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HEALED FROM<br />

CYBERBULLYING<br />

VIJAY BALLA’S<br />

VISION FOR ASIA<br />

STAY FOCUSED<br />

IN TRANSITION!<br />

August 2012<br />

A Graceful<br />

Transition<br />

Two remarkable leaders reflect<br />

on the future of our movement.<br />

Ron Carpenter Sr.<br />

A.D. “Doug” Beacham, Jr.


SAVE THE DATE


Editor in Chief<br />

Dr. A. D. Beacham, Jr.<br />

Publisher<br />

Greg Hearn<br />

CEO, Lifesprings Resources<br />

Executive Editor<br />

J. Lee Grady<br />

Managing Editor<br />

Mégan Alba<br />

August 2012 Vol. 9, No. 7<br />

A Graceful<br />

Transition<br />

Associate Editor<br />

Jamie Powell<br />

Editorial Committee<br />

Jana DeLano, Nina Brewsaugh,<br />

Annetta Lee, Kimberly Wilkerson,<br />

Kathryn Shelley, Jennifer Simmons,<br />

Sherrie Taylor, Shandra Youell<br />

Graphic Designer<br />

Beth J. Wansley<br />

WEB DESIGNERS<br />

Timothy W. Beasley,<br />

Kalanda Kambeya<br />

12 Cover Story<br />

Outgoing Bishop Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr., reflects on his leadership and legacy as he<br />

prepares to pass the baton to a new Executive Committee. Newly installed Presiding<br />

Bishop Doug Beacham casts vision for the future of the IPHC. By Mégan Alba<br />

General Superintendent<br />

Dr. A. D. Beacham, Jr.<br />

Executive Committee of<br />

the Council of Bishops<br />

Evangelism USA<br />

D. Chris Thompson,<br />

Vice Chairman<br />

World Missions Ministries<br />

J. Talmadge Gardner,<br />

Corporate Secretary<br />

Discipleship Ministries<br />

Thomas H. McGhee,<br />

Corporate Treasurer<br />

IPHC Experience (ISSN 1547-4984) Vol. 9 No. 7, is<br />

published monthly except in July and December<br />

by Lifesprings Resources of the <strong>International</strong><br />

<strong>Pentecostal</strong> <strong>Holiness</strong> <strong>Church</strong>, 2425 West Main<br />

St., Franklin Springs, GA 30639. Printed in the<br />

U.S.A. MMXII. Address editorial comments to<br />

IPHC Experience, P.O. Box 9, Franklin Springs,<br />

GA 30639. Or email malba@iphc.org.<br />

COVER PHOTO: © ThinkStock.com<br />

5 Expressions<br />

Newly installed Bishop Doug Beacham greets<br />

readers in his first “Expressions” column.<br />

6 My Experience<br />

As a teen, Kaylee Watford was a victim of<br />

cyberbullies. God used that experience to draw<br />

her closer to him and teach her a valuable lesson<br />

about friendship, love, and commitment.<br />

8 Events<br />

IPHC leaders install a new Executive Committee<br />

/ Women’s Ministries reaches out in Nigeria /<br />

Oklahoma Free Camp reaches underprivileged<br />

youth / Missionary candidates earn Passport to<br />

Missions / Spencer Ledbetter named SCU’s new<br />

dean / IPHC launches a global church planting<br />

initiative / PTP provides miracle surgery in<br />

Malawi / The Awakening launches EuroQuest<br />

and LAMCARQuest.<br />

Plus: News Briefs<br />

20 Emerging<br />

Voices<br />

Missionary Vijay Balla<br />

studied to be a scientist—<br />

but God had other<br />

plans. Today, Vijay and<br />

his family are the first<br />

IPHC missionaries to<br />

Bangladesh.<br />

22 E-Resources<br />

New Christians, as well as<br />

veteran believers, can benefit<br />

from Russell Board’s latest<br />

book, which explains complex<br />

theological concepts in<br />

simple, straightforward terms.<br />

23 E-Mail<br />

Letters and commentary from<br />

our readers.<br />

LSR 2012183<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 3


Staying Focused in<br />

Transition<br />

As the church navigates leadership changes,<br />

we remain dedicated to the mission God has<br />

placed before us.<br />

By Presiding Bishop Doug Beacham<br />

S<br />

hock. Grief. Hope. Admiration. Respect. Those are just some of the<br />

feelings the IPHC family has experienced since Bishop Ronald<br />

Carpenter, Sr., announced his decision to step aside as the general<br />

superintendent due to health reasons.<br />

Always an excellent teacher and leader, Bishop Carpenter has<br />

entered his best season of leading and teaching all of us how to live<br />

with purpose and joy. He has taught us that ministry is not about<br />

positions and titles. It’s about a grace-filled relationship with Jesus Christ that is<br />

truly relevant, dynamic, and demonstrative.<br />

We have learned that the work of the church is dependent on the work of Jesus<br />

Christ. When something happens to any of us, our Lord is not caught by surprise.<br />

He controls the assignments and timing of our lives. We can trust His guiding hand<br />

as we depend upon His Word and the presence of His Spirit.<br />

The IPHC Council of Bishops has navigated this transition with<br />

prayer, patience, trust in God, and trust in the wisdom of our manual.<br />

The IPHC Manual, the product of the 2009 General Conference,<br />

provides clear procedural steps for such a time as this.<br />

Our mission statement guides us: The mission of the <strong>International</strong><br />

<strong>Pentecostal</strong> <strong>Holiness</strong> <strong>Church</strong> is to multiply believers and churches, discipling<br />

them in worship, fellowship, and evangelism as we obey the Great<br />

Commission in cooperation with the whole body of Christ.<br />

We continue to focus on Vision 2020. We want to see clearly<br />

what the Holy Spirit will have us do and be to advance the kingdom<br />

of Christ. Our prayer echoes Paul’s, “that the God of our Lord Jesus<br />

Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and<br />

revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being<br />

enlightened” (Eph. 1:17, 18 NKJV, emphasis added).<br />

We also focus on the eight years between now and the year 2020. A point<br />

in time gives us a framework for measurable goals, accountability in effort, and<br />

celebration of what the Lord is doing.<br />

As a global body, we are committed to our emphasis on church planting. I<br />

believe we are poised to make a quantum leap forward on every continent. We have<br />

renewed our discipleship focus as followers of Jesus Christ, which will likely put us<br />

at odds with the prevailing winds of the world. But followers of Jesus have always<br />

been called to march to the tempo of the kingdom of God and not the drumbeat of<br />

this age.<br />

We have heard Paul’s message in Acts 17:28 that our biblical mandate is<br />

to “Live, Move, and Be” in God. That call is stated in the six affirmations and<br />

commitments of the IPHC Covenant Renewal Document, which provides a<br />

framework for how we approach our future:<br />

1. We affirm that we are not and will<br />

not be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus<br />

Christ and will proclaim His lordship<br />

over all spheres of life (Rom. 1:16),<br />

regardless of the political, economic,<br />

or cultural influences, pressures, or<br />

mandates of our times.<br />

2. We affirm that true salvation is through<br />

the blood of Jesus Christ and will<br />

boldly declare His name to the nations<br />

as the only begotten Son of God, who<br />

is “the way, the truth, and the life”<br />

(Rom. 3:25; Eph. 1:7; John 3:16; 14:6;<br />

1 John 1:7; 2:22-24).<br />

3. We commit ourselves to the Great<br />

Commission and actively seek to make<br />

disciples of Jesus Christ among every<br />

people group and culture (Matt. 28:19;<br />

Acts 1:8).<br />

4. We commit ourselves to care for the<br />

world’s poor, to seek justice, and to<br />

defend the cause of the powerless and<br />

helpless in accordance with God’s Word<br />

(Deut. 15:7, 11; 24:14; Prov. 14:21, 31;<br />

19:17; 21:13; Ps. 82:3; 89:14; 146:9;<br />

Isa. 1:17; Mic. 6:8).<br />

5. We commit ourselves<br />

to live in the fullness of the<br />

presence and power of the<br />

Holy Spirit, continuing<br />

to recognize all the gifts,<br />

ministries, and fruit of the<br />

Spirit working through<br />

any man or woman, young<br />

or old, for the edifying of<br />

the body of Christ and the<br />

glory of God ( Joel 2:28, 29;<br />

Acts 6:3; 1 Cor. 12:4-7;<br />

Eph. 3:19; 4:11-13; 5:18).<br />

6. We commit ourselves to holiness of life<br />

whereby we honor God and love one<br />

another. We respect cultural differences<br />

reflecting God’s glory and celebrate<br />

liberty in nonessential matters of<br />

culture and historical circumstances<br />

(Rom. 12:1; 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 1:4; 2:21;<br />

