Holiness Attitudes

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Greetings in Jesus Name,
I have been reading the TV and VCR posting. I don't wish to add my $0.02 worth but I 
would like to say something about the subject of Holiness. Or rather our ATTITUDES ABOUT 
HOLINESS.  This may turn out to be lengthy, but please read it and tell me what you 
think. You can send it to the group or to me in person. You can reach me at 
feavery@prysm.com.

I am 54 years old, but please allow me to start with when I was about 14. I grew up in a 
UPC church in the South. I know the Church loved me because they were always telling me 
so. The
pastor and his wife were like a mama and daddy to me. I loved the pastor and this 
Church. I had about 150 people who helped me grow up "SEMI OK". I thought life was 
wonderful, but this was still the time of the military draft. When I reached 20 years 
old, I realized that I was going to be drafted. I told my pastor that I was thinking 
about joining so I could get a better job and some training. Everyone told me that I 
could go to Bible school and stay out of the military. I gave this a lot of thought, but 
I didn't want to spend the rest of my life wondering if I was serving God or keeping out 
of the military.

I joined the military and that was when my nightmare began. I went to basic training and 
my Church deserted me. The people who loved me a few weeks earlier  never wrote me any 
letters. I didn't know if I had backslid or not. I never had any time to pray or read 
the Bible. I made it through basic and was sent to another place to school. I was not 
allowed to leave the base for the first 10 weeks.

Then came the wonderful day that I could leave the base on Sunday. I looked up the only 
UPC Church in that city and took a bus to the city. I then took a cab for a 31 block to 
the Church. I had to wear my uniform. I arrived early and went in and sat down. The 
pastor came out of his office and I stood up and introduced myself to him and told him 
what Church I was from. He ask me to come into his office. He pulled the window curtain 
back and ask me to look out. I saw an old school bus that had weeds growing over it. He 
said "we bought that bus and tried to work with the military but they only wanted to 
fool with the girls and we decided that we would just as soon not have them around". 
That was more than 33 years ago but I can still see and hear this statement. I attended 
this Church each Sunday morning and paid my tithes to them while I was going to school 
in that city. The people never talked to me or even greeted me. Each day I would call a 
cab to come and get me and then go outside and wait. The people would leave me outside 
and drive by the bus station on their way home. I found out that you can't die from  
hurting.

Then one day I got sent to South East Asia. I wrote a national UPC official and ask him 
to pray for me. I dated his wife's sister before the military. No answer came. After 
this, I wrote to the Assemblies Of God and ask them to sign me up for the Reveille. (A 
magazine for the military)   
They sent the magazine, a big package of literature, and people from all over the world 
started to write to me. Many of them told me that they put my name on a Prayer list and 
at a certain time they called my name in Prayer. When I got home, I stayed with the AOG 
for many years. I was never rebaptized but I still love them. (I received a letter 9 
months later. The minister told me that it had been on his desk but he just didn't get 
around to answering it.)
Why am I talking about things in the past? Because attitude is still a problem. (No I 
don't wish to debate whether a Christian should be in the Military) But we decide that 
we are Holy and if someone is not just like us, then they are not. Bro. David Bernard  
(a man that I love, but don't always agree with) said in Practical Holiness A Second 
Look on Page 50, "We should have no fellowship with those who call themselves Christians 
but continually indulge in sinful activities."
My hurt turned into bitterness. I attend a UPC Church, and I am still working on 
overcoming the bitterness. (At least it has been a while since I talked about it.)  If 
you have read this to this point, thank you for reading it.  Floyd E. Avery    
feavery@prysm.com

. . . .  Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. (Romans 14:5B  KJV)