The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

Transcription

1 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 1 The National Presbyterian A Publication of The National Council of Presbyterian Fourth Day Movements and The National Council of Presbyterian Cursillo Editor Fox t.f.fox@att.net Volume 20, No June 1, 2017 God s Word At Pentecost: The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Utterly amazed, they asked: Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues! Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, What does this mean? Some, however, made fun of them and said, They have had too much wine. Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.your sons and daughters will prophesy,your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God s set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. David said about him: I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. (Acts 2:1-32 NIV)

2 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 2 Your very own angel says: Some Very Special Days...before the next issue: June 4 Pentecost June 18 - Father s Day...and Every Sunday! God loves you t h i s much! Contents The Holy Spirit Comes At Penetcost Your Very Own Angel Says Some Very Special Days Please Note Contents National Training Contact About That Secrecy What Is The Foundation Of Our Ministry? Rita and Roy How To Recruit Pilgrims No Clay Feet Our Web Site I ve Heard For Pilgrimage Table Leaders What If? You Might Find It Useful A Few Notes About Denominational Beliefs Cartoons pages 2, 3, & 6 Please Note In December we changed the Cursillista from an every other month 16 to 20 page publication to a monthly 6 to 8 page pub. This format no longer leaves us room to list weekends, contacts and other information, much of which must now be left to the web site. For whatever reason, we have since received almost no calendar and contact listings. Please resume sending them ASAP, so the calendar and contact sections of the website can be updated. Send your calendar and contact updates to Linda Boyce at lindaboyce1951@gmail.com Thanks. I want it to read On this spot, I entered the fourth day! National Training Contact To find out the when and where of our National Training program (or even the howcum and whuffo) contact Lea Ann McElroy at mcelroy313@att.net

3 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 3 Alright, girls, three more times around and then we hit the fudge!! This is a reprint from June, 2011 About That Secrecy! There are those who accuse us of being a secret organization. The irony is that a group which has a mission of sharing God s love to help people take up the work of the Lord, and which must function within the standards of the church of Jesus Christ, simply cannot be a secret organization. Of course, if you believe that moms and dads concealing surprises for their kids for Christmas morning constitute a secret organization then maybe we are. Sometimes we shoot ourselves in the foot, though. There is a community that has a web site in which prospective participants are told they cannot see certain pages without a password! This is a reprint from June, 2011 What Is The Foundation of Our Ministry? What is the foundation of our ministry in Presbyterian Cursillo and Presbyterian Pilgrimage? Why do we drive six hours to attend a 20 minute serenade - and then set up a party we can't attend, and then hide out for several hours just so we can be there to clean up afterwards? Why do we devote hours to preparing palanca? Why do we get up at three in the morning to pray for a group of people who are miles away from us many of whom we don t even know? It's to share the love of Jesus Christ with the pilgrims in hopes that they will go back home and take up the ministry of Jesus Christ. Success in Cursillo is defined by the return home of the pilgrims to take up a ministry of influencing their environments, of helping the ministry of Christ in their home area. The goal of the 4th Day for each person is to return to their various environments and there serve to reform those environments after the Kingdom of God, seeking to make every relationship, every situation, every experience an occasion for the manifestation of God's Kingdom. The purpose of Cursillo is to affect a specific, identifiable and qualitative response in the participants. That response is for them to return to where they came from, and work to re-form their worlds after the Kingdom of God. Rita, what s a Presbyterian Pilgrimage?? It s a Presbyterian Cursillo that you don t have to be a Presbyterian to attend, Roy!

