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Admonitions for the
Credentialed Speaker
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I remember well the day I gave my first sermonette before a congregation
of God's people. Though I had spent years in Spokesman Club and
Graduate Club in my Worldwide days, none of those scores of speeches
could compare to that first sermonette. You see, Spokesman and
Graduate Clubs are training ground and when you make a mistake in there,
whether in content or presentation, no one is harmed for no speech is
ever given without a trained and experienced minister listening to every
word. However, when a man gives a sermonette or sermon they take
on a high calling and an enormous responsibility before the throne of
God. The elements and issues we face in our individual Salvation
Process are massive enough. What we do in the Salvation Process
[mostly in secret] is a responsibility to our own salvation. When
a man steps up to the lectern, what he does will affect potentially
hundreds of people, despite the fact that each of those individuals has
a binding admonition from God to prove all things.
Below I am providing the portion of our
Field Church Guidelines that addresses the Speaking Credential.
Notice its opening words:
"For there are many unruly and vain talkers
and deceivers ... whose vain mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole
houses, teaching things which they ought not..." (Titus 1:10-11).
From the opening words and throughout the whole text we see that the
focus of the Speaking Credential is PROTECTION OF THE FLOCK. The
well-being of the flock trumps any self-importance of the speaker
himself. He is a servant of God and is there to expound the Word
of God for the edification of the flock. He speaks by permission
of and at the behest of [bidding, dictates and
direction of] the Board of the ICG. It is never about
the speaker, but rather the message that comes out of his mouth as
directed by the inspiration of God and by virtue of his immersion in the
Word of God. The speaker is conduit to that message.
What IS the Message?
That is, what is the credentialed speaker to speak about? In a
word... Doctrine. Our
doctrine is the Word of God...the Bible. Our
Statement of Beliefs and our
Doctrinal Statements are not our doctrine, but rather explanations
of what we believe out of the Word of God. This being said, the
messages of credentialed speakers are to be simple, straight-forward and
concise explanations or discussions of our trunk-of-the-tree doctrines
and beliefs. After all, it is our common doctrines and beliefs
that define us as a church and what bind us together as one unified
congregation of Almighty God.
The Speaking Credential is NOT a license for a man to present idea
babies, theories or ANYTHING CONTRARY to our established and published
doctrine. THIS IS PARAMOUNT! Look at Titus 1:10-11 above
again. These verses are strong admonition to the Board, working
with and through the ordained ministry, to insure that no man presents
ANYTHING contrary.
What About the Speaker Who Thought He
was RIGHT?
There was an incident recently in which a credentialed speaker proclaimed
that he was not going to allow any man or organization to tell him what
to preach and that he would be "preaching out of the Word of God."
He had somehow come to the conclusion that the Church of God had been keeping the
Passover on the wrong day since its inception seventy-two years ago.
His message was going to be a proclamation to the congregation that we
were wrong all these years.
1) He knew, therefore, that as he rose to go to the lectern that he
would be subverting the whole house and causing division on the spot.
This is abomination before the Lord God. Notice...
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea,
seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, a lying tongue, and
hands that shed innocent blood, an heart that deviseth wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness
that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. –Proverbs
6:16-19
Without knowing it and despite his sincerity, this speaker essentially
invoked all seven abominations by taking this contrary doctrine before
the brethren in his apparent attitude of self-importance, if not
defiance. Indeed, even if he was correct in this theology, which
he clearly was not in this case, he was abundantly wrong by shaking up
the congregation and causing severe discord. He should have FIRST
taken his concerns and beliefs to the recommending minister who is
acting as mentor to this speaker.
2) All Credential Speakers are to know what it is they are talking
about. Paragraph 4 of the Speaking Credential below states
emphatically that knowledge of the Bible is "of
paramount importance." This speaker had jumped to a
wrong conclusion after reading the parallel verses of Matthew 26:17-25;
Mark 14;12-21; Luke 22:7-14, 21-23 and John 13:21-30 speaking of Jesus
eating the Passover (Lord's Supper) with the disciples. Because of
its wording, he erroneously concluded that the church was keeping the
wrong day for Passover. Years ago, I gave a
sermonette explaining
these scriptures and proving we were keeping the Passover on the correct
day. You can read the text of that sermonette in the
Sermons section of the
Las Vegas
site. Credentialed speakers are to be fully
immersed in the Word of
God.
3) Neither man nor the ICG tell members or speakers what to believe.
This is God's work. It is the responsibility of the firstfruit to
immerse himself or herself into the Word of God and allow the unction of
the Holy Spirit tell him or her what to believe. See my Notebook
piece, "Is
Someone Telling You What to Believe?"
4) In response to this individual's statement that, "no man or
organization is going to tell me what to say.": That is EXACTLY
what the Speaking Credential is doing. It is a document giving the
individual expressed and limited permission to preach God's doctrine out
of the Word of God AND NOTHING ELSE.
