72nd Annual South Texas Network Conference
May 6-8, 2024
Monday, May 6 7PM
Tuesday, May 7
8AM 7PM
Wednesday, May 8
8AM 9AM 11AM Noon 2PM 7PM
Night of Worship with Don Moen
Keynote Address
Tim Barker, Network Superintendent, South Texas Ministry Network
Speed the Light Golf Tournament
More info at stxym.org
Missions Service
Malcolm Burleigh, U.S. Missions Director, General Council of the Assemblies of God
Prayer
Business Session
Legacy Memorial Service
Speaker: Jennifer Pascqual, Pastor, International Christian Fellowship, Rome
Lunch
$10/person (Must purchase when registering for council)
Tod Bolsinger
Executive Director of the DePree Center Church Leadership Institute
Ordination Service
John Easter, Executive Director of AGWM , General Council of the Assemblies of God
Registration for Network Conference $25/voting attendee
Kidz Council during evening service (Ages 5-11)
Childcare ages 0-4 is available during evening services only.
Hotel Information
Courtyard by Marriott San Antonio
11605 State Highway 151 | San Antonio, Texas 78251
Rate: $132/night | Breakfast included for 2
Parking complementary
Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott
4026 Wiseman Blvd. | San Antonio, Texas 78251
Rate: $122/night | Breakfast included for 2
Parking complementary
Rate available through link at: www.stxag.org/network-conference
Giving Information
Give to our Network Conference Budget, and to the ministers we will be honoring for 50 years of ordained ministry. There’s three easy ways to give.
Mail to Give
Mail your offering to 12106 E Sam Houston Pkwy N, Houston, TX 77044
Text to Give
Text the message STXAG to the number 73256.
Give Online Visit stxag.org/give
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Budget 50 Years
For twenty years, I’ve said these words as a clinical psychologist and biblical counselor, inviting people to get comfortable as they begin the painful yet cathartic journey of exploring fears and failures to discover new hope and perspective in Christ. I never take lightly the courage it takes for someone to take that seat, to risk being known and exposed. My admiration for my client is coupled with a sense of expectancy and excitement I feel as I get ready to witness God transforming yet another life. Whether he is a staff member of Adult & Teen Challenge who’s battled trauma and addiction, a college student who’s figuring out her future and facing demons from her past, or a pastor on the rocky but rewarding road of restoration, it never gets old to watch God heal.
Yet we need more couches! I’m sure that as a minister, you notice too, that in the last few years, a growing mental health crisis has begged our attention and bombarded the church. People are trying to cope with their anxiety, depression, and trauma with pills, relationships, and all kinds of numbing vices. And this crisis is knocking on the door of not just the unsaved or seekers in our congregations, but even our ministry team members. You can’t turn the news on these days without reading about someone who’s committed a crime, who’s committed suicide, or who has been committed to an inpatient facility for depression or anxiety. God used the events of 2020 to expose what was hidden beneath the iceberg of external success and flourishing society. The true pandemic was not a virus; it was the state of our minds–the growing depravity of a world increasingly lost and trying to find solace in anything but God. A 2023 APA survey found that 45% of adults between 34 and 44 struggled with mental illness, while 50% of adults between 18 and 34 were affected (www.apa.org).
That’s staggering! The world needs help!
In Psalm 121, King David penned these words when he faced an overwhelming problem and needed guidance. He said, “Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord” (Psalm 121:1-2).
It seems obvious to think that our help for the mental health crisis affecting the world and even the church would come from God. After all, He is the Creator of the human mind and the author of our lives. However, the enemy has so cleverly shrouded the power of the Word and the Spirit of God in this area. A few lies are rampant, and I don’t think any of these thoughts are conscious, but we often act as if they’re true.
Lies about Mental Health and the Role of the Church
Since “we are not unaware of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11), let’s explore these lies briefly. The enemy wants people to think that there is no hope for victory over mental illness. If your family has struggled, then you may have a gene, and you’re cursed and stuck too. Satan has convinced people that the church is impotent, that mental health issues are beyond the scope of the pastor or even trained laypeople. Thirdly, the belief that science and medicine are the primary authority and answer to mental health issues has become pervasive. A minister is not educated or equipped enough to deal with anxiety or depression.
It is true that dealing with certain mental issues like suicidality and psychosis require a level of expertise and attention that may be beyond the boundaries to which a pastoral team can commit. Certain situations require medical attention, a specialized treatment team, the systematic application of certain truths, a conducive environment, and a certain frequency of meetings. But that does not mean that most mental and relational problems are beyond our scope as ministers. Many concerns can be dealt with through a specific and consistent application of the Word of God, with varying levels of accountability and support to help people walk in wholeness and freedom.
I believe that the severity and frequency of certain debilitating thoughts–whether they replay trauma from the past or pertain to fears for the future–underlie much of our mental illness. God has a lot to say about what we think–how we view ourselves, the world, and God. He is the answer to our anxiety, depression, insecurities, and relationship struggles, and to every and any malady of our mind. Scripture says in Psalm 107:29 that “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” The same Jesus who calmed the storm on the sea of Galilee, who calmed the demon-possessed mind of Mary Magdalene, can calm every emotional and mental storm we face today.
Jesus’ Power over the Mental Health Pandemic
Recently, to serve those beyond the borders of my own couch, I wrote and released a book, The Storm Whisperer to address how Jesus calms our troubled minds and leads us to mental wellness. Based on the Gospel of John and how Jesus ministers whole health to the individuals He encounters, each chapter invites readers to make a specific choice in their thought life to help them overcome insecurity, PTSD, anxiety, depression, and unwanted thoughts. It is a study on how to take captive debilitating thoughts and make them obedient to Christ. Each chapter ends with a “Recap and Engage” section to give people practical tips for walking in mental wellness and freedom.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus went out of His way to meet people– the lost, rejected, forgotten, ostracized, and traumatized–where they were at. Many of these people come through our doors at church – broken down and beat up by the world. So many of them have lived true horror stories, and it breaks my heart to think of the depravity, loss, heartache, trauma and sadness they have faced.
How can anyone recover from that? How can any medicine alone help them? How is the numbing of certain neurotransmitters going to really heal the one who has been abused in every way by people she was supposed to be able to trust? How can therapy using worldly concepts and humanistic ideas really transform someone? How can breathing techniques really cure? Prozac, Buspar, and self-help methods are all temporary and secondary. The world’s way is deficient, friends!
Jesus is the ONLY Storm Whisperer!