4 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 4 This is a reprint from August, 2011 How To Recruit Pilgrims Some Possibilities Of all the work required to hold Presbyterian Cursillo or Pilgrimage weekends, the single most critical task is recruiting pilgrims. Whenever we have an empty chair at one of our talk room tables, that means that one person fewer than could have been accommodated has attended our weekend. Perhaps that was a person who was being called to attend by the Holy Spirit, but just needed a bit of encouragement we didn t give them. Why don t some people sign up to attend our weekends? Don t pay so much attention to their excuses My son has a big soccer game that weekend. consider their unspoken reasons for declining to attend { I m really not comfortable with all that spiritual stuff. }. One of our active clergy believes that it s often a matter of scheduling. That s why, before she retired from the parish ministry, she had a reputation as an early recruiter. She believed in getting on people s calendars early! Let other people hear I m sorry, but I m already committed for those dates. But, isn t it really the Holy Spirit s job to fill our weekends with pilgrims thus it s not our fault if we have pilgrim vacancies? Fred Keith disagrees emphatically. He talks about finding participants, selecting participants and recruiting participants. He says: The full dynamic of this Cursillo method is not accomplished during the three day retreat. The finding of persons is done prior to the Cursillo. The intent in selecting participants is to find persons who are already part of the body of Christ, and who are already persons of influence in their environments." Dr. Keith s intentional use of active words selection, recruiting, and finding spells out very clearly that it is our responsibility to recruit pilgrims. Some Possible Methods of Recruiting Start a structured pilgrim recruitment program: This should be led by a member of your council or secretariat. This would likely involve finding recruitment coordinators for each of your main churches or clusters. These coordinators might form a pilgrim recruitment committee for your community and would oversee recruitment activities in their areas. Invite them to dinner: In late 2005 Sandy and Fox invited several people who had not attended Cursillo and a few who had to their home for dinner. The Friday evening they chose turned out to be high school football homecoming evening, so they ended up with only four prospects. All four attended GPC 24 a few weeks later. They have since held four more such dinners. Of the total of 42 prospects at all five dinners, At least 18 have now attended Cursillo. That s 43% - that s not bad. A sixth dinner for seven prospects was just held. It's too early to know how many will attend a Cursillo weekend, but at least two have signed up. The process is simple: They invite about twice as many prospects as they expect will attend. The invitations read simply You are invited to our home for dinner. [Date, time and childcare details.] PS we would like to share our Cursillo experience with you. RSVP The invitation includes a map to their home and is followed up by phone a week later. They invite a few Cursillistas to help with the conversation. No pressure is applied dinner is a time of good humor and bonding. One word of caution, though. Two of the Cursillistas we invited to a dinner delighted in needling each other. Their banter soured a couple who otherwise would almost certainly have attended. After dinner, they show the national promotional video and then they simply sit around and talk about their experiences with Cursillo not giving away any of the surprises, but sharing some of the testimony. They believe this quiet, friendly process overcomes a lot of initial hesitancy. They believe that meeting with this group of normal, ordinary people who love Cursillo overcomes some reservations about the unknown Cursillo program. Meeting informally in their home, is much more effective than another dinner at church or even at a restaurant. If fourth day from each of our main churches or clusters would stage one or two such dinners before each weekend we would probably have waiting lists to contend with. Continued On The Next Page

5 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 5 Continued From The Previous Page Get Face to Face With Prospects: Whether you take prospective pilgrims to lunch, invite them to your home, or whatever you do sitting and talking about your Cursillo experiences is effective recruitment. It can be especially effective when you invite other Cursillistas to join with you. Allocate the prospects: At your next reunion group, or other get-together, put together a list of prospective pilgrims. Allocate that list among your group members, assigning each fourth day member to make contact with 3 or 4 prospects. In contacting the prospects, use a low key approach sharing your experiences over lunch or other social gathering. Don t use pressure. Explain that we have no secrets, merely surprises. Enlist other fourth day folks to make contact and help invite the prospects to sign up for the weekend. If money is a problem for a prospect, see if you can t raise the money to provide a scholarship. Invite a Prospect to an Ultreya or other Fourth Day gathering. This is entirely acceptable invite a prospect to a gathering at which there is to be singing and sharing of testimonies. Let the prospect bask in the warmth of a fourth day gathering. Let a prospect be part of your reunion group. Have a display booth at your Presbytery or Synod gathering. We do this at General Assembly, so why not do it in your Presbytery. Have some literature available at least your brochure/pilgrim s application. The booth should be manned by knowledgeable, friendly members of the Fourth Day. The denomination has established a link to our web site from the PC(USA) web site. Our past national moderator, Joan Gray, and her husband attended Georgia Presbyterian Cursillo. There is no reason why we cannot fill our tables with pilgrims. All it takes is active, intelligent recruitment. Get face to face, get serious and share Cursillo! This is also a reprint from August, Appropriately, Clay has just accepted responsibility for our web site. In this article, he responded to Debbie Cordell s request for his recruitment methods. No Clay Feet! I'm not bashful about approaching people to participate in a Cursillo Weekend. It's too good to keep secret. However, I am careful about the "approach." My own approach is tailored to fit my own personal style, so it won't work for everyone. It involves three steps. First, I listen during conversation for possible interest (crossroads in life, spiritual seeker, etc); second, I get permission to briefly discuss a program, and then do so; third, I try to increase my own credibility by offering to contribute to their cost of the Weekend: - Once I determine the person might be interested (through listening to them), I mention that I have participated in a program that has brought me more spiritual growth than any other in my lifetime, and ask if they are interested in hearing a 2- minute capsule of it. - If they are interested, then I summarize the Weekend's primary features: worship, great music, group discussions, and a 3-day getaway from "the distractions of the world," where people often experience the presence of Christ; - I say that I'm such a believer in the program that I'll pay their registration fee if they are interested, as a gift. At our last Cursillo, this approach netted five recruits, but four cancelled. These cancellations were top-management high-stress individuals, who were in a management challenge, so that may have been a factor. However, I am re-evaluating the offer of the "registration fee" gift, thinking maybe I'll offer instead to pay half their housing (more money, but that way, they have some "skin" in the game via the registration fee). Clay Parton

