The Alabama Messenger Nov./ Dec. 2023

KENNETH W. DRAUGHON, D.MIN. NETWORK SUPERINTENDENT ds@amnag.org

LET’S PRAY! JESUS IS WAITING. I was a orded the privilege of speaking at the rst Na onal AG Prayer Center Prayer Siege conducted at Calvary AG in Decatur. The Siege was ten days of intense prayer and training. The Lord reminded me that in Jude 20, “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost....” While we are in the “here and now” or “already” before entering the “not yet” or “here a er” we are involved in an intense war in the spiritual realm.

This eternal ba le is splashed across almost every page of Scripture because it is a sobering warning to each of us. Life, right here, right now, really is a moment-by-moment spiritual con ict. Scripture handles spiritual warfare di erently from the way many of us do.

The weak cannot win this spiritual ba le. God’s word challenges us to build ourselves up for this con ict, and you can’t do that in the natural—it must be done in the supernatural. The Book of Jude contains wise counsel for us in saying, “...ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost....”

Jesus promised in Acts 1:8 before he ascended into heaven, “But ye shall receive power (dunamis), a er that the Holy Ghost is come upon you....” The same Spirit that sends us with the message of the Gospel empowers us to share it. That Holy Spirit opens heaven’s divine arsenal and distributes weaponry for spiritual warfare.

Look at this, the Apostle Paul said, “For though we walk in the esh, we do not war a er the esh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) cas ng down imagina ons, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into cap vity every thought to the obedience of Christ....” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

Andrew Murray said in his book, “With Christ in the School of Prayer” that Jesus never taught His disciples how to preach, only how to pray. He did not speak much of what was needed to preach well, but much of praying well. To know how to speak to God is more than knowing how to speak to man. Not power with men, but power with God is the rst thing. Jesus loves to teach us how to pray. In this spiritual con ict our priority should be to pray more than anything else. Jesus asks in Ma . 26:40, “couldn’t you pray with me for an hour?”

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Praying in the Holy Ghost in the New Testament was important then to “build yourself” up and it may be even more important today. Let’s pray! Jesus is wai ng…..

MICHAEL D. SHARP, D.MIN. NETWORK SECRETARY-TREASURER msharp@amnag.org

THE SEASON OF ADVENT - PREPARING FOR CHRIST’S COMING

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Every year American Chris ans complain about the corrup ng busyness and materialism of Christmas.

Americans rede ned the “Christmas season” as beginning a er Thanksgiving (a modern American holiday) when our shopping frenzy begins. We equate Christmas Season with the Christmas shopping season. We’ve been corrupted by our materialis c culture. The best an dote for this has been around for over 1,600 years: The season of the Chris an Year that immediately precedes Christmas, the season known as Advent.

Advent comes from the La n word “adventus” or “coming.” Ancient Chris ans knew that Christ’s redemp ve work had changed how we mark me itself. God’s people would now celebrate the redeeming acts of Jesus Christ throughout every year. This would guide our lives, our worship, our discipleship. Every year the founda onal doctrines of our Faith would be taught during these seasons. Throughout the year we would re-live the life of Jesus. The year begins with Advent, preparing our hearts to celebrate Messiah’s Coming.

Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas Day and ends with Christmas Eve. During these four Sundays and the surrounding days, the preaching, teaching, and devo ons tell us of Christ’s First and Second Advents. Through God’s Word, our worship, and our medita ons we remember God’s promises to Israel to come as Savior and deliver them from cap vity. We remember Christ’s promises to come again someday to deliver Chris ans and judge the na ons. We prepare our hearts to celebrate Christ’s birth, and to meet him when he comes again. Advent is a me of remembrance, repentance, longing, and hope.

