Author: Lois | Page 6 | Spiritual Abuse Blogs

Alicia’s Journey In & Out of the UPC: No Tongues – No Heavenly Admittance Allowed Pt 1

The following is part one of a six part guest series from Alicia Sounier Dwivedi, a former United Pentecostal Church member.

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As a very young child of about 5 years old I began attending Sunday school at a United Pentecostal Church in Augusta, ME with my cousins, and I LOVED IT! When I was a 10-year-old girl, my mom started attending our local UPC regularly, and I LOVED IT! I even got to switch out of public school to the UPC’s Christian School, and I LOVED IT! I feel like I blossomed after being moved out of public school into the Christian school at around 10 years old. The church, school, community, and all its functions were some of the best things that ever happened to me. I am thankful for the people who invested in me from the time I was a small child. I love most of the memories I made, and love the people who were part of my community.

Now in hindsight I realize some of the things I struggled with, that tore at the very core of my being, I should never have had to go through and neither do countless others. Due to these same issues many people sit on pews wondering at their place within the church. Some walk away giving up on God altogether, and others, like me, walk away from the UPC – but not God. However, we’re considered ‘backslidden‘ or ‘prodigals’. My previous pastor said this to me not so long ago in a kind tone of voice. I’m being serious – he’s known me since I was 5 years old, and he was being lovingly kind about it.

I can remember praying with all of my little heart to receive the gift of the Holy Ghost with evidence of speaking in other tongues many many many many many times as a little girl. Being so emotional and wanting something so badly, with tears rolling down my face, I can remember pleading with God to fill me with the Holy Ghost. I began wondering why he just wouldn’t give it to me. What was wrong with me that God wouldn’t give me this gift he said he would give when I asked? I was doing what I was told…I repented, and yet God was withholding something so precious from me (salvation). An innocent little child becoming a beggar at the altar. Little did I know I was being handed an unnecessary burden I would carry for the next 40 years.

Church service after church service would go by, and a child here and there would get the Holy Ghost (or be refilled) – but not me. You know if you are telling a small child to ask nicely for a treat of some sort, but don’t actually give it to them, they’ll start questioning your character. Then you keep telling them to repetitively ask “the correct way” so they’ll eventually get what was promised them, then they’ll not keep asking with any sort of faith they’ll actually get it. How heartbreaking for any child to stand with hands outstretched and pleading eyes WAITING AND WAITING. I was walking away empty handed time again all the while knowing until I spoke in tongues I would go to hell if I died. I wouldn’t do this to my own precious child, and it breaks my heart imagining how God must feel watching his children being placed under the burdens of faulty doctrine. I loved and wanted God so much, but legalistic teachings began entrenching itself into my little mind.

FINALLY one service my Sunday school teacher started celebrating while praying for me stating I’d gotten the Holy Ghost. I was confused because I hadn’t heard any new language coming out of my mouth. Sure, I had stammering lips and tears, but there was no new language. I also didn’t feel any different. I remember her shaking her head yes, and saying “Yes, Alicia. That’s the Holy Ghost, Alicia.” Then she’d speak in tongues off and on again, but break off to encourage me in English. I later learned this Sunday School teacher was known for saying kids had spoken in tongues when they actually hadn’t.

From a 5-year-old little girl until 30 I attended the UPC church. I left the church around 30, and it hasn’t been until this year as a 45-year-old woman that I FINALLY figured out some things and have closure. To this day I truly don’t know if I ever really spoke in tongues. Instead I believe what I was experiencing was a wildly emotional response taught to me by my peers.

Growing up in the church and being a part of its functions were right up my alley. No one had to force me to go to church – I ABSOLUTELY LOVED MY CHURCH & CHURCH FAMILY! It didn’t matter what I had to do to be pleasing to God, I would do it without much thought or hesitation. Don’t cut your hair – OK. Don’t wear makeup – OK. Don’t wear pants – OK. Come to church three times a week and five days a week during revival – OK. Sleeves down to your elbows and skirts below the knee – OK. No worldly music, no cussing, no drinking, no smoking, no premarital sex – OK. Standards didn’t overwhelm me, and I did them because I thought this was what God wanted. My issue was elsewhere – SPEAKING IN TONGUES.

