Just after one class started, someone knocked on the locked door. The officer opened it and asked, "Why are you late?"
The student replied, "I was trying not to get another ticket." The officer let him in.
One of my colleagues got a speeding ticket and was attending a defensive-driving course to have points erased from his license. The instructor, a police officer, emphasized that being on time was crucial and that the classroom doors would be locked when each session began.
Just after one class started, someone knocked on the locked door. The officer opened it and asked, "Why are you late?" The student replied, "I was trying not to get another ticket." The officer let him in.
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Melvine, Greg, and I extend a special invitation to you and your family to be our guests this morning, Easter Sunday, April 1, and to sit with us. I hope we can fill up several pews in the area where we normally sit during our worship services.
Arlette Revells was commissioned by Pastor Terry Kesling to design this lovely postal card for our congregation to send out to family and friends to attend morning worship with us on Easter Sunday, April 1, at 11 o'clock. Our church is Christian Life Worship Center. Arlette Revells is the owner and CEO of Great Works, Inc. Whatever she does it is done with excellence. And we thank God for Arlette and her ministry at our church in teaching Sunday school as a facilitator along with her husband Lavon in our Celebration Class, playing the keyboard for the praise and worship team, and a lot more. We are blessed to have two highly intelligent and talented leaders to serve as the facilitators for our Sunday school class, called Celebration Class. Most of all, God has anointed them for this ministry, and it is evident to all. The Celebration Class is a cross generational gathering of various ages of adults that meets on Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock to celebrate Jesus and study God's Holy Word, the Bible. Lavon and Arlette Revells are the teachers or facilitators. There is never a dull moment and they know how to get class members involved in the discussion of the subject material. Today, we will not have Sunday school, but one great worship service starting at 11 o'clock. Easter is the time of the year when many people who are not churched will respond favorably when invited to church by someone they know. I am grateful for the many people who either subscribe to Hugh's News or have the opportunity to read it when it is made available. I wanted you to be informed about what our local church is doing for Easter Sunday. Now, let me show you the back of this postal card with more information. I won't need stamp since I am using the email addresses of those who are subscribers to Hugh's News. Watch "President Donald J. Trump as he Delivers a Message for Passover and Easter" on YouTube3/31/2018 Please Click Here on this Hyperlink I have prepared for you to watch President Donald J. Trump as he delivers a powerful message for Passover and Easter on YouTube. I stand to applaud our President for this bold and courageous message that will never be forgotten. I don't remember any of our presidents in my lifetime who has made such a speech to affirm those of the Jewish faith and the Christian faith. May God bless our president and his family at this historic season and may God bless America. This weekend, approximately one third of the earth’s population will either celebrate Passover or Resurrection Sunday. Both of these miraculous events represent a form of redemption and both are yet another reminder of the close spiritual bond between Jews and Christians. Both are celebrations of deliverance—one from the despair of slavery and the other from the despondency of sin. Together, Passover and Resurrection Sunday shed light on the deep roots of both Judaism and Christianity. Fundamentally, they represent the supernatural hope that is found in God’s love for His people. As we celebrate this sacred season with family and friends, our prayer at Christians United for Israel is that we come together in joy and peace. May the world see our unity as a sign of our unconditional love for God and each other. It is said that a group of English authors sat one day discussing what they would do if certain heroes of history were suddenly to enter the room. A number of notable men were mentioned. Finally, someone asked "What would you do if Jesus were to appear before us? Charles Lamb was a member of that group. "If Shakespeare," said Lamb, "were to enter the room, I should rise to my feet and honor him; however, if Jesus Christ were to enter, I should fall down and give Him worship."
Jesus had an order and quality of greatness that while He was throbbingly human, was thrillingly divine. It was the crown of all greatness, and therefore we call Him Lord. Is Jesus the Lord of your life, and of my life? As we make our way to houses of worship this Easter Sunday morning, let us kneel in His presence. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to kneel, but I used to when I was a young man and a young pastor/Air Force chaplain. Now, I bow in reverence of Jesus my Lord with my heart and worship Him. How about you? Isaiah 40:28-31 Our strength comes from the Lord Jesus Christ
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. NKJV Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape? JOIN US AT CHRISTIAN LIFE WORSHIP CENTER IN ATHENS, GA EASTER SUNDAY CELEBRATION, APRIL 13/31/2018 Melvine, Greg, and I extend a special invitation to you and your family to be our guests on Sunday and to sit with us. I hope we can fill up several pews in the area where we normally sit during our worship services. Arlette Revells was commissioned by Pastor Terry Kesling to design this lovely postal card for our congregation to send out to family and friends to attend morning worship with us on Easter Sunday, April 1, at 11 o'clock. Our church is Christian Life Worship Center. Arlette Revells is the owner and CEO of Great Works, Inc. Whatever she does it is done with excellence. And we thank God for Arlette and her ministry at our church in teaching Sunday school as a facilitator along with her husband Lavon in our Celebration Class, playing the keyboard for the praise and worship team, and a lot more. We are blessed to have two highly intelligent and talented leaders to serve as the facilitators for our Sunday school class, called Celebration