A BAND OF BELIEVERS on the BANKS of BARNEY CREEK

By Dallas Bogan (Reprinted with Permission. This article was published in the LaFollette Press)

While many churches in the South had already established their existence and their doctrines, an invitation went forward to those who wanted to fully establish the readings and beliefs of the Bible as it was written. With this request a small group of nine believers formed the Christian Union on the banks of Barney Creek in Monroe County, Tennessee, on August 19, 1886. Activities of this joining together on a hot scorching day in the Unicoi Mountains in eastern Tennessee are not known to any degree, but their mission was fully accomplished. R.G. Spurling was selected as pastor of the church while Richard Spurling, his father, moderated the proceedings.

The small congregation knew it was futile to “reform” their own existing churches and so decided to “form” their own church. The intent was to re-establish sound scriptual doctrines of the Bible, and to promote evangelism and Christian service.

Barney Creek still remains a small stream that flows quietly through the mountains. Livelihood in this part of the Appalachian Mountains has still much to be desired. However, early folks in this part of the mountains who sought God found the New Testament Christianity and gathered to later become the Church of God, as we know it today. At a later time the experiences of sanctification and Spirit baptism were added.

This vision of Christian unification was the spiritual desire of R.G. Spurling and his father Richard Spurling, the former being a licensed minister in the Missionary Baptist Church.

Richard Spurling was an ordained elder and began to seek God regarding the abuses he saw in the local churches around him. He was quite perterbed concerning the spiritual neglect and ill treatment he witnessed in these congregations. He was also troubled with challenging traditions and creeds that he deemed a hardship for God’s people.

Calvin, Luther and other famous reformers had brought about many changes to the church such as a “right belief” rather than a “true relationship” with Jesus Christ. These gallant reformers’ changes concentrated more-or-less on creed rather than the leading of the Holy Spirit and one’s own principles.

The focal point of R.G. Spurling was Christianity and the law of love rather than creed or doctrine, in which the latter could possibly divide Christians. He believed that the New Testament was the “only infallible rule of faith and practice” and contains everything “necessary for salvation and church government.”

Spurling was a part of the broad re-establishment that moved through the church world in the United States during the 19th century. At this time, the Christian Union, similar to other groups such as the Churches of Christ and Churches of God (Anderson, Indiana), likened to reinstate New Testament Christianity. The New Testament was given different emphasis by these groups, but all wanted to restore some part of the apostolic church. Some of these groups focused on government, some on everyday life, some on the message, but all longed to return to contemporary Christian life, an important item that had been lost in the superseding centuries. Spurling saw in some teachings that a coarseness and individuality subdued the Gospel and led to dividing the body of Christ more so than to Christian unity.

A.J. Tomlinson, a friend of R.G. Spurling’s, wrote that Spurling preached whenever and wherever he had an opportunity. Tomlinson wrote that Spurling “in this way the minds of the people were continually agitated, and gradually prepared for the work of the Spirit that was to follow. For ten years this servant of God prayed, wept and continued his ministry against much opposition and under peculiar difficulties, before seeing much fruits of his labor.”

Benjamin Hardin Irwin acquired a more intense tactic to the Christian life and taught a “third blessing” called “the fire.” He structured, in Iowa, in 1895, the Fire-Baptized Holiness Associations, which later extended around the United States. During the next year he preached in South Carolina and Georgia. He had, by 1898, organized an international Fire-Baptized Holiness Association in Anderson, South Carolina, and during this time he had published a periodical called “Live Coals of Fire.” His message was heard and accepted in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina where Spurling was ministering.

In 1896, persuaded by Irwin’s movement, four men began a revival in the Shearer Schoolhouse near Camp Creek in Cherokee County, North Carolina. William Martin, a Methodist, along with Baptists Joe. M. Tipton, Elias Milton McNabb, and William Hanby, preached a ten-day meeting that attracted much attention to the area. Tomlinson states that “they preached a clean gospel, and urged the people to seek and obtain sanctification subsequent to justification. They prayed, fasted and wept before the Lord until a great revival was the result.”

