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Post by SisterNancy on Dec 17, 2007 13:08:33 GMT -5
Hi, My name is Nancy, my husband and I have been in the ministry for 18 years and are now in between churches. Our last church did not work out and we will leave it at that. We are currently seeking a church that is comfortable with headcoverings even if the woman are not wearing them themselves. We left a wonderful church in NJ where it was optional and some wore them and some did not to come to a church in Pa. where no one wore them and as we found out they were not open to the idea either. What was said and promised at the interview was nothing like what we recieved when we came here. My husband is a holiness preacher (not pentacostal) and conservative although I do have my hair short. well shoulder length. Anyway, so we find ourselves living in Central Pa. and seeking God for the right church. Wherever that may be. I have always been a stay at home mom because I don't believe woman should be in the workplace however with no income we are struggling to maintain that and it is very heavy on my heart. I have two children who I have homeschooled all the way through. One boy who is in a Christian Bible college, and one daughter who we are still homeschooling in the 12th grade and will be going to a Christian fundamental college in the fall of 08. I would love to move to SC. LOL I actually love Pa. as I grew up here and lived here before getting married and moving to NJ.
I am so glad to find other sisters and brothers in Christ who are convicted as we are to wearing headcoverings. I truly thought I was the only one who wasn't Amish or Menonite wearing them.
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Post by brommd on Dec 17, 2007 23:56:20 GMT -5
I can emphatically state (as I am sure others will too) that we are just as glad you found us!!
Welcome aboard and enjoy your stay sister!
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Post by Tammy on Dec 18, 2007 1:54:28 GMT -5
Welcome to the group, Sis. Nancy! I hope you enjoy the fellowship and discussions as much as I do.  We are missionaries in Guatemala, just returned to serve a second term on the field. We feel so blessed to get to raise our children here. I pray for God's guidance for your family. Sis. Tammy |
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Post by Brother Ben on Dec 18, 2007 13:33:14 GMT -5
Welcome on board, Sis. Nancy. I hope we can be a blessing to you. Let your husband know we would love to have him on as well. As far as things not going like they said in the interview, that is the way it is in most non-covering churches. It is o.k. at first, then someone gets a bur under their saddle and the next thing you know, you are getting unkind remarks and accusations. Hang in there, you weren't called to a popularity contest!  You and your husband are welcome here! (even if we are only cyber.) Bro. Ben |
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Post by SisterNancy on Dec 18, 2007 17:37:17 GMT -5
Brother Ben, it was worse then just the head coverings. They said they wanted the scripture taught. DH told them He preaches directly from the Bible and that his Bible Studies were verse by verse, chapter by chapter etc. They said they wanted that and needed meat. Well after only two months they said they didn't want prayer in the service or scriptures read in the service etc. they wanted to be ultra contemporary (no cross, candles, etc. they wanted to use ice cream buckets for offering plates and take away the pulpit etc)In the interview we told them we were very traditional and did hymns they said that was fine but it wasn't. it was a real mess and DH stood his ground. Our biggest mistake was moving here without a signed contract. So, then they wouldn't sign the contract etc. Anyway, Now we are looking for an independent church that wants to truly follow scripture. Two years ago we left a more liberal denomination because they were becoming increasingly more liberal as we were becoming increasingly more conservative. We then pastored A Holiness church that when we arrived only had 4 people in it. When we left 11 months later we had 22 people. They are a very conservative group and wore headcoverings. It was optional because they wanted the woman to do it out of conviction. I would say it was probably 1/2 and 1/2 the teens wore them too. The only reason we left was to come to this church in Pa. We truly believed God wanted us here. The Holiness church wants us to come back but we have no way of getting back and no where to live when we got back. So, we are seeking God's plan. DH actually is the one who found this site and brought it to my attention. he does read here but right now he works 11pm to 8am everyday but sat night/sun am. so he sleeps during the day and when he is awake he is a little fuzzy. LOL He will post eventually. this job ends the end of December then we don't know what we are going to be doing. Holding on and trying to remain faithful. Anyway, thanks for welcoming us here! We both are really glad DH found this site. |
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Post by SisterNancy on Dec 20, 2007 0:29:56 GMT -5
I am sorry if the above post was to much information. I got a little carried away. I wanted to thank you all for the Welcome you gave me! I am enjoying this site very much. Thank you again for welcoming me aboard |
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kscarle
Member
Philippians 4:4, Romans 12:1, John 14:15
Posts: 97
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Post by kscarle on Dec 20, 2007 10:02:12 GMT -5
Sis. Nancy
Welcome to the board, I am sorry to hear about any church that wants to go liberal, it is never the will of God to become more worldly. I just so happens that I am from the south and do know some churches in S.C. and gorgia. I am IFB though. However there is a friends that visits our church (her mother is a member) and she is holiness. I have heard they are not liberal. The women wear dresss /skirts, no offense to the hair but I think they are suppose to let it grow. I heard that for awhile long sleeves were to be worn but I think that was changed.