Class. Most of all, God has anointed them for this ministry, and it is evident to all. The Celebration Class is a cross generational gathering of various ages of adults that meets on Sunday mornings at 10 o'clock to celebrate Jesus and study God's Holy Word, the Bible. Lavon and Arlette Revells are the teachers or facilitators. There is never a dull moment and they know how to get class members involved in the discussion of the subject material. Easter is the time of the year when many people who are not churched will respond favorably when invited to church by someone they know. I am grateful for the many people who either subscribe to Hugh's News or have the opportunity to read it when it is made available. I wanted you to be informed about what our local church is doing for Easter Sunday. Now, let me show you the back of this postal card with more information. I won't need stamp since I am using the email addresses of those who are subscribers to Hugh's News. A prayer for this day:
Merciful and ever-living God, Creator of heaven and earth, the crucified body of Your Son was laid in the tomb and rested on this holy day. Grant that we may await with Him the dawning of the third day and rise in newness of life, through Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. (The Book of Common Prayer, U.S.A 20th Century) History Interest Group Vinson Synan Oral Roberts University Presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies Oral Roberts was a Pentecostal pastor from Oklahoma who gained fame as a healing evangelist, television personality and educator. Roberts not only founded Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but in his lifetime served as a leader in the burgeoning world Pentecostal Movement and later as a founding father of the Charismatic Movement. In the late 1940s Roberts emerged from the Pentecostal subculture in Oklahoma to become one of the most acclaimed and influential religious figures of the twentieth century. In his long life of ninety one years he served as a Pentecostal pastor, a healing tent evangelist, a television pioneer, and the founder of a major University named after himself. He brought Pentecostal healing evangelism to the attention of the American public through his televised healing crusades, his many books and magazines, and in his later years through his prime-time programs on national television. Oral Roberts was born into a movement that was persecuted, denounced and ridiculed by the public, and rejected by the mainline churches. According to David Barrett the lowly Pentecostals were “the more harassed, persecuted, suffering, martyred than perhaps any other Christian tradition in recent history.” As a young man Roberts felt the sting of this rejection, but rose above it all during his long and amazing life and ministry. In school Oral and his brother were often called “Holy Rollers” a term he resented. Oral also had a severe problem with stuttering. As a child he was derided by his school mates when he could not get out the words he wanted to say. Despite all of this, it was Roberts who, above all others, turned the tide and brought Pentecostals into the accepted mainstream of American society. Roberts grew up in the dust bowl days during the 1930s. Many Okies, as they were called, decided to move to California to escape the grinding poverty they faced in Oklahoma. The most famous migrants from Oklahoma to California were the Tatham family from Sallisaw, Oklahoma. Members of a Pentecostal Holiness Church, the family was immortalized in John Steinbeck’s great American novel, Grapes of Wrath as the Joad family. In the novel, Grandma spoke in tongues. After arriving in California the family worked in migrant camps, but later went on to find prosperity in Sacramento. The Roberts family did not follow the tempting trail to California, but suffered through the dark days of the depression in Oklahoma. Oral’s father, the Reverend Ellis Roberts made a scant living through farming and pastoring local Pentecostal Holiness churches in the area of Ada, Oklahoma. At times Ellis also held revivals in other churches. Offerings were small and pastor Roberts barely eked out a living for his family of seven children. Oral never forgot the grinding poverty of his childhood. ORAL ROBERTS –- A SON OF THE PENTECOSTAL MOVEMENT Oral Roberts, (Born January 24, 1918 - Died December 15, 2009) was born Oral Granville Roberts in Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, the fifth and youngest child of the Reverend Ellis Melvin Roberts and Claudius Priscilla Roberts (nee Irwin). Both parents were ministers of the Pentecostal Holiness Church and members of the East Oklahoma Conference. He was raised in a typical Pentecostal Church. His father was a farmer who pastored churches and held revivals in area Pentecostal Holiness Churches. The Pentecostal Holiness Church in which Oral Roberts was born and raised was formed out of the Holiness movement that flourished in the last decades of the Nineteenth Century. The denomination was the result of a merger of two Holiness /Pentecostal churches in 1911 in Falcon, North Carolina. They were the Fire-Baptized Holiness Church and the Pentecostal Holiness Church. The Fire-Baptized Holiness Church was founded by Benjamin Hardin Irwin in 1896 in Iowa. Irwin was a dynamic healing evangelist who taught a “third blessing” (after salvation and sanctification) which he called the “baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire” or simply “the fire.” The national church was organized in 1898 in Anderson, South Carolina with both Blacks and women serving as “Ruling Elders.” The Pentecostal Holiness Church was pioneered by the Methodist evangelist Abner B. Crumpler who emphasized the second blessing of “entire sanctification” as taught by John Wesley. Both churches accepted the Pentecostal baptism in the Holy Spirit as a third blessing and became Pentecostal after being reached by the Azusa Street revival under the Black pastor William J. Seymour. A member of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, Gaston B. Cashwell, brought Pentecost to both churches in 1907 after traveling to Azusa Street in 1906 and speaking in tongues. All the churches in Oklahoma were originally part of the Fire-Baptized Holiness section of the church. Oral was raised in abject poverty. On his mother’s side he was descended from the Cherokee Indians and was proud of his Indian heritage in Oklahoma. In high school, Roberts