Concern about Contention
Tyler Nally (tnally@iquest.net)
Tue, 26 May 1998 22:26:34 -0500
At 11:09 AM 5/26/98 -0500, Sis Yohnk wrote:
>Some have written concerned about contention. I, too am grieved. I also
>feel that the Spirit of God is grieved. I never would have dreamed that
>in an Apostolic forum we would be debating the very basis of our faith (
>Whether Acts 2:38 is the salvation message.)
I don't think it's so much a debate of what's correct doctrinally....
but a process that apostolics go through whenever they see something
that's a little *off* from what they consider normal.
I've said it many times over.... Methodists can go across town- or country-
(as well as Presbyterians, Catholics, Lutherans, etc.) and find acceptance
among the new body of like believers...... *HOWEVER* ... the apostolic
pentecostal movement isn't like that. You can't go down the street and
join anothter apostolic pentecostal church, or to another town, or even
across the country and be *equally* as accepted as you were where you no
longer go. It just doesn't happen.... normally.
I think what happens is that a persons *salvation* is flavored towards the
local assembly that he/she comes from. Whether it's holiness standards or
form of worship, it's a different *flavor* anywhere outside of your old
home original assembly. Then, there's a peculiar mix of what happens next
with the reasoning of the local apostolics. They've got it in their minds
that "any gospel *different* than that which was delivered them ... (all
done for the reason "to mark them them that labor contrary to what the
local acceptance is") is to be accursed. So what happens is Sis Margarita
and Bro Dan come to a different church and have a different *flavor* of
their salvation because simply "no two churches have exact identical
teachings all the way up doctrine and down the holiness standards chart"
all because they moved from one part of the country to the next because
of a job offer in Kookamunga in the neighboring state. So Bro Dan and Sis
Margarita are *scruitinized* to the point of frustration .... end up hurt
because their *salvation* isn't based *exactly* on what the local assembly
believes and practices.
Much the same goes on Higher-Fire. H-F is a good cross section of the
differing mentalities rampant among the apostolic (not necessarily
christian) movement. Like all siblings..... we fight amongst ourselves
and have done so for many a year. Spiritual sibling rivalry of sorts.
Instead of focusing on what is *common* to the different groups... siblings
often set their sights on what's different and keeps us all apart. I don't
care if the family is spiritual or not, they get jealous amongst themselves
for what the other guy has and what they don't have, and vice versa.
I'm conviced that the difficulties of H-F are due to the complex medium of
internet e-mail. It's really, really, really difficult to be able to
express ones thoughts and ideas in internet e-mail without someone taking
the intended thought and interpreting it in a spirit that changes the meaning
of the post altogether. It was never intended to say thus- and so-... yet a
big deal is made out of it for clarification to get all of the jots and
tiddles worked out so that a dear brother or sister can maintain some kind
of fellowship in the groups so that he/she isn't marked for strange doctrine
and practices. The big deal strikes a chord. Saints get angry. Fur flies.
And people unsubscribe. With face-to-face conversations, you can see the
expressions and emotions of the persons talking. With internet e-mail,
there's a sterility of the typed out word that goes beyond emotions. Words
are powerful and mean things. We sometimes take someone's typed word as
gospel truth and examine what he/she says under the microscope of what's
acceptable. Though a certain degree of that absolutely needs to happen,
much of the contention that is really pointless and unfruitfull really needs
to be shelved.
HEY! If we can't get along down *here*, I don't think out attitudes will be
allowed into the harmony of heaven. I think a good vigorous discussion (or
debate) is a good thing.
Bro Tyler
--
Bro Tyler Nally <tnally@iquest.net> <tgnally@prairienet.org>
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