Sis. Kristie
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Post by SisterNancy on Dec 20, 2007 15:52:47 GMT -5
Sis. Nancy Welcome to the board, I am sorry to hear about any church that wants to go liberal, it is never the will of God to become more worldly. I just so happens that I am from the south and do know some churches in S.C. and gorgia. I am IFB though. However there is a friends that visits our church (her mother is a member) and she is holiness. I have heard they are not liberal. The women wear dresss /skirts, no offense to the hair but I think they are suppose to let it grow. I heard that for awhile long sleeves were to be worn but I think that was changed. Sis. Kristie Sister Kristie, Thank you for welcoming me. I hope to get to know you all better as time goes by. You are right about the hair. lol the President's wife of our churches in NJ and I both got our hair cut at the same time. It caused some of a stir. But, our church taught it was better to have long hair but left it up to the individuals convictions. they also, did not define long. My husband thinks shoulder length is ok. so, that is where I am. I couldn't even keep it up in a bun if I tried (which I have tried many times). If the hair is covered anyway, who knows if it is in a bun or short? I truly am open to long hair mine is just so straggly it's not normal. lol and it is definitely not pretty. I know we should not care if it's pretty or not but it is not pleasing to my husband if it is too long either(it always looks dirty and unkept. The long sleeves has been changed in most Holiness churches. Although the Holiness churches in Pa are different. Right now we are not really attending a church. We are living in a parsonage and fellowship with that church but it is not conservative enough for us. So, we have church at home with DH giving the message, leading worship etc. I kind of think we are an odd breed. we are weslyan,armenian, holiness in doctrine and practice yet very conservative. I say we are fundamentalist DH says we are not. I defer to him on that one. We do wear coverings, dress plainly by that I mean skirts and tops or dresses. by the way, my daughters hair is very long and not cut. I did not cut mine for fashion. I guess I should rethink the decision to cut it. I thought shoulder length is still long.  My husband joined the board today. He is waiting for his approval. his name is Brother Jim need to go read more posts. |
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Post by 7schmicks on Apr 26, 2008 22:40:21 GMT -5
Dear Sister, I was curious about what a Holiness church was -- I am not familiar with it. I looked it up online and found this interesting site that gives its history, but it is long and varied, so of course I can't know where you are! www.religion-online.org/showarticle.asp?title=1862My brother and his wife are Wesleyans, so I know what that is, but they aren't Holiness. The site did say that they aren't Fundamentalist or Evangelical, I think, but said they emphasized ethics over doctrine? It sounds, too, as if it was the Holiness movement that spawned the Salvation Army in England. Thanks for any information! Sister Brenda |
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Post by SisterNancy on May 2, 2008 14:34:29 GMT -5
first off let me say..I reread those earlier post and they are old. lol I have been convicted about having long hair.