played basketball on his Ada, Oklahoma, high school team and for a short time joined a local Methodist Church with his teammates. In 1935 at seventeen years of age, however, he contracted tuberculosis and was bedridden for five months. Some of his family feared that he might never recover. Yet in his darkest hour of despair, Roberts heard a voice telling him about bis future: “Son, I am going to heal you and you are to take my healing power to your generation. You are to build me a university and build it on My authority and the Holy Spirit.” He was suddenly healed, however, after his parents and his older brother Elmer took him to a tent revival where the evangelist, George W. Moncey, laid hands on him and prayed a healing prayer. He was instantly healed although it took months for him to totally recover. . Oral soon preached his first sermon and returned to the Pentecostal Holiness Church where he was ordained in 1936. In 1938 Oral married Evelyn Lutman Fahnstock, the daughter of a Pentecostal Holiness minister, a marriage that lasted until her death in 2005. To this marriage was born two sons and two daughters. They were Ronald, Richard, Rebecca, and Roberta. The Roberts’ suffered great tragedy at the early death of Rebecca in an airplane crash and Ronald who fell into drug addiction and later committed suicide. A young man with limitless drive and ambition, from 1941 to 1947 Roberts pastored local Pentecostal Holiness Churches in Enid and Shawnee, Oklahoma, Toccoa, Georgia, and one independent church in Fuqua Springs, North Carolina. In Toccoa he experienced his first striking miracle of healing when a deacon in his church, Clyde Lawson, was instantly healed after a falling motor had crushed his foot. When Oral laid hands on his foot and prayed, the man was instantly healed. At this time Roberts also was becoming one of the most important young ministers in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. With his rising influence, he was elected as a delegate from East Oklahoma to the General Conferences of 1941 and 1945, the highest governing body of the Church. He was looked on as a very loyal son of the Church with a bright future in the denomination. After returning to Oklahoma in 1942 Roberts attended Oklahoma Baptist University and Phillips University studying for two years in each school. He never earned a degree, however, since he soon became a traveling evangelist holding revivals in many parts of the nation. In 1947, while pastor of the Enid Pentecostal Holiness Church, he felt the call to become a full-time healing evangelist after visiting the meetings of William Branham whom he admired. His first city-wide crusade was in his hometown of Enid in 1947 where 1,200 people attended a healing service in the civic auditorium. From there he purchased a tent seating 3,000 persons and began his meteoric rise to prominence in American religious life. The same year he published his first book on healing, If You Need Healing Do These Things, took to the radio airwaves, and started his own monthly magazine Healing Waters. In one of his earliest tent meetings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 1947 a sniper fired a shot at Roberts that whizzed by just above his head. When the Tulsa press found out about it, stories were written about the incident that appeared in newspapers all over the United States. Overnight Oral Roberts became a nationally recognized figure. Because of his increasing fame, Oral was invited by J.A. Culbreth to preach in the famous Falcon camp meeting in 1948. The other preacher was Joseph A. Synan who later served as the presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Holiness Church. His healing crusades became so successful that he soon bought another much larger tent seating 12,500 persons which he filled to overflowing. He called it his “tent Cathedral.” As the crowds continued to grow, He soon was attracting crowds that rivaled those of Billy Graham the famous Baptist evangelist. Like Graham, Roberts refused to segregate his crowds on the basis of race. Blacks could sit anywhere in his tent, a striking exception to the Jim Crow segregation practiced in the South at the time. Most of his followers were fellow Pentecostals who packed his tents and sent huge offerings to support his ministry. Several Pentecostal Holiness members helped Oral in his early ministry. They were O. E Sproull, his first MC of the tent crusades, Collins Steele who oversaw the moving and setup of the huge tent, Lee Braxton, who helped him in organizing his radio and television ministries, and Oscar Moore, who helped run the huge Tulsa office. Other prominent Pentecostals from other churches helped in Oral’s tent ministry. Two of them were Bob DeWeese from the Open Bible Church who assisted Roberts in the healing lines and Vep Ellis from the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) who led music and wrote many songs for the Roberts ministry. In 1951 Roberts helped Demos Shakarian to become the founder of the Full Gospel Business Mens Fellowship International (FGBMFI) which in time attracted millions of men to their monthly meetings which were held mostly in hotels. Roberts’ ministry skyrocketed in 1955 when he went on national television attracting a huge national audience. The American people saw Roberts lay hands on thousands of the sick who stood in lines waiting for his healing touch. Many claimed to be healed. Part of Robert’s attraction was his dynamic preaching and positive message which emphasized salvation, sanctification, baptism in the Holy Spirit with tongues as initial evidence, the second coming, divine healing, prosperity and “seed faith” for finances. During his healing ministry, Roberts conducted some 300 crusades in America and around the world. He claimed to have personally laid hands on over two million people. Many historians credit Roberts with playing a major role in the beginning of the Charismatic Movement in the mainline churches because of his riveting television specials. Many of his critics called Roberts a “faith healer,” a term which he hotly denied. He said that Jesus did the healing and not Oral himself. Because of his burgeoning ministry, in 1950 Roberts built a modern multistoried headquarters building in Tulsa that became his center of operations. From here millions of books, tracts, articles, and magazines flowed out to his dedicated followers. He also inaugurated a weekly Sunday morning television program