciliation of Christ to college students. This field experience was another step in my recovery from cultism and acceptance of various Christian churches in the Body.
While attending college at the University of Kansas, I began taking video Bible classes from Grace School of the Bible by Richard Jordan. Because I could not financially afford the cost of the video Bible classes, I had to withdraw from the Bible school. I'm very please I did that now. Why? He taught we are to use the King James Version only.
SISTAHS MAGAZINE
In September 1994, my wife and I lunched "Sistahs," a magazine for Christians black women. Even though my main responsibilities for the magazine were bookkeeping, billings, mailings, editing and promotion, I did write two articles in the section "Brother's Corner." The reason I am quoting from these three articles is because these autobiographies helped me to finally accept the calling of women in ministry, even though it's not a popular belief accepted by most fundamentalist Christians, men nor women. I am also giving a third example from the book I used for the two articles.
The first article for the May/June 1995 edition of Sistahs was the "Life & Religious Experience of Jarena Lee," born in Cape May, New Jersey on February 11, 1783:
Lee said the voice of God told her "Go preach the gospel." But she was not sure it was the voice of God or Satan, because she knew Satan had the ability of deception. She immediately went to a secret place of prayer, asking God to confirm His calling her to preach. Lee said God confirmed His first calling by the literally formation of a pulpit with a Bible lying on it.
Two days later, Lee visited Rev. Richard Allen, the head of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church to tell him of her calling by God to preach the gospel. But he told her it was against the church policy to permit women to preach in the church, but they could exhort and hold prayer meetings. Then it occurred to her, didn't Mary Magdalene, a woman, preach about the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:11-18)? Once again the Spirit led Lee into prayer, and there appeared a man dressed in a white garment, saying: "Thou shall never return from the cross." And from that day forward in 1807, Lee never once doubted God's ability to keep her from falling during her ministry....
Lee had an opportunity to hear Rev. Richard Williams, a delegate to the first General Convention of the A.M.E. Church in 1816, preach at Bethel Church. But after he had given his text, "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), he hesitated for a moment; Lee immediately sprang to her feet and started expounding the text. After she had sat down, she thought Rev. Williams would expel her from the church, but instead, he expressed his belief that she surely was called by God to preach. 5
My second article appeared in our last issue of Sistahs, FALL 1995, was the "Memoirs of Julia Foote," who was born in Schenectady, New York in 1823:
As days past, Julia felt the impression that God wanted her to work in the vineyard; this led her to pray about the matter. As an angel appeared before her with a scroll which read, "Thee have I chosen to preach My gospel without delay." One night as Julia was seeking the Lord to remove this burden from her, an angel again appeared and said, "You are lost unless you obey God's righteous commands." Two weeks later, for the third time, an angel again spoke these words: "You have I chosen to go in My name and warn the people of their sins." Julia immediately said, "I will go, God." Julia soon faced opposition, but mostly from her local pastor. He didn't only refuse to allow her to preach in the local church, but didn't want her to be allowed to preach anywhere else in Boston. In regards to this matter, Julia held a meeting in her home with various members in the congregation. Because her pastor felt she had broken some church rule, Julia was excommunicated. Julia later submitted her grievance to the church conference, held in Philadelphia. But her complaints were not even considered, but thrown under the table. 6
A third example of a black woman accepting the call of preaching was "Mrs. Zilpha Elaw," born in the state of Pennsylvania around 1790:
In 1817, Zilpha, while attending a gospel camp meeting, a voice spoke to her and said: "Now thou art sanctified; and I will show thee what thou must do." Afterward, as she appeared not to be on earth, she prayed publicly. Many came requesting her to present their petitions to God, thus began her "ministry of prayer." Before the end of the gospel camp-meeting, the Holy Spirit revealed to Zilpha that she was to be like another Phoebe [Romans 16:1-2, a colleague of Apostle Paul] who was to visit families; she was to speak to them about salvation, the state of their soul, and to visit the sick. This revelation confirmed what her sister, after recovering from a near death experience, had stated a year previous. Her sister had said she had seen Jesus, had been in the society of the angels, and that an angel came and told her that Zilpha must preach the gospel.
