It’s all about them

If a leader doesn’t understand the concept of “service above self” they will not engender the trust, confidence, and loyalty of those they lead. Any leader is only as good as his or her team’s desire to be led by them. An over abundance of ego, pride, and arrogance are not positive leadership traits. Real leaders take the blame and give the credit – not the other way around. Long story short; if a leader receives a vote of non-confidence from their subordinates…game over.

Rapid Decline of Holy Spirit Baptisms (Research Study)

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)

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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.

When there’s a failure to communicate

When leaders are constantly flummoxed by those who don’t seem to get it, there exists both a leadership and communications problem. Show me a leader with poor communication skills and I’ll show you someone who will be short-lived in their position. Great leaders can communicate effectively across mediums, constituencies, and environments. They are active listeners, fluid thinkers, and know when to dial it up, down, or off.

Sequence of Internal Motivation

by Kathryn N. Donev, LPC/MSHP, NCC
The following are some highlights to encourage you this new year in midst of the uncertainty of a global pandemic with 1) Product Placement, 2) Cognitive Dissonance, and 3) Mass Formation Psychosis surrounding us daily.

Internal motivation is produced through a five stage sequence: (1) Informed, (2) Interested, (3) Identification, (4) Internal Passion, and (5) Internal Motivation. The first stage involves the initial process of becoming aware. Awareness requires a time of enlightenment. This may take place by various means, including but not limited to learning through verbal communication or media forms including virtual resources. It is important to note that if one is not cognizant of the reasons he or she performs certain actions, there may be consequences when one discovers that manipulation rather than motivation has occurred. True motivation involves both understanding the purpose and reasoning behind actions.

 

The second stage involves one becoming interested. This occurs after enlightenment when one makes a choice whether or not to further invest. At this period, if there is a level of curiosity, there will be a desire to obtain more information. He or she may become personally intrigued by the obtained information and feel like such defines who he or she is. In midst of pandemic information translates to safety.

 

After obtaining the material necessary to understand why he or she is about to make an investment, the individual proceeds to stage three. During this step, one will begin to identify with what was just learned. You embrace the cause as part of your person. It is important to note that in order to be motivated toward a cause, you have to identify with that cause. When you identify with something, the identified aspect becomes a part of your being, resulting in a sense of belongingness.

 

The fourth stage, internal passion, begins with an igniting spark. This is the preliminary occurrence needed in order to instigate motivation within an individual. However, it is important that this spark does not become consuming. A balance between one’s passion or motivating force and one’s being or person needs to exist. This is crucial in preventing burnout.

 

Becoming internally motivated is the final stage. At this stage, one has a desire to do something just because they love it; thus achieving genuine internal motivation. This motivation is not reliant on external rewards, but originates solely from within the individual. The significance of internal motivation is that this type drives one regardless of the opinions or actions of others, free from persuasion, influence or secular reinforcements.

 

Nurturing Ongoing Motivation
Even though one may possess internal motivation, he or she eventually may move from being internally motivated, to externally motivated when personal drive or passion comes no longer from within, but rather from external factors such as the praise of others. When you place too much emphasis on the opinions of others, it is easy to lose sight of the origin of passion. That which originally came from within, now is being influenced by external factors. Once external factors become nonexistent, one is no longer rewarded for actions.

When one continues to move toward a goal with little or no reinforcement, a crisis may result. An individual may begin to wonder why he or she continues to engage in an act if no one seems to appreciate the effort. Therefore, in order to prevent this burning out or moving away from being internally motivated and losing one’s desire to move forward when external reinforcements are not present, it is important that one revisits his or her initial passion and move away from having to rely on external factors to influence action. This period of retaining one’s internal motivational state may involve a weaning process where people re-learn to live based on what God wants rather than on social reasoning.

 

How many people die in the Great Tribulation?

We start with roughly 8 billion population

Revelation 6:8 KJV “And I looked, and behold a pale horse. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

8 bil : 4 = 2 billion dead

6 billion left alive after Rev. 6

Rev. 9:15-18 another 1/3 of the world’s population will be dead

6 bil : 3 = 2 billion dead

4 billion left alive after Rev. 9

4 bil out of the original 8 bil is 50%

The odds that anyone would survive the Great Tribulation are 50:50 or even less…

Maintaining Internal Motivation in Midst of Pandemic

by Kathryn N. Donev, LPC/MSHP, NCC
The following are some highlights to encourage you this new year in midst of the uncertainty of a global pandemic with 1) Product Placement, 2) Cognitive Dissonance, and 3) Mass Formation Psychosis surrounding us daily.