that for thirty years was the number one rated religious program in the nation. In 1956 he began publishing Abundant Life Magazine which at its height went to some two million subscribers. In a 1980 Gallup Poll, Roberts’ name was known to 84% of the America public. He became the most prominent Pentecostal in the world. In the decade of the 1980s he published a daily devotion magazine called Daily Blessings that went to a quarter of a million subscribers. In addition to this, the 88 books that he wrote sold some fifteen million copies. With this notoriety, Roberts embarked on one of his most ambitious projects, the founding of a liberal arts university. Beginning in 1962 he financed and built one of the most futuristic campuses in the world, naming it Oral Roberts University (ORU). In 1960 Roberts had penned a vision for the new university: “Raise up your students to hear my voice, to go where my light is dim, where my voice is heard small and my healing power is not known. To go even to the uttermost bounds of the earth. Their work will exceed yours and in this I am well pleased.” When classes began in 1965 the university was an undergraduate school with one graduate component, the School of Theology. After a few years, the student body grew to over 5,000 in several undergraduate and graduate schools. These included schools of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Law, Business, Education, and Theology. Although teachers and administrators came from many church backgrounds, many of the core leaders were from the Pentecostal Holiness Church. Some of these scholars who helped in the early years of ORU were Dr. Raymond O. Corvin, who served as the Chancellor in the beginning and also the first dean of the School of Theology; Dr. Carl Hamilton, who led in getting the university fully accredited; Dr. Harold Paul, a history professor; and Dr. Paul Chappell who later led the School of Theology for many years. Other important scholars came from the Assemblies of God, the Church of God and other Pentecostal denominations. As time went on and the University began to grow, Roberts became uncomfortable with his identity as a Pentecostal. Of necessity, he was forced to hire professors for his university who came from mainline churches because there were few Pentecostals with Ph. D. degrees and with administrative experience on the graduate level. Also records showed that his donor base showed growing income from mainline donors. In fact the largest donor base was from Methodists. Also, Roberts hired several administrators and professors from mainline denominations. These included Dr. Howard Irving, a Baptist, along with Dr. John D. Messick, Tommy Tyson, and Bob Stamps, Methodists all. Although Messick came to ORU as a Methodist who had once headed East Carolina University, he was raised in the Pentecostal Holiness Church. In time, Roberts’ vision began to broaden far beyond his humble Pentecostal origins as he became friends with many mainline Christian leaders including the most famous one of all, Billy Graham. During these years the charismatic movement broke out in the mainline denominations beginning in 1960 under the leadership of Father Dennis Bennett, pastor of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Van Nuys, California. Soon thousands of ministers and laymen from all the Protestant churches spoke in tongues and created charismatic movements in their churches. In 1967 a similar but unexpected charismatic movement broke out among Roman Catholics at Du Quesne University in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. In explaining the beginnings of this renewal, Father Kilian McDonnell explained that behind every new charismatic stood a classical Pentecostal. The most important of these was Oral Roberts whose televised healing crusades came into the living rooms of every American. It was reported that Roman Catholic Bishops in New York City, Philadelphia, and Chicago were becoming concerned by the rising tide of Catholics who loved to watch Oral Roberts on TV, but, to their alarm, also sent him large donations rather than putting them in church offerings. Clearly something was happening in American religious life. This has led some historians to see Roberts as a father of the Charismatic Movement. ORAL ROBERTS –- A FATHER OF THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT Roberts reached an early pinnacle of acceptance when he attended Billy Graham’s Berlin Congress on World Evangelism in 1966. For years Roberts and Graham had been close personal friends, but in planning the Berlin Congress, Graham was reluctant at first to invite Roberts, fearing a backlash from his supporters. Graham later wrote about this in his book, Just as I Am: Whom should we invite as participants to the Congress? We carefully formulated general guidelines, but they did not automatically resolve every issue. For example, the growing charismatic movement, much of it associated with Pentecostal denominations, was somewhat outside of mainstream evangelicalism. We did not bar these denominations from our Crusades, but we did not particularly encourage their participation either; some of their ecstatic manifestations were controversial and disruptive within the broader Christian community. I felt that my longtime friend Oral Roberts, world renowned for his preaching and healing ministry as well as for the university bearing his name in Tulsa, Oklahoma, should be included among the delegates. I was not ready to assign him a place on the program, but I was convinced that his presence would mark the beginning of a new era in evangelical cooperation. When Roberts accepted Graham’s invitation, he went to Berlin with many fears and trepidations. He was a delegate with a seminar on healing as part of the program. At first he hung out with his church friends including R, O. Corvin and Bishop Synan. But soon other non-Pentecostals began to befriend him. In the end, Graham invited him to give greetings to a plenary session and lead in prayer. The results were explosive. “It was an electric moment. When the applause began, “pandemonium broke out. They jumped up from every angle and applauded and applauded. But his prayer moved the delegates the most and “moved the entire congress.” This broke the ice as hundreds of world leaders clamored to meet Oral and thank him for his ministry. It was indeed “the beginning of a new era of cooperation” as Graham had said. Roberts then returned to America