All posts by Doug Joseph

See a rich-text bio page (with pics) at: https://www.dougjoseph.net/about/ Doug and LaDonna Joseph recently celebrated 25 wonderful years of marriage, and they have four awesome kids. Rev. Joseph is an ordained minister in the United Pentecostal Church International (since 2003), and pastor of Christian Apostolic Church (since 2002). In 2004, the Josephs led CAC to establish Apostolic Christian Academy (K-12 Christian school). Rev. Joseph served on the board of directors of the WV Missions Department (part of the North American Missions Division), as secretary-treasurer from 2004-2012 and as director/chairman from 2012-2013. His term as director was shortened due to having been elected in 2013 to serve as a district presbyter (for Section 1, WV UPCI), but not before he led the district to an all-time record missions offering in the 2012 “Christmas For Christ” annual fund drive. Previously, Rev. Joseph was creative director for the North American Missions Division (formerly known as General Home Missions Division), at the United Pentecostal Church International headquarters in St. Louis, MO, where the Josephs were blessed by the friendship and mentorship of Rev. and Mrs. Jack & Elsy Cunningham. Rev. Joseph helped launch the UPCI’s national Men’s Ministry, and was editor for the Apostolic Man magazine. He oversaw the creation of Ready To Be Free, a sweeping evangelism thrust. Before that, the Josephs served on pastoral staff of North Charleston Apostolic Church (WV), blessed by the leadership of Pastor Billy & Shirley Cole. LaDonna Joseph is a great wife and mom. She is CAC’s first lady, general secretary, school principal, and minister of music. She has served on the board of directors of WV UPCI’s Ladies Ministry. She has also served as the pianist for WV’s All-State Choir. The Josephs helped the Coles to publish their memoirs, entitled “The Life and Ministry of Billy and Shirley Cole” (available at www.amazon.com and www.BillyColeBook.com). Rev. Joseph is also author of “New Immortal” (2009/2013), “Tesseract” (2010/2013), “The Last Bye” (2011/2013), and coauthor of “The Book of Salvation” (2010). All are available wherever great books are sold, including amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com, and authorstock.com. LaDonna is a native of West Virginia. Doug hails from Shreveport, LA, and is an adopted, honorary West Virginian. Pastor Joseph’s blog is at dougjoseph.net.

Are you guilty of this very common doctrinal error?

Are all sins truly “equal” in God’s eyes?

Heart issues (inward sins) lead to outward sins (wrongful acts, hurtful crimes, etc). The Bible shows that both inward and outward sins are wrong, but it does not anywhere teach they are equal in God’s eyes. Thinking they are equal is like saying, “I already hate him, so I might as well murder him. Same thing, right?” or “I already lust after her/him, so I might as well have sex with her/him. Same thing, right?” These are not the same! One is cause, the other is result; but dealing with the cause before committing the result is clearly much different than “going ahead and doing it!”

Many people think that all sins are equal in the eyes of God, yet that firmly-held notion does hold up well under biblical scrutiny. If you are like me—one of many that has thought that way—read the following with an open mind.

Yes, the Bible does teach that it only takes one transgression against the law to make someone guilty of all the law. But don’t read so much into it that you go into false doctrine. Look at the Bible’s teachings “on the whole” to see the bigger picture.

The easiest way to prove that not all sins are equal is to read the New Testament, in John’s first epistle, where he writes of “sin not unto death” and of “sin unto death” (1 John 5:16-17). So, at the very least, we can prove that not all sins are equal in God’s eyes because some warrant harsher judgment or penalty.

This concept is clearly seen when studying the Mosaic Law in the Old Testament, in which some sins were minor and carried very light consequences, such as waiting a certain number of days before being able to do some aspect of worship, while other sins required a repentance that involved the sacrifice of an animal (and for some it was a small, inexpensive animal, while for others it was a larger, more expensive animal), and ranged all the way up to (in some cases), death (no repentance was adequate and there was only a death sentence)!

Consider, also, an Old Testament legal restriction, said as “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” This doctrine is called the Law of Retaliation (lex talionis, in Latin). The Believers Study Bible commentary says this about the Lord Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:38,39:

(vv. 38,39) Jesus does not deny the law of retaliation (lex talionis, Lat.) as a valid principle of legal justice. While insisting upon adequate punishment, this law safeguarded justice by not permitting excessive punishment. Jesus advocates a desired response more characteristic of a regenerate citizen of the kingdom.