Twenty-one years after that infamous meeting at Barney Creek, and the formation of the Christian Union, the ever-growing movement would establish themselves as the Church of God. The beckoning call of the original Barney Creek meeting has now established a worldwide membership of over 5 million in more than 145 countries.

Reports of Church of God revivals find that hundreds are getting saved and filled with the Holy Ghost, more so now that at any other time. World evangelism is the call of the Church of God through descipleship and prayer, as well as committment.

8 Things Christian Believers and Churches Can Do in Light of Recent SCOTUS Ruling on LGBT

1. State Level

• Contact your congressman/senator for available options. Write your governor without hesitation
• Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill allowing clergy to refuse to officiate same sex ceremonies
• Texas Attorney General fights back against Supreme Court
• First Amendment Defense Act Sen. Mike Lee of Utah introduced

2. Personal Level

• Inform yourself and your family of the clear Biblical principles for love and holiness applicable in this situation
• Pray daily for the protection of your family and the salvation of many souls
• Be faithful to your husband/wife and children

3. Corporate Level

• Hold on to your Christian standards for doing business
• Support other Christian businesses
• Forgive and forget, but watch and pray

4. Local Church Level

• Join in corporate fasting and praying in the Spirit
• Uphold the Biblical standard of holy living
• Preach the truth as you have received it
• Adopt local church resolutions on the sanctity of the family

5. Denominational Level

• Adopt resolutions on the sanctity of the family applicable to all your churches internationally (not just North America)
• Adopt resolutions on same-sex marriages, transgender, abortions and all similar issues applicable to all your churches internationally (not just North America)
• Stand along members, ministers, local congregations and Christian schools under attack for upholding the Biblical standard of holy living

6. Christian Alliances Level

• Stay informed of all legal protests and options
• Learn about upcoming IRS changes and alternative exempt options
• Consult with legal council about your rights and obligations under the law
• Join with other Christians in legal measures for upholding the Biblical standard of holy living

7. International Organizational Level

• Beware of what Christian churches are doing internationally to protect their members, ministers, local congregations and Christian schools
• Examine your current tax status and consult your CPA, attorney and insurance agents about the various possibilities to protect your church and ministry
• 2015 ANGLICAN CHURCH Communique
• Methodist church Faces Schism Over Same-Sex Marriage

8. Get good insurance with adequate coverage and experience in the matter

• A good example from Brotherhood Mutual Ins. 

READ ALSO: 

• Statement of the Church of God Regarding Same-Sex Marriage Court Decision
• AFA: 3 things your church must do immediately to protect itself
• Church of God Instructions for Ministers: Marriage and Same-sex Relationship (75th A., 2014)
• SOUTHERN BAPTIST ADF PLAN TO RESIST ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
• Web-cached copy of ADF PLAN TO RESIST ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS
• Brotherhood Mutual Ins: What should churches and ministries know?
• 6 More Things To Do after the Supreme Court Decision on Gay Marriage
• Why the church should neither cave nor panic?
• How Will the U.S. Supreme Court’s Same-Sex-Marriage Decision Affect Religious Liberty?
• Why Evangelical Churches Need to Address the New Reality?
• Will High-court ruling affect church weddings?

Doctrine of Free Will among Bulgarian Protestant and Pentecostal Believers

by Dony K. Donev, D.Min.

Historical and Doctrinal Formation of Holiness Teachings and Praxis among Bulgarian Pentecostals (Research presentation prepared for the Society of Pentecostal Studies, Seattle, 2013 – Lakeland, 2015, thesis in partial fulfillment of the degree of D. Phil., Trinity College)

Another peculiar characteristic present among early Pentecostals around the globe was the subject of free will. This was not a problem for the movement in Bulgaria. As strange as it may sound, among all publications and teachings by missionaries in Bulgaria during the 19^th century there is no mention of Calvinism, election or predestination. Because Bulgaria’s traditional Eastern Orthodox orientation, both Congregational and Methodist missionaries taught Armenian free will. Even though many Bulgarian ministers were educated in the Calvinistic schools like Princeton and Auburn, Calvinism never picked up among Bulgarian Protestants. With the explosive growth of Bulgaria’s Pentecostals in the 1920s, this Armenian theological heritage was widely accepted amongst the movement.