with a wider view of the Body of Christ and new sense of mission. The next year was a momentous one for Oral Roberts as he made plans to dedicate his new and growing university. In the afterglow of the Berlin Congress, Oral invited Billy Graham as the main speaker at the dedication ceremony. Graham gladly accepted. It was a windy day as some 18,000 people showed up for the service which was held outdoors. In honor of his denomination, Roberts invited his Bishop of the Pentecostal Holiness Church, J.A. Synan, to read the Scriptures. But the star of the day was Billy Graham who lauded Roberts on his accomplishments and warned the President and faculty that a curse from God might fall on the University if it ever turned away from its Biblical moorings. From that point on, Roberts began a move to remake Oral Roberts University from a more narrow Pentecostal school to a university that would reflect the entire body of Christ. In 1968 Roberts ended his healing crusade. The New York Times stated that Roberts’ “tent was folded and replaced by a television studio.” A hint of things to come was a growing conflict between Oral and his childhood friend R. O. Corvin, dean the ORU School of Theology since 1963. . As the seminary grew, it soon became apparent to Roberts that Corvin’s vision was for the seminary to serve as a training center for the Pentecostal churches and more particularly the Pentecostal Holiness Church to which both Roberts and Corvin belonged. But after the Berlin Congress, Roberts’ view had expanded to include all the mainline churches and not just the Pentecostal movement. In 1968 the two men collided several times over the future of the seminary. In the end, Roberts fired Corvin and closed down the seminary in 1969. A drastic step indeed. In the meantime the Oklahoma Methodist Bishop Angie Smith, a friend of Roberts, invited him to join the Methodist Church. At first Roberts did not take him seriously since there was a wide theological chasm between the more liberal Methodist Church and the much more conservative Pentecostal denominations. But with the added influence of Tommy Tyson, the Methodist Chaplain of the University, and Wayne Robinson, who had already left Oral’s Pentecostal Holiness Church for Methodism, Roberts shocked the religious world when on May 28, 1968, he was recognized as an Elder in the Oklahoma Conference of the Methodist Church after joining the influential Boston Avenue Methodist Church in Tulsa which was pastored by Finis Crutchfield. Pentecostals around the world as well as many mainline church leaders were equally mystified by Roberts’ unexpected move. He was not re-ordained, however. Until the end of his life Roberts’ ordination remained with the Pentecostal Holiness church. For a time Roberts was a favorite preacher at Methodist events in the United States and overseas. At first Roberts led a fast-growing charismatic movement among Methodists and was invited to preach in many leading churches and annual conferences. In time the number of Methodist charismatics grew to number some one million persons in the United States. Oral Roberts, now a professed charismatic, became their hero. To cement his Methodist connection, Roberts re-opened his seminary in 1976 With Dr. Jimmy Buskirk as dean of the seminary. Buskirk was a Spirit-filled professor of evangelism at Emory University in Atlanta. Within a short time the new school was fully accredited, not only by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS), but also by the United Methodist Church as an approved seminary for Methodist preachers. In a short time, most of the faculty were Methodists. Moving in another direction, In 1969, after abandoning his healing crusades, Roberts began a series of prime-time television programs that made him a national TV celebrity. Roberts’ most ambitious project was the founding of a hospital in 1981 which he called “the City of Faith.” At a cost of $250 million dollars, the hospital consisted of three buildings of 20, 30, and 60 stories that would house a hospital and a research facility that Roberts claimed would “merge prayer and medicine.” In raising money for the hospital, Roberts was roundly criticized by the press for claiming to see a “nine hundred foot Jesus” and for saying that Jesus would “take him home” if he did not raise $8,000,000 to finish the project. The money came in, but Roberts’ reputation suffered irreparable harm. In spite of heroic fund raising efforts, the City of Faith was forced to close in 1989. As a result of this and other negative publicity, the leaders of the United Methodist Church became uncomfortable having Oral Roberts as a member of the church. A blow to Roberts came when Buskirk resigned to become pastor of Tulsa’s First Methodist Church. Another bitter blow came in 1987 when the United Methodist Church withdrew its accreditation of ORU for the training of Methodist ministers. After this decision nineteen Methodist faculty members resigned and left the University, A short time later, the Oklahoma Methodists unceremoniously excommunicated Roberts from the United Methodist Church. He was not even notified by the Church officials, but learned about his ouster in the Tulsa World newspaper while eating breakfast at home. After this Roberts returned to fellowship with his Pentecostal and Charismatic friends. Soon after this Roberts brought Larry Lea, a leading Southern Baptist charismatic pastor, to Tulsa to serve as the new dean of what he now called “the Signs and Wonders Seminary.” Later, in 1986, Roberts organized a “new fellowship” of charismatic leaders which he called the ICBM (International Charismatic Bible Ministries). Roberts and ORU were henceforth identified with the burgeoning charismatic movement that was sweeping the world. Clearly his Methodist days were over. As a charismatic school, the University and the School of Theology experienced a boom in enrollment. Librarian Bill Jernigan commented that “with its clear identity as a Charismatic Bible believing/teaching institution and with a Charismatic faculty, we have grown to be the 34th largest Seminary in North America. We are the fastest growing seminary in North America.” In 1993 Roberts turned ORU over to his son Richard who was not able to attract enough students and money to maintain the quality envisioned by the founder. Despite his best efforts, Richard Roberts was not able to raise funds on the level that his father had done. More and more the University