Lex Talionis shows clearly that in God’s eyes, in a just legal system, the punishment must fit the crime—with our point being that not all crimes are equal.

In a future installment we will address the common misunderstanding about what adultery is (in the biblical sense) and why inward adultery (lust of the heart) is not equal (in God’s eyes) to outward adultery by fornication (sexual infidelity by a married person), even though both are wrong. Again, one is cause, the other is result, and if the cause is not dealt with, the result that happens is much worse than dealing with the cause before the result occurs.

3 Huge Tips For Drawing Closer to God

These three huge tips about how to “pray through” will really help you draw closer to God:

  1. To “pray through” has nothing to do with praying until you force God to change His mind and help you. God’s mind does not need changed. To “pray through” means to pray until you get through your own insecurities, until you get past your own carnal desires, until you get past your own doubt, complacency, and fear. To “pray through” is to pray until you’ve allowed God to change not just your mind but your very nature; to pray until your carnal nature is mortified, put to death.
  2. God already wants to help you; He wants, more than you can comprehend, to help you. There is nothing about prayer that is twisting God’s arm and making Him say “Uncle.” It is one’s own carnal nature than needs to be compelled and controlled. There is a point as one prays where his or her own spirit is helped and strengthened by God to the point that, together with God’s Spirit, the inward man triumphs over the outward man. This is the moment of victory; the moment of breaking through; the moment of being able to lay aside the bitterness and grant forgiveness; the moment of seeing past earthly, sin-cursed values and weighing matters truly according to eternal values.
  3. “Praying through” is the moment of getting through all that must be gotten through if we are to become like our Lord. We cannot become (as He is) the very image of God, the very human manifestation of God, but we can hope to become (as He is) a glorified and perfected man. That is the goal, and we desire to pray for His help until we reach it. Let us endeavor to “pray through.”

PhpFox: The Awesomest Social Networking Platform Out There

phpFox-webpagethumbnail-1You name it, you’ve used it. You’ve tried Ning (terrible), BuddyPress (terrible), and Joomla’s JomSocial (terrible). You still have a great idea for a social site that can really meet the needs of the niche group you’re involved with. You’re not looking to get rich, but you wouldn’t mind if there was some great monetization involved. You mainly just want to make sure the community you’re a part of is taken care of. After a long search for social networking that actually works, you’ve all but given up.

I have good news: phpFox is what you’re looking for. Trust me. Your search is over. Instead of prospective members leaving in droves while complaining about how hard the site was to navigate, they will be sending you private messages and posting compliments saying, “So cool! How did you do this!? You’re a genius!” I’m not joking.

Yes, I know; you were hoping for something free. But don’t you see that all the free stuff you’ve tried was why you could not get the thing off the ground? You’ve got to bite the bullet. Pay a one-time fee of $300, and enjoy pure awesomeness. Perhaps you can have the niche group you’re serving pay the $300. If you want to monetize your site and you don’t want your members to know what software you’re using, then pay a one-time brand-removal fee of $49 to have all shred of the software maker’s company name removed from the site and all its code. For real.

At the risk of sounding overly cliché, “if you build it, they will come.”

10 Writing Tips from Mark Batterson

Mark-Batterson

Mark Batterson: “I felt called to write when I was 22, but it took 13 years to write my first book. I actually self-published it just to prove to myself that I could write a book. My first published book was In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day. Book #10, All In, will release September 24. I feel as called to write as I do to pastor. For me, writing is an act of obedience. It’s not about how many copies you sell. It’s about writing for an audience of one. I don’t type on my keyboard. I pray on it and worship on it. I also take my shoes off when I write because it’s holy ground. Here are ten lessons learned…” Read more.

 

Updates on Zach Sandy’s miracle

Zach receiving plaque proclaiming July 11, 2013 as "Zach Sandy Day"
Zach receiving plaque proclaiming July 11, 2013 as “Zach Sandy Day”

This past Thursday, July 11, 2013, was the one-year anniversary of Zach’s miracle of being raised from the dead after being killed by lightning.

