2022

January 1, 2022 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Featured, News

As Pentecostals historically (and as a movement)

We have been looking for power when we should have been seeking after His presence

We have been looking for gifts and signs and wonders, when we should have been looking for fruits of the Spirit and of character

We have been looking for preachers and prophets to follow, when we should have been looking for God’s presence to abide in

We have been looking for prophetic words and utterance, when we should have been taking more time in personal prayer

We have been growing, when we should have been going

And going when we should have been learning in the Spirit

We have been looking for more ways to build, when we should have been looking for more ways to move and go

We have been looking for ways to influence the world, instead of looking to be uninfluenced by God

And in our desire to be leaders and influencers, we have forgotten how to be led by God

And for a long time as a movement, we have existed at the borderline, at the verge and at the danger of gaining our rightful place in human history, but loosing our royal position in the GLORY of GOD

BUT ONE THING WE DID GET RIGHT: The Baptism with the Holy Ghost (watch the full message)

Read also: Last Days Great REVIVAL

This study was first published by Cup & Cross Ministries International on March 1, 2018

Information Regarding the Questionnaire and the Church of God Statistics

The survey was developed by Dr. G. D. Voorhis in 2005 with the hope that it might contribute in some small way to ascertain certain trends which appear to be developing in the Church of God (headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee). The primary emphasis was on the baptism of the Holy Spirit, according to Acts 2:4, with the initial evidence of speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gives the utterance.

One might think that the charismatic movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, with its effect on mainline interdenominational churches, would bring an upsurge in traditional Pentecostal churches as individuals experienced this infilling of the Spirit, but this was not so in the Church of God. This survey, with the confounding variables it might contain, along with statistics supplied by the General Headquarters of the Church of God, proves without a reasonable doubt that the Church of God is rapidly becoming a non-Pentecostal organization.

The statistics alone, supplied by General Headquarters, show that during the period of Sept., 2003 to August, 2004, we had 266,419 conversions, but only 60,926 that were baptized with the Holy Ghost. This downward trend in Holy Ghost baptisms has been continuing since 1960 (which was as far back as we could go in computerized records), up until the present time. In fact, the 2003-2004 statistics compute to a 23% decline in the Holy Ghost baptisms in this one year alone….

Going back to Portrait and Prospects, [Dr. J. D. Bowers, Ph.D., editor] the only survey ever authorized in the history of the Church of God (and I think one of the best things of this type ever coming from Headquarters), Mitchell W. Flora, D.Min., stated on page 35, “Also, while elements of Pentecostal spirituality may be present, the survey does not reveal the regularity of these occurrences, nor does it reveal the extent of these practices. The real question is how many of those who attend our churches are sanctified or filled with the Spirit.”

In the same writing, “Dr. John Maxwell’s assessment that our denomination is prone to the rigors of a slow death,” we again quote page 80: “Church of God ministers, with which of the following are you very satisfied? Spiritual life: 42% of the Church of God answered ‘yes’, but 68% of other Pentecostals reported ‘yes’.”

Well under half of our ministers are paying the price of prayer, fasting, and devotion to the Word of God to feel satisfied with their spiritual life. We are outdone by other Pentecostals by 26%. Another quote we should mention is on page 88: “Innovative pastors and others desiring to change to achieve greater effectiveness exhibit a tendency to disconnect ministry development and practice from their Pentecostal identity and faith”….

Based on this, and on the statistics from the Church of God General Headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, as well as the computations that were done from the surveys by Gary Anderson (an engineer in computer and mathematics, as well as a member of Central Church of God), who put in countless hours perfecting the statistics as much as possible from the data available, I must concede that the Church of God, based in Cleveland, Tennessee, is rapidly becoming a non-Pentecostal organization. All that can change this trend is a miracle of God such as the Cane Ridge Camp Meeting or the Azusa Street Mission. We need a last-day revival, accompanied by a great outpouring such as happened at Pentecost in the book of Acts.

