What's in a name

One meets interesting people while traveling. A gentlemen I met on a cross country bus trip in Honduras made me think twice about how I identify myself as far as religion goes.

In Central America the buses are prone to stop at every little village  for people to get on and off. At these stops vendors usually get on and try to sell their wares. I was coming back to the city from a weekend preaching trip when I had an interesting encounter with a young doctor. A lady got on selling her goods at one of the many nameless bus stops along the highway. She had some things I didn't recognize and I asked what they were in my limited Spanish. I had only been in the country a few weeks at this time.  A man across from me answered in excellent English and told me what they were called. He then surprised by asking, rather abruptly,where I was from. I told him that I was from the States. His next question was even more startling. "What are you doing here."

I was caught a bit off guard but I realized he was just interested and not being offensive. I told him I was doing mission work and he asked what church I was with. When I replied that I was with the United Pentecostal Church he said, "Oh, you are catholic." When I told him I wasn't catholic he was confused. "Pentecostés", he replied. "Isn't that catholic?" I tried to explain to him that I wasn't Catholic but he just looked more confused.

The reason for the confusion is the terminology. According to the New Testament, the original Christian church was started on the day of Pentecost. The Roman Catholic church insists that it is the original church that can trace its origins all the way to New Testament times. Thus they teach that they are the Pentecostal church or the church that was started at Pentecost.

 I believe history shows otherwise, however. Oneness Apostolics such as myself (those who baptize in Jesus name) believe and teach that we are the original church. We believe that the original message of repentance, water baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit that we preach today is the same as what Peter preached in Acts chapter 2. There have been pockets of people all through the centuries that believed, taught, and practiced this same message. They have at different times been called primitive Baptists, Anabaptists, Holiness, and more times than not, heretics or even witches. They have always self-identified with the name of Jesus, especially in baptism.

When It tried explaining this to my new friend he didn't really want to discuss it so I was cordial and allowed him to change the subject. We visited through the rest of the bus ride and ate lunch together when the bus stopped halfway of our journey. It proved to be interesting. I learned that he was an intern at the University Hospital in the capital and had been raised in English speaking schools, thus the good English. He was a pleasant conversationalist and I enjoyed the time though I regretted that he wasn't open to the gospel. I did leave the conversation with more of an understanding about the religious mindset of the local people and even of people in general.

I learned that day that tradition is a hard thing to break. It doesn't matter how much it goes against history, science or logic;  what mama and daddy taught will always be truth to most people. I also learned that terms can be misleading. In the southern United States Pentecostal is a denomination. It refers to a group of people who believe in loud worship, conservative Christian values, and most of all, speaking in tongues. Outside of the Bible belt the terms Christian and Catholic are usually synonymous. Thus any reference to Pentecost would be either Jewish or Catholic.

Since that day my thoughts about denominational titles are much different Some of my grandmother's family identified themselves as primitive Baptists yet they spoke in tongues and baptized in Jesus name. In the 20th century most people who spoke in tongues called themselves Pentecostal. The name we choose to call ourselves is not as important as the message we preach and the lifestyle we live. The only name that really matters is the name of Jesus Christ. It is the name of the one who died for our sins. According to Acts 4:12 it is the only name by which we can be saved.  It is the only worthy name. It is the name of God himself.

If you haven't been baptized in the lovely name of Jesus you are missing out. Won't you join me today in taking on his name in baptism. It is a privilege like none other. There is no greater experience. To take on his name means to take on his power, his virtue, and his glory. It also can mean to take on his suffering and shame. But who better to identify with than the Son of God himself. If I have to suffer I'd rather suffer for his name and in his name than without his name. In the words of the old song, I choose to be a Christian. It is the name I choose to identify with in life, in baptism, in doctrine, in death and in my hope of the future resurrection. Oh, how I love the name of Jesus, it is the sweetest name I know. Long live that name! All hail king Jesus!

In Jesus name,

Sullivan Jones

Where is the Church?