My brother has a great t-shirt that reads, “Take Back the Rainbow,” asserting that this beautiful symbol of God’s promise belongs in the church, not as a symbol for the ungodly, woke agenda of today’s culture. In the same way, pastor friends, I believe we need to take back the conversation around mental health.
Our churches must lead the conversation, not follow. Our pulpits must declare the truth of the power of God’s Word to heal the mind and heal our relationships. We must not shy away from dialogue about trauma, addiction, and other life-controlling issues. We don’t need to be medical or psychiatric experts to have a say in the healing process. God’s Word is replete with wisdom for living an abundant mental life.
So, pastor friends, I encourage you to make room on your couch, and open your pulpits to life-giving conversations to minister to the brokenhearted and hurting. As a clinician and fellow minister, I thank you for your courage to confront the darkness, and to be a voice for turning hurting people back to the Word of God for their mental health. Together, we will watch God heal, one truth at a time.
To contact Dr. Dolly Thomas, licensed psychologist and AG ordained minister, to speak at your Sunday morning or midweek service, please email her at dollyvthomas@gmail.com. All proceeds raised from the sale of The Storm Whisperer: Letting Jesus Calm Your Troubled Mind and Lead You to Mental Wellness will be donated to support the life-changing ministry of Adult & Teen Challenge and other missions endeavors.
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Even at 65, the athletic 6-foot-4 pastor of Calvary Temple in San Antonio, Texas, still excelled in ball games, particularly basketball. Until around five years ago, Doug W. Roberts could beat most pastors of any age in a one-on-one basketball match.
“I’ve beaten several college players in my life one-on-one,” Roberts says. “That’s my brag for the day.”
The notable exception: golf.
“At almost 300 pounds. I could outhit almost everybody playing, but we never could find the ball. It’d slice off somewhere,” Roberts says.
“He’s worse than me,” attests Mike Hammonds, pastor of Angleton First Church, Angleton, Texas, regarding his fellow section presbyter’s golf game. The two met more than 30 years ago at a golf missions fundraiser and have played annually at minister tournaments.
“The woods, water, the lost area—the ball goes farther but not in the right direction. He’s really bad.”
His family knew of his abysmal golfing ability. When his grandchildren grew older, he’d not be the best coach to teach them that sport.
On May 31, Roberts set aside the football he often tossed with his elementary-aged grandsons, and with his wife, Janet, headed with them to a theme park where a roller coaster left him sore and bruised.
Five days later, Roberts was at death’s door in a hospital emergency room. He had contracted necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh-eating bacteria
that can live in water or on surfaces. This fast-moving infection destroys deep soft tissues, including muscle fascia, often requiring limb amputation. One in five die; those age 65 and older run higher risk of death.
Before preaching a funeral the next day, Roberts felt flu-like symptoms and left for home right after the service. The day after that, he stayed in bed with a fever; by late afternoon, a bruise formed on his left thigh where the roller coaster harness had touched his skin. His fever rose to 104; Janet encouraged him to see a doctor. A day later, he went to a clinic but said nothing to doctors about the bruise, which to him seemed unrelated to what he believed was the flu, and they sent him home.
Overnight the fever persisted, and the bruise developed bursting blisters. Janet insisted he see his family physician, who sent him immediately to the ER.
Delirium began to set in. Still, doctors thought he had the flu and planned to discharge him when orthopedic surgeon Nicholas E. Gerken ordered tests.
“I’m alive today because Dr. Gerkin insisted on them running blood work on me right then,” Roberts says.
Two hours later, Roberts was on the operating table. Doctors removed a large portion of his upper thigh and placed him on strong antibiotics to stave off the infection.
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The next day, however, the infection shut down his kidneys. Doctors placed him on dialysis and a ventilator. The morning after, Janet saw the dark blisters had spread beyond the surgical wrappings.
Gerken took Roberts back into surgery. Soon the surgeon emerged to get Janet’s permission to do the unthinkable: “It’s his leg or his life,” he said.
About this time, the infectious diseases physician told Janet that if she’s religious, she should start praying.
Matt Leighty, Calvary Temple’s executive pastor and Roberts’ sonin-law, called an emergency Wednesday night prayer meeting. Congregants filled the sanctuary. Through missionaries the church supports worldwide, word spread to thousands of intercessors around the globe.
“None of the doctors involved with me were expecting me to live, but they told Janet that my chances were about 50/50 just to give her some hope,” he says. “My life was hanging in the balance, and the scale was tipping the wrong way.”
Dialysis continued as Roberts remained sedated and intubated. Doctors told Janet that if he lived, he’d likely require lifelong dialysis. Then, for no medical reason, his blood impurity “creatinine” levels plummeted, and his kidneys healed.
After 12 days of delirium and sedation, doctors began to slowly bring him around.
Janet’s night had been long and stressful; the next day, she would have to tell her husband that his left leg had been amputated. How would he react?
Sixteen days after his first symptoms, Roberts’ family gathered in his hospital room.
Roberts, who had no memory of almost the past two weeks, became aware of people talking. Janet broke the news: “You’ve been very, very sick, and you had a terrible infection in your left leg. The only option they had to save your life was to amputate your leg.”
In seconds, Roberts processed the shocking information. “It really felt like God was speaking directly to me, telling me that the next words that I speak need to bring comfort to my family,” he says. His reply: “Well, this is going to really mess up my golf game.”
They all laughed, collectively exhaling a sigh of relief. “The joke assured them that I was back and that I was still me,” Roberts says. “I absolutely believe that God miraculously gave me the ability to make that joke.”
The next hurdle was paying the bills. His and Janet’s Christian-based medical sharing plan maxed out at $250,000 per incident. Two weeks into Roberts’ crisis, his bill was already at $1.2 million. At least two more months of hospitalization and rehab remained.
Roberts enrolled for insurance coverage beginning in July via the Affordable Care Act, which cannot bar him for pre-existing conditions. Miraculously, the policy covered him retroactively to June 1—five days before he entered the hospital.
After surgery, Hammonds asked his friend how he was doing: “He said, ‘Well, I’ve lost 40 pounds.’”
While Roberts responded with a joke, “I don’t think that means he doesn’t have a struggle,” Hammonds says, pointing out the daily obstacles Roberts faces. They’ve seen each other several times since the amputation as they serve together on a committee.
“He’s not unplugging from everything, running away, hiding in a closet. There may be struggles in adapting, but he’s dealing with them head on.”
Roberts now uses a state-of-the-art power wheelchair that his lift van accommodates. A prosthetic leg isn’t a likely option for him; his amputation was a total hip disarticulation, meaning part of the hip bone was removed, leaving no stump to which he could attach a prosthetic. He hopes to be fitted with crutches, which would greatly enhance his mobility.