6 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Our Web Site At its Spring, 2017 meeting our national council took steps to try to increase the attendance of participants at our weekends and thus in our fourth day ministry of evangelizing the environment of reforming our communities. Recognizing the effectiveness of internet web sites in some markets, the council formed a committee headed by Linda Boyce of Oklahoma Presbyterian Pilgrimage (lindaboyce1951@gmail.com) to seek to improve our own web site s appeal to prospective participants particularly to millennials. To aid in this effort, council authorized the expenditure of up to $2, to hire a professional web site preparer. Please make sure that you continue to provide calendar and contact updates to the web site. This is especially important, since there is no longer room in the Cursillista for calendar and contact updates. For now, please forward such updates to Clay Parton at (cparton01@yahoo.com). Clay, of Arkansas Presbyterian Pilgrimage, has taken on the responsibility of editing the web site since Fox has given up that position. Local newsletters and articles for the Cursillista should continue to be sent to Fox t.f.fox@att.net preferably by the deadline the next to last day of each month. So why did they name you Palanca? Volume 20, Number 6 Page 6 I ve Heard In my first 36 years as an elder: The church member who complained that...the church is run by the clique of all the people who do all the work! The church member who couldn t attend our committee meeting because...i ve got to stay home and practice speaking in tongues. The church member who knew exactly what he would do the next time our old church van broke down. He would...take it to a mechanic who specializes in church vans. The committee member who thought it would be a good thing to give the graduating high school seniors the New King James Version of the Bible...because it still contains all the errors of the original. The member of the same committee who countered this, saying we should give them the original King James Version...because that s the version the apostles used. When I was first ordained as an elder, I was assigned to be the Sunday School superintendent which made no sense since I had never even taught Sunday School. I was, however trained for the task by the Fairy Godmother method (Poof! You re a Sunday School superintendent. ) As part of this training, I was assigned to attend a 10th grade boys Sunday School lesson at the local mega church. When I arrived, it was to find that they were in the third week of a three week in depth study of Revelations. The instructor was reading aloud from the scripture just as fast as he possibly could. Every so often he d look up and say...of course, you ll see it all on TV. I have of course heard an awful lot of very good preaching and teaching in those 36 years and before far more good, worthwhile instruction than the goofy stuff. Don t forget Sign Up For The

7 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 7 For Pilgrimage Table Leaders... One of the most important jobs on our weekend staffs is that of a Table Leader or Table Guide, as it s called in some places. The Table Leader is responsible to help pilgrims understand the key points of the talks rollos that guide our pilgrims into the fourth day. As originally constituted, and as still practiced in our remaining Cursillo communities, Table Leaders need to have some familiarity with our denomination s theology. This is still true, of course, in our pilgrimage communities, but now, table leaders in our pilgrimmage communities have a special challenge. No, they don t have to be experts in the theology of all the possible denominations that might be represented at their tables, but they need to have enough background to understand when something being propounded by a member of their table is not in accordance with our reformed beliefs. I know you can tell me what our two sacraments are, but can you list all seven Roman Catholic sacraments? (See next page, last line, note 7.) Are you ready to explain predestination to an Episcopalian (or another Presbyterian, for that matter)? See the next page for a comparison of some of the more prominent issues that might arise. So, why is this such a big deal? Because table discussion time can be chewed up wasted by discussing issues that are not related to the purpose of the talks, which is to help usher pilgrims into the fourth day. What s wrong with taking half an hour to discuss whether or not the communion elements become real flesh and blood or are merely symbolic, or how many extra Old Testament books (the Apocrypha plus) are included in Catholic and Orthodox scriptures? Nothing, except (and it s a very big except) that some of the Rollo points leading into the fourth day will not be adequately explained and understood. Keep in mind that we re not trying to convert Methodist or Lutheran pilgrims into Presbyterians. We re not even trying to get Presbyterians to switch denominations. We ll be perfectly happy to have Anglican fourth day folks and Congregational fourth day folks but they need to be fourth day folks who thoroughly understand and carry out the purpose of the fourth day ministry....what If? One of the pilgrims at your table challenges you? What if he/she says there is in fact more than one way to be saved? You can argue the issue and waste a lot of time that should be used in discussing the key points of the rollo you ve just heard and that won t help add folks to our fourth day ministry. Try this, instead: Tell the challenger that you realize that there are many differences in doctrine and theology among our various denominations but note that we are in agreement in most respects with other churches. What we re dealing with here is a process a ministry by which our participants can help seekers and other non-believers to belong to the church and to be saved by Christ. This weekend is a step by step effort to teach and help pilgrims to understand this ministry. These steps take up all our available time we just don t have time to deviate, to go down rabbit trails, even for important issues. So, in order to carry out the purpose of this weekend we need to stay on task. Hopefully, we ll find an opportunity to discuss this sometime after we get home from this weekend. You might ask one of the spiritual advisers to discuss the issue with the challenger and explain the need to stay on task. Yes, the need is to preserve our few precious hours to further the purpose of the weekend helping our pilgrims become active in the mission of the fourth day. You Might Find It Useful...to print this page and the next page and at training give them to table leaders staffing your next Pilgrimage weekend. The next page covers the barest minimum information. There are many denominations within each category and even their beliefs can differ sharply. The denominational notes on the next page are derived from The Presbyterian Handbook 2006, Genva Press; Handbook of Denominations, 11th edition, 2001, Abington, The Reformation Timeline, Christian History Magazine #120.and others.

