Well, this is something that you don't see everyday Chauncey!
Sad day for our church everywhere that it should release such a statement and to hold such a pitiful position!
When Dr. Earl Carter preached at the 107th annual Holy Convocation, he did 2 things. First he called the homosexual, participating in the church, a "sissy" and said that they need to be delivered. This is not unusual. The late former presiding Bishop LH Ford called homosexuals "sissies" regularly. In fact a HOST of Sr. bishops can be heard referencing homosexuals in the same manner. Some even calling them what the bible calls them, effeminate, or Sodomites (both of which the liberal religious crowd try to reject)
Secondly, somebody came up and "claimed" to have gotten delivered as a result. A young man who declared that he was "delivered" and that he "loved women" admitted the error of his former homosexual lifestyle and not only he but many others came forth seeking to be free and seeking deliverance. Whether his claim was true or not, remains to be seen, but it seems that COGIC...Yes, the Grand Ole Church...is anything but glad to be associated with either happening.
It seems that MY church (LORD HAVE MERCY) has released the following statement on the whole issue and a video which they refuse to advertise on their website...in other words they are engaging in CENSORSHIP and SUPPRESSION of speech and freedom of expression...then, more importantly, contorting themselves to the culture. Nevertheless, here is what they said:
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Statement on Video Airing From 107th Holy Convocation
Church of God in Christ
Statement on Video Airing From 107th Holy Convocation
During the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) 107th Holy Convocation in St. Louis, MO, November 3-11, 2014, many tremendous things occurred that demonstrated the church’s love for community and for the whole man.
Through a number of COGIC Cares initiatives, the St. Louis and metro east communities were helped in some of the following ways:
- During our Health Fair and Job Fair, hundreds received free healthcare services while many unemployed attendees were able to network with St. Louis employers;
- 5,000 people received assistance in the form of food, clothing, blankets, toys, haircuts and medical check-ups at our Christmas in November event on Saturday, November 8, 2014;
- Members of our denomination dispersed within the North St. Louis Fourth Ward community to provide cleanup assistance to blighted areas; and
- Several COGIC leaders visited a St. Louis Public School to conduct “a day of reading” among elementary school children.
Since 2010, when the Church of God in Christ Holy Convocation moved from Memphis, TN to St. Louis, the economic impact to the bi-state, metropolitan area has been over $120 million.
As a Pentecostal, Bible-believing organization, our goal is to edify and care for the entire individual, both naturally and spiritually. Thus, during the convocation:
- 559 individuals committed their lives to Christ;
- 97 individuals re-dedicated their lives to Christ;
- 224 Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit, according to (Acts 2:4); and
- 227 individuals received divine deliverance from a number of afflictions.
A video, which is now viral, of a young man stating his deliverance from a particular lifestyle does not, in any capacity, speak to all of the remarkable things that transpired during this great church convention.
We believe that we should reflect the love and compassion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in all that we do. We do not in any way compromise our biblical position against same sex unions or in favor of biblical teaching on matters of sexual conduct. At the same time we expect that our clergy and laity will be civil and considerate as they speak to men and women regarding issues related to our Christian faith. We love all people, regardless of their faith or moral standards. When we fail to express ourselves with love and humility we contradict our witness to the world.
Furthermore, the Church of God in Christ wholly condemns acts of violence against and the subjugation of any person to verbal or physical harassment on the basis of their sexual stance. Such actions violate entirely the Christian’s obligation to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.
The Church of God in Christ will have no further comment on this matter.
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Now, THAT was interesting! First to call homosexuality "a particular lifestyle" is an UNDERSTATEMENT. In fact why even do that. Simply say what the young man said he was delivered from. He said he was delivered from being GAY...not delivered from a"particular lifestyle"! Then to say that his deliverance is not a "reflection" of all the wonderful things that happened during the week...ARE YOU SERIOUS?
The man said that he was delivered from a SIN that has swept the nation, changing laws and uprooting the will of the people in nearly every state through the judiciary and by the promotion of a President who affirms gay as being "normal" and gay relationships as "just as admirable as heterosexual relationships"
ARE YOU KIDDING ME????
Get this COGIC PR team...by the very fact of your statement you have COMPROMISED you biblical position. That is a FACT!