Only Advent embeds Christmas, and us, in the proper context. Advent provides the best possible means for preparing to celebrate Christ’s birth acceptably. Advent is a powerful an dote to the busyness and greed that pollute the weeks leading up to Christmas. We take a long look back through the history of God’s People, examine our hearts, re ect on our desperate need for God’s interven on, repent of sin, long for Christ to come, and hope steadfastly. Finally, we rejoice with great joy at the birth of Jesus Christ. All of this rejects and resists what our culture ac vely promotes in the weeks leading to Christmas.

Advent requires us to look deeply into God’s Word and nd there the prophecies of all that God’s Messiah was to be and do in his First and Second Comings. Each year we cycle through di erent passages learning how central Jesus is to all of Scripture and all of redemp on history. Advent reminds us that we’re an ancient-future pilgrim people with an ancient-future faith, stretching back through Christ into Israel, and forward through Christ into the eternal New Crea on. Advent hymns like “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” join our longing with ancient Israel’s and with Chris ans’ through the ages. Each week a new candle is lit in the Advent wreath reminding us that God’s Light once came, and is coming again, into this present darkness.

It is tragic that a few early evangelicals kept only Easter Sunday and Christmas Day and rejected the rest of the Chris an Year. Tearing these two days out of their contexts, out of the holy seasons surrounding them destroyed much of their power to form us as Chris ans. The celebra on of many American Chris ans became shallow, rootless, and truncated. Christmas was cut o from deep Scripture and history, stripped of much beauty and power, de ned by culture instead of by Christ. We lost a richness that can only be restored by marking me “in Christ” once more. Thankfully, many evangelicals are relearning the beauty of Advent itself, and the tremendous depth it adds to the celebra on of the Christmas Season that follows from Christmas Day un l Epiphany.

Stop le ng non-Chris an ideas and prac ces push you around during these holy days! Don’t let this materialis c culture replace the holy, repentant Season of Advent with the “christmas” shopping season.

Enter fully into Advent and prepare your heart for the joy of mee ng Jesus!

Alabama Youth Ministries www.alabamayouthministries.com Email: dydsec@amnag.org

Steven A. Mason District Youth Director

2023 Top Speed The Light January - September

2023 Top Youth Group Offerings January - September

Phenix City First Assembly

$36,888.30

Atmore First Assembly

$2,000

Montgomery First Assembly

$18,947.14

Pinedale Assembly, Clanton

$700

Vincent Revival Center

$16,141.24

Albertville, Crossroads

$500

Christian Life Church

$14,059.00

Montgomery First Assembly

$450

Sunshine Assembly

$10,987.00

Hartselle First Assembly

$350

Ashland First Assembly

$10,647.73

Evangel Church—Montgomery

$225

CenterPointe Assembly

$10,244.12

Tuscaloosa First

$160

Harper’s Joy Assembly

$10,000.00

New Beginnings Assembly

$135

River Valley Church

$9,263.99

Robertsdale First

$135

Dothan First Assembly

$8,327.80

Goodman Assembly

$120

January // Speed the Light Tour January 12-14 // Deeper WKND March 8-9 // Youth Conference, Huntsville April 9 // Easter Sunday April 24 // Grand Club Banquet May 3-4 // State Fine Arts May 27-June 4 // Belize AIM Trip June 17-21 // Youth Camp Week 1, Chris Estrada June 24-28 // Youth Camp Week 2, Jeremy Austill July 1-5 // Youth Camp Week 3, Jonathan Rivera July 8-12 // Youth Camp Week 4, Peter Reeves HAPPY THANKSGIVING and MERRY CHRISTMAS from the Mason Family!

A CHRISTMAS BLESSING to our Women in Ministry

Each of you give so much to so many throughout the year.

Whether it be sharing God’s message with love and caring or being His hands extended to families in crisis. Know that as you serve, we are li ing you in prayer. It’s a prayer that God will bless you and your family with love, joy, and peace especially during this special me of the year. Thank you for all you do for the Kingdom!