The ICG Board is telling the speaker absolutely what he can say IN THE
NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. The Board has an absolute and binding
mandate from God..."stop the mouths of those
who spread discord and preach things they ought not!!"
What Do You Recommend Credentialed
Speakers and Recommending Ministers Do?
First, the Credentialed Speaker (CS) should stay in close contact and
follow the directions of his Recommending Minister (RM). This is
the minister who first recommended the individual to the ICG Board and
obtained the Speaker Credential for him.
Next, consider the following recommendations from one ICG minister with
the understanding that these are just that; recommendations. This
is what I do with those I have recommended for the Speaking Credential
and who speak at the Feast site for which I serve as coordinator:
1) The RM should recommend men, seasoned in the Salvation Process and
who have an aptitude for speaking and knowledge of the Bible. They
should be men who go a long way toward the qualifications of a minister
as shown in 1 Timothy 3 or a council member in the
Field Church Guidelines. Every prospective CS should be made
to read and absorb the Speaking Credential portion of the Field Church
Guidelines.
2) CS should read and absorb Garner Ted Armstrong's
Letter to Feast Speakers,
which is appropriate for all speaking engagements.
3) CS should read and absorb the comprehensive document, "How
to Give Effective Sermonettes" [information
applies to sermons too].
4) RM should require CS to fill out a
Sermonette Prep Sheet well
in advance of any speaking engagement (s).
5) RM should be present for the CS's first three or four sermonettes.
6) When the RM is not able to be there, the sermonette should always be
taped or videotaped for later review by the RM. The local
congregation should be encouraged to contact the RM at anytime they have
any concerns about a message or attitude of a CS.
7) RM should communicate to the CS, his evaluation of each sermonette,
soon after it is given.
8) The CS should keep detailed records of each speaking engagement, his
topic, specific purpose statement, key scriptures and main points.
This record will serve both the CS and RM reviews.
9) In accordance with the
Field Church Guidelines, the RM should review the record of the CS
and renew or withdraw the Speaking Credential every 12 months. The
RM should keep a date record when he issues a Speaking Credential and do
the review on or close to the one-year anniversary date. The RM
should notify the ICG Board of Directors the moment a credential is
withdrawn.
10) Any time a RM encounters an incident with a CS as described in the
first part of this paper, he should immediately withdraw the Speaking
Credential and enter into a series of counseling sessions with the
individual on the subject of
good theology and the doctrines of the ICG.
The underlying purpose of all this is to protect the congregation and to
develop proficient and effective speakers of the Word of God.
–––
The Speaking Credential
[from the
Field Church Guidelines]
"For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers ... whose vain
mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which
they ought not..." (Titus 1:10-11).
Since its inception, the Intercontinental Church of God ministry has
been careful to watch over the pulpits of its fellowship groups and
chartered churches. It seems there are always those who appropriate to
themselves the "right to speak," often denigrating the dignity reserved
for our worship services. For this reason, as well as for the sake of
continuity, the Board of Directors feels that only men holding a
speaking credential be allowed to speak before congregations of the
Intercontinental Church of God, (unless a minister is present). To this
end, the following guideline is offered for direction.
A speaking credential may be recommended and granted to qualified men
only by credentialed ministers of the Intercontinental Church of God.
Headquarters will automatically issue the credential upon the
ministerial recommendation unless there is some overriding
consideration. The credential will expire annually on the date of issue
unless there is an application for renewal initiated by the person
credentialed or the recommending minister. We will not initiate the
renewal from here. A list will be available to all ministers of those
holding the speaking credential. Anyone having any comments regarding
those on the list should first make them known to the recommending
minister, and afterward to the Board of Directors, if necessary. The
Board reserves the right to withdraw this credential at any time at its
discretion.
A mere aptitude for speaking and knowledge of the Bible, while of
paramount importance, are not enough to receive this credential. Any man
given a credential to speak to the ICG should go a long way toward
meeting the qualifications for ministers and deacons as set forth in 1
Timothy 3. In addition to this, they should also meet the qualifications
for a council member as stated elsewhere in these guidelines.
It is not our desire to place roadblocks in your way, but to protect
those little groups around the country who sometimes are victimized by
would-be preachers. We are also concerned about liability and
responsibility. In this litigious society, it is wise to exercise great
care in placing men before the congregation. This is not to mention our
liability before God, which is far more serious (1 Timothy 5:22).
Recommendation for the credential should be in the form of a letter with
a completed background information form of the man in question (unless
we already have one). A man will be considered credentialed from the day
the minister mails the letter, so there should be no unnecessary delays.
The necessary corollary to this is that the minister must be prepared to
accept full responsibility for those men he recommends for credentials.
Men elected to or appointed by the local pastor to be members of the
local council do not automatically have speaking credentials nor can
they choose their own speakers. This stipulation puts more
responsibility on the ministry to get to know local members and choose
good speakers.
We hope that this will introduce a little more structure without getting
bogged down in red tape.
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