If I read my Bible correctly, this is not promised universally; however, this does not keep churches from paying the price in prayer and consecration to experience local revivals and enjoy great Pentecostal experiences, in spite of the last days before the coming of our Lord to rapture His church and send His judgments on this wicked, sinful earth. “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

Within Holy Ghost Baptisms:

Within 44 years, Holy Ghost baptisms grew by 54.22%, with an average annual growth rate of 0.98950%, less than 1%. The ratio between church members and NEW HOLY GHOST BAPTISMS DROPPED 17.6% to 6.1% currently. Currently, only 6% of our members have the Holy Ghost baptism. (Dr. G. D. Voorhis, Experiences in Pentecost: 33 A.D. – 2005 A.D., p.311-16)

I myself have preached the Pentecostal Way of Salvation since age 16. I will soon be 50 years old with over 30 years invested in ministry with the Church of God. You have probably invested even more. I didn’t respond to the Heavenly Call to put all this work into the Kingdom, only to find out 30 years later that 90% of our church folk don’t even know who the Holy Spirit is. We simply cannot claim, as a movement and as a church, that we are Pentecostal if most of our members have never experienced His Baptism with tongues and fire.

For this reason, I am re-committing myself and ministry to revival and restoration of the Pentecostal Message through praying, fasting and preaching:

salvation of the sinner’s soul and entire sanctification through the Blood of Jesus
baptism with the Holy Spirit and fire with initial evidence of speaking in tongues
supernatural gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit
healings, deliverance and signs following
pre-Millennial return of Christ and pre-Tribulation Rapture of His Church to glory.

As I was considering how to end this already long letter, I came across the following statement one of my students made in a final paper:

“I hope this is a section where I am allowed to be real. Here I would like to answer the question, ‘How will the study of the Book of Acts change the way that you think or live as a Christian?’ I write this with tears in my eyes because I don’t know how to be filled with the Spirit in such a way as Steven or Paul. I’m sitting at my desk wondering how I can become so filled with the Spirit that I am not only willing to die for my faith, but that I can do so with the peace that Stephen had?”

Please consider the URGENCY of this generation!

Call us and let us reason and plan what we can do together to change this rapid decline.
Revival will not come without preaching!
Revival of Pentecost will not come without preaching the Message of Pentecost.

For the Kingdom,
Rev. Dony K. Donev, D. Min.

20 recent Pentecostal articles in light of the upcoming Pentecostal Sunday celebration:

I keep on repeating this through the years, but the need for the constant repetition comes from the simple fact that among new doctrinal teachings and Hillsong style of worship the True Message of Pentecost remains long forgotten

Salvation – That a man must be saved while the hour of grace is still upon us has been that teaching of every protestant evangelical since the Reformation. Why people attend church all their lives without getting saved is beyond me. But I do know that the commitment of the CHURCH to REVIVAL brings people to SALVATION.

Sanctification – The Wesleyan teaching of sanctification resolves that the sanctification of the believer is definite. This means that though it may progress and evolve through time, as the believer gets closer to God in his/her daily walk, sanctification must become ENTIRE i.e. allowing NO sin to abide in the believer’s body, soul or spirit. Without ENTIRE sanctification resulting in holiness, no one will ever see God (Heb. 12:14).

Holy Ghost Baptism – The doctrine of the Baptism with the Holy Ghost means that when baptized we speak in one tongue with God because we are ONE with His Spirit. Not just in us or upon us, but that we are IN the Spirit as John was on the day of Revelation.

Healing in the Atonement of Christ belongs to every believer. This means you, your family and your church members. The healing provided in the Atonement is for ALL believers – no exception. It is also for ALL sickness, disease, viruses, infections, tumors and cancers. But that it belongs to does not yet mean that it has been received by the believer. For this reason, God does not stop healing neither in this age nor through eternity, as the leaves of the Tree of Life in the New Jerusalem are still and forever for the healing (Rev. 22:2)

The Second Coming of Christ for Pentecostals is not simply pre-millennial, but also pre-Tribulation. There have been MANY teachings on the End Times until today. Post-millennials claim we live in the Millennium even now anticipating the return of the Lord; a-millennials that there will be no Millennium at all. Post-tribulationists expect his return at the end of the Tribulation, mid-post-tribulationists in the middle. But in Pentecost, we expect Christ to return before the Tribulation that we may be saved from the hour of trial (Rev. 3:10) and before the Millennium so we may reign with Him 1,000 years. Any other message is no message of hope for the Church of the Living God.