Being a part of a church that taught speaking in tongues as not only the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Ghost, but it was also something that had to be repeated (should be daily), but also needed to be done again on cue if asked to ‘pray in the Spirit’ at any time during a church service. I COULDN’T DO IT. I would wonder what was wrong with me that I couldn’t speak out like ‘everybody else’. Questioning my salvation was regularly on my mind and in my heart. I cried – A LOT (understatement – I can’t adequately describe the amount of tears). I became very self-conscious in not only praying for myself, but praying for others. If I couldn’t speak in tongues properly – therefore not being saved properly – how then could I pray for anybody else to get the Holy Ghost? I would feel so relieved when the Pastor would come take my place while praying for somebody. My prayers were not as effective as his…

I begged God service after service to change me. Do anything he needed to do to me to allow me the ease of speaking in tongues to be absolutely sure of my salvation. I had no reassurance when I died I would go to Heaven, and was literally petrified of death.

I would ask various people I respected about why it takes some people longer to receive the Holy Ghost. I would never reveal I was asking for myself, but it was always for “another person I knew.” The consistent answer was there was something within that person that was wrong and stopping them from receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. So, something was wrong with me, yet I couldn’t figure out what it was. Church service after church service would go by, year after year would go by, and there I was still stuck begging God for just the basics of salvation.

There were infrequent times I thought possibly I spoke in tongues, but these situations were few, far between and very questionable. I had to be bawling my eyes out, extremely emotional with tears, stammering lips, and there’d be slight repetitive syllables softly rolling off my tongue. When this would happen I would then immediately start to pray for God to kill me. Let me die now! Die in my sleep, get in an accident on the way home, or just a death that wasn’t too painful. PLEASE LET ME DIE NOW SO I CAN GO TO HEAVEN. This is all I really wanted. I wasn’t too concerned with my future or what God wanted me to accomplish with a full life. I just wanted to go to Heaven so badly. I was a healthy teenager who loved God, yet there I was praying for death. Also when these situations would occur I didn’t feel any extra peace, happiness or reassurance. I still questioned myself.

I remember this one very well-known evangelist who came to our church to minister. Our church would be packed out when he’d show up, and I always looked forward to his arrival. At the altar call of one service he was praying over a teenager in our youth group. Because the evangelist had the microphone up to his face and the young man’s he was praying for, the whole church could hear the young man praying in tongues. His tongue sounded almost exactly like mine. The evangelist proceeded to tell the young man to grow up and gain some depth in God because his tongue was a baby tongue!

I WAS MORTIFIED and so thankful the evangelist hadn’t been praying for me and said that. So not only did I very rarely speak in tongues, but the tongue I did sometimes have was a baby tongue? This was so confusing to me. How did God give us a baby tongue that was supposed to gradually switch over into what? An adult tongue? Where was this mentioned in the Bible? In fact, most of the tongues I did hear going on in church didn’t sound like languages at all. Speaking in tongues wasn’t supposed to be about ‘learning to do it’ like a language we learn to speak. It was supposed to be something the Holy Ghost accomplished within us, right? But what did I know? The people I looked up to and loved said this is the way it was, so this is the way it was.

Deanna Jo of Responsible Faith interviews Alicia:

See Part 2.

Giveaway: C.H. Yadon & the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of C.H. Yadon and the Vanishing Theological Past in Oneness Pentecostalism by Thomas Fudge. It is the third book in his series on Oneness Pentecostalism. It sells new for $29.95. It covers Oneness Pentecostal history, and highlights the United Pentecostal Church, of which Mr. Fudge was once a member. The emphasis is on the life of C.H. Yadon. Yadon turned in his UPC license in 1993 when the affirmation statement started being required of all ministers. Over the years, the UPCI has pushed various people out of the organization as they took stands against various beliefs.

United Pentecostal General Superintendent David Bernard did not want this book to be published and his comments are included in Fudge’s work. His comments alone are a good reason to want to read this book as the UPCI doesn’t want aspects of their actual history known. This is what he wrote:

“I do not recommend the book for publication, for the following reasons: (1) The audience is extremely limited. The focus and tone are too narrow to appeal to most scholars. The subject matter is of interest primarily to Oneness Pentecostals, but C.H. Yadon is not a well-known figure in the movement’s history, and those who would be interested could be repelled by the harsh anti-UPC rhetoric. Thus, the most likely readers are those who have left the Oneness Pentecostal movement or who are considering it. (2) The research does not meet scholarly standards. It doesn’t adequately engage the latest scholarship in the field. It doesn’t consider or interact meaningfully with opposing evidence or alternative views. It relies excessively on marginal, questionable, or unverifiable sources with inadequate attention to readily available, documented, and credible sources. (3) It is a mixture of historical analysis and theological debate, but doesn’t fully complete either task successfully. In any case, the author has already covered this ground in a previous book. (4) It gives excessive space and coverage to a little-known, insignificant work by a nineteenth-century, semi-Arian writer. Since that work doesn’t represent a significant position within Oneness Pentecostalism, it has limited historical or theological value. (5) The family of C.H. Yadon opposes publication.”

