R-E-S-P-E-C-T....E-A-R-N-I-T-!

A couple of things.

I noticed that the powers that be over at apostolicassembly.info removed the links to this and other blogs.

I thought it humorous that they say they want to use the Internet as a medium inform the constituents of the Apostolic Assembly and bring to light what was wronged (take it to the church) but when the light shines on their wrongs all of a sudden they want to turn off the lights again!

I don't think they liked what they were hearing. What should we read into that?

My heart was heavy as I was reading the round of comments on Saturday. It seemed as the comments turned from light jabs to an all out street fight. I saw names of people I forgot I had forgotten. Catarino Huizar? If anybody could cry over the pulpit it was him. I liked him, I tend to look at people apart from their ministry. We didn't have Starbucks back in those days, but if we did I could have great conversations with him over a cup of coffee. (Please don't bombard with details, I know all the stories...some not by choice.)

We are in a new era, an era of instant communication. The world is smaller. News instantaneous. Opinions heard. The voice of the masses can influence direction. I seriously doubt this generation will sit back and be intimidated by all powerful Oz pulling the ropes and levers behind the curtains. Leaders should and will be held accountable. Our leaders, at every level, better shape up, you are under more powerful microscope.

I've always felt uncomfortable with pastors and ministers demanding their respect (RESPECT: esteem, the condition of being honored). Respect is earned. I'm tired of pastors and ministers declaring their anointing. We serve the same God, we have the same Holy Spirit. Yours is not greater. Gifts and and talents are different. Before I give you my respect I want to know you as a person. Scripture dictates that we test all spirits to differentiate the true from false prophets.

You are human, you WILL fail. I expect that, so don't walk around like you are infallible. Romans 3:23 "for all (A)have sinned and fall short of the glory of GOD".

Teach your congregations what to do when you do fail. That is if you do have their best interest in mind. This will stop you from trying to cover up your mistakes. I guarantee you that when you do fall, your fellow believers will be there to help you out instead of throwing rocks and kicking you when your down or need their support.

Salvation and Stuff

Pride, Division and Power...Oh My!

As I stayed awake last night pondering what to write on the Apostolic News blog, my keyboard lied still, my thoughts still.
I started thinking, what are we doing? What is really going on? What is the purpose in all of this?

I've had very interesting conversations with my grandmother. She is clinging for life physcially but still very aware mentally. Her wisdom very profound. She does not look at things from a first person point of view, she has the ability to look at life from a macro level. The Big Picture. Now in her age she has no idea of what is going in her beloved church. (And I am afraid that if she did know, it would be enough to send her home.) So I, from her example, tried to look at our situation from the Google Earth/Maps perspective.

I actually opened Google Earth and did some traveling. I visited Rome as where the Christians where persecuted and the start of the inquisition a thousand or so years later. The Middle East, the location of the Byzantine Empire and Christian and Islam crusades. The deep south, Missisippi and Georia etc, where slaved where held captive. Germany and its involvement in aryan supremecy. Mexico where missionaries felt the need to convert the Aztec and the Mayan indians to Christianity to the point of death. And so on and on.

Where is all this going? A lot people have done a lot of crazy things in the name of God. But why?

It all comes down to the LUST FOR POWER. PRIDE.

After all we are not in this debacle because we disagree on doctrine, which is another reason why people do crazy things in the name of God. We all believe that Jesus came and died for our sins, we believe you must be born on the water and spirit to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

So it must be the LUST FOR POWER and PRIDE.

I know that the bible states that Satan is the Author of confusion. He would like nothing more than to divide you and I, the Valverdes from the Tafoyas, the Sanchez' from the Rodriguez' and so on and so on. Sift us like wheat. Real men of integrity should recognize this!

But I also came across the following verse: 1 Corinthians 1:10

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

Clearly Paul was talking the the church of Corinth but he might as well be talking to the Apostolic Assembly. Is divisiveness a sin? Do those involved in this matter cleary recognize the biblical implications?

However, scripture does take into account that there will be people who will take the God's Word and use it for their purpose and intention:

1 Corinthians 11:19

For there must also be factions among you, so that those who are approved may become evident among you. New American Standard Bible

Its reads a little clearer in the Weymouth New Testament:

For there must of necessity be differences of opinion among you, in order that it may be plainly seen who are the men of sterling worth among you.

Necessity? There MUST also be factions...divisions? Is what we are experiencing the same thing that Paul was talking about?

Should the focus be on building God's Kingdom or counting votes? Is PRIDE and LUST FOR POWER getting in the way of God's Kingdom?

.00216%

According several websites which track religious denomination statistics, it has been estimated that the Apostolic Assembly of the Faith in Christ Jesus is approximately 130,000 members (which, by the way, is 0.00216% of the total world population of approximately more than 6,000,000,000 people.)

(For all you trivia buffs - Moses brought more people out of Egypt then we have in our Assembly. The 12 tribes of Judah represent more people then we have in our assembly.)

Various challenges present themselves amongst our organization:

1. The requirement to minister to both in Spanish and English

The Assembly is predominately hispanic and its emphasis is on the spanish speaking individuals and families. Statistic show that the first generation hispanic's primary language is spanish. By the third generation the spanish language is almost not spoken or understood. However we continue to maintain the the emphasis in ministering in spanish while the future generations lose interest not for lack of desire but for lack of comprehension. Wiki states: "The newer generations do not always share the same cultural values and language as old and new migrant members".

2. "The [AAFCJ] denomination is also challenged by its organizational capability."