The sense of loss is palpable. In addition to basketball, he enjoyed softball, tennis and pickleball.
“You just try not to focus on those things and keep moving forward.”
But never has he blamed God for what happened. “We live in an imperfect world where crazy things happen,” Roberts says. “There’s a reason I’m going to discover He allowed me to go through this.”
Originally Published for AG News. Deann Alford is a journalist and author. She attends Glad Tidings of Austin, an Assemblies of God congregation in the Texas capital.
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In this edition we shine the spotlight on First Assembly of God Colmesneil .
In the heart of deep East Texas, in the Niches Valley Section, is a “small church with a BIG HEART!!”, Colmesneil, Texas, population 542 according to the 2020 census. First Assembly of God Colmesneil pastored by Rev. Kirbbie & Naomi Cowart has become an incredible lighthouse for the Kingdom of Heaven. The Cowarts have pastored in Colmesneil for almost 12 years.
They have built this church on prayer, preaching and outreach to the lost and the youth of the community. Last August he hosted a men’s prayer breakfast and over 90 men showed up to participate. The youth of the community are a priority having special fellowships for them with prayer and church services not only geared to the young people but allowing the young people to lead prayer, preach and worship. During a special youth night the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” was shown with 22 young people in attendance.
Pastor Cowart has an open door into the county jail for both men and women holding frequent services and seeing many saved and water baptized.
First Assembly Colmesneil supports 20+ missionaries, hosts several local outreaches to the jail, nursing homes, the homeless, street ministry and rainbow ministry which assists CPS with the children along with local ministries to men, women and youth.
Pastor Cowart said that the secret to a healthy church is simple. Last year he started asking the Lord what to do. The church had 2 buses and a van but could not get anyone to drive them so the church sold them. He asked the Lord how to grow the church and the Lord said to pray 2 hours per day and then he turned around and said 3 hours. So Pastor Cowart began going to the church early and praying and studying God’s Word for 3 hours. Then revival began. Last year was one of the greatest years they’ve ever had, giving away 55 Thanksgiving
food boxes, over 150 Christmas boxes with over 100 toys, baptizing 14 inmates at the jail and 9 at the church. Pastor Cowart says that it’s “Harvest Time”. The church has now purchased the adjacent property to build a pavilion, playground, park and a larger church building.
Obedience to the Lord is not without spiritual battles. But the Lord always helps us overcome. Last March Naomi Cowart had a heart attack and almost died. They used the electric shock paddles 3 times to bring her back to life. She came home with her heart working at 20% and her doctors said that at best her heart would only work 50%. BUT GOD!! It is working 100%! To God be the glory! For 2 years Brother Cowart himself was in a fight for his life. He couldn’t drive and he couldn’t even get up into his truck. He had to have a walker to get around and even with the walker’s assistance could only walk about 30 feet then have to sit down. BUT GOD raised him up and he is stronger than ever.
We are so proud of our South Texas rural churches. The church growth formula is the same as it’s always been. Humble yourself and pray, study God’s Word, begin to reach the hurting and outcast of your community seeing people water baptized and discipled. Thank you Pastor Kirbbie and Naomi and the Colmesneil church family for being obedient to the Lord! There’s no community too small! “Lord, send laborers to every community in South Texas!” A vibrant ministry and church awaits!
Your Fellow Servant, Pastor Don
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We believe in the call to ministry. all Church Ministry majors!
Announcing SAGU tuition discount’s for ministry majors and credentialed AG ministers/missionaries and dependents:
All students living on-campus and are ministry majors receive 50% o tuition including all federal, state, and SAGU scholarships and grants have been awarded. Students must be seeing a bachelor’s degree in Ministry related degrees, enrolled full time and live on campus, and complete a FAFSA at www.studentaid.gov Details are at: www.sagu.edu/50
Lastly, All Assemblies of God credentialed ministers/missionaries and dependents receive discounts on tuition. Details are at:
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A biology professor who was fired from a Texas community college for teaching students that X and Y chromosomes determine sex has been reinstated.
First Liberty Institute, a law firm that defends religious liberty for Americans, announced in a Tuesday press release that St. Philip's College in San Antonio, Texas, had reinstated Dr. Johnson Varkey, a former adjunct professor, a year after he was terminated.
The law firm noted they had filed a charge of discrimination at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against St. Philip's and the Alamo Community College District (ACCD) earlier this year.
"We are happy that the Alamo Community College District voluntarily reinstated Dr. Varkey," Kayla Toney, Associate Counsel for First Liberty Institute, said. "He is excited by this outcome, and we are glad that ACCD did the right thing. Dr. Varkey looks forward to continuing to educate students at ACCD."
First Liberty revealed the parties had reached a "favorable settlement," which, "among other provisions," guarantees that Varkey will be back in the classroom teaching by fall 2024.
The law firm previously sent a letter to St. Philip's College on behalf of Varkey, demanding the institution reinstate him after he was fired in January 2023.
"When teaching the human reproductive system, Dr. Varkey also stated that human sex is determined by chromosomes X and Y, and that reproduction must occur between a male and a female to continue the human species," First Liberty stated last June. "In the course of teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, he made these statements in every class for 20 years, without any incident or complaint."
Complaints against Varkey that ultimately led to his firing said he had engaged in "religious preaching, discriminatory comments about homosexuals and transgender individuals, anti-abortion rhetoric, and misogynistic banter" and that his teaching "pushed beyond the
bounds of academic freedom with [his] personal opinions that were offensive to many individuals in the classroom," according to a letter from the law firm.
On November 28, 2022, four of Varkey's students walked out of his class when he stated that sex was determined by X and Y chromosomes, just as he had done dozens of times before.
First Liberty argued his teachings are supported by his education and experience in his field, as well as his religious beliefs, but "throughout his employment, he never discussed with any student his personal views—religious or otherwise—on human gender or sexuality."
As an adjunct professor, Varkey taught Human Anatomy and Physiology at St. Philip's College to more than 1,500 students for 22 years, where he taught the same principles he was fired for this year, according to First Liberty.
First Liberty, at the time, said the college participated in unlawful religious discrimination in employment under the First Amendment and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, arguing Varkey "believes that he is obligated as a Christian and as a professor to teach accurate, true concepts that comport with his many years of research and study in the field of human biology."
Several members of Congress weighed in after the lawsuit was filed and called for Varkey to be reinstated.
