Healing Revival in Seneca
In the beginning of February we began a Friday Night Healing Revival at the High Falls Church of God in Seneca. We committed ourselves to spend a month of prayer and fasting before God, studying and preaching the Word while expecting healings and miracles to happen. Services began February 2nd, as we invited other churches to join us in prayer and fasting expecting God’s miraculous intervention through a fresh experience of the power of the Holy Spirit.
Various Healings Reported
Several healings were reported as early as the first Friday night service. Other testimonies followed in the days to come, as people moved in faith and prayed during the altar services. This is no different than our ministry experience in Bulgaria in the past two years, where in the midst of numerous salvations and Holy Spirit baptisms, healings were reported on a regular basis. Just a reminder that God still has the power to save, heal and deliver.
Wave of Healing Revival
We have received responses from churches as far as Mississippi and Maryland who have also prayed and fasted for a move of the Spirit expecting miracles and healings. We are persuaded beyond a shadow of a doubt that in the beginning of the 21st century God is doing a new thing purposing a complete physical and emotional healing of his people. If your church has also prayed for a healing revival, please let us know how we can partner with you in this ministry endeavor.
2007 Miracle Revival Crusade
During the month of February, Cup & Cross Ministries will be conducting a series of Friday Night Healing Services at the High Falls Church of God. While as human beings we do not hold the key to healing and revival, we believe that God does and that He is still the Healer and the Reviver of us all. For this very reason, we have committed ourselves, along with the High Falls Church of God congregation, to spend a month of prayer and fasting before God, while preaching his Living Word and expecting his move in our midst.
We know that this may sound like a call for an old-time religion, but it is much more than that. If God is still in the business of saving, healing, sanctifying and reviving people so must be His Church.
We invite you and your congregation to join us in this ministry endeavor, to pray and fast with us for God’s miraculous intervention. We will be happy if you and your congregation are able to attend our Friday night meetings and join us for a fresh experience of the power of God. Services will be conducted each Friday during the month of February at the High Falls Church of God in Seneca, SC starting at 7:00 pm.
SPS 2007 Meeting in Cleveland
SOCIETY FOR PENTECOSTAL STUDIES
The Role of Experience in Christian Life and Thought – Pentecostal Insights
36th ANNUAL MEETING at LEE UNIVERSITY
Cleveland, Tennessee
March 8-10, 2007
The Thirty-Sixth Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies will convene 8-10 March (Thursday – Saturday) at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Cleveland is one of several centers across the USA and the world for the birthing of specific traditions within the Pentecostal movement. Influenced by the Holiness Movement, the Church of God began in 1886 about 50 miles east of Cleveland in the hills of eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. By 1904, the center of the movement shifted to Cleveland, TN. It was here that Lee University began as Bible Training School (B.T.S.) in 1918. Today, it is a Christian liberal arts institution with over 4000 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Under the leadership of President Paul Conn, the past 20 years have produced unprecedented physical and numerical growth. We are pleased to welcome you to our campus and sponsor this conference.
And what a conference it portends to be. Our theme is on the role of experience in Christian life and thought. Within Pentecostal circles, experience of God and the things of God has long been a potent motif for doctrine, life, and practice. The theme of this conference is the exploration of the role of experience in Christian life and thought, with a special emphasis on Pentecostal perspectives. The conference will seek to explore such issues as: can one experience God directly or is the experience of God always mediated by something else (e.g., church, culture); how is experience to be considered in relation to doctrine and theology; have Pentecostals laid too much stress on experience in their view of the Christian life; what is the relation of experience to epistemology; how do various Pentecostal groups throughout the world consider the role of experience in Christianity; what is an understanding of the role of experience from a psychology of religion perspective within Pentecostalism?
Our plenary speakers will offer a variety of approaches to this topic. Dr. Paul Conn, President of Lee University, is an inspiring speaker. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Emory University. As a leader in Christian higher education and Pentecostal education in particular, he will provide excellent insight into the theme of the conference. It will be an exciting way to “kick off” the weekend.
