Chris, this is just a thought to ponder and pray about.

Maybe God's intent is for this brother's church to grow primarily with new 
converts, rather than existing Pentecostal or Calvinist visitors.  That 
could be an encouraging thought to pray over.

I will certainly pray for him as well.

May the Lord Bless His focus, His ministry, and His family as they listen to 
their King's calling.

Steve


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Chris Arnzen" <carnzen@...>
To: <soundofgrace@...>
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 12:38 AM
Subject: [soundofgrace] Calvinist pastor in a Pentecostal denomination



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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