Dr. Johnson Varkey is an Ordainded Minister with the South Texas Ministry Network
Orginally published for Fox News Digital written by Nikolas Lanum Fox News' Kendall Tietz contributed to this report. Nikolas Lanum is an associate editor for Fox News Digital.
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REGIONS & SECTIONS
REGION 1. — (Formerly San Antonio Section)
Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe, Wilson, Karnes, Atascosa, Medina, Frio, LaSalle, Uvalde, Zavala, Dimmit, Kinney, Maverick, Kendall, Kerr, Bandera, Real, and Edwards Counties
Brush Country Section
First A/G, Carrizo Springs | Discover Church, Castroville | Bethel A/G, Devine | First A/G, Karnes City | Hope Church, La Vernia | Grace Bible Church, Lytle | Gateway Fellowship Church, Natalia | First A/G, Pearsall | Living Water Fellowship, Pleasanton | Quemado A/G, Quemado | First A/G, Stockdale
San Antonio East Section
Living Hope Church, Boerne | Church in the Wildwood, Canyon Lake | Discovery Church A/G, Cibolo | Revelation Church San Antonio, Garden Ridge | Real Life Community Church, New Braunfels | AGORA Ministries Mission Center, San Antonio | Calvary Temple A/G, San Antonio | Camelot Christian Center, San Antonio | First A/G, San Antonio | Heart of Praise Worship Center, San Antonio | Northwest A/G, San Antonio | Baruch Hashem Congregation, San Antonio | Southeast A/G, San Antonio | Hillcrest A/G, Seguin | Victory A/G, Universal City
San Antonio West Section
Gateway Fellowship Church, Bandera | First A/G, Kerrville | Gateway Fellowship Church, Kerrville | Living Waters A/G, Kerrville | Bethel Covenant A/G, San Antonio | City on a Hill A/G, San Antonio | Faith A/G, San Antonio | Gateway Fellowship Church, San Antonio | Gateway Fellowship Espanol, San Antonio | Gateway Fellowship Church Farwest, San Antonio | Gateway Fellowship Church Highlands, San Antonio | Gateway Fellowship Church Westside, San Antonio | Life Church A/G, San Antonio | Motion Church, San Antonio | New Harvest A/G, San Antonio | THREE: 16 Church, San Antonio | Westover Hills A/G, San Antonio | Westover Hills Espanol, San Antonio
REGION 2. — (Formerly Corpus Christi & Rio Grande Valley Sections)
McMullen, Live Oak, Bee, Refugio, Aransas, San Patricio, Nueces, Webb, Duval, Jim Wells, Kleberg, Jim Hogg, Brooks, and Kennedy Counties, Zapata, Starr, Hidalgo, Willacy, and Cameron Counties
Corpus Christi Section
First A/G, Alice | Crossroads Church, Aransas Pass | Christian Worship Center, Beeville | Bethel A/G, Corpus Christi | Church of Hope, Corpus Christi | Gateway Christian Center, Corpus Christi | Glad Tidings A/G, Corpus Christi | Grace Temple A/G, Corpus Christi | Spirit Life Fellowship, Corpus Christi | The Lord is Peace Worship Center, Corpus Christi | The NET Fellowship, Corpus Christi | Trinity Worship Center, Corpus Christi | Maranatha A/G, Falfurrias | Victory Fellowship A/G, Gregory | First A/G, Ingleside | King’s Way Family Church, Kingsville | First A/G, Mathis | Portland Revival Center, Portland | First A/G, Refugio | First A/G, Rockport | Grace Church A/G, Sinton | Open Fields A/G, Taft | First A/G, Three Rivers
Laredo Section
First A/G, Laredo | Gateway A/G, Laredo | Global Impact Prayer House, Laredo | Lighthouse A/G Church, Laredo | New Creation Family Church, Laredo | New Life A/G, Laredo | Pan De Vida Asamblea de Dios, Laredo | Victory Faith Center A/G, Laredo | Rio Bravo Church, Rio Bravo
Rio Grande Valley Section
Hosanna A/G, Brownsville | Faith A/G, Combes | Life Ministries Church, Edinburg | Harvest International Church, Edinburg | Redemption Valley Fellowship, Edinburg | Limitless Church, Harlingen | First A/G, McAllen | Rock of Ages A/G, Pharr | Lighthouse A/G, Port Isabel | First A/G, Raymondville | Labors of Love and Hope Church, Weslaco | Mid-Valley A/G, Weslaco
REGION 3. — (Formerly Victoria & Gulf Coast Sections)
Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, DeWitt, Colorado, Goliad, Victoria, Jackson, Wharton, and Calhoun Counties, Brazoria, Galveston, and Matagorda Counties
Brazoria Section
Faith A/G, Alvin: Faith Family Fellowship, Alvin | Central A/G, Angleton | First A/G, Angleton | Family Worship Center, Bay City | First A/G, Brazoria | Destination Church, Clute | First A/G, Freeport | Jones Creek A/G, Jones Creek | Shady Oaks A/G, Lake Jackson, Access Church, Pearland | Life Point Church, Pearland | His Grace A/G, Sweeney, Gulf Coast Christian Center A/G, West Columbia
Galveston Section
Faith A/G, Bacliff | Dominion Church, Dickinson | West Bay A/G, Dickinson, Lighthouse Family A/G, Galveston | New Life Fellowship, Galveston | Mainland A/G, Hitchcock | Living Faith A/G, La Marque | Faith A/G, League City | His Touch A/G, San Leon | Day Spring Church, Santa Fe | Maranatha Christian Center, Santa Fe | First A/G, Texas City | Glad Tidings A/G, Texas City
Victoria Section
Tree of Life Church, Bloomington | Live Oak A/G, Columbus | Cuero A/G, Cuero | River of Life The New Beginning, East Bernard | First A/G, Edna | New Life A/G, El Campo | Gateway Fellowship Church, Gonzales | Hallettsville Community Church, Hallettsville | Gospel Lighthouse, La Grange | Nixon A/G, Nixon | New Beginnings, Palacios | New Beginnings A/G, Port Lavaca | Six Mile A/G, Port Lavaca | Fisherman’s Chapel, Port O’Connor | First A/G, Seadrift | First A/G, Victoria | Abundant Life Christian Fellowship, Wharton | Faith Christian Fellowship A/G, Yorktown
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REGION 4. — (Formerly San Jacinto & Houston Sections)
Washington, Waller, Austin, and Fort Bend Counties, and all that portion of Harris County lying west of the Santa Fe Railroad (along Mykawa Road) H.B. & T. Railroad, and Rock Island Railroad, the portion of Harris County lying east of Santa Fe Railroad (along Mykawa Road), H.B. & T. Railroad, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad and the portion of Liberty County lying South of the Missouri Pacific Railroad and west of the Trinity River, and the portion of Chambers County lying west of the Trinity River.