Motivation has been explored from the beginning of time. Questions such as “What is motivation?” and “How can one become motivated?” continue to be discussed and analyzed. Many theories of how to provoke individuals exist. Some authorities feel that the key is the use of a reward system in which an individual is enticed to act by an external motivator. Conversely, other experts believe in the concept of “self-talk” where one simply talks positively to become inspired. Scholars continue to debate the sources of motivation and it has been described in a variety of ways. From a Christian perspective, motivation can be defined as occurring when an individual is convinced of the appropriateness and urgency of goals, to the degree that he or she is driven not from without, but from within to act and continues to act in order to reach these goals, despite what others do or think.

In order to understand motivation, one must be aware of its sources. These include those that arise from within oneself and those that derive from external factors. One of the main sources of external motivation is financial incentives. Other external motivators include social pressure as well as magnetic personalities; those that have the ability to attract individuals who may fail to consider the implications of becoming enticed. External motivators inspire individuals to act first and think later. In such cases, one is solely moved by outside incentive. Alternatively, individuals may experience genuine motivation, which comes from within oneself.

Before addressing how to become genuinely motivated, a further distinction must be made between “internal” and “external” motivation. Internal motivation is what the author considers to be true motivation due to it being internally generated and not externally stimulated. Excitement occurs based on personal interest or passion. It is grounded on a decision to identify with that task, resulting in belongingness and not because of any external incentive.

On the other hand, the author views external motivation as an artificial stimulus. It is fake in the sense that it produces emotional stimulation, which may lead to excitement without creating an awareness of the true source of such feelings. In other words, support or positive reinforcement from others may create a feeling towards action, which may dissipate once the peripheral source is removed. External motivation is based on outside or perhaps selfish incentives. One may ask the question, “What is in it for me?” External motivation causes one to become consumed with personal rewards, rather than focusing on the goal at hand. Nevertheless, it is important to note that in the early stages of motivation, people may need emotional encouragement from others in order to promote action. However, individuals are not truly motivated as defined above, unless their actions are produced by internal motives regardless of the presence of support from others.

When leaders fail to lead themselves

A leader who lacks character or integrity will not endure the test of time. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, affable, persuasive, or savvy a person is, if they are prone to rationalizing unethical behavior based upon current or future needs, they will eventually fall prey to their own undoing. Optics over ethics is not a formula for success.

Cup & Cross Ministries Offers Ministry Leadership Table

Empowered by the vision for a continuous revival within the church of the 21st century, we have chosen to make the mission of our work this one statement: We help churches grow.

One of the approaches we have taken to accomplish this ministry goal is Consulting and Coaching:

• We have successfully worked with over 50 churches toward their effective missions programs and growth through (1) leadership training and team building seminars, (2) in-depth case study of church and ministry evaluations and (3) implementing individually designed strategies for ministry development
• Currently, our team provides continuous education to over 200 church leaders and ministry teams around the world through teaching and lecturing on a weekly basis along with daily prayer support
• We extend our efforts toward church growth by helping build strong family connections through relations counseling and parenting classes implementing play therapy as Board Certified LPC

Beside personal presence and team building strategies, we implement the media in virtually every approach of ministry. We have published several research monographs as well as film series about our ministry work. Our team holds a weekly TV program called the Bible Hour. (Learn how we help churches build their own and unique web presence)

Areas of Ministry: Evangelism & Missions Leadership Training Digital Discipleship Mobile Bible School Church Growth Chaplaincy Christian Counseling

Daily Ministry Reach: Services 1-3  Continents 3 Churches 144-179 Bible verse via text 3,416 LIVE Church Platform 1,600

Read also:  Church of God Eastern Europe Missions: Leadership, Economics and Culture

Restorative Significance of the Gifts Given to the Christ Child

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.

Exclusivism, Pluralism and Inclusiveness

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.

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

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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