5:27; Col. 3:12).<br />

As we move forward, thank you<br />

for your continued prayers for Bishop<br />

Carpenter; and thank you for your prayers<br />

for Susan and me as we serve Christ and<br />

you.<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 5


God’s Got<br />

My Back<br />

A devastating experience<br />

with cyberbullies in high<br />

school taught me that God<br />

will always come to my<br />

rescue.<br />

BY Kaylee Watford<br />

All smiles: Kaylee and her family are much happier after moving back to<br />

South Carolina.<br />

It was my first day of freshman year. I was in a new town and a<br />

new school. My family had moved from the South to Illinois on faith to save my<br />

parents’ marriage, and I suddenly found myself adjusting to life as a Midwesterner.<br />

I’ve always been a social person, so being in a new school and having no friends<br />

was difficult. But my Southern accent and outgoing personality helped me make<br />

friends quickly, and within a few months I was the most popular girl in school.<br />

It was an awesome feeling. By the end of my sophomore year, that “feeling” had<br />

become more important to me than anything else—including my relationship<br />

with Christ.<br />

The summer before my junior year I started going to parties, sneaking into bars,<br />

and doing things I knew I shouldn’t do. My entire junior year I lived on the wild<br />

side, worrying my parents to death. But no matter how late I came in or what I’d<br />

6 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


een doing the night before, I was in<br />

church on Sunday morning. That was the<br />

rule at our house. I was going to church,<br />

but I rejected Christ and kept living the<br />

life I wanted. I wasn’t interested in “getting<br />

back to the Lord.”<br />

By the time my senior year rolled<br />

around, my two best friends had turned<br />

into a group of ten girls. We were<br />

all different ages and from different<br />

backgrounds. I thought my senior year<br />

would be a time to “live it up” and enjoy<br />

one more year with my girlfriends. I<br />

couldn’t have been more wrong.<br />

Two of the girls in the group had a<br />

disagreement and decided their friendship<br />

“On the drive to South<br />

Carolina, I decided I<br />

was sick of the life I’d<br />

been living. I wanted to<br />

be a different person.<br />

That was the cue the<br />

Lord was waiting on.”<br />

was over. I didn’t want to choose sides, so I<br />

kept hanging out with both of them. One<br />

night, I went out with one of the girls and<br />

several of our guy friends. That’s when the<br />

bullying started.<br />

I started getting anonymous phone<br />

calls and awful messages on my phone. The<br />

calls kept coming for six hours straight.<br />

Then someone trashed the outside of our<br />

house. A few days later, someone told me<br />

there was a terrible rumor about me that<br />

was circulating on Facebook. It wasn’t long<br />

before I put it all together: my “friend”<br />

thought I was choosing sides in her<br />

dramatic disagreement, and she’d decided<br />

our friendship was over too.<br />

My former friendship turned to disaster.<br />

The girl I trusted was now spreading the<br />

most horrible, degrading lies imaginable.<br />

I kept wondering how someone I was so<br />

close to just months before could say such<br />

things about me. To make matters worse,<br />

the people I thought I could count on<br />

chimed in, spreading the lies and rumors<br />

right along with her!<br />

I was miserable, but I decided I wasn’t<br />

going to let this ruin my senior year. Once<br />

again, I started school with no friends,<br />

but this time no one wanted to befriend<br />

the girl from the South. I walked the halls<br />

alone, fully aware that people were staring<br />

and pointing at me and talking about<br />

me behind my back. The bullying got so<br />

bad that two months later, I quit school<br />

and started online classes from home. I<br />

was miserable; I hated my life. I became<br />

depressed and suicidal. It seemed there was<br />

no way out.<br />

I finished high school online, and I<br />

received my diploma in December. It was<br />

then that my family decided it was time<br />

to move back to the South. On the drive<br />

to South Carolina, I decided I was sick of<br />

the life I’d been living. I wanted to be a<br />

different person. That was the cue the Lord<br />

was waiting on.<br />

Soon after arriving in South Carolina,<br />

we started attending church, and I gave<br />

my life back to the Lord. He completely<br />

changed me! I was happy again. The pain<br />

I’d endured my senior year was gone,<br />

and I was completely delivered from my<br />

former lifestyle of partying, depression,<br />

and suicidal thoughts. In time, I married a<br />

wonderful man and gained three beautiful,<br />

happy children.<br />

Looking back, I see how the Lord used<br />

a terrible, hurtful experience to draw me<br />

back to Him. My senior year definitely<br />

wasn’t the year I wanted, but it was exactly<br />

what I needed. Instead of one year of<br />

“living it up,” I got a beautiful, godly family<br />

and a lifetime of joy and peace. Every day,<br />

I’m thankful for the Lord’s blessings!<br />

Cyberbullying is a serious issue among<br />

today’s youth, and it can quickly lead to<br />

depression and suicide. If you or someone you<br />

know is a victim of cyberbullying, please seek<br />

help.<br />

Kaylee Watford and her family are part<br />

of an IPHC church plant in Sumter, S.C.<br />

Have you had the Experience? Send your testimony to Mégan Alba<br />

at malba@iphc.org.<br />

How to<br />

Experience God<br />

Here are five simple steps you can<br />

take to begin a relationship with God:<br />

1. Recognize your need. The Bible<br />

tells us that “all have sinned and fall<br />

short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23,<br />

NASB). All of us are sinners, and we<br />

must admit our need for a Savior.<br />

2. Repent of your sins. Because<br />

God is completely holy, our sins create<br />

a wall that separates us from Him.<br />

By confessing your sins you will find<br />

forgiveness. “Repent” means to make<br />

a 180-degree turnaround. The Bible<br />

promises: “If we confess our sins, He<br />

is faithful and righteous to forgive us<br />

our sins and to cleanse us from all<br />

unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).<br />

3. Believe in Jesus. God worked a<br />

miracle when He sent His only Son<br />

to die for us. We don’t have to pay for<br />

our sins … Jesus paid it all! We can’t<br />

work for our salvation. It is a gift from<br />

God, and all He requires is that we<br />

believe. Put your faith in Him. The Bible<br />

says: “For God so loved the world,<br />

that He gave His only begotten Son,<br />

that whoever believes in Him shall not<br />

perish, but have eternal life” (John<br />

3:16).<br />

4. Receive His salvation. God has<br />

given us this free gift, but we must<br />

accept it. Thank Him for sending Jesus<br />

to die on the cross for you. Thank<br />

Him for His amazing love, mercy and<br />

forgiveness. Then ask Him to live in<br />

your heart. His promise to us is sure:<br />

“But as many as received Him, to them<br />

He gave the right to become children of<br />

God...” (John 1:12).<br />

5. Confess your faith. The Bible<br />

assures us: “If you confess with your<br />

mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in<br />

your heart that God raised Him from<br />

the dead, you will be saved” (Rom.<br />

10:9). You have been born again and are<br />

now part of God’s family. Tell someone<br />

else what Jesus has done in your life!<br />

This amazing experience can be yours.<br />

Embrace God’s love and receive the<br />

salvation that only Jesus Christ gives.<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 7