This giveaway is a drawing and not a first come, first served giveaway. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on October 19, 2021 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw the winner. Be sure to check back to see if you have won as in the past some people have not responded after winning and so a new winner had to be drawn. You will then need to email me your mailing address if I do not already have it, so be sure to watch your email and check the spam folder. There is absolutely no cost to enter. Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as they require approval when you are commenting for the first time.

We always provide these giveaways at no charge to our readers. If anyone would like to help with the expenses involved in providing material to people, you may do so via our Fundraiser at GoFundMe.

Some might be interested in a series of lectures by Thomas Fudge on the history of Christianity from the Roman Empire until the Reformation. https://youtu.be/WgTDplQabRk

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When Legacy And Sexual Abuse Collide: John Shivers Part 3

This is the 54th installment in this series and a follow up to the previous articles on former United Pentecostal Church pastor, John Shivers. (Part One, Part Two) Shivers was an ordained minister and presbyter, as well as pastor of Centro Vida Church.

(There have been no criminal convictions or arrests in this situation and to my knowledge, the alleged perpetrator has not admitted guilt. However, there has been an ongoing investigation by police. There has been a problem with the statute of limitations so far in order for criminal charges to be made.)

May 29, 2022 John Shivers listed as pastor — May 29, 2022 John & Liz Shivers listed as pastor

You may have noticed on the church’s Facebook page, that starting in June 2022, their church service posts changed from listing John Shivers and Elizabeth Shivers as pastors, to listing their son, Jonathan, as the pastor. They appear to be currently in Costa Rica according to the July 24 service. John Shivers is now touted as the founding pastor and bishop, with Liz as the first lady. They were previously spoken of as the senior pastors.

June 1, 2022 Jonathan Shivers is listed as pastor

The actions of the Western District of the United Pentecostal Church have been troublesome and disappointing since 2019, when a several hundred page complaint against John Shivers was filed by several women. I previously shared how earlier in 2022 they elected Ron Bohde as a presbyter- a man who TWICE mishandled sexual abuse cases. (See this article) That sends a message to sexual abuse survivors that they do not care. Are they blind or tone deaf? Both cases received news coverage.

Ron Bohde Western District Presbyter — Ron Bohde, elected as presbyter in 2022

July 2021 Elizabeth Haney is granted a UPCI license — July 2021 Elizabeth Haney Shivers is granted a UPCI license

Prior to this, in mid July 2021, the United Pentecostal Church afforded Liz Haney Shivers a general license. She had never attempted to seek licensing the decades prior to the investigation into her husband’s actions. How could this happen while her husband was still acting as the pastor of Centro Vida Church, after his license was revoked, and she went along with it? Since he lost his license, the UPCI Directories have listed his son Jonathan as the pastor, even though it was quite apparent that he was not acting as such. It has all been such a farce and church members have long been kept in the dark as to the complaints against John, the District action and his license.

It appears that one of the greatest temptations facing the ministry is sex. How does sexual purity relate to God’s requirements? Sexual immorality is clearly excluded by the requirements of ‘blameless, good report, good behaviour, just, holy, and husband of one wife.’ Again, a sexual sin is an obvious disqualification in light of all the Scriptures. – David Bernard, January-March 1988 Forward (an exclusive magazine for UPCI licensed ministers)

October 31, 2021 Jesse Pinheiro at Centro Vida

Besides the above, ministers of the Western District have been speaking at the Centro Vida church. This includes one of their presbyters, Jesse Pinheiro, who preached at Centro Vida Church on October 31, 2021. (Starts around 1:31 mark) Incidentally, this service was honoring John and Liz as the pastors. It is more troublesome seeing a Western District official like him doing this, as he would have been aware of the complaint against Shivers and the decision of the committee. Since 2015, Pinheiro has been the pastor of the legally affiliated Revival Tabernacle in Santa Maria, California.