We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Gulf Coast

WOMEN’S

CONFERENCE

FEB 22-24 24

AT CELEBRATION CHURCH FAIRHOPE, AL

HA S I : R r e T k a Spe DEN

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MAIL-OUT COMING SOON!

Everyone is Welcome $80 Registration Fee

BOOK REVIEWS: OUR ANCIENT-FUTURE FAITH Robert Webber’s Ancient-Future Faith series is the premier examination of the church’s life and worship done in our lifetimes. In it Webber compares the life, worship, and ministry of the ancient church with that of modern evangelicalism, including Pentecostals. He demonstrates how the American church has “shallowed out” in every way. Drawing on the core concepts and practices of the ancient church, Webber describes how the Church can recover a powerful, effective life for the future we face. He is correct in his diagnoses and in his prescriptions for change. These books have had a profound impact on thousands of evangelical and Pentecostal ministers and churches, particularly some younger emerging leaders. They are biblically, theologically, historically, and practically solid. They are brief and easy to read. I encourage you to buy them, read them, and put them into practice. They are rich, deep, and will enrich and deepen you and your church.

Ancient-Future Faith: Rethinking Evangelicalism for a Postmodern World, Robert E. Webber, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999, 240 pages.

Drawing from the church of the first few centuries, Webber demonstrates how the classical understanding of Christianity relates to postmodern mindset. This book can be read as a “primer on the Christian faith” or as an “explanation of what is happening in the church today.” Webber traces the historical deterioration of modern evangelicalism, including Pentecostalism, into its current state of life and worship. He shows how classical Christian ways of being the church and conceiving Christian truth effectively engage our culture in the areas of Christ, the church, worship, spirituality, and mission. This first book in the series serves as a basis and a forecast for those that followed. No other book on this subject approaches this book in both depth and accessibility. It is a classic.

Ancient-Future Evangelism: Making Your Church a Faith-Forming Community, Robert E. Webber, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2003, 219 pages.

For fifty years the American church has increasingly failed to carry out Christ’s great commission: Make disciples. That failure is now considered catastrophic, having produced shallow, compromised “christians” even in “growing” churches. Webber traces this disaster’s development over time, examining our misplaced priorities on “decisions” and our individualistic, subjective understanding of “salvation.” Drawing on ancient, historic church concepts and methods he describes a path through evangelism, discipleship, spiritual formation, to Christian vocation. He provides resources from classic rites of passage along this formational path, to the use of the Christian Year in the church’s perennial formation. This is one of the most thoughtful books on formation you will ever find. This is an outstanding, holistic approach.

OUR LIMITS and OUR LIBERTIES Many Assemblies of God (AG) ministers are unaware of our limits and liberties in several areas of doctrine and practice. That includes, but is not limited to, the area of eschatology. For years I have received a steadily increasing number of questions from studious ministers young and old regarding various passages of Scripture, doctrinal positions, theological issues, and historical events, including questions on eschatology.

Since our founding there have been a variety of eschatological views held by our ministers. This has been accommodated for decades by the “allowance clause” in our General Council (GC) Bylaws. This clause intentionally permits AG ministers to hold any of the orthodox positions on eschatology (such as amillennial, premillennial, dispensationalist), even if they disagree with our current “official” position. However, we are not permitted to teach other positions with the intended purpose of leading people to adopt them. Due to the increasing number of AG ministers who do hold perspectives other than our current official position, the Executive Presbytery (EP) proposed, the General Presbytery (GP) affirmed, and the GC in session approved a few minor changes to our Bylaws (without changing our Statement of Fundamental Truths (SFTs)).

In conversations with officials months ago, and in briefings and conversations since our GC in August, it was confirmed to me that the Executive Presbytery intended to assure our liberties on issues of eschatology specifically and on other issues in general. The summarized explanation of the result is as follows: 1. AG ministers and laity are free to embrace eschatological positions other than our official position, and they can openly describe their perspective without fear of censure or retribution.