Speaking in Tongues in America Prior to the Azusa Street Revival of 1906

April, 1906 – The Azusa street revival swept the globe starting with California

January 1, 1901– The initial phenomenon of speaking in tongues occurred at Parham’s school in Topeka, Kansas

January 6, 1900 – Frank Sanford’s Shiloh school reported that “The gift of tongues has descended”

1896 – Over 100 people baptized in the Shaerer schoolhouse revival conducted by the Christian Union in the North Carolina mountains

1887 – People falling in trances and speaking in tongues were reported at Maria Etter’s revival meetings in Indiana

1874 – Speaking in tongues occurred during healing meetings reported in New York

1873 – William H. Doughty and the Gift People of Rhode Island spoke in tongues

1854 – V. P. Simmons and Robert Boyd reported tongue speaking during Moody’s meetings

The Central Church of God Ministry Center in Sofia (Bulgaria) Today

December 30, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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At the end of each year, we have made it a tradition to share the projects completed in the past months of hard work and labor for the Kingdom. But as we are approaching now 20 years of ministering and teaching with the Church of God denomination together, we have decided to recall some more long-term projects.

Exactly 20 years ago, my wife landed in Sofia, Bulgaria for the first time on a snowy December day. In fact, it was so cold that my mother worrying she would be coming from a much warmer subtropical climate, bought the biggest winter jacket she could find, so we could wrap her with it on the way from the airport. Not the most glorious meeting or welcome party as I recall it today.

I was eager to show her my Church, the Bulgarian Church of God, then second to none in the country with 32,000 membership strong and 400 congregations. Many of them newly started and 28 of them in the two-million people capital alone. The Central Church of God in Sofia, where I preached and ministered in 2001-02, had almost 1,200 people at that time. Its main meeting place was the multifaceted Church of God Ministry Center in a prime location in the growing European capital – a project we had undertaken in 1998 with the faithful will and support of some two dozen Church of God congregations from Florida. The documents from my personal archives tell the story best:

December 2, 2001 – I had just returned from Romania bringing with me World Missions Director Lovell Carry and Field Director (Central/Eastern EU/CIS) Dieter Knospe. They were in Bulgaria on a special visit to transfer the new building to the ownership and operation of the Central Church of God in Sofia per the contract signed with our overseer in the Spring of 2001.

The days of Ministry Weeks 17-19 that followed in December, 2001 and which my wife recorded here: https://cupandcross.com/2001/12/ are excruciating to even remember today. Sunday service with Sunday School and preaching, then again on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then special Saturday services in Pravetz and many other places. Similar schedule plus the traditional celebration services in the following Christmas week. Repeat again for the New Year’s week. And all of these done in extremely cold weather and tons of snow on the ground – so much that my wife was delayed for days leaving for the States mid-January with all flights out of Sofia cancelled as the ice never melted enough to clear the runway and defrost the airplanes.

And all through this, the building never stopped. Regardless of all difficulties, we were all working eagerly and anticipating greater results. The multifaceted Church of God Center in downtown Sofia was to encapsulate all our ministries and many more, giving our young freedom generation the opportunity of a lifetime to make a difference for the Kingdom…

Today, when the building of our Ministry Center is being sold and it will be used for something the will of the donors never intended it to be, our Church of God denomination in Bulgaria is split to no less than 12 fractions all registered since 2005. All of them still carry a variant of the Church of God name and consist of the same people I grew up with under the Communist Regime of Bulgaria. We were promised a democratic leadership formed by indigenous people, but instead ended up with mini-bosses, regional micromanaging oversight, multiple splits and everything that characterizes a very typical colonial type of missions.

With the church organizations split time and again until torn into pieces, many of my peers chose alternative paths. Some left the ministry, others were hurt or divorced, a few even died and many simply gave up and moved on. With the rest, I have an appointment at the End of the World!

But none of this gives any pleasure or satisfaction to share. Especially when reminded that the dreams we all once dreamed are now hang on the willow trees by the rivers of Babylon. When reaching those waters of deeply troubled cross-cultural crises of faith and conviction, all bridges to people have sunken with no hope to recover again. God’s Kingdom has no gain in any of this!