8 The National Pesbyterian Cursillista June 1, 2017 Volume 20, Number 6 Page 8 A Few Notes About Denominational Beliefs Denomination Scripture Salvation The Church Sacraments Adventist Church of God 7th Day Adventist Anabaptist Brethern Amish Mennonite Anglican Episcopal Baptist Catholic Church of Christ Disciples of Christ Congregational Lutheran Methodist Orthodox Armenian Greek Russian Pentecostal Church of God Vineyard Presbyterian 10 to 12 denominations 1 Inspired and inerrant. 5 1 Inspired, but not infallible. 1 Interpreted by tradition and reason. 1 Inspired and inerrant - the sole rule of faith. 46 OT, 27 NT books. Interpretation is subject to church tradition. 1 Word of God, but fallible. 1 The authoratative witness to the word of God. 1 Scripture alone is the authoritative witness to the gospel. 1 The primary source of doctrine. 49 OT, 27 NT books. Subject to tradition. 1 Inspired and inerrant. 5 1 Subject to tradition and culture. We repent by believing in Christ. Those who are found right with God are saved. A personal experience - thru faith. We become at peace with God, being peacemakers. Christ victorious died for our sins. Thru baptism we become living church members. Offered freely to all who accept Christ as savior. Salvation is only thru faith in Jesus. God gives faith to the baptized. Is maintained by good works, Penance and Eucharist. We must hear gospel, repent, confess Christ, be baptized. God saves "from sin and aimlessness all who trust him and accept his call. 2 God's grace alone saves. Good works result, but are not the basis of salvation. All who believe in Christ. In the last days a remnant will keep God's laws faithfully. 3 The assembly & society of believers. No one form of government is recognized. 3 based on the succession of bishops going back to the apostles. 3 redeemed thru history. 'Church' usually means an autonomus local church.. The mystical body of Christ who established the church with the pope at its head. The assembly of those who have responded rightly to the gospel. The people of God living as Jesus' disciples. Each local church is self governing. The congregation of believers, mixed with the lost. Gospel is preached. Sacraments. 2 God's grace alone 3 Represented by saves. Good works result, not salvation basis overseen by church institutions and bishops. "God became human [so humans] could have the energy of God's life in them."6 We are born again in the spirit by God's grace thru Jesus. 2 God's grace alone saves. Good works result, but are not the basis of salvation. 4 Elements are symbolic, only. Baptism is by immersion of believers only. 4 Believer's baptism. Eucharist is memorial to Jesus' death. 4 Infant and convert baptism. Christ's blood and body are present in communion. 4 Immersion of believers only. Communion elements are symbolic only. Seven sacraments. Eucharist undergoes transsubstantiation. Infant baptism. 7 4 Baptism is immersion of believers only. Eucharist is symbolic. 4 Churches may practice infant or believer's baptism. Communion elements are symbolic. 4 Baptism necessary for salvation. Communion elements are Jesus' body and blood. 4 Baptism is sign of regeneration. Jesus is present in Eucharist.. 3 in unbroken historical connection with the God's life. Communion 4 Baptism initiates apostles. Patriarchs elements become real govern. blood & body of Jesus. 3 in which the Holy Spirit dwells. 3 including all of God's chosen, represented by the visible church. 4 Baptism is immersion of believers. Communion is symbolic. 4 Baptism is not necessary for salvation. Christ's body & blood are symbolical. 1 Protestant Canon: 39 OT, 27 NT books 4 Baptism and Communion 2 Sola Fida: Saved by grace alone 5 Some of denomination leaders are regarded by them as prophets. 3 The Body of Christ 6 The Presbyterian Handbook, Geneva Press, Louisville,2006 p Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Annointing the Sick, Holy Orders, Marriage.