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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
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Most Christians are well<br />
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But what happens after conversion? The new<br />
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To this end, a resource like the newly updated Grow:<br />
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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 />
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“I am very excited at the publication of this newly<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
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