Open Letter To This List

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Greetings in Jesus Name,

I tried very hard not to write this. Even though my early dream in
life was to be a writer, I have very little talent for expressing my
thoughts on paper. 

First, please let me say that I love the people on this list. I have
not had the pleasure of meeting any of you in person, but I have
shared your victories, joys, fears etc. I have cried when some of you
have said unkind things to each other. Some of the things that I am
going to say may not sound kind, but they are not meant to hurt
anyone. They are not addressed to any individual. They are NOT meant
to attack or embarrass the United Pentecostal Church or any other
Church for that matter.

Some time back, I wrote a post to this list entitled "Hurting".  There
was a reason I picked this title, but then that would be a long story.
I was not prepared for what happened. I got some kind post, but most
were really hard. Several people call me a hypocrite and told me that
I should get off this list. I didn't really understand. A hypocrite is
somebody who pretends to be something that they are not. I said that I
was hurting, confused and that I was thinking about going back to the
Assemblies Of God. 

When I was about 15 or 16 years old I was playing volleyball at the
church one Saturday evening. It was very hot and I took my shirt off.
I had on a T-shirt, the full kind. The boys and girls were playing
together. One of the sisters walked out on the court with my shirt and
told me to put it on. She said, "we don wear our underclothes in
public." You would never believe how ashamed I felt. The rest of that
game I thought these people probably think I don't really have the
Holy Ghost and that I am a phony. Then the questions started coming to
me. Why didn't I know that it was wrong? I thought everybody else knew
and I didn't. I spent the next several years worrying about what the
Church thinks about me.

What has happened to our love for our brothers and sisters and yes for
SINNERS? Bro. Hugh Rose wrote an article entitled "United in the
Harvest" in the October 97 Pentecostal Herald. In the same issue Bro.
Nathaniel A. Urshan said the Church is to "separate from the world."
WHO ARE WE GOING TO HARVEST? Think about it. We are so concerned with
preserving the purity of our doctrine that we can't even let it work.
God doesn't need us to preserve His Truth. It is going to last. He
needs us to go to Church, get full of the Holy Ghost and go out into
the world, find a sinner, put our arms around them and tell them that
they need Jesus. 

Jesus said "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despiteful use you, and persecute you  Mat 5:44

30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this
is the first commandment. 31  And the second is like, namely this,
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other
commandment greater than these. Mark 12:30-31

I guess the bottom line is DON'T TRY TO TELL ME YOUR TRUTH IF YOU
CAN'T LOVE ME. I don't say to love any sin I do, but you have to love
me. 

One last thing. Some of the people who wrote me kind post were people
who have been hurt by people "In the Church". Have you hurt someone?
It is not too late to say I am sorry.  

Christian Love,
Floyd E. Avery
feavery@prysm.net