Northwest Houston Section
Cornerstone Christian Center, Brenham | The Ark Fellowship, Cypress | Harvest Family Church, Cypress | Iglesia Nueva Vida, Cypress | New Life Church, Cypress | Champion Cowboy Church, Hockley | Divine Mercy A/G, Houston | Faith Assembly Church, Houston | Discover Church, Cypress | Iglesia Fuente De Agua Viva, Houston | Lindale A/G, Houston | The Pursuit Church, Houston | Real Life Church, Houston | Christian City Fellowship, Sealy | Iglesia Esperanza Viva, Tomball | Local Church A/G, Tomball | Tomball A/G, Tomball
Houston South Section
Alpha and Omega Assembly, Houston | Amazing Grace Assembly, Houston | Braeswood Church, Houston | Braeswood Church West Campus, Houston | Emmanuel A/G, Houston | Fountain of Life Christian Center, Houston | Gloryland A/G Church, Houston | Living Word Tabernacle, Houston | New Song Fellowship, Houston | Space City Church | Houston | Family Life A/G, Katy | Brave Church, Missouri City | The Source Church, Needville | Friendship Church A/G, Richmond | Embassy Church, Rosenberg | Legacy Church, Stafford | New Pointe Church, Stafford | Firebrand A/G, Sugarland | Victory A/G, Sugarland
North San Jacinto Section
First A/G, Channelview | East Houston Revival Center, Channelview | First A/G, Dayton | Old River A/G, Dayton | First A/G, Highlands | Cathedral of Praise, Houston | Coat of Many Colors, Houston | Crossroads Fellowship, Houston | LifeStream Church, Houston | Seeker Hill, Houston | Mercy Gate, Mont Belvieu
South San Jacinto Section
Bayway Drive A/G, Baytown | The Lighthouse, Baytown | New Life Ministries Int’l, Baytown | Trinity Assembly, Baytown | Anchor Church, Deer Park | Faithbridge Church, Deer Park | Galena Park A/G, Galena Park | Christ’s Church, Houston | Ebenezer A/G, Houston | Gulf Palms A/G, Houston | First A/G, La Porte | Iglesia Gracia Divina, La Porte | Calvary Chapel A/G, Pasadena | Connect Community Church, Pasadena | Faith A/G, Pasadena | Living Springs A/G, Pasadena | Reach Church, Webster
REGION 5. — (Formerly North Houston Section)
Walker, Grimes, San Jacinto, and Montgomery Counties, and all that portion of Harris and Liberty Counties north of Rock Island Railroad, H.B. & T. Railroad, and Missouri Pacific Railroad
Conroe Section
All Nations’ Worship Center, Conroe | Capstone International, Conroe | Cornerstone Church, Conroe | First A/G, Conroe | Living Word, Conroe | Sole Mission/The Resource Center, Conroe | Lone Star Cowboy Church, Montgomery | The River A/G, The Woodlands | One Place, (PAC) Willis | City Church, Houston | The Bridge Church, Houston | First A/G, Huntsville | New Birth A/G (PAC), Huntsville | The Journey Fellowship, New Waverly
Humble/Cleveland Section
Bethel A/G, Cleveland | Cross Church, Cleveland | Hi-Way Tabernacle, Cleveland | Lifestyle Community Church, Cleveland | Peace Tabernacle A/G, Cleveland | Simmons Bottom A/G, Dayton | First A/G, Humble | New Life Church on Northpark, Kingwood | Embrace Fellowship Church, New Caney | New Life A/G, Patton Village | Dayspring Church, Porter | Family Deaf A/G, Porter | Grand Parkway Church, Porter | First A/G, Romayor | First A/G, Shepherd | Plum Grove A/G, Splendora | Splendora First A/G, Splendora
Spring Section
High Calling Church, Houston | Imperial Valley A/G, Houston | North Side A/G, Houston | Grace Chapel A/G, Magnolia | Life Point Church, Magnolia | Living Waters A/G, Magnolia | Real Church, Pinehurst | Fusion Church A/G, Spring | North Central Church, Spring | Northwood A/G, Spring | Praise and Worship Center of Spring, Spring | Spring First Church, Spring | Springs of Living Waters, Spring | Spring Creek Fellowship Church, Tomball
REGION 6. — (Formerly Beaumont & Neches Valley Sections)
Orange and Jefferson Counties and that portion of Liberty and Chambers Counties lying east of the Trinity River, Tyler, Jasper, Newton, and Hardin Counties
Beaumont East
One City Church, Beaumont | New Birth A/G, Beaumont | Redemption Church, Beaumont | First A/G, Bridge City | Encounter Church, Groves | New Hope Church, Nederland | Community Church, Orange | Encounter Church – Orange County Campus, Orange | Faith Harbor A/G, Port Arthur | Glad Tidings A/G, Port Arthur | The Rock Outreach Center, Port Arthur | Magnolia A/G, Port Neches | Faith A/G, Vidor | River of Life Worship Center, Vidor
Beaumont West
Satellite Campus of Cornerstone Community Church, Anahuac | Harvest Church, Daisetta | Bethel A/G, Liberty | Moss Hill A/G, Moss Hill | Cornerstone Community Church, Winnie
Neches Valley Section
New Life Church, Batson | Lakeside Christian Fellowship, Brookeland | First A/G, Buna | First A/G, Colmesneil | New Beginnings Church, Evadale | Hillister A/G, Hillister | First A/G, Jasper | First A/G, Kirbyville | Victory A/G, Kirbyville | First A/G, Kountze | Honey Island A/G, Kountze | Little Rock A/G, Kountze | Faith A/G, Lumberton | Mauriceville A/G, Mauriceville | First A/G, Newton | First A/G, Saratoga | Caney Head A/G, Silsbee | First A/G, Silsbee | New Covenant A/G, Silsbee | Oak Grove Harvest A/G, Spurger | Abundant Life Fellowship, Woodville | Grace Community Church, Woodville | Trinity A/G, Woodville
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Seniors With Purpose will be enjoying our 2024 Retreat/Fishing Trip, May 22- 25 to Port Mansfield, Texas. There are several options for the fishing component, but the morning and evening devotional and discussion times are very important as we look at the future of our Seniors With Purpose Ministry. See Our SWP Website for details, stxagseniors.com.