Bishop Carpenter passes the crosier to Presiding Bishop Beacham.<br />

New Executive Committee<br />

Installed<br />

The IPHC commemorates a historic transition at YouthQuest 2012.<br />

The new Executive Committee of the<br />

Council of Bishops (ECCOB) was installed in<br />

a special service Friday, July 20, in Orlando,<br />

Florida.<br />

Dr. A. D. Beacham, Jr., was installed as<br />

the presiding bishop of the IPHC. Rev. D.<br />

Chris Thompson remained in Evangelism<br />

USA but became the vice chairman. Rev.<br />

J. Talmadge Gardner was installed as the<br />

executive director of World Missions and the<br />

corporate secretary. Rev. Thomas McGhee<br />

became the newest ECCOB member, installed<br />

as the executive director of Discipleship<br />

Ministries and corporate treasurer.<br />

Bishop Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr., and<br />

Bishop James D. Leggett conducted the<br />

commissioning and prayer.<br />

In his commissioning statement, Bishop<br />

Carpenter commended Presiding Bishop<br />

Beacham for his faithfulness in previous<br />

assignments and duties.<br />

“All of these assignments in life have<br />

chiseled you, honed you, sharpened you, and<br />

equipped you for your primary assignment<br />

now as the 19th presiding bishop of this great<br />

denomination,” he said.<br />

Bishop Carpenter also admonished<br />

Presiding Bishop Beacham to uphold the<br />

IPHC’s constitution and to cast vision for the<br />

church.<br />

Following the commissioning, Bishops<br />

Leggett and Carpenter prayed over Presiding<br />

Bishop Beacham and his wife, Susan, and the<br />

ECCOB.<br />

“I don’t know of a time when God has so<br />

blessed the church with leadership,” said<br />

Leggett.<br />

The passing of the crosier, the shepherd’s<br />

staff that symbolizes the office of general<br />

superintendent, was an emotionally charged<br />

moment. Both Bishop Carpenter and<br />

Presiding Bishop Beacham openly wept as<br />

the transition took place.<br />

After accepting the crosier, Presiding<br />

Bishop Beacham addressed the audience,<br />

which largely consisted of teens attending<br />

Youth Quest.<br />

He encouraged the teens to be aware of<br />

their contribution to the historical moment<br />

and reminded them that one day, they would<br />

be the leaders of the denomination.<br />

“I want you to remember this moment,<br />

and remember that the Holy Spirit changed<br />

my life today,” he said to them.<br />

–Mégan Alba<br />

New leadership: Bishop Beacham and the<br />

new Executive Committee.<br />

Gardner Goes to<br />

World Missions<br />

The new face of<br />

missions: Rev.<br />

Talmadge Gardner<br />

A new leader in<br />

discipleship: Rev.<br />

Tommy McGhee<br />

Rev. Talmadge<br />

Gardner has<br />

been elected<br />

executive director<br />

of World Missions<br />

Ministries<br />

and corporate<br />

secretary. The<br />

announcement<br />

came following the<br />

Council of Bishops<br />

meeting in which<br />

Dr. A. D. Beacham,<br />

Jr., was named general superintendent.<br />

“It’s very humbling for me,” said Bishop<br />

Gardner.<br />

The son of IPHC missionaries in South<br />

Africa, Gardner has served the IPHC in<br />

many capacities for 26 years. His most<br />

recent post was executive director of<br />

Discipleship Ministries Division and<br />

corporate treasurer.<br />

–Mégan Alba<br />

McGhee Becomes<br />

Newest Member of<br />

ECCOB<br />

The Council<br />

of Bishops has<br />

elected Rev.<br />

Thomas McGhee<br />

as executive<br />

director of<br />

Discipleship<br />

Ministries and<br />

IPHC corporate<br />

treasurer. McGhee<br />

fills the position<br />

left vacant by<br />

Rev. Talmadge<br />

Gardner’s election to World Missions<br />

Ministries.<br />

“I’m most looking forward to the<br />

challenge of what discipleship really means<br />

and the need for true discipleship,” McGhee<br />

told IPHC News.<br />

Bishop McGhee has served as<br />

superintendent of the Cornerstone<br />

Conference since 1994. He has also served<br />

the IPHC on the general level as a member<br />

of the Council of Bishops, a member of the<br />

2013 Bylaws Committee, and the chair of<br />

the Finance Committee.<br />

–Mégan Alba<br />

8 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


Flourish Together: The first WM missions trip touched many lives in Nicaragua.<br />

Women’s Ministries<br />

Reaches Out in Nicaragua<br />

The first general WM missions trip is a<br />

success.<br />

IPHC Women’s Ministries took outreach to a new<br />

level with the Flourish Together missions trip April<br />

16–23. This was the first missions trip to be hosted by<br />

the general Women’s Ministries office.<br />

“I felt our first WM missions trip was a huge<br />

success,” said WM Director Tamé Lambert. “We went<br />

to bless the women of Nicaragua, and they ended up<br />

blessing us more than we could have ever imagined.<br />

Our lives will never be the same! This is definitely<br />

something we will continue in the future.”<br />

A team of 15 women traveled to Nicaragua, where<br />

they hosted conferences in several regions. Each<br />

two-day conference included a day of training and<br />

teaching, as well as a day for pampering and crafts.<br />

Free Camp Debuts in<br />

Oklahoma<br />

Underprivileged youth attend summer<br />

camp at the Heartland Conference<br />

Campgrounds.<br />

Underprivileged Oklahoma City youth got a new<br />

experience this year—a camp just for them. Free<br />

Camp made its Oklahoma debut July 9-13 at the<br />

Heartland Conference Campgrounds with more than<br />

80 campers attending.<br />

“It’s been awesome,” said Jake Bunn, national<br />

director for Free Camp.<br />

Free Camp began more than 20 years ago at<br />

Christian Heritage <strong>Church</strong> in Amarillo, Texas. Since<br />

then, the ministry has expanded to include Virginia,<br />

Georgia, the Carolinas, and now Oklahoma.<br />

New experiences: A camper learns to shoot a bow and<br />

arrow while a staff member looks on.<br />

There was an impressive turnout<br />

for each conference, despite the 105-<br />

degree temperatures, buildings with no<br />

air conditioning, electrical issues, and<br />

an earthquake. Some women traveled<br />

several hours by bus, while others<br />

walked great distances to attend the<br />

training events.<br />

Although they were there to<br />

minister, the women said they were<br />

equally impacted by the love and<br />

dedication of the Nicaraguan women<br />

they served.<br />

“To say I was the one blessed by<br />

this trip is a gross understatement,”<br />

said team member Susan Todd. “What<br />

a joy to see what I’ve never seen and<br />

do what I’ve never done. But above all,<br />

my true blessing came because of the<br />

wonderful people in a poor country<br />

named Nicaragua.”<br />

The camp is completely free to<br />

attendees, most of whom come from<br />

inner-city or impoverished areas.<br />

Bunn and Oklahoma City Site Director<br />

Guillermo Rivera say the camp is not<br />

a replacement for conference youth<br />

camps, which focus on teens from IPHC<br />

churches and youth groups. Instead, Free<br />

Camp is an evangelism tool designed to<br />

reach youth who otherwise would not get<br />

to attend a summer camp.<br />

Rivera said while Free Camp is a<br />

great experience, it’s just the beginning<br />

of his strategy for reaching at-risk youth.<br />

“The most important thing is not the<br />

camp,” Rivera said. “We’re impacting<br />

lives, but what are we going to do<br />

afterwards? Ministry kicks in once these<br />

kids are back home, in their element,<br />

and we keep in contact with them and<br />

let them know that Jesus loves you right<br />

where you are.”<br />

Jake Bunn said there are five camps<br />

this summer, with plans to expand to<br />

other areas in the future.<br />

For more information, or to learn how<br />

to start a Free Camp in your area, visit<br />

myfreecamp.org.<br />

» Terry Health Report<br />

Bill Terry<br />

has completed<br />

his final<br />

chemotherapy<br />

treatment for<br />

mantle cell<br />

lymphoma<br />

and says his<br />

prognosis is<br />

Bill Terry<br />

good. He is now<br />

considered to<br />

be in full remission. Upon his doctor’s<br />

advice, Terry is now beginning a twoyear<br />

maintenance program. He will<br />

remain under his doctor’s care for<br />

continued monitoring.<br />

» Greenlee Resigns<br />

Dr. Dan Greenlee has resigned<br />

as president<br />

of Advantage<br />

College, citing<br />

personal<br />

challenges<br />

and health<br />

problems that<br />

prevented him<br />

from effectively<br />

carrying out his<br />

duties. The board<br />

of regents has<br />

Dan Greenlee<br />

appointed Rev. Bill Terry as acting<br />

president while they search for a<br />

successor.<br />

» Ward Receives Special<br />

Honors<br />

Chaplain<br />

(Captain)<br />

James Paul<br />

Ward, Jr., of<br />

the United<br />

States Army<br />

has been<br />

awarded<br />

the Bronze<br />

Star for<br />

James Paul Ward, Jr.<br />

meritorious<br />

service<br />

during a<br />

12-month deployment to<br />

Afghanistan. He conducted over 65<br />

church services and 920 pastoral<br />

counseling sessions, taught more<br />

than 100 Bible study lessons, and<br />

trained more than 150 soldiers in<br />

applied suicide intervention skills.<br />

Prior to his military career, Ward<br />

served as senior pastor of Stoneville<br />

<strong>Pentecostal</strong> <strong>Holiness</strong> <strong>Church</strong> in the<br />

Cornerstone Conference.<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 9


Learning from the best: Veteran missionaries Hobert<br />

and Marguerite Howard teach a session at Passport.<br />

Missionary<br />

Candidates Earn<br />

Passport to Missions<br />

World Missions Ministries hosts sixth<br />

annual Passport training event.<br />

IPHC missionary candidates earned their “Passport<br />

to Missions” May 14-25 on the campus of Holmes Bible<br />

College in Greenville, S.C. Sponsored by World Missions<br />

Ministries, Passport is an annual training program that<br />

prepares missionary candidates for their assignments<br />

overseas and local church leaders to support missions<br />

in the United States.<br />

According to WMM Assistant Director Dr. Harold<br />

Dalton, this year’s Passport class consists of 26<br />

missionary candidates and 15 pastors and missions<br />

directors who are “serious” about missions.<br />

“We feel like it is a superb experience for people<br />

who are interested in missions—not just superficially<br />

interested, but interested to the point that they’re<br />

thinking about committing their lives to it,” says Dalton.<br />

Passport teachers include veteran IPHC<br />

missionaries, who share their inspiring testimonies<br />

along with practical advice for working in the field.<br />

Passport also provides the opportunity for<br />

candidates to interact with other cultures. During<br />

week one, students had dinner at a traditional Indian<br />

restaurant in Greenville. Members of the local Indian<br />

community spoke to them about the food and culture.<br />

They rounded out the evening with a visit to a local<br />

Hindu temple, where the priest answered questions<br />

about Hindu faith.<br />

“For missionary candidates who want to learn about<br />

missions to an Indian culture, what better way than to<br />

meet people who are actually Hindus that are following<br />

that religion in the United States?” says Dalton.<br />

He adds that a similar outing to a Middle Eastern<br />

restaurant and a local Muslim mosque is planned for<br />

the second week.<br />

For more information about Passport to Missions,<br />

please contact World Missions Ministries at 1-888-474-<br />

2966 or wmissions@iphc.org.<br />

10 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience<br />

Southwestern Christian<br />

University Experiences<br />

Transitions<br />

School adds MATS degree and names a new dean.<br />

Southwestern Christian University has announced a new<br />

degree and new leadership.<br />

The Graduate School has been approved to offer a Master<br />

of Arts in theological studies, with courses set to begin this<br />

fall. Classes will be offered on both the Bethany and Tulsa<br />

Dr. Spencer<br />

Ledbetter<br />

campuses, as well as at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Ga., and online.<br />