Postcommunist Believers in a Postmodern World (PDF)

“Postcommunist Believers in a Postmodern World” deals with the current condition of church-state relations in the country of Bulgaria. This study explores the postcommunist changes in Europe which led to the creation and adoption of the Confessions Act of 2002, a set of new legal definitions for the practice of religion in Bulgaria. Focusing on Bulgaria’s postcommunist period, this paper describes the role of the state in the evangelical revival and the Eastern Orthodox crises during the stages of adoption. This research analyzes the failure of the new legal provisions to resolve the problems faced by Christian communities throughout Bulgaria as well as the tensions created for the practice of freedom of religion and human rights. The conclusion of the paper is a call toward a new democratic paradigm for the practice of religion in Bulgaria.

Read the presentation of the paper

View the power point presentation (PPT)

Read the complete paper “Postcommunist Believers in a Postmodern World” (PDF)

Consult the text of the Bulgarian Confessions Act of 20

Postcommunist Believers in a Postmodern World (Presentation)

The research I am presenting today explores the processes and dynamics which have led to the proposal, acceptance and implementation of Bulgaria’s Confessions Act of 2002. Following the chronological order of events, the paper will show the inability of the new legal definitions to resolve the problems and limitations which Christian communities in Bulgaria have been experiencing. The tensions which the new law have caused to the practice of freedom of religion and human rights in democratic Bulgaria will be identified and analyzed as the research calls for a timely resolution and a new paradigm for religious tolerance among postcommunist believers.

Slide 2: Bulgaria is located in Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Romania, and Turkey. A population of eight million lives in an area of approximately 43,000 square miles which is slightly smaller than the state of Tennessee.

Slide 3: Bulgaria accepted Christianity as its official religion in 864 AD under the rule of King Boris. Christian faith spread rapidly through the land revitalizing spiritual, economical and political life and setting the stage for the Golden century of Bulgarian culture. By the ninth century Bulgaria had spread over the larger part of the Balkan Peninsula, but in 1396 fell under Ottoman occupation. The Turkish Yoke over Bulgaria lasted nearly half a millennium until 1878. During these dark centuries, the Eastern Orthodox Church played a significant role in the preservation of Bulgarian culture. Having fought on the losing side in both World Wars in the 20th century, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence and became a People’s Republic in 1944. The established Communist Regime proclaimed liberty and solidarity while limiting human rights and religious freedom. The new laws demanded conformation with government policy from all religious denominations. Churches which failed to comply were severely persecuted, properties were confiscated, pastors were imprisoned and religious activities were banned. On his first official visit to West Germany in May of 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev informed Chancellor Kohl that Moscow was no longer willing to use force to prevent democratic transformation of its satellite states. On November 9 that same year the border between Eastern and Western Germany was opened. A day later the Bulgarian communist leader of over 30 years resigned and the change toward democracy began. This meant the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War.

Slide 4: The first steps toward freedom were sporadic and unplanned as were the first waves of revival among the evangelical believers. Although long prophesied and fervently expected, the freedom caught the Bulgarian church unprepared. Nevertheless, evangelistic meetings in towns and villages began immediately with church no longer being underground. Dr. Penov, a professor at the Sofia University and a Parliament expert on human rights and faith confessions in a recent interview confirmed that the members of Protestant churches in Bulgarian exceed 100, 000. At the same time the Catholics are 70,000 strong and Eastern Orthodox are 6,000,000. Because of Bulgaria’s strategic location, today the country is becoming an important frontier in the war on terrorism. Since this war involves religion, Bulgaria is becoming a religious frontier as well. Such is not a precedent on the Balkans, which through history have served as religious frontiers in the Far East mission campaigns, medieval crusades, and Byzantine Christianization. Based on these historical presuppositions, today both Bulgarian culture and democracy demand a clear stand on religions.