Dr. David Daniels, our current president of SPS, is Professor of Church History at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago. Dr. Daniels will offer his Presidential Address in our second plenary session. Dr. Ben Witherington, Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, will be our keynote speaker in the third plenary session. Known for expertise in the study of the quest for the historical studies as well as his socio-rhetorical approach to reading Scripture, Dr. Witherington will address the SPS audience on his recent book, The Problem with Evangelical Theology: Testing the Exegetical Foundations of Calvinism, Dispensationalism and Wesleyanism. Several reviewers from SPS will offer their analysis and discussion and dialogue will fill the evening. Dr. Allan Anderson, Professor of Global Pentecostal Studies at the University of Birmingham (UK), will offer an address on the experience of the Spirit in early Pentecostalism for the fourth plenary session. Finally, during the Banquet, we will have our fifth plenary session provided by a panel of three SPS members: Drs. Emerson Powery, Amos Yong, and Arlene Sanchez Walsh. They will share personal stories and insights into the area of ethnicity and its implication for Pentecostal experience and scholarship. It is clear that the plenary sessions are events that members will not want to miss.
In addition to the plenary sessions, the specific papers and symposia in the pre-conference and parallel sessions are striking on topics related to the theme (experience) or not related to it at all. This conference portends an excellent weekend for the society.
The Program Committee for the 2007 Annual Meeting is as follows: Terry L. Cross (Lee University), chair; David Roebuck (Lee University), Executive Secretary; Donald Smeeton (Lee University), Library and Research; Angela Aubry (School of Urban Missions, LA), Diversity; James Shelton (Oral Roberts University), Bible; David Cole (Eugene Bible College), Ecumenical Studies; Kimberly Alexander (Church of God Theological Seminary), History; Joseph Castleberry (Assemblies of God Theological Seminary), Missions; Douglas Olena (Evangel University), Philosophy; Oliver McMahan (Church of God Theological Seminary), Practical Theology; Derrick Rosenior (Vanguard University), Religion and Culture; Dale Coulter (Lee University), Theology; Sang-Ehil Han (Church of God Theological Seminary), Asian/Asian-American.
Holy Spirit Conference
In keeping with the 2006-2008 General Assembly theme, “Proclaiming the Power of Pentecost, the Church of God International Executive Committee is sponsoring a three-day Conference on the Holy Spirit which will be held in Cleveland, Tennessee at the North Cleveland Church of God on January 15-17, 2007.
Dynamic praise and worship, informative messages and challenging messages will highlight this unique event which has attracted the commitment of Daystar Television Network to broadcast portions of the conference.
Beginning on Monday evening, January 15, the opening night speaker will be Ron Phillips, pastor of Abba\’s House (formerly Central Baptist Church) in Hixson, Tennessee. Phillips will speak on “Proclaiming the Power of Pentecost.” On Tuesday, the morning session entitled “Signs and Purposes of Holy Spirit Baptism,” will be addressed by Loran Livingston, pastor of the Central Church of God in Charlotte, N.C. and Forward in Faith radio minister.
A 2:00 p.m. afternoon session will feature the ministry of co-founder of the Daystar Network Marcus Lamb. He will be joined by the Daystar Singers, led by his wife, Joni, and part of the internationally televised Daystar program, “Celebration.” Marcus Lamb will speak on the subject, “Contemporary Challenges of Holy Spirit Baptism.”
On Tuesday evening, Perry Stone will lead an emphasis on youth with a message entitled, “Receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.” Special musical guests will be Karen Wheaton and Chosen, a dynamic music/drama troupe known for their powerful and energetic worship.
Closing out the conference on Wednesday morning, January 17will be Church of God General overseer Dr. Dennis McGuire who will speak on “Proclaiming the Power of Pentecost in the Missional Church.” All general sessions will be moderated by members of the executive committee.
Bulgaria enters the European Union
Bulgaria in EU: 1 January 2007, Monday.
The flags of Bulgaria and the EU were officially raised Monday at a festive ceremony in front of the Unknown Soldier monument in Sofia. The ceremony was opened by Bulgaria’s President Georgi Parvanov. Bulgaria will be a stable, predictable and consistent EU member, Parvanov said. We are joining the Union not with the ambition to be a consumer but with the willingness and readiness to really strengthen the EU with our stable macroeconomic indexes, dynamic development over the last few years and with our capacity to generate stability in a complicated region such as the Balkans, he added.
Bulgaria joins the EU with the ambition to assert its national interests, its identity ranging from culture to the energy security issues but at the same time with the awareness that it has to be a loyal EU member, that it can and will make the necessary sacrifices when the common European interests are concerned, he said.