The Graduate School will continue to offer the Master of Ministry degree for<br />

those seeking a more practical education. The offering of the M.A.T.S. is the first<br />

visible step toward having a full-fledged seminary in which to train ministers in<br />

the IPHC.<br />

In addition, Dr. Tramel announced his resignation as dean of the Graduate<br />

School. Dr. Tramel will return to the classroom as a full-time teacher in<br />

graduate and undergraduate classes, as well as resume his lifelong calling as<br />

an evangelist.<br />

The university has appointed Dr. Spencer Ledbetter as the new dean of<br />

the School of Adult and Graduate Studies, bringing two decades of academic<br />

excellence to the leadership of the rapidly expanding school.<br />

“Dr. Ledbetter has the highest academic credentials, the strongest<br />

commitment to biblical truth, a passionate zest for ministry, and the added<br />

gift of resonating with all people. I am excited about the future of the Graduate<br />

School under his leadership,” said Tramel.<br />

IPHC Launches Global<br />

<strong>Church</strong> Planting<br />

Initiative<br />

EVUSA and World Missions partner<br />

with DCPI to build healthy churches.<br />

<strong>Church</strong> planting has long been a significant<br />

part of the IPHC’s genetic makeup. This year, IPHC<br />

leaders have launched a global initiative to expand<br />

ministry and build healthy churches around the<br />

world.<br />

The key to this initiative is a strategic<br />

partnership with Dynamic <strong>Church</strong> Planting<br />

<strong>International</strong> (DCPI), a training organization based<br />

out of San Diego, Calif. This year, Evangelism USA<br />

hosted regional training events to educate and<br />

train potential church planters and conference<br />

leaders. In addition, World Missions Ministries<br />

hosted<br />

DCPI<br />

training for<br />

key leaders<br />

in other<br />

countries.<br />

“The<br />

thing<br />

I’m most<br />

EVUSA Executive Director Rev. Chris<br />

Thompson at DCPI training in North<br />

Carolina.<br />

excited<br />

about is<br />

that DCPI will provide<br />

training and insight into<br />

what God is doing today<br />

and desires to do in the<br />

future, no matter where<br />

we are in our ministry<br />

journey,” said Rev. Stacy<br />

Hilliard, director of <strong>Church</strong><br />

Multiplication Ministries.<br />

Presiding Bishop Doug<br />

Beacham said church<br />

planting is vital to the<br />

IPHC’s future, and DCPI<br />

is a key factor in providing<br />

quality training to our<br />

leaders across the globe.<br />

“All of our conferences,<br />

regardless of size and<br />

scope, can benefit from<br />

DCPI by learning how<br />

to reach the cultures<br />

around them. And this<br />

is something we must<br />

do—reach the multiplied<br />

cultural groups that<br />

have become part of the<br />

American landscape,”<br />

Beacham said.<br />

To learn more, contact<br />

EVUSA at evusainfo@iphc.<br />

org or (405) 792-7150.


PTP Provides<br />

Miraculous Surgery<br />

for Malawian Girl<br />

IPHC member Aida walks again<br />

after a debilitating accident.<br />

Thanks to People to People Ministries, an<br />

IPHC family in Malawi is recovering from a<br />

devastating accident.<br />

George, a native who assists with IPHC<br />

ministry in Malawi, and his daughter, Aida, were<br />

injured when their minibus blew a tire on a dirt<br />

road. George sustained several physical injuries,<br />

and 17-year-old Aida had serious damage to her<br />

left hip and femur.<br />

Due to the high cost of hospital care in<br />

Malawi, the family could not afford the surgery<br />

Global Youth Events Exceed Expectations<br />

The Awakening hosts inaugural EuroQuest and LAMCARQuest.<br />

This summer, The Awakening hosted the IPHC’s first globally focused youth events: EuroQuest<br />

and LAMCARQuest. Awakening Directors Max and Jessica Barroso said both events exceeded their<br />

expectations.<br />

“We can’t begin to express how overwhelmingly<br />

powerful it was to see so many nations, cultures<br />

and languages not only worshiping together,<br />

but praying together and FOR each other!” said<br />

Jessica.<br />

Unlike the annual Youth Quest in the United<br />

States, the global events did not include talent<br />

venues or services geared toward teens. Instead,<br />

The Awakening focused on providing quality<br />

training and ministry to youth leaders. The result,<br />

said Max and Jessica, was an incredible spirit of<br />

unity as leaders came together to share resources<br />

A united nation: Leaders unite for the inaugural<br />

LAMCARQuest.<br />

Turkish Leaders<br />

Launch <strong>Church</strong> Plant,<br />

Face Opposition<br />

IPHC plants the first church in Laodicea<br />

in 80 years.<br />

Reaching Turkey: The 2012 Seven <strong>Church</strong>es missions team.<br />

Aida desperately needed to recover. IPHC<br />

missionary Althea Meyer contacted PTP for<br />

humanitarian aid. The ministry took immediate<br />

action and sent $2,000 to help. Several donors<br />

joined the effort to make surgery possible.<br />

Aida was prepped and ready for surgery the<br />

following day. George also received medical<br />

attention for his injuries.<br />

“Great favor was working in this situation for<br />

Aida to receive this surgery,” said Althea Meyer.<br />

“She would have struggled walking without this<br />

surgery!”<br />

Aida and her family are now safe and healthy<br />

back at home, and the community is rejoicing<br />

in this miraculous healing. She is now walking<br />

without crutches and is expected to make a full<br />

recovery.<br />

and pray for one another.<br />

EuroQuest took place in Vajta, Hungary, June<br />

Miracle healing: Aida and her family<br />

prepare to leave the hospital.<br />

There are still outstanding costs associated with Aida and George’s medical care. To<br />

give to this project, or to help with other humanitarian needs, go to ptp.iphc.org.<br />

–Courtney Amos & Mégan Alba<br />

26–30. The conference theme<br />

was “Reach From Within—<br />

Europeans Reaching Europe.”<br />

Sebastian, an IPHC member<br />

from Romania, said he “could<br />

have never anticipated what God<br />

did, and the spirit of unity was<br />

incredible.”<br />

LAMCARQuest took<br />

place July 5-7 in Costa Rica,<br />

with nearly 200 attendees<br />

representing 13 nations.<br />

Continental Director Dan<br />

Clowers stated that the event<br />

was “one of the most significant<br />

events in the history of<br />

LAMCAR.”<br />

The Awakening plans to make<br />

EuroQuest and LAMCARQuest<br />

biennial, with the next events<br />

taking place in 2014.<br />

The IPHC’s recently launched church plant in Turkey is drawing opposition from<br />

the surrounding community, leaders say.<br />

On July 1, IPHC Turkey opened a new four-story building in Laodicea/Denizli. The<br />

church was the first to be planted in the city in 80 years.<br />

Days after the opening, news of the church plant spread and drew national<br />

attention, which caused hostility among some in Laodicea.<br />

“Some neighbors are coming against the church building, and local authorities are<br />

trying to find a way to solve this problem,” said a church member in Turkey. “Many<br />

outsiders are watching this event.”<br />

Although Turkey is a predominantly Islamic nation, Christians are typically allowed<br />

to practice their faith in peace.<br />

IPHC members in Laodicea are using this experience as an opportunity to share<br />

their faith. They believe the news coverage will ultimately bring glory to God.<br />