lived on borrowed money, so much so that the debt soared to over $50,000,000. In 2007 Richard was asked to resign and a new President, Mark Rutland, was installed. Soon afterward, the David Green and Mart Green families of Oklahoma City gave the University over $100 million dollars to save the school. This money paid off the $55,000,000 debt, completely renovated and updated the campus, and established a large scholarship fund for students. Under the leadership of Mart Green, the campus was rescued and the board adopted realistic policies that made the University self-supporting. Oral Roberts died on December 15, 2009 at 91 years of age. He was one of the most prominent American religious leaders of his time, second only to Billy Graham. His emphasis on healing and prosperity still inspires millions of Pentecostals and Charismatics around the world. In the end, Roberts was the most famous and influential Pentecostal Holiness leader ever produced by the Pentecostal Holiness Church. At the same time he was the one man above all others who brought Pentecostalism to the attention of the world. But in a broader sense, Roberts was also a father of the worldwide Charismatic Movement that swept into all the mainline churches after 1960. By the year 2017 the Pentecostals and Charismatics numbered some 669,000,000 followers in the world according to Todd Johnson of Gordon Conwell University. As one of the foremost historic figures in both movements, Oral Roberts must now be recognized as one of the major Christian leaders of world Christianity in the past century. [Editor's Comment: I am highly honored by Dr. Vinson Synan who has trusted me with this exciting and amazing history about Oral Roberts. I have always loved and respected Oral Roberts.] How delighted I was to receive this timely email from my very close friend, Dr. Vinson Synan, a former Assistant General Superintendent of the IPHC and the Executive Director of Evangelism on Good Friday, March 30, 2018. God has strategically placed Dr. Vinson Synan in key positions to further the Kingdom of God in academic circles and in the Charismatic/Pentecostal World. We are so very proud of Dr. Synan and the work and ministry God is giving him. Now, here is his email to me on Good Friday, 2018: Hugh, Attached are two articles on Oral Roberts I wrote for Spiritus Journal, a publication of ORU (Oral Roberts University). The first has already been published, the second one I just presented at the Society for Pentecostal Studies. In both I highlight Oral's roots in the IPHC. You can excerpt any parts you might want to use in Hugh's News. Bless You and your great work for the church. I read every word each time. I am now Scholar in residence at ORU and am working with President Billy Wilson on some proposed publications. My new book, The Truth About Grace, will appear next week with Charisma House. Look out for it. Know Your Faith Statement--The Apostles' Creed I would like to recommend that our IPHC pastors consider from time to time in leading their congregations in repeating in unison the Apostles' Creed. Pastors are teachers and their congregations should not be ignorant or unaware of this historic creed that millions of Christians have repeated down through the centuries. It is a powerful statement of faith that was often spoken by the growing churches of the early church. It is good to have such a concise theological statement based on the Word of God that we can say from memory. As an Air Force chaplain we repeated it every week in our Protestant Chapel Services. I am not saying we should do it every week, but it is a powerful way to affirm our faith. Pastors will do well to seek the Lord for the order of worship and allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to inform and guide them. The pastor is the leader of worship although he may delegate that authority to others he deems capable and anointed by the Holy Spirit. Notice the words "holy catholic church" are not capitalized or in upper case. This statement of faith is not referring to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the church universal of which we are a part. Now, let us read this statement of faith, The Apostles' out loud: The Apostles’ Creed I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord; which (Who) was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell [that is, the place of the departed righteous]; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven; and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic [universal] church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and life everlasting. Amen. You will find the Apostles' Creed in our IPHC Manual. You can access our church beliefs, articles of faith, and much more on the website of Hugh's News, www.hughsnews.com. Notice in a farmer's field:
THE FARMER ALLOWS WALKERS TO CROSS THE FIELD FOR FREE, BUT THE BULL CHARGES. For Christians, Easter is one of the most holy times of the year. With all that surrounds the holiday from a worldly perspective, I find that many people simply miss the point of why we rejoice. Easter exists because Jesus died for our sins and conquered the grave. We celebrate life at Easter, because death lost its sting with Christ’s triumphant resurrection. Sadly, so many of our family, friends and neighbors enjoy Easter, but have never experienced the true meaning of it. They may know of Jesus and what He accomplished on the cross, but they can’t or won’t make a decision about Him as their Savior. In the Bible, we see a man who will forever be linked to what we call Easter. He talked to Jesus directly, he evaluated Him, and yet he too, couldn’t bring himself to make a decision about what to do with Christ. His name was Pontius Pilate and Matthew 27:11-25 tells us a lot about this Roman Governor who oversaw the trial of Jesus. First, Pilate rejected Jesus’ own confession of Who He was: the Christ, the Savior. Pilate asked the question and heard the truth (straight from the mouth of the Son of God), but he took it no further. Second, Pilate rejected clear evidence. Pilate investigated Jesus and came to the conclusion that He was innocent, finding that He had committed no crime. Pilate realized that the only reason Jesus was on trial was the envy and hatred of the religious leaders, but he rejected that truth. Third, Pilate gave in to pressure. Though he heard the claims of Christ and knew He had done nothing wrong, Pilate was compelled to sentence an innocent