Both of these revelations still did not move Zilpha to preach...It was nearly one and one half years later before Zilpha attended the next camp-meeting. While at the camp-meeting, a voice said to her, "Go outside of the tent while I speak to thee." Immediately, Zilpha went outside of the tent, and began to speak, as if involuntarily, exhorting the people. After Zilpha had finish speaking, she said, "I sat down and closed my eyes; and there appeared a light shining round about me as well as within me, above the brightness of the sun; and out of that light, the same identical voice which had spoken to me on the bed of sickness many months before, spoke again to me on the camp ground, and said, "Now thou knowest the will of God concerning thee; thou must preach the gospel; and thou must travel far and wide." This is my commission for the work of the ministry, which I received, not from mortal man, but from the voice of an invisible and heavenly personage sent from God...my ministry was commenced in the midst of thousands who were both eye and ear witnesses of the fact.
After Zilpha returned home, she got the approval of all the ministers in the Methodist Society to preach, but jealousy soon developed toward her among many of her local class members. She became a personal witness to Matthew 13:57, "A prophet is not with out honor, except in his own country, and his own house." 7
I know you may not accept the above stories as factual as I once would not have, but I have come a long ways since my cult background and traditional non-acceptance of women in ministry. In nearly every ministry I have known, the men often emphasized women should not be in ministry, except teaching children and women. This biblical debate continues on today. Even these ladies themselves, at first, doubted their calling. These visitations were special cases under unusual circumstances. But we should always keep in mind that many souls have been misled by satanic visitations; those who have, have often started cult churches.
Christians may disagree on some biblical issues, but we are all part of God's body, His church. These issues should not cause such major debates as they do in the church. All Christians must learn to accept each other with love, as I have, coming from a church which once believed it was the only true church.
Breaking Free Fellowship' Picnic
BREAKING FREE MINISTRY After many discussions and prayer, my wife and I decided to start Breaking Free Fellowship. Since my wife and I had spent most of our Christian history in mixed congregations, we felt God wanted us to deal with racial reconciliation. Therefore, our main theme of our ministry was racial reconciliation through Christ. To inform the general public of our existence, we placed an advertisement in the local paper:
"Gathering of Peoples" Sunday - May 5, 1996 -11:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m.
Workshops:
- Racial Reconciliation - Is It Really Possible?
- True Relations - What Does Love Got To Do With Them?
Working to Make Sunday Mornings At 11 O'clock the Most Integrated Hour Instead of the Most Segregated Hour of the Week!
In preparation for our grand opening, I had available many pamphlets on various subjects I had written on.
After some success with the fellowship, we accepted another couple, who had previously been pastors in a church in another state, to join us as co-pastors. But looking back we should not have asked for their help, since they caused divisions in the fellowship, disagreeing with many decisions my wife and I made. Afterward, my wife and I decided to end Breaking Free Fellowship. We realized too late that it would be impossible for us to work together with our co-pastors because of the differences in the way we approach things spiritually. Two vital lessons were learned: First, before asking anyone to join as co-pastors, those who are pastors [in our case, my wife and I] should have been in 100% agreement in regards to the matter. Second, becoming a co-pastor is something you earn by working with a fellowship for a period of time. This would have given us more time to learn whether we could work with them in ministry.
MOVED TO MAINE
Soon after the ending of Breaking Free Fellowship, my wife accepted a new job in Falmouth, Maine. She loved the idea of living in Maine because she felt the new environment would inspire her writing, which she loves dearly. We had once visited a friend of Jan a few years back who lives in Maine. They had met a few years earlier while being missionaries in Haiti.
Being a supportive husband, I also resigned my job as a maintenance man for the Lawrence Housing Authority so we could be together in Maine. She would now be able to devote more time to writing, while waiting upon God's continued directions.
TRUE CHRISTIANITY ~ My Search Has Ended
With God's help I have come to the following conclusions:
* Perfect Christianity is not within any one church or group of people who are Christians. Within the Body of Christ, God's church, there are individuals at various levels of spiritual growth. Christians are not perfect people like some Christians and non-Christians expect them to be. All Christians are saved by grace and not by works.
