Come To The “Mountain Top” With Us
Refuge Temple Church Of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith
December 31, 2007
4450 Argent Court Columbia, SC 29203
9:00PM Feet Washing
9:50PM Evening Worship
Come Prepared To Be Slain in the Spirit and Drunk With The Wine Of the Holy Ghost!
2008 SHALL BE GREAT!
HE GAVE ME ONE MORE CHANCE !
Now if this performance by Ricky Dillard and New G (with Lillian Lloyd as soloist) on Bobby Jones does not make you dance your way into 2008, I dont know what will. Matter of fact, stop what your doing and HIT THE FLOOR for VICTORY right now!
Remember to keep the CHRIST in CHRISTMAS !
As an African American male, I grew up in the gospel arena in New York City. It just so happen that I was on an apostolic forum reading recent post and the topic of certain gospel artist and the lives they live outside of church came up. As I read, I saw how ignorant people are to the Word of God concerning sin and what we as a believer are suppose to do when we encounter sin in the church. I write this post from the African American Church perspective.
Homosexuality is prevalent in the church (but so is babies being had out of wedlock, divorce, thievery, deception and all other forms of sins). In our congregations, the majority of black churches don’t have programs that will help someone come out of homosexuality. Its a don’t ask don’t tell environment and its sad. Families are broken up, people run away from the church hurt and scared with no place to turn. Our preachers at times don’t take a stance for the “other sins” that will keep an individual out of heaven. We will tell you to stop smoking, stop drinking, stop partying but we wont tell you not to lie on your taxes. We wont tell you to not harbor ill thoughts towards the person sitting in the very same pew right next to you. We dance and shout in our church’s over mess and people leave the same way they came in. Just an emotional high at times. Oh, we can play the mess out of a Hammond B3 organ, our church choirs will sing you into a frenzy, we dress up and all appear to look like we have thousands in the bank when in all honesty, the majority is just one pay check away from homelessness. Our leaders are lacking in so many different areas.
Look at hypertension (high blood pressure) no one wants to tell grandma to stop eating all that pork and cooking with all that fat back. In a few years, grandma is going to be dead of a heart attack and what will we do, dance and shout and her casket and say what a wonderful life she lived before the Lord when in actuality if we were properly trained by leadership, grandma could still be alive working for the master. Homosexuality (both male and female) is so rampant in our churches that at times, I wonder if the gay club has taken a bus and dropped everyone off at the front of the church to go in and yes live a double life.
Understand this, the church is a hospital for the sin sick soul, so we should not turn any one away. However, we can not have secret and open sins lived out in front of the lives of the local congregants. Its not ok. I will say this, the African American church has a lot to learn. We cannot keep building our churches based on the gifts and callings on peoples lives. Instead, we must promote change when one comes into the house of God. I can say that no one is pulling the homosexuals aside to tell them that there is A MORE EXCELLENT WAY to live. Instead, when a family is broken up or when someone gets HIV/aids, or a baby out of wedlock is about to be born, that’s when we decide to preach how awful the individual is.
The bible says we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. The sheep is one of the dumbest animals in the animal kingdom and they need a shepherd to guide them otherwise they WILL go astray! Its my prayer that all of our churches become holistic ministries that will cater to changing the lives of sinners and equipping the body of Christ with leaders that will lead others to the cross.
Remember, yes, its an abomination but as long as there is life, there is hope, because there is LIFE IN JESUS! Jesus is the good shepherd and we should follow his example. If your struggle is NOT homosexuality, find out a way to lead a homosexual into true deliverance. If your struggle is not fornication or adultery, take it upon yourself to see to it that you yourself minister to that person for the Bible says, with Loving Kindness have I drawn them (not thrown them away). YES its a sin but YES we the delivered have a responsibility to snatch souls out of the burning hell that a lot of people are on their way to. I encourage you, you and you to stand up and make a difference as I myself endeavor to do the same. FOR ALL HAVE SINNED and come short! Going forward, lets strive to be like the good shepherd and lead people towards that path of truth and holiness!
Four people have been shot outside a large Colorado evangelical church, the second shooting in a day linked to a religious community in the state.
The incident occurred outside the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. The condition of the victims is not immediately known.
Earlier, two people were killed and two others were injured when a gunman entered a training center for young missionaries in the Denver suburb of Arvada, about 110 km away from Colorado Springs.