In addition, to call out SIN in no way displays a lack of love. In fact to call out sin is the highest display of love considering the backlash and the resistance that will be obtained as a result. To do what you do in placating the sins of a generation and seeking to conform to this world not only insults God, it is an affront to HIS nature and being as a HOLY GOD! Further is is an absolute departure to the Faith which was once delivered to the Saints through and by the ministry of the late Bishop CH Mason.
If we love all people regardless of their moral standards, we are doing more than Christ did himself. God has no pleasure in the destruction of the wicked, he will destroy them because of their acts and actions:
Ps. 154:20 ~ The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
Nahum 1:3 ~ The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
God says that he "hates" a proud look.(Prov.6:16-17) This is a lifestyle that is contrary to God and his nature. Yet he never separates the sin and what he hates from the person. In fact, in the New Testament, both James 1:6 and 1 Pet. 1:5 says that God "resists" the proud. The word "resist" is the Gk word ἀντιτάσσομαι or "antitassó" which is a military term that means "to rage in battle against or to set one's self against" In other words, God FIGHTS against the proud and those with no humility and who live a lifestyle contrary to himself.
Now, is this God not the SAME God who came to seek and to save that which was lost? Is this God not the same God who "loved the world that he gave" to save it? To suggest that there is ANY difference between this God and the God of the Old Testament, and the God that Peter believed upon when he condemned Ananias and Sapphira to DEATH (Acts 5), or when Paul turned one over to satan for the "destruction of his flesh" (1 Cor. 5:5) is to suggest that the bible can be thrown out as a guide for rule and practice of the believer and the church, and has nothing to do with revealing the nature of God. This will NOT happen.
But if I was ever ashamed of my church, in addition to the SHAME of it not serving victims by victims advocacy and the implementation of victim's rights, I am ASHAMED in this! I am ashamed of a communistic approach to a church within a free society. The reflections of a "Presidium" and the implications of that word which suggest state control, are in full effect within your statement.
I find that you, in releasing this shoddy statement, are in violation of both your obligation to God and men by holding the truth in unrighteousness!
Sad day for our church everywhere that it should release such a statement and to hold such a pitiful position!
I AM Blessed!
Supt. I read that on facebook last night. sounds like not only are they distancing themselves they are telling Carter in so many words he was wrong. trust me, leadership has had a conversation with him about his message. It is sad. I watched youtube last night and man he was on point. the tone with comments like " bleed from the butt" "sissys" was my only concern. while I looked at some of your examples we must remember Jesus had to deal with "church folks" back then (Pharisees) they were not wanting to be delivered. The tone is all important. I understand what you are saying, but the culture and time we live in dictates if we are going to win them we must strategize our approach towards them. Facebook was hot last night with this subject. My only thing is we can agree to disagree on the tone. Our culture has come up with names to call people and they can be very negative. If I am to win them 1 on 1 my speech must be tempered. All in all it was a great message. I wish he would have spoke more on the sexual abuse, bishops and preachers sexual abuse and trying to hide folks who commit these sins. its rampant!!! be blessed always enjoy your blog and the perspective you give.
ReplyDeleteDid you only hear the clip or the message on its entirety? He addressed all of that which is why they are so angry! Dr. Cater gave an un-sugar coated word from God. God is angry with the body of Christ.
DeleteYes, Tonya. I have most of the message on a couple of podcasts that I put together shortly after the message was delivered. They can be found here:
Deletehttp://bethelburnett.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-lion-hath-roared-reflections-of.html
Folk are caught up in idolatry and they don't want their "golden calf" challenged. Sad day for the church.
Yes it is! The body of Christ will be held accountable for their actions! So what's next? Sweep it under the rug or sit some leaders down. WE HAVE TO GET BACK TO JESUS!
DeleteLOL!!! your title was misleading. I don't think COGIC distanced themselves from deliverance from homosexuality. They distanced themselves from a "message of hate" "name calling" and the tone/delivery of the messenger.
ReplyDeleteThe message was not a message of hate. It was a message stating things as they are instead of how the "politically correct" prefer to say things. The terminology of the street word "sissy" may not be a preferred epithet, but it is accurate. As I said earlier, it seems offensive to be called a whoremonger for one adulterous affair, and to be called a "whore" for having sex outside of marriage, but that's exactly what the bible calls the persons doing the deed.