April 3, 2022 Rodney Nielsen at Centro Vida

On April 3, 2022, yet another presbyter, Rodney Nielsen, spoke at the church. (Starts around 1:25 mark) Nielsen is the pastor of East Valley Pentecostal Church in San Jose, California and is a best friend of Shivers. (In the UPCI Directories he has been listed as Nelson.) Rodney Nielsen went on to call John Shivers “an incredible pastor” and that the church was “so fortunate” to have him and called it “a great church.”

The District Superintendent, Gaylen Cantrell, has been aware of ministers preaching at Centro Vida, but has chosen to not intervene. A number of other UPCI ministers have spoken there since Shivers’ license was revoked, including some well-known names in the organization like Mark Drost and Bruce Howell.

When the Western District investigated the February 1, 2019 complaint against John Shivers, they unanimously found him guilty. Shivers appealed their decision, but the national Ministers Appeal Council of the UPCI upheld it. The charges against him included multiple sexual assaults, sexual harassment and attempted rape.

Nathaniel Haney was to be the interim pastor at Centro Vida

Instead of permanently revoking his license, which is what should have happened, they placed him on probation. He was to resign as pastor, and not attend for nine months, Centro Vida and all their branch works. He was to attend another church and not preach anywhere. He was to forfeit his UPCI license for 18 months and submit to bi-weekly professional counseling. After nine months it would have been possible to return to the District Board and be permitted back at Centro Vida as pastor. After 18 months it would have been possible to be fully restored as a licensed minister.

Nathaniel Haney was appointed to be the interim pastor. How very convenient that another family member was brought in. Nathaniel later appointed Jonathan as pastor, at least as far as the UPCI Directories were concerned. Nathaniel is the pastor of Christian Life Center in Stockton, California and was in that role when appointed the interim pastor.

Shivers fought the directives of the Western District and made changes to the church bylaws three different times. He has deliberately manipulated the UPC rules in order to remain in leadership all this time. The church is still listed as United Pentecostal in the 2022 Directory. I have stated before that this case is why the UPCI adopted the position paper on Abuse and Sexual Misconduct in 2019. It is my understanding that the organization has been in the process of making additional changes to their Manual so that a situation like this cannot happen in the future.

December 11, 2019 from District Secretary Troy Fair to Amber Fant, one victim

John Shivers may feel he is above the rules and the law as he is married to one of former General Superintendent Kenneth Haney’s four daughters. He may keep all of this under raps and hidden from members of Centro Vida in Stockton, as well as some other UPCI members and ministers. You can be well spoken and thought of in some circles, have a legacy name, polished church services, money, nice things and people who will believe the lies or will defend you no matter what the truth is. Yet there often comes a day of reckoning when the curtain is pulled back and the man behind it is exposed for exactly what he is.

The police investigation of John Shivers started in the summer of 2020 and is still open. If you have been a victim, or know of someone who has, please contact Detective Richard W. Keiser at 209-937-8165 or Richard.Keiser@stocktonca.gov.

August 24, 2022 edit: Today the Stockton Record released an article about John Shivers. You must have a digital subscription to read it. See https://www.recordnet.com/story/news/2022/08/24/pastor-john-shivers-accused-sexual-assault-preaching-stockton-centro-vida-pentecostal-church/5695797001/

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You will find a complete list of articles in this series by clicking here.

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Former United Pentecostal Minister Glen Alan Uselmann: Guilty of Sexual Assault

This is going to be a short post to announce that on the evening of July 14, 2022, a jury convicted Glen Alan Uselmann of five counts of second degree sexual assault. This came after a three day trial with multiple witnesses. A date for sentencing has not yet been announced. His bail was revoked and he was taken into custody, being held behind bars at the Dane County Sheriff’s Office’s at their Public Safety Building, a medium security facility. This is Dane County Case Number 2020CF001760.

Glen Uselmann Guilty — Glenn Alan Uselmann convicted of five counts of 2nd degree sexual assault on July 14, 2022.

Glen Alan Uselmann was born on May 19, 1959 and the charges against him are from when his victim, Rebecca Martin-Byrd, was from 12 to 16 years old. She was born in 1976, so there is a 17 year age difference. The crimes occurred when both parties were members of Calvary Gospel Church, which is currently located at 5301 Commercial Avenue in Madison, Wisconsin. During the years in question, John Wesley Grant was the pastor of Calvary Gospel Church and is yet the bishop. Roy Howard Grant, his son, was not in the position of a pastor at this time, as he wasn’t brought in until early 2013. Glen Uselmann was wrongly granted a local license from the United Pentecostal Church in 2013, which was after committing multiple sexual crimes against minors, and either lost or relinquished his license in 2019.

