Since 1998, numerous IPHC congregations have commemorated centennial events related to their founding. One that is occurring this month is the centennial of the Gospel Tabernacle PHC in Dunn, North Carolina. This congregation is associated with the life of G.B. Cashwell and the Pentecostal revival that began in Dunn on New Year\u2019s Eve, 1906.<\/p>\n
Many of us gathered in Falcon, North Carolina, in January 2011 to commemorate the centennial of the merger of the two holiness denominations that formed the IPHC as we know it today. Centennial celebrations of the IPHC have been held in Hong Kong and South Africa.<\/p>\n
Over the past month, there have been several occasions marking significant milestones in which I have participated. In September, Susan and I represented the IPHC at the 85th birthday gala for Dr. Charles F. Stanley in Atlanta. A few days later Bishop John Kim celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of World Agape Mission Church (IPHC, Korean-American Conference) in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
On a personal note, Susan and I celebrated our forty-fifth wedding anniversary in September. A little later we attended the 50th reunion of the Franklin County High School class of 1967. We may have all looked older but we are still young at heart!<\/p>\n
This October the global church will commemorate the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The IPHC will be well represented in Wittenberg, Germany, as several hundred Pentecostals will gather October 31st and November 1st to remember when Martin Luther posted his famous Ninety-Five Theses to the Castle Church door.<\/p>\n
While not at all approximating the importance of the dates referenced above, this October is particularly important to me. Fifty years ago, during the week of October 9-13, 1967, I sensed in my heart that Jesus wanted me to serve Him in full-time ministry. It was the week of King Memorial Lectures, on the Emmanuel College campus in Franklin Springs, Georgia.<\/p>\n
As a freshman, I had enrolled with law and politics on my career path. I was a Christian but had my own agenda. But that week changed the course of my life. Speakers included missionary Rev. D.D. Freeman, denominational leader Rev. R.L. Rex, conference superintendent Rev. B.E. Underwood, and night speaker Rev. L. DuRant Driggers.<\/p>\n
I remember two things from that week that intersected in my mind and heart. Firstly, Rev. Underwood, then superintendent of the Virginia Conference (now Appalachian Conference), spoke on the infallibility of the Bible. These lectures were published in 1969 as The Spirit\u2019s Sword \u2013 God\u2019s Infallible Book.
\nAs an eighteen-year-old college freshman, this was the first time I had heard a conservative scholarly defense of the authority of the Bible. Underwood\u2019s scholarship and passionate delivery made a lasting impression on me.<\/p>\n
Secondly, during one of the evening services, Rev. DuRant Driggers preached from Isaiah 6 about the ministry call of the prophet Isaiah. Underwood\u2019s lectures on the Bible and Drigger\u2019s anointed preaching converged as I sensed the Holy Spirit asking me to set aside my career goals and be willing to serve the goals God had for me.<\/p>\n
I can still show you the place where I knelt at the altar of the Franklin Springs PHC. It was not a particularly emotional time of prayer. Instead, it was a time of questions, willingness and asking God to confirm that it was His call and not my imagination. The next day the call was confirmed through an unexpected conversation with friends, and then by my father\u2019s affirmation.<\/p>\n
I grew up in an IPHC pastor\u2019s home and a local congregation in South Norfolk, Virginia. My teenage years were spent listening to the preaching of Rev. John W. Swails at the Franklin Springs PHC. Both of these experiences were very positive.<\/p>\n