Slide 5: Pressured by the deadlines for acceptance in NATO and the European Union, the Bulgarian Government made attempts to provide legal solutions for the rising religious tensions. In the period from 2001 to 2002, three drafts were proposed to replace the Communist Law of Religion which had been the single guideline for the practice of state and church relationships since 1949. The draft which received most attention was submitted by the New Time political formation within the leading party of the former Bulgarian king. Several Religious Freedom and Human Rights concerns became obvious even before the Bill was ever passed. Regardless of the protest and warnings of over 40 religious, secular and non-government organizations in and outside of Bulgaria, on December 20, 2002, the bill was passed by the Bulgarian National Assembly, published by the State Newspaper on December 29 and became effective on January 2, 2003 as the Bulgarian Confessions Act. The Religious Freedom and Human Rights concerns, however, remained within its text. They are:

1. Status of Religious Confessions
2. Registration with the government
3. Relationship between Church and State
4. Religious Activities
5. Religious Freedom

The paper overviews in detail these 5 areas as follows:

Slide 6: Status of Religious Confessions

1. The Confessions Act presumes, but does not provide a definitive statement of traditional and non-traditional religious confessions.
2. It designates the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as a traditional religious confession. The special privileges granted to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church provide for a lack of equality between the religious confessions, which is in contradiction with the Constitution of Bulgaria and Article 9 of the European Convention.
3. The act allows the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to act independently from the state. This contradicts the historical tradition of the Orthodox Church. It also allows it to reform itself to the point where it has little to do with the structure, function and identity of the religious formation described in the law.
4. The Act does not address the religious needs of minority ethnic groups

Slide 7: Registration with the government
1. All denominations, with the exception of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, must register with the Sofia Municipal Court.
2. The Act makes no provision of the requirements which the court uses to grant such registration.
3. It is not clear what type of limitations or bans of religious activities are to be applied for reasons constituted by the Act.
4. The Act provides no definite procedures in cases when the court fails or refuses to register a religious group. This gives the court undefined control over the existence of a given confession.
5. There is no procedure for cases in which the court’s decision may be influenced by public opinion.
6. The role of the Directorate of Religious Affairs in the registration process is mentioned, but not clearly defined.
7. The lack of experts on all confessions within the Directorate’s structures also remains unaddressed.
8. Registration is granted only to organizations with an enforced centralized structure.This is against the traditions and bylaws of many of the confessions in Bulgaria and creates new problems on the local level.

Slide 8: Relationship between Church and State
1. The opinion of the Directorate of Religious Affairs is presumed as expertise on religious groups and denominations.
2. The Bulgarian Government provides financial support for the traditional confessions, mainly the Eastern Orthodox Church.
3. There is no concern with the tendency by certain regional authorities to enact regulations in order to limit religious freedom.
4. The coexistence between the state and the Eastern Orthodox Church, called “symphony” in the Byzantine tradition, is enforced as a rule on Protestant confessions. This is a contradiction with the traditions of virtually all Protestant denominations, which historically have declared separation of church and state.
5. The very fact that the law purposes to solve the problems within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is based on the presumption that the church is not a sufficient agent in solving its own problems. Therefore assistance from the state is necessary as it possesses the power to create the needed legal supplements.
6. The Act allows government interference in the affairs of all religious denominations.
7. The Act enforces the registration of religious communities and organizations. However, once registered, they are guided through predefined channels where the state has liberty to execute maximum control. This raises the question of the actual existence of religious liberty under the new Confessions Act.

Slide 9: Religious Activities
1. Public worship is prohibited without denominational registration.
2. There is no category concerning foreign missionaries and their activity on the territory of Bulgaria.
3. There is no provision for chaplaincy or pastoral care in the army, prisons, hospitals and care institutions.
4. Formation of political parties along religious lines is prohibited. This may exclude religious communities from important policy debates on issues such as abortion, euthanasia and cloning, which have a direct relation to the values they defend
5. Denominational hospitals, social centers and educational institutions are encouraged, but done so without creating actual opportunities for their realization.