SWP Fish Fry
We will have our second Seniors With Purpose Fish Fry on Memorial Day, May 27, 11:00AM to 3:30PM at Raymond Russell Park in San Antonio. Everyone is invited, there is a $10 per person charge. Details will be mailed soon as well as placed on our SWP website! Last year was great! This year we want to raise the bar again. For a great time with great food and tremendous fellowship and games, join us then. Next year the Fish Fry will be in the Houston area!
We will have our third Missions Trip this year in October. This time to Beauvais, France with Missionaries Manuel and Tina Prabhudas. Again, details are on the Seniors With Purpose website: stxagseniors.com.
Final Thought
“Love, Unity, Peace”. All words we love and cherish. All words that as Christians, we should continually experience. All words for which we are responsible in regard to our relationship with others, especially with our immediate family and our church family. “Hate, Confusion, Turmoil”. All words Satan wants to use, (there are more) to minimize the affects of Love, Unity and Peace! There is amazing studies of these words, original language, etc. But, you and I know what they mean.
We, as Seniors, should be Christ’s Ambassadors, in a world that is becoming more chaotic every day, for Love, Unity and Peace. These things, when vibrant in our families and churches, help to make us the powerful witnesses we are called to be.
When a family or fellowship of believers loses them, what follows is tragic! Our enemy will not back away from his endeavors to destroy these vital elements of our relationships. We must put on the Armor of God, and fight for them and protect them.
I’m not to sure Satan wants to convince us about anything! But, he wants to confuse us about everything!
John 13:34-35
34A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Matthew 5:9
Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
Ephesians 4:3
Keep the Spirit of unity in the bond of peace
No Coasting to the Finish Line!
Wayne and Judy Clark
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EXPLORING THE CALL
This is the first of a series of real-time stories from our STXMN global workers on the field. We walked up the hill from the village in the heat of the day. Though the chief of the village was almost 40 years older than me, she bounded up the hill faster than I could keep up with. She showed us where they had planted mandioca on the top of the hill and then asked us to help with the harvest. The air and heat of the Amazon River Basin were so thick and the sweat on my face poured out so much that my glasses kept falling off my face every time I leaned down to pull up a mandioca root. It didn’t take long to have an abundant harvest that would feed the people of the village for at least a week, and what they didn’t eat, they would ship downriver and sell at the market. The harvest was plentiful that day and thankfully there were plenty of workers to help the elderly chief of this village bring in the mandioca roots.
Sadly, the harvest for souls in the Amazon among the indigenous groups does not have the same happy scenario. There are millions of people throughout the Amazon River Basin of Brazil without adequate access to the Gospel message because they are scattered through some of the most rugged and unnavigable terrain on planet Earth. Brazil is the largest country in Latin America and home to over 240 Unreached People Groups, in which there are over two million individuals that are unengaged with the Gospel— there are no Christians, Bible, Church, not even missionaries. Because many of these groups don’t have a written language, one of the most effective ways of communicating the Gospel is through storytelling. This past January we visited the Amazon with the only AGWM missionary family working to reach the Unreached People Groups of the Brazilian Amazon. We were amazed at the impact they had as they shared about prayer and forgiveness through storytelling and had the local people engage in retelling the story. As we watched our colleagues engage the hearts and minds of the people through Gospel storytelling, I thought about how ironic it is that there are plenty of hands for the mandioca harvest, but for the harvest of souls along the Amazon River, the workers indeed are few. Will you pray for more workers to come and help plant the church of Jesus Christ among the Unreached and Unengaged of the Brazilian Amazon?
Josh & Mayra Renfro, LAC Southern Cone Area Directors
CONNECTING WITH THE LOCAL CHURCH
Did you know that 94% of believers today have never shared the Gospel with another person? That’s a staggering number! Even considering this, our missionaries are developing relationships in various cultures and languages to be able to share the Gospel…no matter what it takes! Their goal remains the same, to establish the church everywhere for all peoples! John Easter, Exec. Director of AGWM says” When we share the Gospel with others, they also challenge and change us”. Wow, now that’s an encouragement for our own lives.
That’s why your prayers and financial support are vital to our missionaries. When missionaries know that they have the backing of the local church, it makes seeing the impossible become the possible, as it says in Mark 9:26 “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
Thank you for partnering with our missionaries to do the impossible. STXAGM To The Nations!
Roger & Debbi Audorff STXAGM Network Missions Directors
BAPTISM IN THE HOLY SPIRIT POSITION PAPER
(ADOPTED BY THE GENERAL PRESBYTERY IN SESSION AUGUST 9-11, 2010)
Since the early days of the twentieth century, many Christian believers have taught and received a spiritual experience they call the baptism in the Holy Spirit. At the present time, hundreds of millions of believers identify themselves with the movement that teaches and encourages the reception of that experience. The global expansion of that movement demonstrates the words of Jesus Christ to His disciples that when the promised Holy Spirit came upon them, they would receive power to be His witnesses to all the world (Acts 1:5,8).
The New Testament emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Spirit's role in the ministry of Jesus and the continuation of that role in the Early Church. Jesus’ public ministry was launched by the Holy Spirit coming upon Him (Matthew 3:16; Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). The Book of Acts presents an extension of that ministry through the disciples by means of the empowering Holy Spirit.
The most distinguishing features of the baptism in the Holy Spirit are that: (1) it is theologically and experientially distinguishable from and subsequent to the new birth, (2) it is accompanied by speaking in tongues, and (3) it is distinct in purpose from the Spirit’s work of regenerating the heart and life of a repentant sinner.
The Term “Baptism in the Holy Spirit”
The term “baptism in the Holy Spirit” does not occur in Scripture. It is a convenient designation for the experience predicted by John the Baptist that Jesus would “baptize in [Greek en] the Holy Spirit”1 (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33) and is repeated by both Jesus (Acts 1:5) and Peter (Acts 11:16). It is significant that the expression occurs in all the Gospels as well as in the Book of Acts. The imagery of baptism portrays immersion, as seen in John the Baptist’s analogy between the baptism in water that he administered and the baptism in the Spirit that Jesus would administer. Being baptized in the Spirit must be differentiated from Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 12:13 which, following the Greek word order, reads: “by [en] one Spirit we all into one body were baptized.” The context of that passage demonstrates that “by” is the best translation, indicating that the Holy Spirit is the instrument or means by which the baptizing takes place.2 In verses 3 and 9 of the chapter, Paul uses the same preposition twice in each verse to indicate an activity of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:13, “baptized into one body” speaks about the Spirit’s work of incorporating a repentant sinner into the body of Christ (see Romans 6:3; Galatians 3:27 for the equivalent expression “baptized into Christ”). This is the “one baptism” of Ephesians 4:5; it is the indispensable, all-important baptism that results in the “one body” of verse 4.