2. We are free to teach in any setting, or share informally, all the strengths and weaknesses of all eschatological perspectives, including their biblical, historical, theological strengths and weaknesses.

3. We are encouraged to teach and preach (frequently!) that Christ’s coming is imminent, and that no other events must occur before Christ’s return.

4. We are not free to share, teach, or preach eschatological perspectives other than our official denominational position with the declared intent of leading others to adopt different perspectives.

5. We are not free to set time frames for Christ’s return, and we are discouraged from all speculation.

The EP and GP had also recommended that the word “amillennialism” no longer be called “disapproved”.

Unfortunately, an amendment from the floor prevented that, to the disappointment of the EP. There was also great disappointment and disagreement from our scholars with an attempt from the floor to equate amillennialism with antisemitism, for this equation is simply untrue. Thankfully, our allowance clause remains, and the end result is that an AG minister may embrace any eschatological perspective as described above.

The EP also proposed, the GP supported, and the GC approved removing the word “fully” from the phrase “fully agree with the Statement of Fundamental Truths” on our annual credential renewal form. The preamble in the SFTs states that “the phraseology used in this Statement is not inspired or contended for.” For example, we are permitted liberty in our understanding of such things the precise nature of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper (as in, more than merely symbolic). In various ways the SFTs of the AG in other nations do not always completely agree with our own SFTs. We were also reminded that our ministers do not have to affirm our Position Papers but are free to disagree with them.

We want our ministers and laity to know that we do have some limits in our doctrine and practice, but there is also great liberty and variety in this vibrant Fellowship, just as there was in the New Testament church and in all healthy church movements throughout history. This liberty and these differences are signs of a healthy church with a bright future!

Michael Sharp, D.Min., Network Secretary-Treasurer 6

ARE YOU BELIEVING and REPEATING A LIE? “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.

The Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favor with him … The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy. The righteous hate what is false, …

By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. The discerning heart seeks knowledge, … To answer before listening— that is folly and shame. All who are prudent act with knowledge, but fools expose their folly.

Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value the one who speaks what is right. A wise king winnows out the wicked; … a careful listener will testify successfully. To search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 18:17, 11:1, 12:22, 13:8, 13:16, 14:25, 15:14, 16:11,13, 18:13, 20:26, 21:28, 24:3-4, 25:2) God expects the followers of Jesus, who is himself The Truth, to do everything in our power to search for, discern, believe, and speak the truth. The Bible never commends being naïve, gullible, and lazy, especially when it comes to knowing the truth or believing a lie. This applies to all aspects of life. Our testimony is stained when we foolishly believe and promote false reports by anyone on any subject.

This means that God expects us to diligently search out the truth. God expects us to hear more than one side of a story, to listen to more than one perspective about a person, event, or concept. Within the boundaries of Scripture we are to check out all options with an open mind, and using the truths of Scripture discern what is true from what is false, what is good from what is evil.

This includes all things: Spiritual teaching, kingdom principles, Christian doctrine, current events, the natural world, the stories in the news, all things. What we believe, what we proclaim, the very Church and Savior we represent in this world will be stained if we carelessly, naively believe lies.

In these turbulent times filled with so much deception from all sides, being faithful Christians means we obey God’s commands to search for the truth by hearing more than one perspective and carefully evaluating the character and reliability of people and sources through a biblical lens. To that end, we encourage all of our ministers and members to obey Scripture by listening to multiple sources of information on more than one portion of the information spectrum. If you only get your news and information from a handful of sources on one part of the political or social spectrum, you are probably believing and repeating half-truths and lies. Many ministers and believers have been deceived by doing this.

Therefore, we are working with journalism professors from AG and other Christian universities to compile a guide to wise use of news media in coming months. Until that is complete, I urge you to get your news and information from a wide variety of sources. All of the following can be accessed online, including via short clips on YouTube. In the Center: Reuters, AP, CBS, NBC, ABC, PBS. Right of Center: Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Chicago Tribune, Fox News. Left of Center: CNN, MSNBC, NYTimes, Washington Post.