Police said the description of the shooter was similar in both cases, a white man wearing a dark hat and dark jacket.
The New Life Church, which has about 14,000 members, was founded by pastor Ted Haggard, who resigned in disgrace in 2006 after admitting to sexually immoral conduct.
50th Annual Grammy Award Nominations
The Gospel Categories
The 50th Annual Grammy Award nominations were announced on December 6, 2007. The ceremonies will be broadcast live on CBS Television from Los Angeles on February 10, 2008.
In brief, eligibility is limited to those recordings released during the period of October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007.
Like last year, there are four categories specific to Gospel; we list them below with the nominees. What do people think about this? Have some comments yourself? Give your own picks on the message board.
Best Gospel Performance
Best Gospel Song (song/songwriter) 
Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album 
Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album
Also, in the Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album, The Cross Movement (for HIStory: Our Place in His Story), Da T.R.U.T.H. (for Open Book) together with Ashley Cleveland, Pillar and Skillet were nominated.
In the Best Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album, Israel & New Breed (for Deeper Level) was nominated along with Mandisa, TobyMac, Michael W. Smith and Casting Crowns.
The Soweto Gospel Choir was nominated in the Best Traditional World Music category, for their album, African Spirit.
As I was carpooling home today with my un-saved co-workers, the driver of the car looked at her cell phone and saw that there was a text message she had not read. She then dropped her mouth and said out loud “Oh no, Pimp C is dead! He was found in a hotel room dead!” I had no clue who this was (because I don’t support Hip Hop or its so called “lifestyle” or “culture”. I asked who he was and she began to tell me all about him. Because I like to keep up with the latest things that go on in the black community, I decided to look this man up online and I came across this comment on a message board that prompted me to come to The Pope Of Pentecost blog and write this post.
“HIP-HOP!! a life style? a death style!! so many young folks say the hip-hop is a way of life, but i see it as a way of death. the life style promotes/encourages violence. promotes sleeping with as many women as you can (A.I.D.S.) if this is what you are apart of this is what you get. PEACE or PIECE (slang for gun) WHICH DO YOU LIVE BY WILL BE WHICH YOU DIE BY.”
There was nothing biblical about this post at all, but I found it to be so profound. When are we going to stop the violence in our community? When are we going to stop glorifying being a thug, a pimp, a ho, pants sagging, breast hanging, illicit sex, guns, drugs and violence. I have learned in the 30 years of being on earth, you live by the flesh, you die by the flesh.
Galations 5:16 tells us “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Another translation (The Bible In Basic English) states “But I say, Go on in the Spirit, and you will not come under the rule of the evil desires of the flesh.” Saints and Sinners, it does not get any more simple then this! If I were to have my own translation, I’d say “STOP THE MADNESS and DO WHAT GOD TOLD YOU TO DO so that no one puts a CAP in your behind! (ghetto right??….but I bet you got the point!)
In conclusion, I’d like to admonish all people to give up their lifestyle that is pleasing to the Devil and give their lives to Christ. Serving the god of this world will only cause you 2 deaths. The temporary death that comes in THIS AGE and the ETERNAL death of Fire and Brimstone that awaits you in the AGE TO COME. You did not stumble on this site by luck or chance. God directed you to click on my site so that you can find out the truth. Its the truth that will MAKE you free indeed. Beyounce,Jay Z, Mary J, Diddy nor Eminem are willing to die for you. There was only one person who was 100% human AND 100% God that decided to die for you and His Name is Lord Jesus Christ. Why wait until your on your death bed to give your life to Christ? I would almost bet money (if I were a betting man) that Donda West, Biggie, Tupac, Eazy-E, Luther Vandross, Pimp C, Gerald Levert, Rick James, James Brown, Aliyah and all the rest of the dead Hip Hop and R&B stars wish they could come back from the dead to let you know that HELL IS REAL and that you need to give your life to Christ! Don’t go where all of them have ended up. The World would have you to believe that all of them went to heaven. BY THEIR FRUITS YE SHALL KNOW THEM, and unfortunately each person mentioned above bared bad fruit. I am pleading with you to shun your worldly lifestyle and follow Christ. We have need for you in the Kingdom of GOD! I promise you, you will still be able to use your gifts and talents this time for winning souls to the Lord. God is knocking at your door! Please let Him in!