“This small church made such an impact that the whole of Turkey is hearing about<br />

this,” said a church leader. “I believe we will see a great breakthrough in the coming<br />

days. God has provided an amazing platform to share [our faith] that I wouldn’t dream<br />

of before.”<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 11


COVER STORY<br />

A Graceful<br />

Transition<br />

A Legacy of<br />

Encouragement<br />

Bishop Ron Carpenter, Sr.,<br />

led the IPHC into a new<br />

season of growth.<br />

An Interview With Ron Carpenter, Sr.<br />

Bishop Ronald Carpenter<br />

says he didn’t have a choice in his<br />

salvation—but he did have a “drug”<br />

problem. “My mother drug me to church,<br />

drug me to prayer meeting, drug me to<br />

revival,” he often recalls with a laugh.<br />

A native of Rocky Mount, N.C.,<br />

Carpenter—known as Ronnie to his<br />

friends—grew up in the <strong>Pentecostal</strong><br />

<strong>Holiness</strong> <strong>Church</strong>. At 16, he gave his heart<br />

12 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


to the Lord and felt the call to full-time<br />

ministry. After graduating from high<br />

school, he married Nan Hale, and the<br />

two entered into a lifetime of ministry<br />

and service together.<br />

More than 40 years later, the<br />

North Carolina boy with the big smile<br />

has become one of the most noted<br />

leaders in IPHC history. He has<br />

served as a local pastor, a conference<br />

leader, conference superintendent, and<br />

executive director of Evangelism USA.<br />

In 2009, the delegates of the 26th<br />

General Conference elected Rev.<br />

Ronald Carpenter, Sr., the general<br />

superintendent of the IPHC. He was<br />

charged with leading the church into<br />

21st-century ministry while navigating<br />

some of the most historic changes ever<br />

made to the IPHC’s legislative process.<br />

Carpenter has encountered<br />

many trials during his four decades<br />

of ministry, but none has been more<br />

challenging than what he faced this past<br />

year. After entering treatment for his<br />

fourth bout with melanoma, he became<br />

seriously ill due to side effects from<br />

medication. After careful consideration,<br />

Carpenter made the difficult decision<br />

to step down as general superintendent<br />

one year before his term officially<br />

concluded. On July 19, Carpenter<br />

graciously handed over the reins of<br />

leadership to Dr. Doug Beacham,<br />

former director of World Missions<br />

Ministries.<br />

His title has changed many times,<br />

but his heart and call have remained the<br />

same. Many who know him will attest<br />

that Ronald Carpenter, Sr., is the same<br />

man he was when he was ordained in<br />

1966: affectionate, hardworking, driven,<br />

and above all, genuine. Underneath<br />

the suit, the title, the multiple<br />

academic degrees, and the impressive<br />

accomplishments is an honest man who<br />

simply strives to do the Lord’s will daily.<br />

Experience sat down with Bishop<br />

Carpenter just before the transition,<br />

where he candidly shared his<br />

perspective on ministry, leadership, and<br />

the legacy he hopes to leave for future<br />

generations.<br />

continued<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 13


The 2009 General Conference was historic.<br />

Can you discuss the changes that were made and<br />

how they affected the IPHC?<br />

carpenter: The 2009 General Conference<br />

was historic, and up to this point, it will go<br />

down in history as the most visionary, changeoriented<br />

conference we have ever experienced.<br />

It gave us new wineskins of procedure and<br />

structure to pour our new wine in. We were in<br />

the 21st century, we were doing ministry, but<br />

we were just doing [the same] things we’d been<br />

doing. The 2009 General Conference helped<br />

make us more efficient at what we were doing<br />

and more effective in the process.<br />

The IPHC celebrated its centennial in<br />

January 2011, under your leadership. How do<br />

historic events like this one impact the church?<br />

carpenter: I think events such as the<br />

Centennial are important, period. I think for<br />

the IPHC that event was uniquely important. It<br />

helped give us a balance as we go into the 21st<br />

century and become more aggressive with our<br />

futuristic approach to ministry. We needed that<br />

anchor, like Joshua 4 when God told him to<br />

place the stones on the bank. That Centennial<br />

was our stones on the bank. Now we’ll go and<br />

conquer the land as they did in the book of<br />

Joshua, but we had our time of rejoicing over<br />

what God has done for us, and that builds faith<br />

that He can help us do whatever needs to be<br />

done in the future.<br />

I think there’s a balance between our<br />

intense focus of the last 20 years in looking to<br />

the future, and then coming to an event like<br />

the Centennial that reminds us of where we<br />

came from. It reminds us of our DNA as an<br />

organization, of our doctrinal heritage, of the<br />

sacrifices that others made to help us get where<br />

we are, of our need to be grateful when we see<br />

the growth and progress that has taken place<br />

over the last 100 years because of the favor of<br />

God upon the church.<br />

What are the greatest challenges the church<br />

faces in the 21st century?<br />

carpenter: I’ve had many conversations<br />

with other denominational leaders, and we all<br />

share the same dilemmas and challenges. But<br />

the one thing that I think the church must<br />

address successfully, or nothing else matters, is<br />

the fact that we are living in a pagan society.<br />

In America, so many people in the church<br />

are still under the perception that society is<br />

Christendom, that it is oriented on Judeo-<br />

Christian ethics. This is a post-Christian society.<br />

Our society is becoming more pagan, and as it<br />

does, it not only becomes more godless, but<br />

it becomes more antichurch.<br />

Our challenge is the same challenge<br />

of the first-century church. They met their<br />

challenge. The question is, will we meet<br />

ours as successfully as they did theirs? We<br />

have to learn to build bridges to a pagan<br />

society because they’re not going to build<br />

bridges to us. The command is to “go into<br />

all the world,” not to wait for the world to<br />

come [to us].<br />

We have to reorient our thinking<br />

in the church and learn how to build<br />

bridges to our neighbors who may be<br />

Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, etc. We<br />

have to be relative to our society without<br />

compromising our doctrine and our<br />

position. We have to learn how to connect,<br />

and then communicate in a meaningful<br />

way the gospel of Jesus to a pagan society.<br />

If we don’t learn how to do that, everything<br />

else we do is to no avail.<br />

What must the IPHC do to become a<br />

leader in the 21st century?<br />

carpenter: I see a great future for the<br />

IPHC. I believe with all of my heart that<br />

God has laid his hand on the IPHC to be<br />

a leader in the church world—not just the<br />

<strong>Pentecostal</strong> world, but the church world of<br />

the 21st century.<br />

I think in order for that to be<br />

accomplished, we have to go back to our<br />

three words—relevant, dynamic, and<br />

demonstrative. That’s what gets us there.<br />

Those were the three words God gave<br />

me at General Conference, and I believe<br />

those are God-breathed words. It’s God’s<br />

formula for being the kind of organization<br />

that He wants to be a leader in the church<br />

world. Relevant in that we know how to<br />

connect and communicate; dynamic in that<br />

we are a church that makes an impact in<br />

our communities; and demonstrative in<br />

that we do all that within our <strong>Pentecostal</strong><br />

heritage. With those things intact, I believe<br />

God has a great future for the IPHC.<br />

Recently, you made the difficult decision<br />

to step down as general superintendent. Why<br />

did you choose to step down when you did?<br />

carpenter: It was a difficult decision—<br />

the most difficult decision I’ve ever made.<br />

But it was the right decision, and I’ve<br />

become more convinced of that every day.<br />

It was right for me, for my family, for my<br />

church.<br />

I have had a 20-year battle with<br />

melanoma four times. My most recent<br />

bout involved two different medications.<br />

The first I tolerated well. But last<br />

November, my doctor put me on the<br />

second, more powerful medication.<br />

Although it worked well, I began to feel<br />

the side effects after two months. I had 10<br />

of the 12 side effects attack me all at once,<br />

intensely. It absolutely incapacitated me,<br />

and I was unable to work for about five<br />

weeks.<br />

I did not come here for this<br />

denomination to carry me as an invalid.<br />

I came here to be a leader and carry the<br />

church. And when I felt I could no longer<br />

do that, then my integrity would not allow<br />

me to retain a position the responsibilities<br />

of which I could not carry out.<br />

I want to say the church has been<br />

gracious and kind in responding to my<br />

decision. People have overwhelmed me<br />

with phone calls, voice mails, emails, texts,<br />

cards … There’s no way I can answer them<br />

all.<br />

I ask the church to pray for us. My<br />

family and I are together in this decision. I<br />

have the support of not only my immediate<br />

family, but also my wonderful church<br />

family. And I appreciate the support so<br />

much.<br />

You’ve stated that although you are<br />

resigning, you are not leaving the ministry.<br />

What are your plans for the future?<br />

carpenter: I’m not leaving the<br />

ministry; I’m just resigning from the office<br />

of general superintendent. My wife and I<br />

have always viewed our time in Oklahoma<br />

as an assignment from God. When the<br />