man to death because of the influence of the crowd. Finally, Pilate tried to cleanse himself from the death of Jesus. He knew that he had just condemned an innocent man to die, and he was responsible. In a symbolic gesture, he washed his hands and proclaimed the guilt for Christ’s death on the crowd instead. My friends, Pilate had a decision to make. He knew the truth, but he couldn’t take a stand one way or the other. Instead, he asked a question: “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (Matthew 27:22, NKJV). That’s the question that so many today, perhaps even you, have a hard time answering. In far too many situations, people know the truth but –- like Pilate –- they give in to the pressures of others and walk away from Jesus, putting the decision off for another day. However, indecision is a decision. Making no decision for Christ, is making a decision about Christ. And it’s one that has eternal consequences. If you have been putting off the decision to follow Christ and make Him the Lord of your life, now is the perfect time. Jesus’ death and resurrection, which we celebrate as Easter, paved the way for you. I encourage you to receive that hope and accept Him as your Savior today! To learn more on how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ and to have Peace with God, click here. Join Franklin Graham and his family in this video as they explore the rich history of Israel, and study the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the land of the Bible. “This is the city where Jesus would pay the price for your sins and for mine,” Franklin said from Jerusalem. Watch and share this 7-part devotional series with friends and family as you celebrate Easter. Watch Now Share Get ‘Return to the Holy Land’ on DVD Your gift helps share the Gospel in the Middle East. Give Now Father, forgive them. Luke 23:34
Today you will be with me in paradise. Luke 23:43 Woman, here is your son. John 19:26-27 My God, why have You forsaken Me? Mark 15:34 (Matthew 27:46) I am thirsty. John 19:28 It is finished. John 19:30a Into Your hands I commend my spirit Luke 23:46 Today, we remember that Jesus hung on the cross from noon to 3 p. m. He paid the penalty for the sins of the whole world, and for mine, too! Give us, O Lord,
Steadfast hearts, which no unworthy thought can drag us downward, Unconquered hearts, which no tribulation can wear out, Upright hearts, which no unworthy purpose may tempt aside. Bestow upon us also, O Lord our God, Understanding to know You, diligence to seek You, wisdom to find You, and a faithfulness that may finally embrace You; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. (Saint Thomas,Italy, 13th Century) On a repair shop door:
WE CAN REPAIR ANYTHING. (PLEASE KNOCK HARD ON THE DOOR -- THE BELL DOESN'T WORK). The miracle we have recorded in the Old Testament about how God provided for the widow and her son, and the prophet is one we love to tell. I believe the Scripture to be true. That miracle of God's provision is not being reproduced for the financial needs of Hugh's News as I write this article. Sunday, is April 1. Of course, no mail is delivered on Sunday. I need you to consider giving today via your Credit Card. That gets to our bank immediately. Please go to the last article in this newsletter which is the benediction. It will give you the instructions following the benediction how you can successful give to Hugh's News, Inc. To send a check or money order: Hugh's News, Inc. 17 Sweet Apple Lane Winder, GA 30680 Thank you for standing with us in this time of need. I am counting on you to come through. Your friend in all seasons, Hugh H. Morgan Founder, CEO, Editor of Hugh's News, Inc. Email: hugh@hughsnews.com Website: www.hughsnews.com The resurrection of Jesus is the greatest miracle of all history. But if Jesus had not walked out of His tomb on the third day, the resurrection story would be the greatest lie of all time. Jesus’ visit with His disciples to Caesarea Philippi was a red-letter event in the Lord’s ministry. There, up in the Golan Heights of northern Israel, Jesus gave the prophecy of the birth of the church (Matthew 16:18). Immediately following this great proclamation, Jesus began to prepare His disciples in another prophecy for His death and resurrection. “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31; Matthew 17:22; Luke 9:22). A few short months later, the Lord was arrested and tried for His life in the court of Caiaphas, Israel’s high priest. Jesus was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death by crucifixion, just as He had prophesied. But on the third day He walked out of His tomb. It lives even to this day, 2,000 years later, as the greatest miracle of all time. Some say this Gospel story is simply unbelievable, alleging the resurrection of Jesus is a lie. Others say the Early Church apostles put statements in Jesus’ mouth -– things He never said. But anyone who studies the Gospels with an open mind will recognize Jesus spoke compellingly to His followers. What Jesus said, and the apostles taught, is not a figment springing from the minds of deluded people. It just is not possible to wave away the authority of Jesus’ testimony to His resurrection. The Lord’s disciples witnessed to it for the remainder of their lives, and paid for their testimonies with their own blood. The religious establishment in Israel, when the Roman soldiers reported Jesus was missing from His tomb, did not go searching for Jesus to check out the news face to face. Their hearts were committed to protecting themselves and the self-righteous value system by which they lived (Matthew 28:11-15; Luke 19:31). Instead, the Sanhedrin leaders violated their own Law and bribed the soldiers to change their testimony (Matthew 28:11-15). It should never be forgotten that religion will lie and even kill to cover its tracks when its self-interests are at stake. With these first century Jewish leaders, this was true even though the ninth commandment of Moses’ Law they so zealously defended was explicit: “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Consider the deception they crafted to explain-away the resurrection. “They gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, ‘You are to say His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So, the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day” (Matthew 28:12-15, NIV). Can anyone in his right mind believe the resurrection of Jesus was a lie? The testimony