We have doctrine, We are Wesleyan, Armenian based. I will put it in laymans terms the best I can. If you want doctrinal terms etc. my husband will be better suited to that. I can find scriptures but it will take me a while to do that. so, off the cuff in an easiest answer I can give. We believe we are to be Holy as Christ is Holy. We are to live holy lives pleasing to GOD! not because works save us but on the contrary because we are saved we can live this way. separate from the world. being in the world but separate from the world. We believe that When we become saved the Holy Spirit enters a believer and we believe as we mature in our Christian walk there comes a point where we surrender our will to God's will and become sanctified(set apart) and the power of the Holy Spirit is unleashed within us! we strive to live holy, empowered by the spirit. not in our own power but by the spirits power. We strive for perfection as Christ was perfect. Having a pure heart. realizing we will reach that goal completely when we are taken up with Jesus. WE believe the bible is the Holy Word of God and is to be taken literally and is inerrant. We believe Salvation can only come thru Jesus Christ the one and only son of God. We believe in the trinity father, son and holy spirit. We believe in the second coming of Jesus Christ.
by empowered I do not mean speaking in tongues. I mean empowered to do that which God has called us to do and live the way God calls us to live.
If God calls you to do something He will enable you to do it. The way He enables you is thru the Holy Spirit!
as apposed to being saved and continuing to live a cardinal life.
I'm sure I am leaving a lot out. and I am in no way saying this is a comprehensive answer. but I hope it helps you understand in some way.
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Post by SisterNancy on May 2, 2008 14:49:10 GMT -5
How do you define evangelical?? because I believe Holiness churches to be very evangelical in the purest sense of the word. Going out to evangelize/save the lost. We accept people where they are and let them experience the Holy Spirits conviction upon areas where they need to change etc. all the while holding up to the biblical standards God has set.
unfortunately now, I believe the word evangelical is a buzz word for contemporary and worldly!
fundamentalist and we share the same standards, the same bible, and the same CHRIST. the difference is we do not hold to dispensational theology or calvinism.
we believe we are saved by grace and everyone has the ability to be saved by accepting that gift of salvation. John 3:16 does say the whole world that none should perish but have everlasting life.
I am not arguing points here just showing the difference as I understand it. some of the men might be better able to explain it.
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Post by allglorytogod on May 2, 2008 21:21:50 GMT -5
I believe we are to obey all 10 commandments and ' walk as Jesus walked ' 24/7 to the best of our ability with help from God's Holy Spirit ... we should be displaying all the fruits of the Spirit also in our lives
Yes
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Post by 7schmicks on May 2, 2008 23:17:17 GMT -5
Dear Sister Nancy, Thank you so much for filling me in. (I didn't think you were arguing at all -- just answering my questions! ) You just sound a lot like Conservative Wesleyans to me! My brother and sister-in-law's Wesleyan church is like so many others churches today, in other words, they are much more liberal in their standards and music than they once were. I'm not really sure what that website meant about Holiness churches not being Fundamental or Evangelical. Maybe it just means that the Holiness churches have chosen not to be involved in the "movements." Other than the general ideas behind them, I'm sad to say, I don't recall all that my husband taught me about Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism and what are the difference between the two. I guess this is a good indication that I need to study up on things! One of the things that stood out in the website, and my husband said the same thing when I asked him what he knew about Holiness churches, was that many of them believe you can and should try to attain "perfection" here on earth. From what you said, it sounds as if you don't believe that, since you said you would reach that goal when you are "taken up to Jesus." I don't really understand, however, what you meant by "...there comes a point where we surrender our will to God's will and we become sancified (set apart)..." I always understood that Jesus sanctifies all Believers when they are saved. "By the which will we are santified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once..." (Hebrews 10:10 without the italics) Wonderingly, Sister Brenda |
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Post by allglorytogod on May 3, 2008 0:28:16 GMT -5
Our goal should be to ' aim for perfection ' ... I don't believe for a second there are any ' perfect ' people here on Earth ... we will have perfection when we have our new bodies ... Now, when Jesus was walking on Earth in the flesh He was ' Perfection ' in every way .
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Post by George on May 3, 2008 12:06:23 GMT -5
It is quite interesting that this morning I was reading an article in the paper about universities and colleges allowing not only coed dorms but now coed roommates. One of the schools that is allowing this completely wrong and unscriptural practice to go on is Wesleyan University! Liberalism? It goes far beyond that and into immorality.
IN Christ,
George
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You and your husband are welcome here! (even if we are only cyber.)