assignment is over, we’re going back home<br />

and will continue to do ministry in another<br />

way. It’ll give me an opportunity to focus<br />

on my health and allow my body to do<br />

what I have not allowed it to do for the last<br />

three years, which is focus on fighting this<br />

disease.<br />

I have felt for some time that I had one<br />

significant season of ministry left in my<br />

life. I didn’t know what it would be. Several<br />

conference superintendents have already<br />

contacted me about hosting seminars<br />

for their pastors. I spent the early part of<br />

my life in Christian education at several<br />

colleges, and I would very much enjoy<br />

teaching—not on a regular basis, but in<br />

special settings.<br />

There are many kinds of ministry that<br />

I can foresee for the future. But I will say<br />

this: my primary ministry is going to be<br />

14 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


to my family. I have two wonderful children<br />

and two wonderful in-laws. I have five<br />

grandchildren and now a great-grandson.<br />

I want to be a factor in their lives. I never<br />

wanted to be a picture on the wall that<br />

somebody points at and says, “Who’s that?”<br />

I want to be there to have input into their<br />

lives, speak into their lives, drink coffee with<br />

them, and talk to them. I’ve spent 16 years<br />

away from my children and grandchildren,<br />

and I feel like I owe them a major portion of<br />

my time.<br />

What do you consider your greatest<br />

ministry accomplishments?<br />

carpenter: Contrary to what others may<br />

expect me to say, I don’t consider my greatest<br />

accomplishments to be a position I’ve held.<br />

The church is all about people. And I don’t<br />

want this to sound corny, but I think my<br />

greatest accomplishments revolve around<br />

people, not positions.<br />

First, I have always tried to make every<br />

individual around me feel important. I am a<br />

people person. I remember when I left my<br />

last church (I was going to be conference<br />

superintendent), this one little lady, silverhaired,<br />

blue-collar worker, came by crying.<br />

She hugged my neck and said, “You know,<br />

pastor, you always made everybody feel<br />

special.” That was a great compliment to me.<br />

Second, I’ve always tried to treat people<br />

right, whether I liked them or not. It’s easy in<br />

leadership to take advantage of the position,<br />

and I’ve seen it done many times just because<br />

a leader didn’t like somebody. I can honestly<br />

say I’ve always tried to treat people right<br />

no matter what they did or said, or how I<br />

personally felt about them. If they were my<br />

closest friend or my worst enemy, as a leader<br />

I’d render the same service to them. And<br />

I’ve never lain down a night in my life and<br />

worried that I hadn’t treated someone right.<br />

Last, I’ve always sought to be an edifier.<br />

Depression is contagious. If you stay around<br />

depressed people long enough, you’ll be<br />

depressed. Edification and encouragement,<br />

that’s contagious too. If you stay around<br />

people who are encouragers, you’ll be<br />

encouraged and you’ll encourage others.<br />

Somebody said the simplest course in<br />

human relations is a word, a touch, and<br />

a smile. I’ve never forgotten that simple<br />

message. People laugh at me for hugging<br />

necks. I’ve been criticized for slapping people<br />

on the back and always shaking folks’ hands.<br />

But those are genuine acts; it’s not contrived.<br />

It all goes together with making people feel<br />

special, treating people right, and making<br />

The Carpenter Family: Bishop Ron and Nan, Rev. Ron Jr. and Hope Carpenter, Bill and Jewell<br />

(Carpenter) Wilson, and their grandchildren. (Great-grandson not pictured.)<br />

people feel better when they leave your<br />

presence than they did when they came into<br />

your presence.<br />

I was able to make people feel special. I<br />

was able to edify people and encourage them.<br />

And I was able to help folks feel better about<br />

themselves and the people around them.<br />

That’s what I take the greatest pride in.<br />

What advice would you give a young<br />

person entering ministry?<br />

carpenter: The problem in answering<br />

questions of this nature is not what to say,<br />

but what to leave out. There’s so much you<br />

want to say. So many things a young pastor<br />

needs. He needs training; he needs to take<br />

advantage of any schooling he can get; he<br />

certainly needs to be doctrinally sound. He<br />

needs a great personal prayer life, personal<br />

life of dedication and devotion; he needs all<br />

the training he can get.<br />

But the one thing I think many young<br />

pastors overlook is that they need to find a<br />

godly mentor that they can trust and build<br />

a relationship with, spend time with and<br />

listen to what they have to say. They don’t<br />

have to have a Ph.D. You’re not looking for<br />

a seminary. You’re looking for impartation as<br />

much as you are information. You’re looking<br />

for a person’s heart; you’re looking for their<br />

spirit, for the manner in which they conduct<br />

their ministry with other people.<br />

Two of my greatest mentors—who<br />

helped launch me into what has been<br />

apparently a very successful ministry—<br />

neither one of them graduated from high<br />

school. But they cared about me. They were<br />

simple, and yet they were profound in their<br />

simplicity. I watched them. I watched how<br />

they conducted themselves. I watched how<br />

they preached, how they visited with people.<br />

I went with them to the hospital; I watched<br />

how they handled those situations. I just<br />

learned by being there.<br />

Along with everything else you get—<br />

schooling, prayer, and so on—be sure to find<br />

a godly mentor who can impart his spirit into<br />

your life. And that will put you light years<br />

ahead of where you would have been without<br />

one.<br />

What legacy do you want to leave behind—<br />

both as a leader in the IPHC and as a minister<br />

of the gospel?<br />

carpenter: My personal desire is to<br />

leave a legacy of a servant leader. I’ve served<br />

in leadership for 33 years, and I’ve given<br />

everything I had everywhere I’ve been.<br />

Any leader that has had a title also had the<br />

position and the authority that went with it.<br />

But many folks who had those three things<br />

never knew how to mix that with being a<br />

servant to the people.<br />

I don’t want to be remembered as<br />

somebody who just exercised authority as a<br />

leader. I want to be remembered as somebody<br />

who served the people. I want them to<br />

remember that I tried to live out the words<br />

of Jesus who said, “But whosoever will be<br />

great among you, shall be your minister: And<br />

whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be<br />

servant of all” (Mark 10:43, 44).<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 15


COVER STORY<br />

A Graceful<br />

Transition<br />

A Leader With<br />

Global Vision<br />

The new bishop of the IPHC,<br />

Doug Beacham, talks about the<br />

challenges of leading a diverse,<br />

international denomination.<br />

An Interview With A. D. “Doug” Beacham<br />

Dr. A. D. Beacham, Jr., is no stranger<br />

to the <strong>International</strong> <strong>Pentecostal</strong> <strong>Holiness</strong><br />

<strong>Church</strong>. A lifelong member of the IPHC,<br />

Beacham spent his formative and young<br />

adult years in South Norfolk, Va., and<br />

Franklin Springs, Ga., where he sat under<br />

the tutelage of scholars like Dr. Vinson<br />

Synan and Rev. John Swails. His father was<br />

a respected leader who served the church on<br />

both the conference and general levels.<br />

16 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


Beacham himself has served the<br />

IPHC for more than 30 years. He<br />

has been a military chaplain, pastor,<br />

conference superintendent, and executive<br />

director of Discipleship Ministries<br />

(then <strong>Church</strong> Education Ministries)<br />

and World Missions Ministries. He<br />

is also an accomplished scholar and<br />

author with intricate knowledge of the<br />

IPHC’s history and heritage. Now, he<br />

is using that knowledge and experience<br />

as he steps into the role of general<br />

superintendent and helps the church<br />

navigate an unexpected leadership<br />

transition. In this candid interview with<br />

Experience, Bishop Beacham discusses<br />

the recent transition and the next season<br />

of ministry for the IPHC.<br />

You are stepping into the role of general<br />

superintendent before the end of our<br />

previous bishop’s term. Explain how this<br />

transition will affect the church as we<br />

prepare for our General Conference in<br />

2013.<br />

BEACHAM: As we come into this<br />

transition, we’re in a good position. We<br />

are not facing a jarring organizational<br />

and vision problem. We’ve committed<br />

ourselves to “Live, Move, Be” as part<br />

of Bishop Carpenter’s vision for the<br />

church to be relevant, dynamic, and<br />

demonstrative. Those components,<br />

which are part of the larger goals of<br />

Vision 2020, are in place and will<br />

continue.<br />

The church is not in a maintenance<br />

mode until the 2013 General<br />

Conference. There are things God<br />

wants us to do. As we continue to pray<br />

for Bishop Carpenter’s recovery and<br />

healing, we recognize that we must stay<br />

on track as we move into the future.<br />

God has given this church a mandate,<br />

and we must carry it out. The vision and<br />

direction of this church has been set<br />

for well over 20 years now, and we are<br />

continuing to move in that spirit with<br />

our own particular focus and elements of<br />

that vision. We’re excited about the years<br />

to come as the IPHC does its work of<br />

fulfilling the Great Commission.<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 17