International: BBC, VOA, Radio Free Europe, DW News, France24.

Use the following trustworthy sites to reliably fact-check stories you hear: https://www.politifact.com, https://mediabiasfactcheck.com, https://www.factcheck.org, https://www.factcheck.org/scicheck/, https://library.csi.cuny.edu/c.php?g=619342&p=4310783. All of these sites can help you determine the biases of the news sources you use and their accurate use of facts.

Friends, don’t just listen to people you already agree with! Don’t just search for sources that say what you already want to hear. Obey God’s Word: Search diligently for truth and hear more than one witness. Be humble. Be teachable. Be willing to admit you may have been wrong. Don’t believe and repeat a lie! To search out a matter is the glory of kings!

Our new schedule layout is below. ALSOM students may take any courses needed during each quarter.

Quarter 1 January – March

Quarter 2 April – June

Quarter 3 July – September

Quarter 4 October – December

Courses Open for Purchase: January 1

Courses Open for Purchase: April 1

Courses Open for Purchase: July 1

Courses Open for Purchase: October 1

Last Day to Purchase: March 10th

Last Day to Purchase: June 10th

Last Day to Purchase: September 10th

Last Day to Purchase: December 10th

Tests Must be Submitted

by March 31st

Tests Must be Submitted

by June 30th

Tests Must be Submitted

by September 30th

Tests Must be Submitted

by December 31st

Each quarter, we will post our entire ALSOM catalog for purchase. The courses required for each level of credentialing are listed below.

Level One (Certified) BIB 214 Old Testament Survey BIB 212 New Testament Survey BIB 121 Introduction to Hermeneutics: How to Interpret the Bible BIB 114 Christ in the Synoptic Gospels THE 211 Introduction to Theology THE 114 Introduction to Pentecostal Doctrine THE 152 Assemblies of God History, Missions, and Governance MIN 171 A Spirit-Empowered Church: An Acts 2 Ministry Model MIN 181 Relationships and Ethics in Ministry MIN 191 Beginning Ministerial Internship

Level Two (Licensed) BIB 115 Acts: The Holy Spirit at Work in Believers BIB 117 Prison Epistles BIB 215 Romans: Justification by Faith THE 245 Eschatology: A Study of Things to Come MIN 123 The Local Church in Evangelism MIN 223 Introduction to Homiletics MIN 251 Effective Leadership MIN 261 Introduction to Assemblies of God Missions MIN 281 Conflict Management for Church Leaders MIN 291 Intermediate Ministerial Internship

Level Three (Ordained) THE 311 Prayer and Worship BIB 313 The Corinthian Correspondence BIB 318 The Pentateuch BIB 322 The Poetic Books MIN 325 Preaching in the Contemporary World MIN 327 Church Administration, Finance, and Law MIN 381 Pastoral Ministry MIN 391 Advanced Ministerial Internship

To enroll in an ALSOM course, please visit https://alsom.edvance360.com/. Across the top of the page, you will see several tabs. Click on “Store” to purchase a course. Once you add a course to your cart and proceed to check out, you will be prompted to login. If you are a first-time user, you will be asked to enter your email information. After you complete your purchase, an email will be sent to you to create a username and password. When you purchase the course, you will receive access to the course. To access the course, click on the tab “Courses.” This is where you will do all the work for your course. Each course has a pdf textbook.

Some courses have additional content such as video lectures, PowerPoint presentations, and additional reading. Your test will come from content from all sources.

