One of my closest friends is a Church of God pastor (the Pentecostal, predominantly Arminian denomination headquartered in Cleveland, TN) who is a full-blown Calvinist in matters of soteriology, but he remains a non-cessationist and Dispensationalist (although neither of those issues has any prominence in his ministry whatsoever). He is giving serious attention to rethinking those issues, though, and is more than open for correction. A true berean. He no longer identifies himself as "Pentecostal" due to many of the heretical and aberrant beliefs and practices very common in Pentecostal circles, which grieve him to the core of his heart. He also strongly opposes his denomination's approval of the ordination of women, and refuses to sit on an ordination board for a female pastoral candidate. If you were to ever visit the church he pastors for worship, you would think you were in a Sovereign Grace Baptist Church. There are never any public displays of tongues or erratic outbursts, and the music is very traditional. The preaching, which is absolutely superb, takes primacy in worship, not music, as in many Pentecostal
services. James White loves preaching there every year during his annual NY visits before or after his debates here on Long Island.

Pray for this dear brother. He is between a rock and a hard place. The church he pastors is very tiny. Due to the denominational affiliation of the church most people who visit his services are Pentecostal, but very few return because they feel like they're in foreign territory. The cessationist Calvinists who visit there for the most part through hearing about his excellent reputation enjoy visiting there immensely but don't typically want to become members of a Pentecostal denomination. Subsequently there is very little growth there. He is praying about whether or not to sever himself from his denomination, but he would lose the building and property as a result (owned by the denomination, not the local church), and possibly some families in the already small congregation who have long family ties with the Church of God. He also has health coverage and benefits to seriously consider (provided by the denomination, not the local church) especially since he has 5 young children, 2 of which are disabled.

In His grip,
Chris Arnzen
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