What is your vision for the office of general<br />

superintendent?<br />

BEACHAM: I believe the office of general<br />

superintendent has a threefold purpose. The<br />

first is to communicate the general vision of the<br />

IPHC. In the 1980s, Target 2000 became the<br />

visionary focus of this church that led us up to<br />

the millennium. After that came Mission 21,<br />

and we are now focusing on Vision 2020. The<br />

fleshing out of that campaign for the next seven<br />

years is very important for this church. I believe<br />

God is going to speak to the leadership and<br />

define what he wants the IPHC global family<br />

to do in His name.<br />

The second is to be a cheerleader for our<br />

ministries. The general superintendent is in the<br />

best position in this church to see, understand,<br />

and promote what is happening in the IPHC<br />

global community, so we can celebrate God’s<br />

work and continue to focus on Vision 2020.<br />

The third component focuses on ministry<br />

development. I believe God wants us to help<br />

develop those in ministry, from the newest<br />

licensed and ordained ministers to those who<br />

have served for a long time or are even retired.<br />

It’s imperative that there be a renewed focus on<br />

knowledge of the word of God, and knowledge<br />

of theology, so we can engage our culture and<br />

know how to faithfully articulate the faith<br />

from a <strong>Pentecostal</strong>, holiness, evangelical, and<br />

historical Christian framework.<br />

Along with that comes discipleship. It’s<br />

imperative that we in ministry model and affirm<br />

the importance of personal discipleship so that<br />

the church can continue to develop a model<br />

for corporate discipleship. We must understand<br />

how to properly relate to one another and to<br />

the body of Christ beyond the parameters of<br />

our tribe of IPHC.<br />

I think God is calling us to flesh out these<br />

issues, and I see the General Superintendent’s<br />

Office being an integral part of that in the years<br />

to come.<br />

The new Executive Committee of the Council of Bishops.<br />

(L to R) Chris Thompson, Doug Beacham, Talmadge Gardner<br />

and Thomas McGhee.<br />

18 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience<br />

What do you think the IPHC will learn<br />

from this unexpected transition?<br />

BEACHAM: The last three or four months<br />

of transition have<br />

been a great learning<br />

period for us, and the<br />

primary teacher has<br />

been Bishop Carpenter.<br />

The way he handled this<br />

confrontation with his<br />

own mortality, and the<br />

courageous decision that<br />

he made, showed a man<br />

who recognizes that the<br />

character of his walk with<br />

Jesus is more important<br />

than an office. We won’t<br />

soon forget that example.<br />

I think this transition<br />

has helped us refocus on<br />

Jesus. At the end of the<br />

day, it’s not about me. The<br />

lesson we have learned,<br />

and continue to learn, is<br />

that this church is about Jesus, not about us<br />

as individuals.<br />

As a leader, you have been deeply<br />

involved in the preservation of our roots<br />

and in educating the church regarding our<br />

rich history. How can the IPHC continue<br />

to expand into 21st-century ministry while<br />

preserving our heritage?<br />

BEACHAM: We live in an interesting<br />

time; culturally, there is a lack of historical<br />

knowledge. Things are changing quickly,<br />

and people have little time to process the<br />

impacts of today’s events. That is why we<br />

must be intentional about remembering<br />

our heritage. I believe history—particularly<br />

church history—roots us in God’s saving<br />

gracious action. The life of the Spirit is a<br />

life rooted to the present and<br />

the future.<br />

It’s important to know<br />

and understand our past so<br />

that as we move into the<br />

future, we’re not dabbling in<br />

new age beliefs or distortions<br />

of liberal versus conservative<br />

theology. We need to move<br />

forward in a way that<br />

includes wholeness and the<br />

revelation of God.<br />

What are the greatest<br />

challenges the IPHC faces in<br />

a postmodern society?<br />

BEACHAM: The term postmodern<br />

captures the component of lostness found<br />

in modern Western culture. We have lost,<br />

as a Western cultural framework, a clear<br />

definition of<br />

humanity, and<br />

of right and<br />

wrong. As a<br />

result, a pervasive<br />

relativism<br />

dominates much<br />

of our culture.<br />

I think the<br />

challenges we<br />

face are no<br />

different than<br />

the challenges<br />

that the church<br />

of Jesus Christ<br />

faces around<br />

this globe. An<br />

amoral society<br />

can be tolerant of<br />

everything and<br />

everyone except<br />

those who are sure of themselves. There<br />

is an inherent intolerance for Christians,<br />

in particular. Western democracies don’t<br />

outwardly imprison or martyr Christians,<br />

but we are mistreated, marginalized by law,<br />

ridiculed, etc.<br />

Another challenge we face is the claim<br />

that we are followers of Jesus. We must<br />

become men and women who are defined<br />

by our faith as followers of Christ. In<br />

this age of moral relativism, we must be<br />

willing to live genuine lives as disciples<br />

of Jesus Christ, so that people will see<br />

the difference between those who claim<br />

to be believers and those who really are<br />

Christians.<br />

It’s imperative that there<br />

be a renewed focus on<br />

knowledge of the word<br />

of God, and knowledge<br />

of theology, so we can<br />

engage our culture and<br />

know how to faithfully<br />

articulate the faith from<br />

a <strong>Pentecostal</strong>, holiness,<br />

evangelical, and historical<br />

Christian framework.<br />

What do you envision for the future of<br />

this church?<br />

BEACHAM: I think the future of the<br />

IPHC globally is wonderful. There<br />

are four key factors to our growth and<br />

multiplication. One is our continued focus<br />

on church planting. And this is something<br />

we must do—reach the multiplied cultural<br />

groups that have become part of the<br />

American landscape.<br />

The second factor is a better<br />

recognition of the global life of the IPHC<br />

Family. Approximately 84 percent of the<br />

IPHC lives outside the U.S. Africa will<br />

be our first continent to cross a million<br />

members, and IPHC Asia is nearly twice<br />

the size of the mother church in the U.S.


We need to get a global picture of what God<br />

is doing.<br />

The third is young people. I’m very<br />

excited about the young men and women<br />

that I meet across the IPHC. Their passion<br />

for the Kingdom is highly encouraging. I’m<br />

very thankful that Bishop Gardner offered<br />

the opening night of Youth Quest 2012 for<br />

the installation service. There is something<br />

historic about this event taking place in<br />

front of this group. It says to them that we<br />

recognize they are the future of this church,<br />

and we are committed to them.<br />

The fourth is our flexibility as an<br />

institution. As we grow into the future, our<br />

leadership must critically assess and let go of<br />

what is no longer working. My prayer is that<br />

God will give us the wisdom to discern those<br />

things, so that we really are a <strong>Pentecostal</strong><br />

church, in everything that that means<br />

according to scripture, and in the unfolding<br />

of the work of the Kingdom of God for the<br />

season to which he’s called us.<br />

Any final thoughts on this transition?<br />

BEACHAM: I’m looking forward to this. I<br />

wish the circumstances, particularly in regard<br />

to Bishop Carpenter, had been different. But<br />

God’s hand is at work. There’s a great old<br />

Fanny Crosby hymn:<br />

Family man: Dr. Beacham and his family pose for a photo after July installation service.<br />

(L to R) Ken and Beth White, Susan and Doug Beacham, Kellie, Caroline and Douglas Beacham.<br />

All the way my Savior leads me;<br />

What have I to ask beside?<br />

Can I doubt His tender mercy,<br />

Who through life has been my Guide?<br />

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,<br />

Here by faith in Him to dwell!<br />

For I know, whate’er befall me,<br />

Jesus doeth all things well;<br />

For I know, whate’er befall me,<br />

Jesus doeth all things well<br />

I love those closing lines, “For I know,<br />

whate’er befall me, Jesus doeth all things<br />

well.” That’s Romans 8. Whatever happens<br />

in our lives, Jesus doeth all things well.<br />

Those of us who are now stepping into<br />

the forefront for the leadership of the<br />

church for this season, we step into it with<br />

confidence in God’s grace, confidence in<br />

God’s timing, confident that Jesus doeth all<br />

things well.<br />

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iphc.org/experience | June/July 2012 19


From<br />

Physiology<br />

to Theology<br />

Missionary Vijay Balla shares<br />

his journey from the laboratory<br />

to the mission field.<br />

by Sara Ray<br />

Vijay Balla has been exposed<br />

to IPHC missions his entire<br />

life. Veteran IPHC missionaries<br />

Hobert and Marguerite<br />

Howard brought Sunday<br />

school and stories about Jesus<br />

to Vijay’s village in South India<br />

the year he was born, and his<br />

parents became some of the<br />

first people in the region to be<br />

converted.<br />

“My parents were the first<br />

ones who joined hands with<br />

the <strong>International</strong> <strong>Pentecostal</strong><br />

<strong>Holiness</strong> <strong>Church</strong> missionaries,”<br />

says Vijay. “They were the<br />

pioneers of the IPHC in South<br />

India.”<br />

Family ministry: The Balla family serves the people in<br />

Bangladesh.<br />

As a child, Vijay watched his parents minister alongside the Howards.<br />

He was also sponsored by People to People. Although he was impressed<br />

by the lifestyle of these missionaries, who gave up the comforts of the<br />

U.S. to minister in remote villages with no electricity and only minimum<br />

basic facilities, Vijay felt no desire to work in the mission field himself.<br />

