single pages. - International Pentecostal Holiness Church

The 2009 General Conference was historic.
Can you discuss the changes that were made and
how they affected the IPHC?
carpenter: The 2009 General Conference
was historic, and up to this point, it will go
down in history as the most visionary, changeoriented
conference we have ever experienced.
It gave us new wineskins of procedure and
structure to pour our new wine in. We were in
the 21st century, we were doing ministry, but
we were just doing [the same] things we’d been
doing. The 2009 General Conference helped
make us more efficient at what we were doing
and more effective in the process.
The IPHC celebrated its centennial in
January 2011, under your leadership. How do
historic events like this one impact the church?
carpenter: I think events such as the
Centennial are important, period. I think for
the IPHC that event was uniquely important. It
helped give us a balance as we go into the 21st
century and become more aggressive with our
futuristic approach to ministry. We needed that
anchor, like Joshua 4 when God told him to
place the stones on the bank. That Centennial
was our stones on the bank. Now we’ll go and
conquer the land as they did in the book of
Joshua, but we had our time of rejoicing over
what God has done for us, and that builds faith
that He can help us do whatever needs to be
done in the future.
I think there’s a balance between our
intense focus of the last 20 years in looking to
the future, and then coming to an event like
the Centennial that reminds us of where we
came from. It reminds us of our DNA as an
organization, of our doctrinal heritage, of the
sacrifices that others made to help us get where
we are, of our need to be grateful when we see
the growth and progress that has taken place
over the last 100 years because of the favor of
God upon the church.
What are the greatest challenges the church
faces in the 21st century?
carpenter: I’ve had many conversations
with other denominational leaders, and we all
share the same dilemmas and challenges. But
the one thing that I think the church must
address successfully, or nothing else matters, is
the fact that we are living in a pagan society.
In America, so many people in the church
are still under the perception that society is
Christendom, that it is oriented on Judeo-
Christian ethics. This is a post-Christian society.
Our society is becoming more pagan, and as it
does, it not only becomes more godless, but
it becomes more antichurch.
Our challenge is the same challenge
of the first-century church. They met their
challenge. The question is, will we meet
ours as successfully as they did theirs? We
have to learn to build bridges to a pagan
society because they’re not going to build
bridges to us. The command is to “go into
all the world,” not to wait for the world to
come [to us].
We have to reorient our thinking
in the church and learn how to build
bridges to our neighbors who may be
Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu, atheist, etc. We
have to be relative to our society without
compromising our doctrine and our
position. We have to learn how to connect,
and then communicate in a meaningful
way the gospel of Jesus to a pagan society.
If we don’t learn how to do that, everything
else we do is to no avail.
What must the IPHC do to become a
leader in the 21st century?
carpenter: I see a great future for the
IPHC. I believe with all of my heart that
God has laid his hand on the IPHC to be
a leader in the church world—not just the
Pentecostal world, but the church world of
the 21st century.
I think in order for that to be
accomplished, we have to go back to our
three words—relevant, dynamic, and
demonstrative. That’s what gets us there.
Those were the three words God gave
me at General Conference, and I believe
those are God-breathed words. It’s God’s
formula for being the kind of organization
that He wants to be a leader in the church
world. Relevant in that we know how to
connect and communicate; dynamic in that
we are a church that makes an impact in
our communities; and demonstrative in
that we do all that within our Pentecostal
heritage. With those things intact, I believe
God has a great future for the IPHC.
Recently, you made the difficult decision
to step down as general superintendent. Why
did you choose to step down when you did?
carpenter: It was a difficult decision—
the most difficult decision I’ve ever made.
But it was the right decision, and I’ve
become more convinced of that every day.
It was right for me, for my family, for my
church.
I have had a 20-year battle with
melanoma four times. My most recent
bout involved two different medications.
The first I tolerated well. But last
November, my doctor put me on the
second, more powerful medication.
Although it worked well, I began to feel
the side effects after two months. I had 10
of the 12 side effects attack me all at once,
intensely. It absolutely incapacitated me,
and I was unable to work for about five
weeks.
I did not come here for this
denomination to carry me as an invalid.
I came here to be a leader and carry the
church. And when I felt I could no longer
do that, then my integrity would not allow
me to retain a position the responsibilities
of which I could not carry out.
I want to say the church has been
gracious and kind in responding to my
decision. People have overwhelmed me
with phone calls, voice mails, emails, texts,
cards … There’s no way I can answer them
all.
I ask the church to pray for us. My
family and I are together in this decision. I
have the support of not only my immediate
family, but also my wonderful church
family. And I appreciate the support so
much.
You’ve stated that although you are
resigning, you are not leaving the ministry.
What are your plans for the future?
carpenter: I’m not leaving the
ministry; I’m just resigning from the office
of general superintendent. My wife and I
have always viewed our time in Oklahoma
as an assignment from God. When the
assignment is over, we’re going back home
and will continue to do ministry in another
way. It’ll give me an opportunity to focus
on my health and allow my body to do
what I have not allowed it to do for the last
three years, which is focus on fighting this
disease.
I have felt for some time that I had one
significant season of ministry left in my
life. I didn’t know what it would be. Several
conference superintendents have already
contacted me about hosting seminars
for their pastors. I spent the early part of
my life in Christian education at several
colleges, and I would very much enjoy
teaching—not on a regular basis, but in
special settings.
There are many kinds of ministry that
I can foresee for the future. But I will say
this: my primary ministry is going to be
14 August 2012 | iphc.org/experience