Our prayer has hence turned into a prophetic protest for a new reality – not merely for a new mission paradigm, but one of a whole new mission… A Spirit-led ministry that forgoes all man-made politics and business-like models, but instead aims to build a New Church that is nothing less than the very cross-road where we encounter God and others in the Spirit of Pentecost.

CONFESSIONS of a Pentecostal Preacher

To Mark Alan
We know not why good people have to die,
but we do know we must tell their story…

Chapter I: Beyond the Church and into God

Be without fear in the face of your enemies.
Be brave and upright that God may love thee.
Speak the truth always, even if it leads to your death.
Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong.
That is your oath.
~Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

Separation of church from politics of false religiosity

The phone rang heavy and long. It was 4 AM in Bulgaria, but I was already up. A friend on the other end of the line was calling from South Carolina with a warning of some bad situation. The following morning, I was going to be contacted by the Director questioning why we were ministering in churches outside of our denomination.

The truth was we had ministered in some 300 local churches across the Balkan country of Bulgaria crossing all denominational boundaries and gathering youth from just about every confession. God had used us not only to reach and minister and to lead, but to step into an untouched spiritual realm, to undertake an unfamiliar ministry paradigm and to approach a brand new dimension of reality where He was to be the center of it all. And we had obeyed without questions. Now it was time to pay the price!

* * *

Our denomination, the one to which I remain both critically loyal and loyally critical, spreads over some five generations. Through its century old existence, the struggles and tension between theology and praxis has been in the center. And there, in the very essence of Pentecostalism itself, while some are always celebrating and being celebrated in the office or temple, others are always pushed in the periphery of normal life, hidden from the world behind closed doors and seeking a much deeper experience with God.

These modern day mystics are not only forgotten, but often forbidden. For their riot for righteousness cannot be conceived, contained and controlled by the religious norms of organized officiality. They speak as prophets to a world they so fervently try to escape from, about a reality that does not exist in the normal believer’s mindset. A stage of spirituality that cannot be preached without being lived in the social existence. And a relationship of God that goes far beyond common relationism and into God himself. That God, Who does not abide in offices and temples, but on the cross outside of the city walls…

But I knew nothing of this until that cold winter morning when the phone rang through darkness of the night. Knowing what is coming, rarely changes what we have done to get here.

7 Years in Bulgaria: CONFESSIONS of a Pentecostal Preacher
by Dony K. Donev, D.Min.
Upcoming Releases for United States (October, 2020)

Tags: Bulgaria, center, central, church, Featured, GOD, ministry, Missions, news, sofia, the, today

Restorative Significance of the Gifts Given to the Christ Child

December 25, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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by Kathryn Donev

It is recorded that the Magi gave the Christ Child three gifts upon his birth; gold, frankincense and myrrh. We understand the gold today as a physical gold, representing His kingship and the other two as an incense to symbolize his priestly role and oil for his foreseen death. Yet, what if the gold that was given to the Christ child was for another reason and perhaps it was not “gold”, but a golden spice or a golden salt. Of the gifts, one could be ingested, one could be inhaled and one could be absorbed. If we look at all from a medicinal viewpoint, these three gifts may have more symbolic meaning than once perceived.

MAGI

So who exactly were the “Magi”. We know that they followed the stars and were from the East. The East was a region of the world known, at the time, for its great knowledge of natural remedies. So it is not unimaginable that they could have been natural healers or homeopathic doctors of their times. This could explain the hypothesis that all three gifts had a therapeutic purpose in the life of Christ.

GOLD

If we view the gold in compound form, it can be used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Gold is a type of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic medicine (DMARD) that dampens down the underlying disease process. This meaning it treats inflammation and stops the immune system from attacking its own body’s tissue. Gold can also be used to treat other auto-immune conditions. If we think of the gift of gold as a spice, the first one that comes to mind is curcumin which is known as the “golden spice” of the East. It also has the ability to reduce inflammation and provides immune system support along with anti-cancer effects. This golden spice seems to have the ability to kill cancer cells and prevent their regrowth.