Choose ye this day whom you will serve, as for me and my house, WE will serve the Lord!
The last two days have been extremely interesting. So thought provoking that I think its high time someone in the Apostolic Faith stand up and start to bridge the gap between the BLACK and WHITE Apostolic Church. I see it like this, since heaven is going to be multi-racial and multi-cultural, why don’t we start to form a collective bargain per say, between the Black Church and the White Church!
Saints, there are so many rumors and misconceptions that float between the 2 nationalities. Blacks feel like the whites still want to be inferior. Whites just don’t understand why blacks act and say the things they say. Out of fear and ignorance, we allow these devises to separate us. The only 2 things that are still segregated today in the USA are CHURCH and FUNERAL HOMES.
Apostolic Saints of the most High, I am pleading with you to help me bridge the gap. WE HAVE THE TRUTH! We all teach Acts 2:38. Sure some of us don’t believe in women pastors, others wear prayer veils, some even grow there hair down to there butt and never cut it, while some shave there facial hair off. WHO CARES ABOUT ALL OF THAT. The one thing we all have in common is that we all are Baptised in Jesus Name and filled with the Holy Ghost. We are all tongue talkers. We all believe that JESUS is GOD!
Its high time we get rid of all the division and come together. Or would you prefer silly jokers like Juanita Bynum and Paula White or so called Oneness preachers like TD Jakes to come swoop in like vultures and eat up all of the wayward souls. No tele-evangelist should out do us when it comes to PREACHING and TEACHING the WORD! NO prayer cloth charlatan preacher should out sell us in prayer handkerchiefs!
We preach the ONENESS but we are not even ONE with ONE another! Lets tear this wall of segregation down in the ONE TRUE CHURCH and be what God has called us to be. TRUE APOSTOLIC MEN AND WOMEN OF VALOUR!
Lets give the devil a run for his money!
The Pope of Pentecost uses a number of sources to find out the latest and greatest (and not so greatest) things that are going on in the church world. One such source is the internet. Most of you just don’t have the time to go searching for information on whats happening. You’d just prefer to come to one site and read all the information in one sitting. Well, I was on a message board and the topic was posted about Bobby Jones appearing in a gay movie as a “pastor”. This article comes from another wordpress.com blog and I found it very interesting so I decided to post it on my site and see what kind of responses I get from it. Let me make a disclaimer using scripture alone “1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
This article was taken directly from http://gcmwatch.wordpress.com/2007/11/24/gospels-dr-bobby-jones-appearing-in-gay-movie/
SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES
If you’ve ever watched the Bobby Jones Gospel Show, you know something is wrong spiritually. With Bobby Jones. Over the last couple of decades Dr. Bobby Jones’ name has become synonymous with black gospel music and its terrible reputation as an incubator of homosexuality. And yes, to the utter shame of God’s church.
But perhaps Jones is now coming out of the closet with an appearance in a homosexual movie. And its not good.
Jones is playing the part of a preacher in the movie Dirty Laundry which is produced by homosexual activist Keith Boykin and his male lover Nathan Williams. The movie is set to be released December 7 in Atlanta, Baltimore, DC, and New York. The homosexual political group, Human Rights Campaign is sponsoring a 12 city tour of the movie. Maurice Jamal, the lead character, writer and director of the movie is a man who says his one of his favorite websites is the gay sex-hookup site [we wont mention it].
How can two walk together except they agree? Amos 3:3
Boykin who have opposed homosexuality by insinuating that they themselves were homosexual. Why then is Bobby Jones in Boykin’s movie?
Dirty Laundry isn’t just a funny movie about black folks. It has a defined agenda, embedded in the humor. As is usual with homosexual activists, they want you to stop thinking homosexuality is a sin and think of it as just another benign expression of love.
Next magazine said Dirty Laundry is “equal parts Brokeback Mountain and Birdcage.” Both are homosexual movies.
“It’s almost as if black families have a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell policy.’” Williams says “there are still not many healthy images of gay people of color, which makes it hard for all of us to understand the experiences of the gay minority, be they Latino, black [or] Asian.”