It was family and friends Sunday at New Birth Church in Clinton, MS. The house was packed with members and visitors alike. I had invited a friend from work and she came. The church family had prepared a great meal for after the service. It promised to be a wonderful day until one of the air conditioners quit working. As I sat in the heat I grumbled to myself. Why did the air have to go out on a day like today?

Then I remembered another service with no air conditioning. I was conducting a ministerial meeting in Mango Creek, Belize. Typical for Belize, it was a hot day. There was no air conditioning and the windows and doors were open with hopes that an occasional breeze would cool us off a bit. Right as I was about to reach the main point of my sermon there was a "disturbance" outside. The pastors children were chasing a chicken that was to be served for lunch. A dog joined in the chase and chaos ensued. I tried to ignore it and keep preaching but I could tell I had lost my audience. Between the clucking, barking, and screaming no one could hear me anyway. I quickly brought the service to a close.

Back to Mississippi. On that family and friends day Pastor Phillips preached a wonderful message. His title was "If this were your last week." My friend from work was stirred. We all felt the presence of God very near. The lack of air conditioning didn't seem to matter as much.

In America we have so much. We often take our blessings for granted. Yet the real blessings are not our material comforts.What we really need is a fresh touch of God's spirit. Thankfully, his spirit is not confined to a certain geographical location. I have felt his spirit near in ornate churches in the United States and in simple huts in Central America. God loves people and anywhere that people are gathered in his name he will be in the midst. I am thankful for the air conditioning and comfortable, padded chairs in our churches. Given a choice I would not go without electricity or indoor plumbing. Yet these things are a convenience and not a necessity.

To be a part of God's church is the greatest privilege in the world. Wherever his church is gathered together, that's where His spirit is and that's where I want to be. Don't you?

Thankfully Yours,

Sullivan Jones

The Blame Game

In Tegucigalpa  the trash is collected twice a week as it is in many cities here in the United States. I was accustomed to putting my trash out the night before pickup as it usually ran in our neighborhood by seven A.M. One evening as I went to put the trash out the lady across the street nearly attacked me with her broom. It seemed she was upset because the stray dogs in the area were getting into the trash.

The little lady was constantly sweeping the sidewalk in front of her house and the houses to either side of hers. My roommate and I always found this amusing as it was impossible to keep the street clean. People in this part of the world are just as likely to throw their trash in the streets as they are to put it in the trash can. She was determined to keep her area of the city clean, however.

This particular evening as I went to put the trash out she came running over to me waving her broom. She began to yell at me for putting the trash out too early where the dogs could get into it. As she waved her broom she got more and more excited. She told me how all of the problems in her country was the fault of the Americans because "you think you can come down here and do as you please without following the rules." With each accusation her voice raised several octaves. By this time I was livid and told her I was leaving the trash there and turned to walk off. She followed me yelling that she was going to call the district and have me thrown out of the country. As I walked off she was saying that I could go home and put my trash in the streets there if I wanted to.

As I thought about what she said I got more and more upset.  It was easy to justify my feelings. Hadn't I come several thousand miles to bring her people the gospel. What if I just went home and let them do as they please, I thought. I can preach to people in the United States if they don't want me here. It took some serious prayer time to realize how wrong my feelings were. 

The scripture tells us that all of us have sinned and come short of God's glory. That's right, all of us. The basic problem with humanity is that few of us are willing to own up to our mistakes. It is easier to blame someone else. This little lady was convinced that I, as the foreigner, was the cause of her problems. But haven't we in America done the same thing? We blame society, family, the schools, the system and anything else we can think of for our problems. It keeps us from having to feel personally responsible for anything. 

It is not a new thought. Adam blamed Eve for tempting him to eat the fruit; Eve blamed the serpent. I'm sure that if the serpent could have blamed someone else it would have. In the end, all of their excuses didn't matter to God. Punishment was meted out accordingly. One day our excuses will not matter either. Each of us will answer to God for our own actions. The only answer is to acknowledge our own responsibilities now, repent, and allow him to cover our faults with his grace. 

I wonder if Adam and Eve's punishment would have been less severe if they would have confessed instead of blaming? Just a thought .....

Prayerfully Yours,

Sullivan Jones