DeleteTo the point, COGIC clearly distanced themselves from the notion of homosexual deliverance through the terms they used in the letter. I think I've already outlined my case for that in the article so I won't be repetitive.
Thanks.
God himself called sinners HEATHENS and I'm pretty sure His tone was nice! I'm tired of you sugar-coated preachers. BRING THE WORD IN TRUTH OR STAY HOME! Tired of feel good, prosperity teaching.. DELIVERANCE FROM STRONG HOLDS OF SATAN IS WHATS NEEDED! Keep sugar coating God's word and He is going to replace you! Jesus is raising up an army to convey His word in spirit and in truth. The sad part is many of these deceiving leaders will not be apart of this army. NO FALSE PROPHETS ALLOWED IN THE TRUE ARMY OF JESUS CHRIST!
DeleteAMEN! Sister Anderson...totally agreed!!!!
DeleteGood Bless You Supt. Burnett,
ReplyDeleteOnce again excellent post. You hit the nail right on the head. I agree with your assessment of this so called press release, the church is distancing themselves from Dr. Carter and the issue with the young man. Bishop Porter made that clear in his Huffington Post interview on yesterday. I actually listened to the young man in an interview on pimppreacher.com and the thing that really disturbs me is a something that has not been mentioned. The young brother indicated that he had slept with another man in a year but still had homosexual tendencies such as dressing in women's clothing, switching, wearing makeup, etc. He indicated that he has been a member of William Temple COGIC for 2 years under the leadership of General Board member Bishop Wooten. When he was asked how did the church respond to him when he would come in there dressed the way he was dressed and act the way he acted and he indicated that there was no response. In other words, his pastor, General Board Member, Bishop Wooten totally ignored the pink elephant in the room for two years but after the incident at the convocation stated to the young man that he always wanted him to be delivered. My comment to that is "What kind of leader is that". His pastor and the church was watched as this young man for two years operated in that lifestyle for two years and refused to open their mouth. I would be ashamed if I was Pastor and one of my members have to go somewhere else to be delivered. I don't know Bishop Wooten or the young man or even if what he said during the interview was the truth but if it is, shame on Bishop Wooten and the entire Williams Temple Church.
God Bless,
Elder Terry
Elder,
DeleteYes, you are 100% correct but it gets MUCH deeper than that. I have learned that this whole fiasco was sponsored by GB Member Bishop Brandon Porter. According to sources such as Thaddeus Matthews, this young man was paid nearly $4,500 to parade in this event and deliver his testimony. Why? Because Brandon Porter has recently come under fire as affirming gays and minimizing their lifestyle choice as sin.
Wooten comes in because it has been said that he conspired with Porter to help clean up his image. Then enters a homosexual that attends Wooten's church, that has a negative history, a recent arrest for insurance fraud, and a host of other questionable, if not criminal activity...The fella claimed to be a top selling author (but is not one) and is said to have made a CD in which he is singing about his deliverance for sale on amazon.
Now, I don't know if any of that is true and if ALL of it is true it doesn't effect my issue. My issue is simply about what this church has stated and is stating that its view is regarding homosexuality, deliverance from it, and issues surrounding that.
I think the problem is that folk are confusing all the issues and making them all one. They are not. The fact that this guy either lied or was true about his testimony of deliverance is irrelevant. What is relevant is the church's softening its position on homosexual deliverance claiming that it is in a "lesser" position as it pertains to all the other events and things that the church can do #1, and #2 associating the preaching and striving against sin, and in particularly the sin of homosexuality, with being unloving, uncivil, and inconsiderate.
This is the association that the church makes through this statement. Therefore I find it very demeaning, condescending and apropos to the world, political correctness and devoid of any spirituality.
Is this true?
ReplyDeleteWe love all people, regardless of their faith or moral standards
Do we LOVE the rapist and murderer IF they rape our wives and kill our family? Is that possible? Is that what the bible calls us to do? If God loves them, then why do the unrepent ones go to hell, which is THE MOST unloving place in existence and a place devoid of God's presence?
It's easy to say something that is in step with how you want the world to perceive you or how you "think" you should be perceived by the world, but to do this at the expense of truth is unconscionable.