My parents had always encouraged me and my siblings to serve the Lord, but they never pressed us on specific assignments. I\u2019m sure they faced discouraging moments in ministry, but those were never expressed to us. Instead, serving Christ and His church was an honor with eternal blessings.<\/p>\n
When I accepted the call that week, I thought it would mean I would spend my life as a congregational pastor. I prepared for that with seminary and with five years of practical ministry under the late Rev. Carl L. Campbell at the Ray of Hope PHC in Richmond, Virginia. The seminary experience prepared my mind; my experiences under my father, Rev. Swails, and Rev. Campbell, prepared my heart. Both were necessary.<\/p>\n
I wish I could say I\u2019ve always lived up to the \u201ccall,\u201d and to the godly ministries of my seminary professors and three primary pastoral models. But I have learned from Philippians 1:6 that God is faithfully at work \u201cbringing to completion\u201d what He has started.<\/p>\n
Over the past year, I have joined IPHC bishops in praying for a new generation of women and men who will respond to the call of the ministry. I see them in the various generations we term X, Millennials, and now Z. Outside these western categories in other parts of the world, I see them with a hunger for God\u2019s truth and the manifestations of God\u2019s love.<\/p>\n
I was not licensed and ordained until June 12, 1971 and June 16, 1973, along with dear friend and IPHC Men\u2019s Ministries Director Rev. Bill Terry. But I have never forgotten that week in October 1967, when the Word and the Call converged and changed my life. May that convergence occur again and again for all of us.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
By Doug Beacham<\/strong><\/p>\n This article was published in\u00a0the October 2017 issue of Encourage<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1],"tags":[313,45,134,46,290,184],"class_list":{"0":"post-1682","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bishops-blog","8":"category-general","9":"tag-313","10":"tag-bishop","11":"tag-bishops-blog","12":"tag-doug-beacham","13":"tag-iphc-general-superintendent","14":"tag-october","15":"entry"},"title_es":"Reflexiones despu\u00e9s de nuestra reuni\u00f3n hist\u00f3rica en Orlando","content_es":"M\u00e1s de 1.000 delegados, junto con varios cientos de visitantes, se reunieron en el Centro de Convenciones del Condado de Orange en Orlando, Florida, para la 28\u00aa Conferencia General de la IPHC, del 26 al 28 de julio de 2017. Antes de la Conferencia General, YouthQuest exitosa, Festival de Bellas Artes y D\u00eda de Capacitaci\u00f3n para Ministerios de Adultos en el IPHC. Cada evento experiment\u00f3 la presencia especial del Esp\u00edritu Santo. Muchos comentaron que el ambiente espiritual de esta Conferencia General fue uno de los m\u00e1s significativos en la memoria reciente. El ambiente se estableci\u00f3 en el servicio de apertura de la comuni\u00f3n y continu\u00f3 a trav\u00e9s del servicio de la noche del viernes. Los altares fueron llenados despu\u00e9s de los servicios de la tarde ofreciendo Beth Moore y Sammy Rodr\u00edguez. Nuevamente, los altares fueron llenados el viernes por la noche mientras compart\u00eda la visi\u00f3n para el IPHC mientras nos preparamos para conmemorar el 2000 aniversario de la muerte y resurrecci\u00f3n de Jesucristo en el per\u00edodo 2030-2033. El servicio de cierre, con la presentaci\u00f3n del suelo de los EE.UU. y el mundo, sigue inspirando nuestros corazones. Puede ver la mayor\u00eda de los servicios y oradores especiales en https:\/\/iphc.org\/live<\/a> . El evento concluy\u00f3 con algunos cambios en el gobierno y nuevas asignaciones en el ministerio. Entre los cambios adoptados se encontraban los c\u00f3nyuges de los ministros licenciados y ordenados se les otorgar\u00e1n privilegios de asiento, voz y votaci\u00f3n en la Conferencia General de 2021. La certificaci\u00f3n de la conferencia debe ser cumplida para todos los delegados; y para aquellos que sirven en las conferencias elegidas y las oficinas denominacionales, uno puede servir tres