The date was officially declared as “Zach Sandy Day” by a proclamation of the Harrison County Commission. See more.

The Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram newspaper ran a front-page story noting the book launch and mentioning the anniversary. Read more.

WV Public Broadcasting aired Zach’s testimony in conjunction with the 1-year anniversary. Read/hear more.

Connect-Clarksburg.com ran a pre-story and a main story in conjunction with the 1-year anniversary. Read more.

This morning, July 13, 2013, the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN – home of the 700 Club) informed Zach Sandy’s father that Zach’s miracle testimony has been approved for filming to be aired on the network! The producers are excited about it! See more.

Russell Sandy, Zach’s father said, “Zach’s testimony has been approved for filming by CBN/700 club. Zach is going to tell the world that Jesus is alive and on the throne and still performing miracles!”

Zach with family and his pastor (yours truly) at Harrison County Courthouse, just after receiving plaque proclaiming July 11, 2013 as "Zach Sandy Day."
Zach with family and his pastor (yours truly) at Harrison County Courthouse, just after receiving plaque proclaiming July 11, 2013 as “Zach Sandy Day.”
Pastor Joseph re-presented proclamation to Zach at the anniversary celebration at the park.
Pastor Doug Joseph re-presented the proclamation to Zach Sandy at the anniversary celebration at the park.

 

Report on first-ever Sword Run

Sword Run - Kids hamming it up for reporter
Some kids hamming it up for a reporter, along with Pastor Doug Joseph, and Elder and Sister Fought.

Clarksburg, WV – The first-ever Sword Run, held on Saturday, May 18, 2013, was a tremendous success thanks to the help of many great Azusa StreetRiders and the abundant blessings of God. As wonderful as the “run” event was itself—with a great ride, mouth-watering, slow-smoked BBQ, wonderful prizes, and a thoroughly enjoyable day at the park—the true highlights of the weekend were the Biker Sunday services the next day, Sunday, May 19, 2013, at the host church, Christian Apostolic Church, led by Pastor Doug Joseph.

During the “run” event some guests joined the ride, having heard about it through the local media blitz accomplished via posters, flyers, and donated ink and donated airtime resulting from press releases and a personal connection to a local radio executive, Jack Murphy Jr, of WV Radio Corporation. Not only did Jack Murphy Jr help with airing free PSAs (Public Service Announcements) to promote the event, but he also aided in securing our title sponsor, 102.3 WFBY-FM (www.wfby.com), which signed on with a sizable donation to lead in corporate sponsorship of the event. One of the guests who joined the ride won second place in the scored-play of the run. Of the two swords he was offered as his prize, he chose a dragon sword to take home.

The first-place winner of the scored-play of the run, Brother Tom Thompson (ASR) chose to donate his prize of $500 cash straight back into the event’s fundraising goals. Thank you, Brother Thompson! Pastor Doug Joseph (ASR) also credited the great success of the event to the creativity of one of their ASRs, Brother Mike Sutton (whose brainstorm initiated the event), the excellent leadership of their local ASR chapter president, Brother Nathaniel “Adam” Benedum, and the whole chapter’s great members and helpful spouses.

Pastor Joseph stated, “This ASR chapter’s creativity, organizational skills, hard work, spirit of excellence, and a desire to reach souls and bless other ASRs, were partnered with a desire to raise funds for Motorcycles For Missionaries, as well as a need to fund our local church’s planned construction project, aiming to move our growing congregation to a better, larger facility in a better location. The event was a smashing success; the fund-raising goals were met, and the anointing of the Holy Ghost in the Biker Sunday that followed was beyond description! The local church’s worship and music, the preaching and spiritual ministry by Evangelist Earl Rodeheaver, and the exuberant worship and fervent prayers of all the ASRs who attended, were a great tribute to our great God and King, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

During our time at the park on Saturday, a reporter from Connect-Clarksburg, Renee Courtney, just happened to be there for a different story she was working on, and she took advantage of the moment to include a photo and write-up about the Sword Run inside her broader report about activities at city parks. Her article and photo can be seen on their website. More event details and information about our corporate sponsors can be seen on the event’s official website: http://swordrun.com

No more big-cat names for OS X, and other (more important) notes

Mavericks and non-mavericks
Mavericks and non-mavericks

Way back in this post (right at two years ago) I teasingly predicted that Apple was going to have to finally depart from “big cat” nicknames for OS X or else things were going to get silly. Of course, that prediction panned out. The upcoming version of the operating system due out this fall is to be code-named “Mavericks” (which is to say, “gets results by refusing to play by the rules”). The word is one of the few that is full-blown American in origin: Its coinage here was a result of the independent, think-outside-the-box attitude of an 1800’s Texan named Samuel Maverick.