Make no mistake about it, this movie is aimed at the black church community with the help of the most visible name in gospel music. With this appearance and his association with such profanity, Jones is declaring war on the sacred principles of God’s Kingdom. Why is the Church of Jesus Christ allowing the filthy co-mingling of the sacred and the profane? Crowned the “Ambassador of Gospel Music” Jones was feted by the “superstars” [youtube] of the industry. No wonder there is such a putrid smell coming from gospel music these days.
And how soon will its stench reach the nostrils of God if it already hasn’t?
Update 11.25.07
After looking at the pictures and credits of Dirty Laundry, we noticed Jones’ backup group the “Nashville Super Choir” is also in the movie.
More checking on Bobby Jones reveals he is more inclined to believe that homosexuality is genetic, thus not sinful. Listen carefully at the words of this fool people are running after for affirmation in the “gospel music industry:
Bobby Jones of the popular TV show “Bobby Jones Gospel,” is one of the few in the industry to say he does not believe that homosexuality is entirely behavioral. “I’m too intelligent for that. I do listen to what experts in the fields of human sexuality have to say about people and what happens to them when they reach puberty, the changes that happen in adolescence. You know, the talk shows have done a lot to educate me, too,” he said.
This was from a October 1994 newspaper article. What information is Jones referring to from “the talk shows” and “experts in the field of human sexuality”?
Update 11.27.07
Gay magazine says Bobby Jones “enthusiastically” supports gay rights.
Among the points to celebrate is the involvement of two of Broadway’s Dreamgirls, Loretta Devine and Jenifer Lewis, long-time gay rights activists and diva icons as “Lorelle” and “Effie,” respectively. Co-star and gospel legend Dr. Bobby Jones was equally enthusiastic, pushing for the message to aid in healing both the black and gay communities.”
UPDATE 11.28.07 Response to false charges by Keith Boykin.com
Gay activist Keith Boykin is falsely reporting that GCM Watch ”a right-wing so-called Christian group” is “threatning to protest the movie” Dirty Laundry. We are advocating nothing of the sort. We could care less if someone went to see the movie. Neither are we attempting to block any financial success the movie may gain. We are calling into question the participation of Bobby Jones and his “enthusiastic” support of something so ungodly it could never qualify as “entertainment” under the most lenient of Christian standards.
Contrary to Mr. Boykin’s assertion that the rift between the church and the homosexual community is created by “right wing zealots”, the rift is with God. It was God who set the unchanging standards of sexual morality. The church because it is under HIS authority and HIS command and are required to hold HIS standards in place.
We should note that after the imprisonment of his cousin John the Baptist, for confronting sexual immorality in the leadership, Jesus began preaching a bold message:
Mark 1:14-15 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Bobby Jones’ attempt to circumvent these standards is what is causing division. It is grossly immature to think a movie with such misguided purpose will heal any such divisions.
Additionally, Bobby Jones’ support and participation in this movie is indeed an attack on the church and the sexual moral standards which God requires us to adhere to. Bobby Jones can no longer expect us to be silent while he promotes this heresy in God’s house. Like John the Baptist, we will publicly denounce his ungodly actions.
Further, we are calling on gospel artists with integrity and those who have not sold out to mammon, and the idol gods of talent and personality to distance themselves from Jones until he repents. If he chooses not to repent, we further call on the artists to refuse future appearances on his show and make public statements as to why. We are calling on every pastor and bishop who knows that it is time to draw a line in the sand, to refuse Jones and and any associated gospel music personalities use of their facilities until an authentic repentance has been publicly witnessed.
Update 12.30.07 Eyewitness account of movie screening
This is posted only as reference by an individual who was at the screening of the movie Dirty Laundry. In light of criticism charging that we were unfairly judging the movie and Bobby Jones, please note these comments posted unedited.
“I must weigh in on this subject because I was able to attend the first screening of this movie with the cast and crew. I had no idea what the movie was about until i saw it but when it was over i almost slid out of my chair i could not believe ANY christian would be involoved in the mess that was going on the screen! Now i dont want to give away the movie but It is just as messy as some of you think it is, I also got stuck sitting next to Dr Bobby jones who was all smiles from begginging to end, I slid down in my seat as him and his camp acted like you know what around me which i guess was appropiate for the movie we was wacthing (forgive me Lord!) I was just so shocked that not only him but the superchoir appeared in this movie. now if you wordly this is an
AWESOME MOVIE minus the Gayness but if you are a christian and you think the movie gonna take a Holyghost turn you are MISTAKEN!”
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