Today we are celebrating deservedly but we are fully aware that Bulgaria’s EU-membership is not a one-time act but a process that will continue over the next months and years and that will require additional efforts in order for our country to meet the recommendations of the European institutions, efforts that will help us fit in the European economic and social model, efforts that will help enhance the living standard of Bulgarians, he said. Today is a historical, great day for Bulgaria; a day which many generations of Bulgarians have lived for and fought for, the president said.
2006: The Year of Promise
In the beginning of 2006 under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, we declared 2006 the Year of Promise. It was natural then as the year began that we sought the Lord’s will in prayer and fasting to discover and possess the promises. As the months passed by the considerable amount of ministry overtook most of our time and attention. At times we held 3-4 services per day, an evening revival service, had just enough time to eat a meal, go to bed and prayerfully start the new day. But we never stopped wondering about the promise of the Holy Spirit.
Having spent over seven months of the year ministering all over the country of Bulgaria, at the end of 2006 we are in the process of evaluating our work, available resources and plans for the next year. We are reviewing the videos, going through the thousands of pictures, checking our reports, over viewing our rapidly growing ministry’s media presence, reevaluating our statistical information and ministry results and looking for the points of success and failure. Over 55,000 traveled miles, two and a half broken cars, multiple trips with airplanes, buses, trains and sometimes even on foot; close to a hundred congregations involved, tens of thousands of people touched through the internet, but most of all countless handshakes, prayers through laying of hands, encouraging words and always finding strength through the struggles to give to other. And as everything comes together at the end of the year, we slowly but surely realize that the Year of promise is not about us. It is not about a promise which God wanted to give to us, but it is about His promise which He wants delivered to the others. All ministry results are nothing, if His promises have not reached the people He loves. And sitting in the office with video, audio, photos, numbers charts, maps, analyzes, satisfaction from the much success and pain from the many failures, we come to the recognition of this one thing – we have been granted the privilege to bring the promises of God to the people whom He has loved from the foundation of the world. And this is the True Year of Promise.
Thus, our payer remains the same: “May God use us to bring His promises to the people around us.”
Happy New Years from all of us at Cup & Cross Ministries.
Christmas in Bulgaria
Although the Communist Regime outlawed the Christmas holiday for 45 years in Bulgaria, Christmas has always found a place in the hearts of the Bulgarian people. For centuries since the Bulgarian national conversion to Christianity in 864 AD Christmas has been a central Bulgarian holiday. As Orthodox Christianity is still the main religion in Bulgaria for many, Christmas has a Christian Orthodox accent including the Orthodox traditions and customs. Yet, the Bulgarian Protestant community has supported for the preservation of this Christian holiday especially during the time of the Communist persecution.
According to the Orthodox customs the Christmas holiday begins 40 days before the Christmas Eve. This time is called “Great Fasting” and is a time when no meat is eaten.
Christmas Eve is the end of the Great Fasting. On Christmas Eve the family has dinner together. The hostess prepares nine meals without meat. Some of them are: beans, vine or cabbage sarmi (vine or cabbage leaves stuffed with rice), stuffed peppers, pickles, walnuts, apples, honey, ushaf (a traditional Bulgarian meal prepared by boiling dried fruits), and round bread.
After the fast is over meat is served. Usually most of the Bulgarians eat pork chops, kebab and sausages. The kebab is prepared by cutting in small pieces the pork stewed with onions and pepper. The sausages are made of homemade minced pork.
Central for the Bulgarian Christmas dinner is the bantiza, which is a baked strudel like pastry filled with an egg and cheese mixture. A coin is put in it for luck. The oldest man in the family breaks the banitza and gives a piece everyone. The one who gets the piece with the coin in it is believed to be very wealthy in the New Year. The Christmas Eve table is not cleared until the following morning, a typical tradition to insure that there will be plenty of food in the coming year.
“Surovaknitza” is another typical Bulgarian Christmas tradition. The surovaknitza is made of a cornel stick/cudgel. It is pruned so that several branches remain on the two sides of it all along its length. Then the branches that are one against another (at the same level of the stick) are tied so that they form something like a round circle one half of which is at the left side and the other half is at the right side of the stick. Three or four such circles are formed on the length of the stick as the upper circles will be smaller and the lower circles will be wider. The circles and the stick are wrapped with woolen and cotton yarn (usually white and red). It is decorated with little balls made out of cotton, strings of popcorn, raisins, prunes, dried apple slices, dried peppers, etc.