Words completely indigenous to the U.S.A. are rare because our language is so full of pre-existing English words from the U.K., which was already filled with words imported from other languages, including Latin, French, Spanish, German, etc. Of note: way back when our Continental Congress voted on what was to be our official language, only one vote carried English over German. How different might things have been when World Wars I & II occurred, if Americans were speakers of German instead of English? I shudder to think. While the Nazi’s eugenics program was running amok, we (here in the U.S.A.) already had our own eugenics program hard at work sterilizing minority women, often without their consent or knowledge. Had we also been Germanic in language, we might well have favored the Nazis instead of siding against them.

Our nation has made many right choices (such as fighting to end slavery), but we have made many wrong choices too, such as with the issues of slavery (prior to our war to end the practice) and abortion. There is no guarantee we would have sided against Germany otherwise.

There is a difference between a practice being legal and it being lawful, or right. Abortion is not lawful but it is legal. Furthermore, so-called same sex marriage is not lawful, but in some places is now legal. Just as the SCOTUS was wrong “in its infamous decision in Dred Scott v Sandford (1857), [when it] ruled that Congress lacked the power to prohibit slavery in its territories” so also the SCOTUS is wrong now in its ruling that the Fed and the State of California lack the power to prohibit so-called same sex marriage. We would do well to remember that just because the courts rule a certain way does not mean it is right or lawful. Truth is transcendent of the wrong decisions of rulers, courts, and parliaments, etc.

Regarding issues such as abortion and so-called same sex marriage, we can only pray that America will eventually right herself as she did with the issue of slavery, and that such a righting does not involve a bloodbath beyond the one already occurring with murdered babies and women who are harmed and dying younger (long before their time) due to complications because of their abortions, including greatly magnified risk of breast cancer and other ailments. The cost added to our healthcare fiasco due to the increased number of pre-term births, caused by prior abortions, is staggering. Questionable research data indicating that wide-spread acceptance of so-called same sex marriage will not be detrimental for the children raised in such homes is being exposed as bogus. More solid data reveals the opposite is true. Marriage between one man and one woman is “America’s Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty.”

When the prevailing “rules” say that human babies are not human persons until some time after they’re born, we’re no more right than when we considered black humans to not be persons. When the prevailing “rules” say that we as a society must redefine crucial words, such as marriage, for the sake of not offending someone who demands that their deviant practice be officially condoned, we’re no more right than when we sterilized women without their knowledge and consent. When the rules are wrong, you must go against the tide, against the rules. In order for America to ever become righteous and get back on the right path, we’re all going to have to be mavericks, which is to say, people who “get results by refusing to play by the rules.” We must strive against the foul tide of this hour. We must do our best to speak out on the real war on women (namely, abortion) and the dual-factors of a real war against babies and children (namely, abortion and so-called same sex marriage). Before we can pray “God bless America” we need to pray “God help America… God save America.”

In Lieu of Flowers, God Gave Us a Miracle: The True-Life Story of Zach Sandy

Front cover of the book "In Lieu of Flowers, God Gave Us a Miracle"
Front Cover

We are pleased to announce that the new book about Zach Sandy from Whitestone Publishing, “In Lieu of Flowers, God Gave Us a Miracle: The True-Life Story of Zach Sandy” is now available for pre-ordering at a discount! Order from either Amazon.com or AuthorStock.com — Save money and be assured to have your copy in hand for the HUGE LAUNCH PARTY scheduled for July 11, 2013, the 1-year anniversary of Zach’s miracle!

With high school behind us, this was supposed to be a last chance for summer fun with family and friends before heading into the real world of college and work. Tragedy never strikes us, always the Jones family down the street, right?