FRANKINCENSE

When frankincense is inhaled, it is the most effective method of delivery to send a chemical message to the brain. The oils in frankincense have a high level of sesquiterpenes, an agent found in plants that has the ability to go beyond the blood-brain barrier. Sesquiterpenes from frankincense increase oxygen availability in the limbic system of the brain which leads to an increase in secretions of antibodies, endorphins and neurotransmitters. In layman’s terms it has the ability to go straight to the brain without traveling through the bloodstream and brings healing properties to reset and repairs its internal communications. It’s almost as if it can unlearn a disease or degenerative disorder passed down in our DNA.

The amygdale glad of the brain’s limbic system plays a major role in storing and releasing emotional trauma. The only way to stimulate this gland is with fragrance or the sense of smell. This may help us understand how we are able to release emotional trauma with aromatherapy of frankincense.

MYRRH

Myrrh also can arouse the limbic system to release emotional trauma. It also has anti-inflammatory and immune boosting properties among with many other health benefits. Once applied to the body, oil molecules pass through dermis, into the capillaries and directly into the bloodstream.

The substance know as monoterpenes are present in almost all essential oils. They are what enhances the therapeutic values of other components and are the balancing portion of the oil. They inhibit the accumulation of toxins and restore the correct information in the DNA of the cell. Sesquiterpenes are also found in myrrh and delete the bad information in cellular memory or memories that are hypothesized to be stored outside the brain in the body.

REMARKS

This is quite interesting, to say the least, that all three gifts can protect the body from such dramatic trauma. The body of Christ from infancy was being safeguarded against what was to become his destiny of great suffering and pain. The cathartic releasing of emotional trauma provided with the gift of frankincense would lay the foundation for the harrowing experience of death by crucifixion.

All three offerings had anti-inflammatory properties and helped support the immune system by preventing the system from attacking its own body’s tissue. Christ’s earthly body was protected right down to the minuscule cellular level. Even the cellular memory of his body was restored with these gifts. At a molecular level, His Heavenly DNA was being guarded. The gifts purposed to protect the Christ child’s from disorders genetically passed down and to restore the information in the cells of the DNA.

One gift was for the body, one was for the blood and one was for the brain. One gift purposed to go beyond the blood-brain barrier while the other was via the bloodline. The Christ child was both a descendant of a Heavenly father and an early mother. The father’s bloodline was supernatural while the mothers’ was a physical line.

We will never truly understand this side of Heaven all the care that went into protecting the Christ child. Yet since we are descendants of a Perfect Deity, we too have this promise of complete restoration of curses, sickness, disease, imperfections, degenerative disorders, mental impairments, and any physical, mental or spiritual attack of the body, mind and soul. We have been given a choice of living a life of blessing or curse. Just as the gifts of the Christ child had to be accepted, we too much choose to accept this promise.

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CHRISTMAS BOOK SALE

December 20, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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Since 2011, we have authored over two dozen books related to our ministry and mission work in Eastern Europe. As several of the prints are now almost exhausted and second/third editions and several new titles are under way, we are releasing all currently available editions in a Christmas sale through the month of December. All titles are available at up to 30% off and Amazon offers free shipping and extra savings for bundle purchases.

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BULGARIA has a NEW Government! For Now…

December 15, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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SOFIA, Bulgaria – After three National Parliament elections held in 2021 alone and three acting temporary cabinets, Bulgaria now has a new government based on a 4-partisan coalition. Will it outlast its first 100 days? ONLY GOD KNOWS!

Bulgaria’s PM Designate Petkov Presents New Government Ahead of Parliament Vote
Bulgarian Prime Minister designate Kiril Petkov presented the composition of his future government to the nation as he seeks to end eight months of political deadlock. Petkov, 41, leader of the newly formed centrist party We Continue the Change (PP), reached an agreement a day earlier with three other left-wing and center-right groups to form a coalition government.

Petkov’s party will hold 10 of the 21 ministerial positions, including prime minister and two deputy prime minister posts. The four-party coalition will control 134 seats in Bulgaria’s 240-seat parliament, which is set to vote on approving the new government on December 13. Petkov, whose party came in first on an anti-graft platform, told media on December 11 that the future government will have “zero tolerance” for corruption and said one of his first priorities will be to reform the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The new coalition is expected to have a majority of 134 lawmakers in the 240-seat parliament. “The agreement is 140 pages and details all policies. It gives the chance for the coalition to be strong and work for a long time,” Petkov told the national BNR radio after the party signed the document with each of its partners separately.