REMINDERS FOR ALL MINISTERS REGARDING OUR MINISTERIAL CREDENTIALS RENEWAL SEASON IS NOW OPEN! DON’T DELAY! RENEW TODAY! The Network Office would like to express our appreciation to you for stewarding your credentials well and renewing early. If you renew your credentials BY NOVEMBER 30 you will be eligible for a $500.00 gift card to be given to one of the ministers selected at random who entered by that date. If you renew BY DECEMBER 15 you will be eligible for a $250.00 gift card to be given in the same manner. Early renewal is a great blessing to the Network and National Offices and could be a blessing to you as well. Last year’s participation was excellent, and renewals were noticeably earlier! Please remember that your Network tithes and your General Council dues need to be current when you renew your credentials or your renewal cannot be processed.

When ministers holding credentials at the License level allow their credentials to lapse for more than three months, their required two year tenure for holding License credentials before upgrading to Ordained begins all over again at the time their License credentials are reinstated.

In other words, if you let your License credentials lapse for more than three months (past March 31) you lose all of the tenure time you’ve already accumulated since receiving License level credentials. After you apply for reinstatement of your License credentials and the General Secretary’s office acts favorably to reinstate your credentials, the calculation of your two year License tenure begins all over again at the point in time that the General Secretary’s office actually reinstates your License credentials. Please remember this, and please help us to pass this information along to all Licensed ministers!

All credentialed ministers – Certified, Licensed, and Ordained – should also remember that lapsing will cost a minister more time, more work, and more money when reinstating. The renewal season begins on November 1 and ends on December 31. Since National and Network offices are closed the last week of the year, Springfield and this Network Office strongly encourages all renewals to be submitted by December 15. Failure to renew means that as of January 1 you have lapsed your credentials and you are no longer an Assemblies of God minister. After December 31 there IS A $50.00 late fee when you renew, and after January 15 you cannot renew: You must apply for reinstatement at a cost of $125.00. After March 31 a background and credit check must also be done for all reinstatement applications. Any background or credit issues that have arisen since the minister first obtained credentials will have to be addressed according to General Council guidelines before the minister can be reinstated. Finally, lapsing for more than seven years requires all of the above as well as taking and passing all three of the newest credential exams in order to be reinstated.

We hope that this information delivered proactively will be beneficial in your understanding of these particular General Council credentialing requirements.

Michael D. Sharp, D.Min. Network Secretary-Treasurer ALSOM Director

In Memory Of… Rev. Franklin Wood Rev. Franklin Wood of Slocomb passed away Thursday, June 22, 2023 at Southeast Health. He was 79.

Funeral services were held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 25, 2023 in the chapel of Sorrells Funeral Home in Slocomb with Rev. Glen Tate and Rev. Billy Fortune o cia ng.

Rev. Wood was born December 11, 1943 in Geneva County to the late Noah and Rubye Lee Dixon Wood. He began his pastoral du es 45 years ago while s ll working as a full- me automo ve technician. Over the years he pastored Fade e Assembly of God, Har ord First Assembly of God, Cowarts Assembly, and Love Hill Assembly. Franklin re red from Solomon Chevrolet in 2007, and re red as a minister in Jan. 2023. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather who will be dearly missed.

Rev. Albert Herman Smith Rev. Albert Herman Smith of Brewton, AL. passed away on Monday, September 11, 2023 at the age of 73. He is preceded in death by his parents, Albert James and Loree Darby Smith.

MINISTERIAL CHANGES

He is survived by his wife, Anita Montez Smith of Brewton, AL; son, Alex Herman Smith of Brewton, AL; daughters, Alicia Ree Summerlin of Toccoa, GA. and Hannah Anita Young of Pollard, AL; brother, Gordon Smith of Brewton, AL; sisters, Be y Graves of Brewton, AL. and Barbara Pope of Phenix City, AL; and eight grandchildren.

Transferred in: Kenneth Kermode (O)

Merry Christmas

Deceased: Franklin Wood Albert Herman Smith Pastoral Changes: Orchard AG – Ron Reiser New/Upgraded Creden als: Stacey Gaston (C) Robert Mest (C) Ma hew Green (C) Devon Bowman (L) Noah Ray (C))

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from the AMN Team