Brandon and I had just finished a basketball tournament, which we lost in an inglorious fashion, and we were sitting in the gym. His youth pastor ran up to him and said he had a call from his dad.

Brandon took the call and then looked at me and said, “Zach was struck by lightning.”

According to the light-hearted mood, I answered, “Well, good for him.”

The blood drained from his face as he replied, “No, Zach was actually struck by lightning.” I ran outside and found my sister. We immediately began praying with a group of friends, and after that I made a few phone calls, asking friends to pray. I turned around and saw Brandon walking out into a field. With emotions running high, and my world falling apart, I followed him. We spent about 15 minutes with our faces in the grass travailing and pleading before God that he would perform a miracle….

—Samuel Vaughn (cousin to Zach and Brandon)

‘Debt Sinkhole’ lingo dumped on advice of experts

Debt-sinkhole

Send Them Up the Escalator

BIlly Cole with Doug Joseph
Above: Billy Cole with Doug Joseph on July 27, 2007. Brother Cole is holding the very first proof copy of the book Life and Ministry of Billy and Shirley Cole. The year 2007 was a special one: In spite of his illness and age, Brother Cole was able to come to WV District UPCI Youth Camp and speak. While he was there, the district inducted him into the Esteemed Elders Society. Also, after over three years of work, Brother Joseph was able to present to Brother Cole the very first proof copy of the book The Life and Ministry of Billy and Shirley Cole.

Bishop Billy Cole was always mentoring. Even when an elder serving under him did not yet realize that pastoring was in the future, still the stories and lessons learned from the bishop were good preparation for pastoring. Whether the younger minister knew it yet or not, he was being prepared for his fullest potential.

Many lessons that I learned from Brother Cole have benefited me in pastoring later. His true story called “Send Them Up the Escalator” (below) has been very helpful.

In pastoring there are wonderful moments when I am very confident I’ve heard from God for what to preach. It’s great when the Lord gives you a nudge and you know which direction to go. However, painfully, being a pastor also means that on many occasions you must preach regardless of whether or not you have a nudge from above. Being able to be a blessing over the long haul depends on how you react to those in-between times—when you’re forced to “carry the mail” without having been given any mail! What will you say then?

When I’m in such a condition, sometimes I consciously think back to the times I heard Brother Cole recount a true story about him being in an airport with Rev. Charles Mahaney, a great man of God who was also an incessant cut-up. I’m going by memory, so it’s somewhat of a paraphrase.

Brother Cole and Brother Mahaney, two road-weary, battle-hardened warriors of the faith, were unsure of where to go inside a massive airport. They passed one unmanned helpdesk after another. Brother Cole’s normal way to react to such circumstances might have been a slowly increasing frustration and mounting tension. Whether Charlie Mahaney simply was wired differently, or whether he was trying to defuse the situation, he reacted with humor.

As the two confused travelers approached yet another empty helpdesk, Mahaney suddenly jumped behind the desk and pretended to be an employee of the airport. Immediately a line of people formed! Mahaney began giving advice!

(I have tried to imagine what faces the great Billy Cole must have made as he watched his humorous friend deal with one weary traveler after another. )

Suddenly, an actual airport employee appeared. Naturally, he was not overjoyed at the fact that an imposter was dealing out unofficial (and potentially detrimental) “help” advice. Under the employee’s stern gaze, Brother Mahaney vacated the helpdesk.

“Just what have you been telling people?” the employee asked.

Mahaney answered, “I told everybody to go up the escalator, and there would be help there.”

After a tense pause, the employee seemed to relax and said, “That’s OK, actually. There really is a staffed desk at the top of the escalator.”

After telling this story to his elders, Brother Cole always gave his huge, unguarded, heart-warming laugh. He would conclude by making a helpful application:

“Sometimes, you won’t know exactly what to preach,” he said. “That’s no time to break out some new, weird doctrine. That’s the time to stay safe. Preach something you know well, such as Acts 2:38 and Jesus-name baptism, or about the Oneness of God. When you don’t know where to send folks, be safe and just send them up the escalator!”

Thank you, Bishop. We miss you. I know you’re enjoying life above, at the top of the escalator. I’m doing my best to send people up. I plan on getting there myself too.