SUPPORTING PARTIES:

Bulgarian Socialist Party (socialist democrats)
There is Such People (centrist democrats)
Democratic Bulgaria (democrats)

Present 227 out of 240 MPs registered in the plenary hall. Instead of presenting Kiril Petkov’s candidacy, the plenary day began with a declaration on behalf of the GERB-SDS group, which will not support the draft cabinet.

“You organized brutal repression in the persecution of political opponents,” Desislava Atanasova said. She accused the president of undermining democracy.

The New Cabinet: “Vazrazhdane” will Not Support the “Petkov” Cabinet

The parliamentary group of “Vazrazhdane” will not support the draft cabinet “Petkov”, because according to its leader Kostadin Kostadinov the policies are a continuation of the GERB government, and the impression was that it the cabinet was created in foreign embassies

The New Cabinet: DPS will Not Support the “Petkov” Government

The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) will not support the proposed program, structure and composition of the Council of Ministers, because it has participated in the talks about them. This was announced by DPS leader Mustafa Karadayi. According to him, the Movement will be a constructive opposition and will contribute to solving problems and protecting rights and freedoms.

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Exclusivism, Pluralism and Inclusiveness

December 10, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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Exclusivism as most relevant and easiest to detect in a church or a ministry. It seems that marginalized people tend to respond to a Divine authority that either empowers them to address the social evils of society, or to rise above the impoverishment and inequities of their existence through a sense of spiritual realities that supersede the material world. We are regarding this dynamic as clergies often create a separate “clericalism alternative” to genuine Biblical ministry. The laity sometimes separates itself from the church experience. And the congregation is left with the painful experience of continuous and cultural dislocation. There is, however, some steadiness and perseverance through such uncertainty in way of reinventing the church. This new church demands a new theology localized away from the academy to the missionary frontier. It also requires a better sense of community. Nonetheless, the renovation process within the community of believers is an intergenerational mission thus transmitting those forms of community discovered by the present church to the future one.

Pluralism brings the highest recommendation to every Christian who is seeking wholeheartedly the will of God for his/her life. If you want to practice theology in a pluralistic society at this time, however, the evangelical churches must be prepared and ready to resist these unacceptable media attacks that restrict religious freedom and impose pluralistic values to the Body of Christ. The discussion on the Kingdom of God implies partnership with non-Christians which in holiness circles may be viewed as inappropriate. Kingdom values are to replace worldly values to indicate the influence of the Kingdom. Certain guidelines of cooperation then must be drawn in order that any partnership of such kind does not radically change the identity of the church negatively, but rather serves as a positive transformational factor for all participating Christians and non-Christians.

Inclusiveness must note that the climax of Christ’s mission was the cross. His suffering was due to a preexisting conflict which was resolved though His sacrifice, a transformational statement that included justice and restoration. The Church is also called to engage in the struggle for justice and social equilibrium, which is not only its earthly mission, but part of its eschatological hope as well. The sign of social change is then, not so much, the coming city, but the cross outside the gates. The involvement of the individual believer and the church as a corporate body in suffering on behalf of the oppressed is not viewed by God as failure. On the contrary, it is a transformation that changes both the world and the church after the image of Christ. The all-inclusive (available to all who seek) Kingdom of God creates inclusiveness within God’s redemption for the creation. It is His redemptive participation in human history through which all people are challenged to repent and live a life of participating in Kingdom business, while the Kingdom remains an already-not-yet reality. This reality gives a new status to every believer, who is transformed after the image of Christ, in order to participate in His Kingdom. In this sense, the Kingdom is not a personal Kingdom or personal transformation alone, but it is community which God creates for all with the purpose of being inclusive toward all.