To summarize: At conversion, the Spirit baptizes into Christ/the body of Christ; in a subsequent and distinct experience, Christ will baptize in the Holy Spirit.
1 Literal translation. All biblical quotations are from the New International Version (NIV) except as otherwise indicated.
2 Some reliable New Testament translations that opt for ‘by” include NIV, NASB updated, NKJV, and KJV.
3 The verb is in the Greek present tense, which conveys the meaning of a continuing or ongoing action.
Other Biblical Terms for Spirit Baptism
Various biblical terms are used for this experience, especially in the Book of Acts, which records the initial descent of the Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples and gives examples of the Spirit’s similar encounters with God’s people. The following expressions in Acts are used interchangeably for the experience:
• baptized in the Spirit—1:5; 11:16; see also Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33. The term “Spirit baptism” often serves as a useful substitute and is employed in this paper.
• the Spirit coming, or falling, upon—1:8; 8:16; 10:44; 11:15; 19:6; see also Luke 1:35; 3:22
• the Spirit poured out—2:17,18; 10:45
• the gift my Father promised—1:4
• the gift of the Spirit—2:38; 10:45; 11:17
• the gift of God—8:20; 11:17; 15:8
• receiving the Spirit—8:15,17,19; 19:2
• filled with the Spirit—2:4; 9:17; also Luke 1:15,41,67. This expression, along with “full of the Spirit,” has a wider application in Luke’s writings. Paul’s command to be “filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) does not refer to the initial fullness of the Spirit; it is an injunction to keep on being filled with the Spirit.3
Not one of these terms fully conveys all that the experience involves. They are metaphors conveying the idea that the recipients are thoroughly dominated or overwhelmed by the Spirit, who already dwells in them (Romans 8:9,14–16; 1 Corinthians 6:19; Galatians 4:6).
SUBSEQUENCE AND SEPARABILITY
Old Testament Background
The outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) was the climax of God’s promises, made centuries before, about the institution of the new covenant and the coming of the age of the Spirit. The Old Testament is indispensable for understanding the coming of the Holy Spirit to believers under the new covenant. Two prophetic passages are especially significant— Ezekiel 36:25–27 and Joel 2:28,29:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws (Ezekiel 36:25-27).
And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28–29).
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The Ezekiel passage speaks about cleansing new believers from all spiritual filthiness and replacing their heart of stone with a “new heart” and a “heart of flesh.” This takes place as a result of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who will enable them to live in obedience to God's decrees and laws. The promise predicts the New Testament teaching about regeneration. Jesus spoke of the need to be “born of the Spirit” (John 3:5,8) and Paul, echoing Ezekiel's prophecy, says that God “saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). The result is an altered lifestyle made possible by the indwelling Spirit.
Joel’s prophecy differs substantially from Ezekiel’s. It speaks of a dramatic pouring out of the Spirit that results in prophesying, dreams, and visions. The term charismatic in our day has come to identify those who believe in and experience, personally and corporately, the dynamic way the Spirit manifests himself through various gifts, such as those enumerated in 1 Corinthians 12:7–10.4 On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” which Peter says was in fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy (Acts 2:16–21).
The prophecies of Ezekiel and Joel, however, do not predict two separate, historic comings of the Holy Spirit. They represent two aspects of the one overall promise that includes both the Spirit’s indwelling and His filling or empowering of God’s people.
Importance of Luke’s Writings
Luke’s writings—the third Gospel and the Book of Acts—provide the clearest understanding of the baptism in the Spirit. Luke, in addition to being an accurate historian, is also a theologian in his own right and uses the medium of historical narrative to convey theological truth.5
Apart from the four Gospels, the only undisputed references to John the Baptist’s prediction of Spirit baptism are in the Book of Acts (1:5; 11:16). In addition, Luke’s is the only Gospel that has two sayings of Jesus that relate directly to Spirit baptism: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” (11:13); “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (24:49).
The opening chapter of Acts picks up the theme of these promises. Jesus told His disciples: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with [en] water, but in a few days you will be baptized with [en] the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4,5); “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The entire Book of Acts is a commentary on these verses, elaborating on the two related themes of spiritual empowerment and the spread of the gospel throughout the Roman Empire. It is therefore necessary to explore what Luke says about Spirit baptism. This emphasis in Luke’s writings, however, does not minimize other important aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry in non-Lukan writings as, for example, in John 14–16; Romans 8; 1 Corinthians 12–14. Nor does it imply that all nonLukan writers are silent on the matter of Spirit baptism or that Luke limits the Spirit’s activity only to Spirit baptism.
It is important to recognize that Luke wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Since Luke-Acts is historical in nature, Luke selected incidents and sayings that emphasize the dynamic aspect of the Spirit’s work.
The first four chapters of Luke’s Gospel present a clear picture that the promised age of the Spirit was being inaugurated. Luke portrays the activity of the Holy Spirit in a manner clearly reminiscent of the prophecy of Joel. For four hundred years the activity of the Spirit among God’s people had been virtually absent. It now bursts forth in a succession of events related to the births of both John the Baptist and Jesus, and to the beginning of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Angelic visitations, miraculous conceptions, prophetic utterances, the Spirit’s descent upon Jesus at His baptism, the empowerment
of Jesus for His earthly ministry—these are all recorded in rapid succession in order to emphasize the dawn of the promised age.
Methodology Followed
Narrative accounts recorded in Acts in which believers experience an initial filling of the Spirit have a direct bearing on the questions of whether Spirit baptism is separate from regeneration and whether speaking in tongues is a necessary component of the experience. The inductive method will be employed in looking at these incidents; it is a valid form of logic that attempts to form a conclusion based on the study of individual incidents or statements.6
“Subsequence” in Acts
The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–21). The first instance of disciples receiving a charismatic-type of experience occurred on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1–4). The coming of the Spirit on that day was unprecedented; it was a unique, historic, once-for-all and unrepeatable event connected with the institution of the new covenant. But as Acts indicates, at a personal level the disciples’ experience at Pentecost serves as a paradigm for later believers as well (8:14–20; 9:17; 10:44–48; 19:1–7).
Was the Pentecost experience of the disciples “subsequent” to their conversion? On one occasion Jesus told seventy-two of His disciples to “rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:20). It is not necessary to pinpoint the precise moment of their regeneration in the New Testament sense of that word. Had they died prior to the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost, they surely would have gone into the presence of the Lord. Many scholars, however, see the disciples’ new-birth experience occurring at the time the resurrected Jesus “breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ ” (John 20:22).