The ready surovaknitza is used by the children to pat on the backs of their parents, grandparents, extended family, friends and any visitors in the house after the Christmas Eve. While patting, the kids say a wish for health, wealth, happiness and all the best to one patted. The patted person pays a dollar or five dollars to the child in order to receive a blessing in the New Year.
Around Christmas many Bulgarians celebrate their name days. It is almost like a birthday, except instead of a date the parson’s name is celebrated. This is usually done on the day of a particular saint after whom the person is named. For example:
December 4 – St. Barbara’s Day
December 6 – St. Nicholas’ Day (Nikoulden)
December 20 – St. Ignatius’ Day (Ignazhden)
January 1 – Vassil’s Day
January 6 – Epiphany – St. Jordan’s Day
January 7 – St. John’s Day (Ivanovden)
Another Christmas ritual is called Koleduvane. All the participants in it are men – bachelors, fiances and young men who have just married. This ritual group has its own name that differs from place to place and is connected with the region of the country – koledari, kolednitzi, koledare, etc. All the men choose their leader at St. Ignatius’ Day – he is called stanenik, usually an older man. The group has 10-15 persons. Each group includes younger boys (they are called cats), who walk around the houses and tell the hosts that the koledari are coming. The koledari wear old Bulgarian traditional clothing. They go round the houses in the village or in the town from midnight till dawn. On their way, in front of the gate and in the house they sing specific ritual songs. The songs differ from one another according to the place they are sung and the person they are dedicated to. As a whole, these songs are ritual wishes for happiness in the family and rich crop in the farm. The first song usually begins with this verse:
“Get up, get up dear host!
We are singing for you!
We have come to visit you,
We are good guests for you, koledari!”
The leader of the group carries in his hands the ring – shaped bun, which is a gift from the host. After the songs have been sung he tells a Christmas blessing:
“Let God grant you health
We have brought in your house revelry! “
Besides the ring–shaped bun the hosts present the koledari with money, meat, flour, wine, beans and bacon. This ritual ends up with a common feast. Every family has a Christmas tree in their home; some are decorated with electric lights, some with candles. The tree is usually decorated with ornaments purchased in the store, cotton balls to imitate snow and a star on the top. Gifts are placed under the tree.
Services in South Carolina
We are excited to be able to hold services in the Carolinas again. While through its history our ministry has been closely connected to churches in this region of the country, we have been naturally unable to preach there during our term of ministry in Eastern Europe. The services in Anderson, La France and Pendleton reconnected us with our past history in ministry and reinforced our vision for the future. We are thankful for the given opportunity and the multitude of friends we were able to see once again.
Chaplain Dees Visits Bulgaria
The Director of Ministry to the Military, General Bob Dees and his team visited Bulgaria in November upon the invitation of the Bulgarian Ministry to Military and the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association. His visit included several key meetings among which were:
1. Lecturing at the Bulgarian Military Academy and meeting with the director of the academy, General-Major Manev.
2. Meeting with the Bulgarian Union of Retired Officers represented by director General-Lieutenant Topalov.
3. Meetings with Defense Ministry officials.
As a member of NATO, Bulgaria is already working on a strategy for implementing military chaplains. With Bulgaria’s acceptance in the European Union next month, this dream is getting close to its realization. With strategically offered chaplaincy training courses and non-government chaplaincy organizations, Bulgarian evangelicals remain the vanguard responding to the idea for military chaplaincy.
Ministering in Chicago
In November we were able to minister at the Bulgarian Church in Chicago. The Bulgarian Evangelical congregation there celebrated its 10-year anniversary this year since its registration as a Church of God congregation. The church is also the first Bulgarian congregation established and legally registered outside of Bulgaria since the Fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
The Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God in Chicago has accomplished a lot in the past few years, making a stand for the faith. The congregation has experienced continuous growth and the pastor shared with us their long-term plans for purchasing additional building space in the future. We spoke about the problems of the congregation as a Bulgarian subculture and were able to share with the leadership some key ideas from our research among the Bulgarian Diaspora in North America and to provide structural solution to some of the problems they are experiencing in the ministry.