This situation is going in places that it shouldn't on so many levels. I have never liked those terms used just like the usage of nigga among our people. Jesus did call names, if you will, to the religious rights like the Pharisees not to those who were in need of him like the women caught in adultery or dealing with the Samaritan woman. I believe in speaking the truth in love and crying loud and sparing not. Some say I am raw. Lol!
ReplyDeleteI think negative termonology for the sake of negative terminology or to be flippant is certainly not what the bible called for. However, God does demand to deal in truth and communicates a truthful message regarding every individual and not just leaders.
DeleteIn the OT, God called some the "sons of belial". The word "belial" means "worthless" or "undesireable" and comes to be associated with the person of the devil himself. To be called this meant that you were a child of satan. In essence, no one should or want to emulate them.
If we examine scripture, we find that the son's of belial was a pejorative term used to describe people who were sexually immoral and impure. Some of them were also homosexuals and even bisexuals who were responsible for abusing and killing the Priests wife in Judges 19. They, the bible calling them, "sons of belial" wanted to have sex with the men, but abused and killed the woman. This started somewhat of a civil war to destroy the sons of belial.
This was a 150 year previous failure to follow God's proscription when they entered the land. Benjamen's children paid the price for disobedience.
Nevertheless, the point is that God does not soft-sell sin or sinful behavior.
The Apostles of the NT didn't either. Paul when, dealing with Peter basically delivers that Peter was being a hypocrite in his dealings. This is what he records:
Gal. 2:11-14: 11-But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12-For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13-And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. 14-But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
This is pretty clear what Paul's opinion of Peter was in front of everyone who was anyone. Further, Peter claims in Acts 5 that a husband and wife are liars and have lied to the Lord and further calls on God to kill them.
Now, were the apostles not interested in reaching the world? They already received Matthew 28. The interest was TRUTH and dealing with situations and people truthfully. Peter left no room for anyone to think that lieing as the couple had done was acceptable. Paul left no room for anyone to think that hypocrisy was acceptable.
For Jesus to call the Syrophonecian woman a "dog" is telling and affirms our need to call the situation and people truthfully. It is the psychological manipulation of humanism that demands that we not call a spade a spade. However, calling sin and sinners what they are is the only truthful way to do it.
Today, sinners are "less spiritually inspired", adulterers have "relationship issues", fornicators have "problems in the flesh", failures are minimized by saying "no one is perfect" and a whole host of other rationalizations for sin and evil.
Like the alcoholic, let sinners first ADMIT their sin as what it is. That's the only way to get better.
I don't think it was a problem with the pastor speaking against homosexuality as it was with him using derogatory comments.
ReplyDeleteThink about this, the black church has many women, especially younger women in the 40 and under age group, that have never been married a day in their lives and have children, some have multiple children by different men. Furthermore, some of these women weren't even in committed relationships with these men when they got pregnant, they were just having sex.
However, despite the church stance on sex outside of marriage, you won't see a preacher whether it be at a local, jurisdictional or national meeting call these unmarried women with children skanks, hoes, sluts etc at least not in the pulpit over the microphone. And its probably a lot more of them in the church than there are homosexuals.
So I think if the justification for derogatory name calling is combating sin it should be applied equally to everyone. Otherwise it looks as if you're singleling out 1 group and using sin as the excuse for name calling.
I'll agree to that one...true!
DeleteAfter watching 4 mins of the sermon which was on YouTube, I didn't hear him say anything too inflammatory. He said sissy a few times, but let's not all act as if we never heard a preacher say that before.
ReplyDeleteHere's some other things he said as recorded on Marc Hill's show. Look at some of this here: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/church-of-god-cured-young-man-holy-convocation-weekend-2014/5460f463fe34442b8c00060d
DeleteWhen he said "bleed from their butt", I think most people understood him to be saying that he wished that a man that wanted to be a woman would have a regular menstrual as a real woman. At least that's what I took it as. I understood that to mean that they would soon change their ways if they had to deal with what it takes to be a woman.
You know he made the testimony on a track on autotunes http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.who.says.he.went.from.gay.to.straight.thanks.to.god.is.reportedly.threatened.with.legal.action.by.church/43472.htm
ReplyDelete