* God does not have just one denomination as His "true church." If any church claims they are God's only true representatives on this earth, it is a cult, a false Christian religious group.
* Even though there are many different Christian denominations, God accepts all of them as being part of the Body of Christ as long as they believe and teach the basic doctrines of Christianity. Of those churches, it is a personal decision of which church is best for you depending upon many circumstances, including your personality and other doctrinal beliefs you feel are acceptable or not acceptable.
* The differences in Christian doctrines that are not essential doctrines should not divide the Body of Christ: "Doctrines are as numerous as there are individual Christians! The belief that [all] Christians ought to have a common creed on these matters is impractical and impossible. And such an assumption violates the scriptural teaching that we ought to be growing in the grace and knowledge of God (II Peter 3:18).8
Every Christian denomination is still growing in the grace and knowledge of God! Complete agreement among Christians in regard to doctrines will not happen until we all reach glorification, but until then, we should learn to respect with love Christian point of view of others.
* "The real factor in fellowship [among Christian churches/its members] involves walking in the fruit of the Holy Spirit?" 9
But please be warned that many cults practice some of the fruit of the Spirit, but totally disregard some fundamental Christian doctrines. All Christians should be walking in the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and all Christian denominations should be teaching the basic fundamental Christians doctrines.
THINGS TO PONDER
- If you are looking for a fellowship or a church to gather with that agree with you on every doctrinal issue 100%, you will not find it. All of us, that include you, haven't been given complete understanding and knowledge from God. All churches whether they are non-denominations, denominations or any other Christian group teach some doctrinal error because we are all still growing in perfect knowledge; fundamentals of the gospel and "love" should be the basis of true fellowship.
- If you are joining a church to part of their fellowship and all doctrinal beliefs have been established, don't as an individual try to change their doctrines. Groups have been destroyed this way. Seek God whether you can agree with their doctrines before you join.
- It's a personal relationship with Father God through Jesus Christ which He really desire.
CONCLUSION TO MY SEARCH FOR TRUTH:
During this adventure I have learned truths from many sources but mostly by the revelations of the Holy Spirit. I don't regret any more the mistakes I have made; God used them help me grow in Him. From my beginning at my original home church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church to the many years I spent at Worldwide Church of God, I wouldn't have the knowledge I have now if I hadn't experienced each church and group I have been a part of. My experiences have led me to where I'm today:
During this adventure I have learned truths from many sources but mostly by the revelations of the Holy Spirit. I don't regret any more the mistakes I have made; God used them help me grow in Him. From my beginning at my original home church, Mt. Zion Baptist Church to the many years I spent at Worldwide Church of God, I wouldn't have the knowledge I have now if I hadn't experienced each church and group I have been a part of. My experiences have led me to where I'm today:
- Confidence in God along in my relationship with Him, not mankind (friends or family, etc).
- In what He has being preparing Janice and myself to do for Him: To let black people know that the black race is His original creation starting with Adam & Eve. We know in advance, regardless of the facts, this message will be rejected by most non-blacks; but God has a great reward for those who accepts His truth. If either party, African or European fail to understand what God is revealing in this book, "Go Tell My People Who They Are...God - The True Identities of Blacks", they both will remain in bondage to each other.
1Associated Press, Maine Sunday Telegram, Dec. 22, 1996: 12A
2Personal letter to me from the Letter Answering Dept., Worldwide Church of God, Jan. 13, 1964
3You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of N. Y., 1982, p. 190
4Letter to me from the Letter Answering Dept.
5Andrews, William L. Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986
6Ibid
7Ibid
8Ernest Martin. The Abuse of Fellowship. Foundation for Biblical Research, p. 4
9Ibid, p. 6
2Personal letter to me from the Letter Answering Dept., Worldwide Church of God, Jan. 13, 1964
3You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of N. Y., 1982, p. 190
4Letter to me from the Letter Answering Dept.
5Andrews, William L. Sisters of the Spirit: Three Black Women's Autobiographies of the Nineteenth Century. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1986
6Ibid
7Ibid
8Ernest Martin. The Abuse of Fellowship. Foundation for Biblical Research, p. 4
9Ibid, p. 6
