Category: United Pentecostal Church | Page 2

Giveaway: Christianity Without The Cross by Thomas Fudge

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Christianity without the Cross: A History of Salvation in Oneness Pentecostalism by Thomas Fudge. It is the first book in his series on Oneness Pentecostalism. It covers aspects of the United Pentecostal Church and Oneness history that some would rather you not know and which is often downplayed by leadership. You may read more about this book here.

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on May 15, 2024 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw a 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. If I know your Facebook profile, I will message you there.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

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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Giveaway: Heretics & Politics: Theology, Power, and Perception in the Last Days of CBC

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Heretics & Politics: Theology, Power, and Perception in the Last Days of CBC by Thomas Fudge. It is the second book in his series on Oneness Pentecostalism. It sells for $29.95. It covers the United Pentecostal Church sponsored Conquerors Bible College that was founded in Portland, Oregon in 1953 and abruptly closed in 1983.

Fudge attended this college. Former UPCI minister Don Fisher is addressed in this book as he used to be the president of the college. Some will also be interested in his daughter’s memoir, The Uncomfortable Confessions of a Preacher’s Kid, by Ronna Russell.

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on April 19, 2024 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw a winner. We also have entries being made in our Facebook support group.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

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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Giveaway: Backsliding Into Jesus & There’s No Such Thing As Dragons

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. There is absolutely no cost to enter.

This is your chance to receive a new copy of Jennifer Brewer‘s new book, Backsliding Into Jesus: Finding Hope After Legalism AND There’s No Such Thing As Dragons: Examining The Theology of The United Pentecostal Church by Jonah McElhaney.

Jonah’s book covers aspects of the United Pentecostal Church such as Oneness, uncut hair for women, holiness standards, and their teachings on salvation. Jennifer’s book “explores the feelings and emotions one will inevitably face when leaving legalism and discovering the freedom of God’s grace.”

Jennifer Brewer, author of Free: From Legalism to Grace Breaking Out of the United Pentecostal Church, had this to say about There’s No Such Thing As Dragons:

After spending most of his life in the United Pentecostal Church the author examines the theology of the UPCI. By drawing on his own experiences and examining the teachings of Scripture with the teachings of the UPCI, the author shows that the imaginary dragons that were placed in his life to prevent him from venturing out too far away from the doctrines were not real. The hope is for others who see the issues within the United Pentecostal Church but have been too afraid to question or examine the theology that they too will see that there’s no such thing as dragons.

One reviewer of Backsliding Into Jesus wrote:

This book was just as good as Jennifer’s first book. She has a way to speak so openly about her road and her life after the UPCI. One of my favorite lines from the book is “Freedom in Christ means more than just getting to wear what we want….” I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that myself. I have actually been asked is walking away from God to wear what you want and cut your hair worth it. I was NEVER walking away from God, I was walking away from a belief system that was not fulfilling me. It was not feeding me, it was harming my family, and we wanted to be free from that. Thank you Jennifer for taking a stand and helping those that are looking for a way to their own freedom, Not freedom from God but Freedom from legalism.

If you have already read either of these books, please consider leaving a review or star rating on Amazon as it would be greatly appreciated. Reviews count more and can give others a better idea of the book contents and if it helped you.

This giveaway is a drawing. To enter, just leave a comment to show you wish to be included. The drawing will close on March 30, 2024 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw a winner. We also have entries being made in our Facebook support group.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

You can follow Jonah at his blogs here and here. Also, Amateur Faith Night had Jonah as a guest when they discussed Authentic Trinitarianism versus Oneness Pt 1 & Authentic Trinitarianism versus Oneness Pt 2.

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

This is only open to those with a USA mailing address. We always provide these giveaways at no charge to our readers.

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 (currently reduced to $25.29). 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 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 Bernard 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 March 20, 2024 at 6pm (eastern time), after which I will draw the winner.

Don’t be alarmed if your comment does not immediately show as it may require approval.

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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Shop at our Amazon store! As an Amazon Influencer, this website earns from qualifying purchases.

Healing

In the last few months I’ve been very triggered. I watched as someone I cared about was ostracized, gossiped and lied about. I watched as others participated in the gossip. I warned people, knowing doing so would likely not end well for me. I lost friends, felt judged… and relived a lot of past church trauma.

I made some different choices this time than I would have in the past. I did what I thought was right, and some of that may not have been what was best and some that I thought in the past would have been better to have done didn’t work, after all. There are just some situations that no matter what we do will not end well. I learned one thing: no matter what we do, we can’t usually stop some large entity intent on hurtling toward a bad end. At least that relieves me of some guilt or self-doubt from the past. And I’ve learned sometimes the only thing we can do is what we think will be best for ourselves – and that that’s not selfish, it’s just life.

Healing is an ongoing journey. It’s not linear. We take a step forward, sometimes three steps back. We move forward, then end up triggered by something and end up cycling back through everything all over again. Or – ugh – we end up in a situation that’s eerily similar to what hurt us to begin with, parallel on parallel, and we have to somehow navigate that AND all the memories and past hurts at the same time.

It’s OK to do that. And the fact that we can demonstrates that we really ARE healing, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time.

A year ago I had an experience that brought major healing to an old hurt. It was sudden and unexpected. In the process I learned I could play the piano again. I didn’t think I ever would. After the triggers though, my playing gradually stopped. I haven’t played for close to three months, and haven’t played joyfully or for long for maybe twice that time.

Today brought some closure. Several surprises, several opportunities to remember good things that have happened, past healing moments. And somehow through today, I know the music is back again. I haven’t played yet, but the sadness that blocked the music isn’t blocking anymore. Nothing major happened today. Just memories, just acceptance, just love. And it was enough. And that’s healing, too.

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