t\u00e9rminos de cuatro a\u00f1os por mayor\u00eda de votos antes de que comience la votaci\u00f3n de dos tercios de nominaci\u00f3n. Este segundo punto entrar\u00e1 en vigor de inmediato y ser\u00e1 la gu\u00eda para las elecciones de la Conferencia Cuadrienal 2018. A lo largo de la semana, otros asuntos fueron discutidos y determinados. Se reflejan en los minutos de la conferencia que est\u00e1n disponibles en l\u00ednea<\/a> en ingl\u00e9s y espa\u00f1ol. Los cambios finales ser\u00e1n incluidos en el nuevo Manual del IPHC disponible este oto\u00f1o. Los debates que rodearon el negocio fueron manejados de tal manera que reflejaron el fruto del Esp\u00edritu Santo entre nosotros. El negocio de la Iglesia puede y debe generar fuertes sentimientos. Sin embargo, tambi\u00e9n debe sacar el car\u00e1cter y el coraz\u00f3n de Jes\u00fas entre nosotros. El presidente Chris Thompson del Holmes Bible College en Greenville, Carolina del Sur, hab\u00eda anunciado previamente que no ser\u00eda considerado para otro t\u00e9rmino como director ejecutivo de Evangelism USA. Varios fueron nominados para llenar su posici\u00f3n. Despu\u00e9s de cuatro votaciones, el ex director de campo de Acts2Day Conference, Rev. Garry Bryant, fue elegido como el nuevo director ejecutivo de EVUSA. El obispo Bryant, cuyo ministerio se describe en este n\u00famero de Encourage, es un l\u00edder divino con visi\u00f3n y energ\u00eda. Los obispos Tommy McGhee y Talmadge Gardner fueron reelegidos a sus respectivos ministerios en Discipleship Ministries y World Missions Ministries. En una hist\u00f3rica elecci\u00f3n, el obispo McGhee fue el primer director ejecutivo de Discipleship Ministries en ser elegido vicepresidente de la denominaci\u00f3n. Tambi\u00e9n fui reelegido por aclamaci\u00f3n como Superintendente General, y esto result\u00f3 ser hist\u00f3rico en nuestra historia moderna como una denominaci\u00f3n. Parafraseando Hechos 15:28, parec\u00eda bueno al Esp\u00edritu Santo ya los delegados hacer eso en 2013 y nuevamente en 2017. Estoy profundamente humillado, y no en lo menos digno, para servirte durante los pr\u00f3ximos cuatro a\u00f1os como el Superintendente General y Obispo Presidente. Susan y yo, junto con nuestros hijos y nietos, codiciamos sus oraciones por sabidur\u00eda, protecci\u00f3n y buena salud. Estoy orando y tendremos la pasi\u00f3n de evangelizar a los perdidos, compartiendo nuestros testimonios con amor y compasi\u00f3n. Estoy rezando para que tengamos la visi\u00f3n y el valor de ir a las \u00e1reas de los EE.UU. y el mundo donde no estamos presentes y plantar iglesias hogare\u00f1as y otras congregaciones. Estoy orando para que nuestros siete valores fundamentales generen la generosidad, la justicia y la misericordia en cada generaci\u00f3n mientras manifestamos lo que es ser \"Un Lugar de Esperanza y un Pueblo de Promesa\". Estoy orando para que las generaciones m\u00e1s j\u00f3venes descubran la llamada de Dios y causar a trav\u00e9s de la IPHC que les inspirar\u00e1 a servir a su generaci\u00f3n. Una de mis canciones favoritas es \"Quiero servir el prop\u00f3sito\" de Mark Altrogge (en mi generaci\u00f3n). A menudo zumbido y cantar, y se puede escuchar aqu\u00ed<\/a> . Escuch\u00e9 por primera vez esta canci\u00f3n en Londres, en un entorno multi\u00e9tnico y cultural. Estas l\u00edneas siguen hablando a mi coraz\u00f3n: \"Quiero dar mi vida por algo que durar\u00e1 para siempre, Oh, me deleito, me complace hacer Tu voluntad. Quiero ver el reino de Dios en mi generaci\u00f3n. . . Quiero vivir mi vida por algo que durar\u00e1 para siempre. \" Por Doug Beacham<\/strong> Este art\u00edculo fue publicado en el n\u00famero de septiembre de 2017 de Encourage<\/a> .<\/em>","author_name":"","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2017\/10\/Bishops-Blog-Featured-Image-e1507577547277.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pb62Bx-r8","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/gso\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}