It is significant that the New Testament nowhere equates the expression “filled with the Holy Spirit” (verse 4) with regeneration. It is always used in connection with persons who are already believers.
The Samaritans (8:14–20). The Samaritan “Pentecost” demonstrates that one may be a believer and yet not have a charismatic-type of spiritual experience. The following observations show that the Samaritans were genuine followers of Jesus prior to the visit of Peter and John: (1) Philip clearly proclaimed to them the good news of the gospel (verse 5); (2) they believed and were baptized (verses 12,16); (3) they had “accepted [dechomai] the word of God” (verse 14), an expression synonymous with conversion (Acts 11:1; 17:11; see also 2:41); (4) the laying on of hands by Peter and John was for them to “receive the Holy Spirit” (verse 17), a practice the New Testament never associates with receiving salvation; and (5) the Samaritans, subsequent to their conversion, had an observable and dramatic experience of the Spirit (verse 18).
Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9:17). The experience of Saul of Tarsus also demonstrates that being filled with the Holy Spirit is an identifiable experience beyond the Spirit’s work in regeneration. Three days after his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1–19), he was visited by Ananias. The following observations are important: (1) Ananias addressed him as “Brother Saul,” which probably indicates a mutually fraternal relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ; (2) Ananias did not call on Saul to repent and believe, though he did encourage him to be baptized (Acts 22:16); (3) Ananias laid his hands on Saul for both healing and being filled with the Spirit; and (4) There was a time span of three days between Saul’s conversion and his being filled with the Spirit.
4The Greek word charisma, however, has a wider range of meanings in the NT. Its basic meaning is that it is a gracious gift.
5 See I. Howard Marshall's, Luke: Historian and Theologian. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970.
6 The formulated doctrine of the Trinity is the result of an inductive study of Scripture, as is the doctrine of the hypostatic union—that Christ was and is both fully human and fully divine, yet one person.
Household of Cornelius at Caesarea (Acts 10:44–48). The narrative about Cornelius reaches its climax with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon him and his household. He was not a Christian prior to Peter’s visit; he was a God-fearer—a Gentile who had forsaken paganism and embraced important aspects of Judaism without becoming a proselyte, that is, a full-fledged Jew. Apparently Cornelius’s household believed and were regenerated at the moment Peter spoke of Jesus as the one through whom “everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (verse 43). Simultaneously, it seems, they experienced an outpouring of the Spirit like the one on the Day of Pentecost, as Peter later told the leadership of the church in Jerusalem (11:17; 15:8,9). The expressions used to describe that experience do not occur elsewhere in Acts to describe conversion: “the Holy Spirit fell upon” (10:44; cf. 8:16 [both references NASB Updated]); “the gift of the Holy Spirit” (10:45; 11:17; cf. 8:20); “poured out on” (10:45); “baptized with [en] the Holy Spirit” (11:16).
The Spirit baptism of the new believers in Caesarea parallels that of believers in Jerusalem (Acts 2), Samaria (Acts 8), and Damascus (Acts 9). But unlike the experience of their predecessors, they had a unified experience whereby their conversion and their baptism in the Spirit occurred in rapid succession. The Disciples in Ephesus (Acts 19:1–7). At Ephesus, Paul encountered a group of disciples who had not experienced the baptism in the Spirit. This incident raises three important questions:
(1) Were these men disciples of Jesus or disciples of John the Baptist? Throughout the Book of Acts, every other occurrence of the word “disciple” (mathetes), with one exception,7 refers to a follower of Jesus. Luke’s reason for calling these men “some disciples” is that he was not sure of the exact number—“about twelve men in all” (verse 7). They were Christian believers in need of teaching; like Apollos (Acts 18:24–27), they needed to have “the way of God” explained “more adequately” (18:26).
(2) What did Paul mean by the question, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit, having believed?” (a strict translation of verse 2).8 He sensed among them a spiritual lack, but did not question the validity of their belief in Jesus. Since in the Book of Acts the clause “to receive the Holy Spirit” refers to Spirit baptism9 (8:15,17,19; 10:47; see also 2:38), Paul is asking if they have had the experience of the Holy Spirit coming upon them in a charismatic way, as did indeed happen to them subsequently (verse 6).
(3) Does Paul agree with Luke that there is a work of the Spirit for believers that is distinguishable from the Spirit’s work in salvation? This incident at Ephesus, as well as Paul’s own experience (Acts 9:17), requires an affirmative answer.
Summary Statements
1. In three of the five instances—Samaria, Damascus, Ephesus—persons who had an identifiable experience of the Spirit were already believers. At Caesarea, that experience was almost simultaneous with the saving faith of Cornelius and his household. In Jerusalem, the recipients were already believers in Christ even though it may be difficult—if it is even necessary—to determine with certainly the point in time when they were regenerated in the New Testament sense.
2. In three accounts there was a time-lapse between conversion and Spirit baptism (Samaria, Damascus, Ephesus). The waiting interval for the Jerusalem outpouring was necessary in order for the typological significance of the Day of Pentecost to be fulfilled. In the case of Caesarea, there was no distinguishable time lapse.
3. A variety of interchangeable terminology is used for the experience of Spirit baptism.
4. Groups (Jerusalem, Samaria, Caesarea, Ephesus) as well as an individual (Paul) received the experience.
5. The imposition of hands is mentioned in three instances (Samaria, Damascus, Ephesus) but it is not a requirement, as evidenced by the outpourings in Jerusalem and Caesarea.
6. Even though Spirit baptism is a gift of God's grace, it should not be called “a second work of grace” or “a second blessing.” Such language implies that a believer can have no experience or experiences of divine grace between conversion and Spirit baptism.
7. The ideal and biblically correct view is that a time-gap between regeneration and Spirit baptism is not a requirement. The emphasis should be on theological, not temporal, subsequence and separability.
7 Acts 9:25, where the phrase “his disciples” (NASB Updated) refers to followers of Paul. NIV reads “his followers.”
8 For “having believed [pisteusantes],” Greek grammar allows for a translation either of “when you believed” (coincident time) or “after you believed” (antecedent time). Context favors the latter.
9 In John’s Gospel, of course, the resurrected Jesus did address the disciples with the imperative, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (20:22). Biblical scholars understand John’s usage variously, some seeing it as the immediately realized gift of the Spirit in regeneration, others as anticipation of the Pentecost event, and still others as an independent Johannine report of Pentecost.
To continue reading visit: ag.org/Beliefs/Position-Papers
Tim R. Barker Network Superintendent