Instead, Vijay’s heart was in science. Sponsored by the Indian<br />

government, he earned a doctorate in reproductive physiology. He<br />

was offered a postdoctoral fellowship in New York City by the U.S.<br />

government, but God had other plans. In 1994, Vijay and his family<br />

accepted God’s call to devote their lives to full-time ministry in their<br />

home country of India.<br />

The transition from the comfort and security of a full-time job to the<br />

uncertainty of full-time ministry was not an easy one. Vijay and his wife,<br />

Aparanjani, a teacher with a master’s degree in English, compare giving<br />

up their high-level educations to Abraham laying his son on the altar.<br />

Although such a sacrifice was certainly a challenge, Vijay says God<br />

has consistently rewarded their faith, just as he rewarded Abraham.<br />

“The Lord was faithful in providing at every step what was needed,”<br />

says Vijay. “He did not give us more. He did not give us less. He did not<br />

give before. He did not give after. He gave when it was needed.”<br />

In 2002, God again tested the faith of the Ballas when he called them<br />

to leave India and become the first IPHC missionaries in the neighboring<br />

country of Bangladesh.<br />

“We did not know anyone in the nation of Bangladesh before going<br />

there, except Jesus,” Vijay recalls fondly.<br />

God gave Vijay a vision to see church-planting movements<br />

established throughout the Indian subcontinent. He founded the<br />

Bangladesh Theological Institute in the capital city of Dhaka to train<br />

church planters and leaders. In the past decade, 32 IPHC churches have<br />

been established in Bangladesh thanks to the ministry of the Ballas,<br />

which Vijay describes as being “grassroots.”<br />

“We are not legally cleared to hold crusades and big events, so we<br />

grow through relationships,” says Vijay. “When they see us as the people<br />

20 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


of God with the love of Christ,<br />

they are attracted to us.”<br />

In an effort to reach the largely<br />

Muslim population of Bangladesh,<br />

the Ballas also founded <strong>Holiness</strong><br />

Academy, a primary school for<br />

poor families, and the Frances<br />

Carter’s Boarding School,<br />

which houses 50 village children<br />

sponsored by People to People.<br />

Working with the school gives<br />

Aparanjani the chance to put her<br />

teaching experience to use.<br />

“The kids come in from the<br />

Muslim community because the<br />

education is good, but we have<br />

every opportunity to tell about<br />

Jesus because they are coming<br />

to us,” Aparanjani explains. “The<br />

parents do not have any objection<br />

to that because they like the education.”<br />

Free medical clinics offer similar<br />

opportunities.<br />

“When people come to take medicine,<br />

we introduce them to the Divine Healer<br />

and pray for them,” says Vijay. “They<br />

appreciate prayers. Sometimes people invite<br />

us to their homes to pray for the sick.”<br />

Other ministries of the Ballas include<br />

associations for teenagers, women,<br />

businesses and the elderly. A program<br />

called “Every Friday Free Cup of Tea”<br />

(EFFCT) allows them to strike up casual<br />

conversations about life, family and faith<br />

We are not legally<br />

cleared to hold<br />

crusades and big<br />

events, so we grow<br />

through relationships.<br />

When they see us<br />

as the people of<br />

God with the love<br />

of Christ, they are<br />

attracted to us.<br />

with members of the local community<br />

over a cup of tea on Friday, which is the<br />

national weekly holiday in Bangladesh.<br />

“Through these social and charitable<br />

activities we do, we are gaining entrance<br />

into people’s homes,” Vijay says.<br />

Although the Ballas have achieved<br />

great success with this ministry method,<br />

they have also faced their share of<br />

challenges, including safety, finding<br />

committed local workers, and competition<br />

between religious groups working in the<br />

same area.<br />

“Learning a new language is always a<br />

challenge,” Vijay adds with a laugh. “There<br />

Legacy of leadership: The Ballas with veteran missionaries<br />

Hobert and Marguerite Howard.<br />

are some words which have almost the<br />

same meaning. The way you pronounce<br />

[them] makes the whole difference.”<br />

For example, Vijay recalls confusing<br />

the word “guru,” which means “teacher,”<br />

with the word “goru,” which means “cow.”<br />

Rather than causing offense, slips of the<br />

tongue like these have helped endear the<br />

Ballas to the local people.<br />

“They take it in a very positive way,”<br />

Vijay says. “They laugh at it. They enjoy it.”<br />

In addition to directing ministry in<br />

Bangladesh, Vijay now travels throughout<br />

the region to give oversight to IPHC<br />

works in Nepal, Myanmar and Sri Lanka.<br />

“The vision God gave me in coming<br />

to the full-time ministry was India and its<br />

neighboring countries,” Vijay says. “We<br />

feel our call is an apostolic call, going to<br />

the new places where there is no work and<br />

establishing it.”<br />

Vijay and Aparanjani are currently<br />

based in Dhaka, Bangladesh. They have<br />

two children: Andrew, 22, graduated in<br />

May from Oral Roberts University with<br />

a degree in computer science engineering,<br />

and Roslin, 20, is a junior communication<br />

major at Emmanuel College.<br />

Reaching the lost: Vijay with the children of Frances Carter’s Boarding School.<br />

To learn more about Vijay<br />

Balla’s ministry, visit<br />

iphc.org/directory/vijay-andaparanjani-balla.<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 21


ook<br />

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Most Christians are well<br />

versed in the Great Commission<br />

Jesus gave his followers: take<br />

the gospel to all nations. And<br />

the plethora of youth camps,<br />

evangelical crusades and<br />

short-term missions trips U.S.<br />

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attests to that fact.<br />

But what happens after conversion? The new<br />

believer is often left with many questions that only<br />

someone of more mature faith can answer. Making a<br />

personal decision to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior<br />

is the easy part; understanding the depth of that<br />

commitment and the intricate spiritual ramifications<br />

is much more tedious. What the early church did so<br />

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doing—was discipling believers.<br />

“Discipling new believers is a strategically important<br />

task—and often an ignored one. But Russell Board is<br />

committed to making sure new Christians are rooted<br />

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To this end, a resource like the newly updated Grow:<br />

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Faith is invaluable. Author Russell Board explains<br />

complex doctrinal and theological concepts in a simple,<br />

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to understand and apply them.<br />

Board is no stranger to discipleship and missions,<br />

which makes him an invaluable source on the subject.<br />

He and his wife, Sandra, have been missionaries for<br />

over 27 years, and Russell currently serves the IPHC as<br />

World Missions Ministries’ continental director for Asia<br />

and the Pacific. Russell also wrote the Adult Student<br />

curriculum for One Accord Resources prior to this<br />

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“I am very excited at the publication of this newly<br />

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this book offers a wealth of information concerning<br />

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Order your copy from LifeSprings Resources by<br />

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by Jamie Powell<br />

22 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience


“Congratulations<br />

to our new Bishop.<br />

God Bless You.”<br />

—Lionel Druard<br />

Readers bid a fond farewell to<br />

Bishop Carpenter.<br />

God bless you and your family as we<br />

trust God to do great things in your<br />

life, as well as churches and pastors<br />

of the IPHC.<br />

Shirley Sizemore<br />

White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.<br />

Thanks for sharing your heart with<br />

us, and rest assured you and your<br />

wife will be in our prayers.<br />

Rick Krietemeyer<br />

Readers respond to the July 20<br />

Installation Service.<br />

It was an anointed transition led by<br />

the Holy Spirit.<br />

Daniel Campbell<br />

Congratulations to all the new<br />

leadership team. God’s blessings to<br />

you. Privileged to watch this live!<br />

Sondra Boles<br />

Kinston, N.C.<br />

Thank you for being willing to lead.<br />

Marilyn Burrows<br />

Oklahoma<br />

Facebook followers share their<br />

memories of deceased missionary<br />

Philip List, Sr.<br />

I represent a life influenced by<br />

Brother List, but living in Kenya I see<br />

hundreds more lives who were shaped<br />

by this man. He will be greatly missed<br />

in Kenya and by me.<br />

Kevin Sneed<br />

Kenya<br />

A true apostle.<br />

Charles Graham<br />

Georgia<br />

He was passionate in doing the work<br />

of God. I remember on our flight to<br />

Rwanda from Nairobi, he kept telling<br />

me that his desire was to see an<br />

explosion of evangelistic ministries in<br />

Rwanda through the IPHC.<br />

Joshua Mboya<br />

Boston, Mass.<br />

May greater wisdom for this season<br />

be released in you. May a special<br />

anointing for this season of ministry<br />

be on you.<br />

Althea Meyer<br />

Malawi<br />

iphc.org/experience | August 2012 23


ISSN: 1547-4984<br />

LifeSprings Resources<br />

2425 West Main Street<br />

P.O. Box 9<br />

Franklin Springs, Georgia 30639

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