This an obvious statement by the mere fact of why we are reading these blogs because of our lack of organizational capability. The organizational leaders have failed (and not just the current leaders-many previous iterations of leaders are at fault) to developed the organizational leadership and management to provide a clear and defined path for growth and retention of its constituents. Because you have a good idea doesn't make it so, it is the processes and procedures and consistent actions by realizing strengths and addressing weaknesses. Through a simple SWOT analysis I can tell right off the bat our threats and weaknesses but we (leaders) do not want to admit and much less address them.

3. HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS,THIS ONE IS GOING TO HURT:

"The Apostolic Assembly is challenged to raise it's educational and theological levels. This is due to that initiation and ordination rules are not as demanding in this area as they are in other Oneness Pentecostal Denominations, thus raising the probabilities of ministerial unpreparedness to congregational and spiritual needs".

We love popularity contests. We love the flashy suits, the shiny cars and smooth talkers and crooners. But look where that has gotten us: Right smack dab in the middle of two groups of flashy suit wearing, shiny car driving, smooth talking, popular vote getting politicians.
Are those flashy suits, shiny cars and smooth talker fit to lead our organization? Let's look for some substance - education, experience, vision and ability to develop processes and procedures for membership retention.

Organizational Management - I've taken many classes on the topic, I've practiced and implemented many theories to varying success. I know what it is and I know what it is not. Please don't be surprised when I tell you this is what is it is not!

(I know a young man in Lordsburg, NM who is studying at Harvard. I will be willing to wage that there will be corporations that will be vying for his education, knowledge and skills. They know that in the long run he will benefit their corporations strategic growth plans. Let's recruit him and those like him, move them into positions where we can learn and benefit from them. Oh but no, he's to young and doesn't have gift of pulpit pimpology. ...Wait a minute who are the ones getting pimped? But that is another topic).

One of our problems is that we turn inward for help. We assume that we, the 0.00216% of the world population, have all the answers - theologically, organizationally, socially, and what ever other "lly's" you want put in yourself. We fail to strive for the best.

As a matter of fact, our best strive for the best...and move on.

Let's look at things from a different perspective,

How many members have we LOST?

How many members have we hurt because of our ignorance?

Have many members have gone AWOL?

How many members have gone MIA?

How many members have we kicked out?

How many more members are we willing to sacrifice?

Is some one keeping track?

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostolic_Assembly_of_the_Faith_in_Christ_Jesus

There's A New Sheriff In Town?

Who in the world is going to want the [General Board] job, now?

I predict with the introduction of blogs and increased scrutiny of elections and those in power, the job may be less desirable. Imagine the day after the election, now with blogs and I imagine other emerging online information sites about the AA, leaders must now consider what those that run for public office consider before their elections: public scrutiny. And there is nothing wrong with that!

If you want to run an organization like the AA, you better have an impeccable resume, an above par family, and high standard of professional readiness (ethical business practices). To put it bluntly, the new AA leadership should be expected to stand the scrutiny of bloggers with way too much time on their hands at work, with way too much bandwidth, with way too much intricate knowledge on how to mine for the internet for information.

Shouldn't we expect anything less?

In case you forgot, this is the Apostolic Church.

For all these people feeling sorry for all these leaders getting their names dragged through these bastions of incredible wit and analysis (the comment sections of these blogs), I say to you that this may be the new price of AA leadership.

You can't expect to walk across that platform in all the grace and glory that the position brings without the expectation that you better be living and leading in a manner worthy of the accolades. Maybe the emergence of these blogs and the hypercritic it brings will dwindle down the leadership ranks to those that don’t have any shady dealings to uncover, or resume to question.

Do I suggest that the blogs now have the ability to dictate Apostolic leadership? No!

But, it does raise the level of scrutiny that a leader must be comfortable with if he so desires the office of…

Author: Apostolico

I WANT YOU!!

I would like to extend an invitation to a interested parties and viewers to this site and allow FEATURED BLOG posting to those who can articulate in clear and captive tone their thoughts on where we come from and where we are going. This is your chance to help influence the leadership of the AAFCJ. The General Board has their communication channel via their website as does those seeking legal action (those links can be seen to the right panel of this website). This is for your voice to be heard. From the abundance the your heart should your mouth speak(matt: 12:34 paraphrased)...or in this case...type.

There is an old lawyers adage that says: "If you can't win on the law, argue the facts. If you can't win on the facts, attack the character of your opponent".

When one directly attacks those they disagree with, they are clearly showing they do not have either the law or the facts on their side or they are just blatantly ignorant and their comments should be taken as such.

You can touch on any subject as it relates to our beloved organization and your blog will be moderated and edited for its content. The extent of my editing will be for grammar to make sure your blog is focused. I will not censor your position. (Disclaimer: If I feel your blog is boring, long winded, lacks focus or purely for the intent of character assasination, it will not be posted). Your writing should inspire diaglogue and discussion.

Those interested in adding dialogue will allowed to remain anonymous if you wish. Please address your interest, comments and concerns to: apostolicvoice@gmail.com

Apostolic Assembly 2006 Election Irregularities

COMMENTS HAVE BEEN DISABLED IN THIS SECTION. FEEL FREE TO COMMENT IN THE LATEST BLOG. Apostolic Voice

The election irregularities of the 2006 General Convention impact the members of its organization in different ways. After seeing the way this has been used for a one sided discussion, it is imperative that an unbiased view be allowed to moderate its discussion.

For those that are aware of the legal implications and jockeying, please feel free to add your opinion here. As previous stated, this site will be moderated for its content.