Slide 10: Religious Freedom
1. The Confessions Act does not provide an atmosphere for preventing discrimination and harassments against “non-traditional” religious minorities.
2. Neither definite procedures (delays, appeals, nature and role of the Directorate of Religions), nor substantive criteria for registration are clearly defined.
3. The Act fails to recognize explicitly the freedom of conscience, as well as the right not to believe, and does not clarify the rights of the believers within unregistered religious communities.
4. The Act regulates the right and practice of belief, while the right and practice of personal convictions of Communist or atheist types are not regulated by such legal document.
5. The Act implies a limitation clause as it demands that, “Freedom of religions shall not be directed against national security, public order, people’s health and the morals or the rights and freedoms of persons under the jurisdiction of the republic of Bulgaria or other states.” Such reading is problematic, as it enforces standards not found under Article 17 of the Vienna Convention.

Slide 11: Church in the Hands of an Angry State
Religious freedom and human rights advocates warned that the attempts of the state to establish a totalitarian order in the church after fifteen years of democratic transition are unacceptable and may lead to further religious and political conflicts. Unfortunately, their warnings remained unheard.

Slide 12: It was during the development of this research, that such warnings became reality. On July 21, 2004, in a preplanned action upon the Chief Prosecutor’s order, the police stormed through 250 churches in a controversial raid to restore ownership to the official Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Father Pissarov, priest at the Dormition Orthodox Church in the capital Sofia locked the sanctuary doors to prevent police from entering. The special force’s team first scattered the citizens who were protesting around the church and then using a police vehicle pulled the temple doors open. Although the priest was unarmed and did not resist the arrest, five policemen held him on the ground while others were kicking him in the face with their army boots. Father Pissarov was hospitalized with a serious concussion, broken teeth and torso injuries.

The controversial police actions revealed that the new Confessions Act is already failing to respond to the social and spiritual needs of Bulgaria’s postcommunist context. It is unfortunate that its malfunctions prevent an atmosphere of religious freedom, pluralism and tolerance where everyone can freely experience the right to believe. Thus, the Bulgarian Confessions Act of 2002 cannot and should not be the legal text operating in Bulgaria when the country is accepted into the European Union. Forced to be unconcerned with political and social issues under Communism, the Church remains distanced from culture and society to the point of a minority complex. In the totalitarian context, the role and functions of the Church were imposed and strictly regulated by the government. As a result, today the church is failing to recover and reclaim its Biblical identity and is becoming simply a state institution with dictated interests in predetermined areas of social life.

The Confessions Act of 2002 attempts a return to an autocratic style of government, turning the postcommunist Bulgarian context into a postcommunist regime for the religious communities. In the journey of democracy such approach is without excuse. The state cannot and must not attempt regulatory interference with the rights of the church through predetermined legality and pressure of public opinion. The government cannot and should not allow tradition to dictate special privileges for any denomination. When the state fails to be the initiator of actions against discrimination and oppression, the Church must and should assume this role. And these should be the foundations of practicing religious freedom in 21st century Bulgaria.

In conclusion, please allow me to say just a few words about the rather shocking photos in this presentation. The three pictures seen here are from the mentioned police raid. The background picture is of the skull of a monk by the name of Gregory who died for his faith in 1979.

I am not a political figure and I do not have the power to change the laws in Bulgaria.
I am not a legal expert and I do not have the knowledge to draft a more suitable legal paradigm for the practice of religion in my home country.
I am not a publicist and I cannot influence public opinion.
I am not even an Orthodox priest and I can very easily satisfy my internal urge for justice by saying, “This is none of my business.”
I am just a simple preacher from Bulgaria belonging to a church which has suffered half-a-century of Communist persecution and I am simply asking the question “is it true that if I don’t speak now, when they come for me, there will be no one left to speak.”

I saw this conference as an opportunity to speak against the factors which threaten religious freedom in my home country and manipulate the Bulgarian people to return to another totalitarian regime. Therefore, today in the city of Birmingham, which has become a monument of human freedom, I present the case of all Bulgarians who desire religious tolerance, democratic pluralism and equality for all and I ask for your prayers, support and active participation in the process which will guarantee religious freedom for postcommunist believers in postmodern Bulgaria.

Read the presentation of the paper

View the power point presentation (PPT)

Read the complete paper “Postcommunist Believers in a Postmodern World” (PDF)

Consult the text of the Bulgarian Confessions Act of 20