of Thomas makes the point. Jesus said to him, when they met about a week after Jesus’ resurrection, “Stop doubting and believe” (John 20:27). The conclusion is clear. Faith is a choice and so is doubt. Each is made in the face of the abundant evidence to Jesus’ resurrection, and reveals a person’s agenda in his heart. Consider. The Roman guards risked execution if they slept while on duty. Are we to believe, if the disciples stole Jesus’ body away, those soldiers slept so soundly they did not hear the sounds made by rolling away the stone that sealed the tomb? Now that’s a stretch. The truth is they were awake when the angel appeared and scared them out of their senses, so that they fell over like they were dead men. The angel then sat on the stone, demonstrating the powerlessness of the Jewish religious system or the Roman army to do anything about it. Here’s another stretch: the disciples had a few hours earlier witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, along with a thief on each side of Jesus. If caught trying to steal Jesus’ body, the disciples too could expect to be crucified themselves. Talk about being full of fear –- the last thing they wanted to do was try to pull off a theft. What the disciples really wanted was to go in hiding! Jesus’ disciples would have been no match for those soldiers. They would have been fools to risk their lives and try to overcome those battle-hardened men. But if they had been successful, is it not highly likely there would have been a fight to the death. Most likely at least one disciple would have been killed, and if a Roman soldier had been killed, each of the disciples would have been charged with murder. And if the disciples had been successful, and each of the soldiers were either killed or fled, then the disciples would have needed to whisk Jesus’ body away for another secret burial. But the disciples never disclosed another burial site, and over the next thirty plus years, to a man, they never changed their story that God raised Jesus from the dead. Instead, they literally staked their lives on their testimony. The testimony of the Gospel writers is far more plausible than such a “theft” narrative. The soldiers went to Caiaphas -– they surely would not have wanted to report to Pilate. The Jewish leaders bribed them with “a large sum of money to lie,” and told them what to say: “His disciples came by night and stole Him away while we slept” (Matthew 28:12-13, NIV). It would also have been necessary for the disciples to create a series of new lies about the resurrection sightings. They also had to coordinate their stories so carefully, and in such detail, that the disciples kept preaching the lie over the next thirty plus years without the story changing, and be willing to be beaten and stoned for preaching what they knew was a falsehood. But if it was a lie, is it not reasonable that at least one of them would have broken rank and confessed to the falsehood? If the disciples had indeed stolen Jesus’ body away, is it not also reasonable Pilate and the Jewish leaders would have put out all-points-bulletins for each of the disciples’ arrests? But Acts of the Apostles shows the disciples living fearlessly in Jerusalem and preaching boldly Jesus’ resurrection. If the resurrection of Jesus is a lie, then the Great Commission is a lie. If the resurrection of Jesus is a lie, then the ascension of Jesus is a lie. The disciples went to the Upper Room and prayed together for ten days, along with Jesus’ mother and about 110 others. But if Jesus was not raised from the dead, not one of the disciples, smitten with a guilty conscience, stood up and announced to these earnestly praying people, I’m sorry folks, but it’s all a lie! Then the Day of Pentecost came on the fiftieth day after Jesus’ resurrection and is remembered as the birthday of the church. But if Jesus was not raised, then the advent of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church was another cruel hoax. This means if Peter did stand up and preach that highly inspired sermon to the gathered crowd, he was lying and knew he was fabricating. The following statement made by Peter would be blasphemy if Jesus did not rise from the dead: “Be assured of this,” Peter proclaimed, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ (Messiah].” Peter went on to urge them to “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are afar off – for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2:36-41, NIV). Would a liar be able to do that kind of inspired, confrontational preaching? A harvest of 3,000 people confessed Jesus as the Son of God that day. But if Jesus was not raised from the dead, Peter, the blasphemer and liar, had the bold “brass” to heap a malicious lie on 3,000 people. It is far more reasonable to believe the Biblical story of the resurrection, than it is to believe the host of lies and cover-up required to perpetuate such a false narrative. Luke the physician wrote in his introduction to the book of Acts that the proofs of Jesus’ resurrection were “infallible.” The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which He was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom He had chosen: To whom also He shewed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:1-3, KJV). The Apostle Paul wrote some twenty-five years later: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried, and raised again on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3, NIV; see 1 Peter 3:18). Paul also emphatically added, “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20-23, ESV; John 20:31). Yes, the resurrection of Jesus was a historical fact to Paul. The Apostle Peter in the last years of his life, about twenty-five years later, was still preaching the Gospel of Jesus’ bodily resurrection, and explicitly denied making up the story: “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty (1 Peter 1:16-18, NIV). Peter also wrote, “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18-19, NIV). Robert Lowry (1826-1899) captured the story of Jesus’ resurrection, history’s greatest miracle, in his classic hymn (1874): Lo, in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior. He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord. Up from the grave He arose, With a mighty triumph o’er His foes. He arose the Victor from the dark domain, And He lives forever with His saints to reign. He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose! |