The Early Church lacked no diversity. When we turn to Scripture it appears that God Himself has chosen to challenge the homogeneous unit principle. For example, He chose to send Peter to the home of Cornelius (Acts 10). Who else could God have sent? He could have sent an angel. In fact, we are told that an angel appeared to Cornelius in a vision. But instead of preaching to Cornelius and giving the Good News, the angel told him to send his servants to Joppa and call on Simon Peter (Acts 10:1-6). Why did God send Cornelius to a Jew? I suspect it was as much for the spiritual growth of the Jewish Christian church, as it was for the salvation of these Gentiles. Further, we are told that in a vision Peter rejected God’s instructions to transcend culturally held beliefs and he argued with God. God did not placate Peter in his protest, but challenged him with these words, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean” (Acts 10:15, NIV). God was investing a vision for racial/cultural diversity into Peter, and by extension, the church. This set the stage for the arrival of the Gentiles seeking Him. God had a plan for the inclusion of more people than just the Jews.

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How Can I Tell if My Pastor is Extroverted or Introverted?

December 5, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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At least one in three people are introverted, and believe it or not most pastors are introverted. You would think the opposite is true because of the job requirements which include more extroverted tasks, yet this is not the case. Some introverted pastors have learned to hide their personality traits and disguise themselves very well as an extrovert, but at the end of the day, they feel drained and not energized by all of the socialization. This is the classic definition what it means to be an introvert and extrovert. If group meetings and kicking ideas around with others energizes you, then you are probably an extrovert. And if these tasks leave you exhausted although you love doing them, you are more than likely an introvert.

Here are a few things to look for if you are trying to figure out if your pastor is an introvert of extrovert:

Introverted pastors:

will often take more time to respond to your concerns and questions
prefer to email or use social media rather than talk on the phone
feel more comfortable in an solitary office rather than a joint office with other staff members
don’t like having large boards to question their authority
give hand outs or use PowerPoint presentations to get point across, these aids decrease performance anxiety
take longer to come to a decision or to form an opinion
are more softly spoken when not behind the pulpit
don’t like to compete for attention or their voice being hear
crying babies would distract them
are at times height challenged
have speech difficulty of some sort
will have facial hair if they have thinning hair
bring up past often
thrive on scholarly accomplishments and prefer to be address with some formal title
have one close advisors that will make hard choices
are drained after preaching and may disappear sporadically to recharge
listen well without interrupting
send out memos rather than telling congregation in person
are passive aggressive and avoid conflict
are fully aware of others passive aggressiveness
have facial expressions that may seem forced or unnatural

Extroverted pastors:

probably will shy away from handouts in sermon and are comfortable using or not using PowerPoint’s
encourage the opinions of others and love brainstorming
like open-plan offices
are more commonly tall
are good problem solvers and will address conflict head-on
speak at a fast loud pass
have many advisors
make everybody feel like a close friend
have all their hair
feel full of energy after preaching
are not easily distracted while preaching
prefer to tell people things in person
might not see the value in bulletin boards
think often of future plans and church growth
feel scholarly accomplishments are no big deal and formal titles are superficial
will stay after church and talk to everybody and will see this as a pleasure and not a task
love stopping by and talking to people outside of church
are energized by community functions and social gathering
may not fully understand hidden intent of what is being said
are challenged by recognizing passive aggressive behavior
are easy to talk to
welcome feedback and constructive criticism

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2020 Vision for Bulgarian Evangelical Churches Abroad Completed

December 1, 2021 by Cup&Cross
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Over a decade ago, after publishing Bulgarian Churches in North America: Analytical Overview and Church Planting Proposal for Bulgarian American Congregations Considering Cultural, Economical and Leadership Dimensions, we purposed to explore the possibility of implementing the church planning program among Bulgarian Diasporas in various destination countries of migration.

With this in mind, we carried the vision for establishing 20 Bulgarian churches outside of Bulgaria by the year 2020. Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Canada were among the first to successfully implement our program. Bulgarian migrant communities in France, Italy and especially Spain and Germany followed with great enthusiasm – there are 7 Bulgarian evangelical churches active in Span today, and 18 in Germany.

Of course, not all parts of the program proved to be efficient. The program’s modules and training that was implemented, however, have produced 47 strong church plants thus far and the number is growing every month. The program proposed has been confirmed by the leadership we have received from the Holy Spirit. Our commitment to seize the opportunity and work toward adding more Bulgarian churches by the year 2020 has by far surpassed all expectations.

Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in the European Union (2020 Report)