Younger John Grant — A much younger John Grant.

John Grant testified at the trial yesterday, after attempting to get out of it more than once. On July 7, the parties discussed possibly allowing him to do video testimony due to his claims of being too ill, but the judge rejected this. Then on July 13, they discussed about him allegedly being hospitalized. (The judge had previously shared that she wanted him in the courtroom unless he was in the hospital.) He and his wife, Darlene, did show up the morning of July 14 and he testified.

See my prior articles on this case: Part One, Part Two and Part Three.

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 5

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith: Conscientious Scruples. Comparing 1952 to 2022.

The United Pentecostal Church formed in 1945. Here we will examine what the Articles of Faith have stated about conscientious scruples.

As a side note before we go into the current topic, in the third installment of this series I wrote, in regard to the two groups who merged to form the UPCI in 1945, “David Bernard, the current General Superintendent, has downplayed the fact that the two groups had differences in beliefs.” Quotes were shared from Stanley Chambers and W.T. Witherspoon, showing that there were differences in beliefs, to the extent that one stated that they “diametrically disagreed” on some issues. There were apparently enough differences that the PAJC shared that the following year after the merger, there were ministers who broke away from the UPCI. (Yes, the PAJC is still around.)

From the PAJC Articles of Faith and Constitution: “In the year of 1931 the P.A.W. and the Apostolic Churches of Jesus Christ merged together forming the P.A.J.C. and continued until 1945. Then in the year of 1945 the P.AJ.C. and the Pentecostal Churches, Inc. (P.C.I.) merged together forming what is now called the United Pentecostal Church (D.P.C.). [Note: that should be U.P.C.] From 1945 to approximately August, 1946 this continued. Then a group of brethren who became dissatisfied revived the charter of the P.AJ.C. and continued on with the charter. In the spring of 1948 the Churches of the Lord Jesus Christ met with the brethren of the P.A.J.C. and a proposal of merger was proposed. In August, 1948 the merger became complete.”

Above is how conscientious scruples appeared in the 1952 UPCI Manual. David Bernard explains this section in Understanding the Articles of Faith: Revised Edition. “At the time of the merger, such status was available under United States law only to people who were members of a religion that took such a position. Now, however, it is available in time of a draft if individuals can simply show that they have a personal scruple, whether or not they belong to an organization that advocates this approach. Prior to the merger, some ministers were jailed for refusing to serve in the military because of their convictions. According to Nathaniel Urshan, general superintendent of the UPCI, this article was designed to enable ministers to serve in the military as conscientious objectors and to instruct them to do so rather than refusing to enter the military when drafted.”

2012 Articles of Faith Conscientious Scruples

In 1984, the following sentence was added at the end, “We further believe that our military personnel must live in a manner consistent with the Articles of Faith.” This most likely is in reference to holiness standards. The quote above shows part of this section, where the sentence had been added.

On August 29, 2012, David Bernard announced in an email, “In 2011 the General Conference approved two amendments to the Articles of Faith. To be adopted, all such amendments must be approved by a two-thirds vote in two-thirds of the districts. The article entitled ‘Atonement’ was approved by 100% of the districts and the amendment to ‘Conscientious Scruples’ was approved by 79% of the districts, so both are now part of the Articles of Faith.” This change was a complete overhaul of the section as you will see below. The new version first appeared in the 2013 UPCI Manual.

David Bernard, in his book Understanding the Articles of Faith: Revised Edition, had this to say about the changes, “While the purpose of the former article was to ensure that United Pentecostals could qualify for conscientious objector status in the military, the language expressed it as the organization’s view rather than merely the protection of a minority view. A General Board discussion in 1992 revealed that a strong majority of its members held this view, but a similar discussion in 1998 disclosed significant differences of opinion. In 1996 the General Conference called for a committee to study this matter, but the committee never reached agreement on an amendment. In 1998 the General Board decided that the matter could be handled by a position paper saying it was a matter of personal conviction. In 2009 the General Board determined that the statement in the Articles of Faith did not represent a consensus and adopted a proposal to replace it. In 2010 the General Board decided to present the new article to the 2011 General Conference, where it passed. The new article was ratified by the districts and became effective in 2012.”

To read the entire 1952 UPCI Articles of Faith, go here.

Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 1: Public School Activities
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 2: Holiness
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 3: Fundamental Doctrine
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 4: Atonement
Then & Now: Changes to the United Pentecostal Articles of Faith Part 5: Conscientious Scruples

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