"Bapti-costal" Bishop Stands for Christian Unity
Robert Abendroth
June 17th, 2019
It is the final week before the June 22nd Rally
and Sub-Region 4 held its final Prayer Breakfast last Saturday, June 15th
in preparation for it. It was held at the New Jerusalem Worship Center and its Pastor,
Bishop James M. Rogers gave an incredibly inspiring and empowering keynote
address. 120 people were present including minister guests.
To begin, the audience was blessed with an energetic performance
by the Youth United With Purpose Choir. Dr. Donald Chaney, the Lead Pastor of Renaissance
Fellowship, then gave warm welcoming remarks. Following him, Bishop Jose Pagan
of Centro Cristiano El Shadda, offered a powerful opening prayer in Spanish, giving
God all the glory.
Then, Family Federation President Demian Dunkley, gave a
short speech on what Peace Starts With Me means. He emphasized how important it
is to see from God’s perspective and to understand God’s Heart to bring down
the walls between religions and bring about world peace.
Rev. Michael Jenkins, Co-Chair of the Universal Peace
Federation, then spoke with much enthusiasm on the activities of the Family Federation
of World Peace and Unification (FFWPU), including the movement’s involvement in
bringing unity between North and South Korea. He also spoke on the connections
the movement has to presidents and widely known preachers in Africa and the different
projects FFWPU is working on with them.
Following Rev. Jenkins, the Arch-Bishop Augustus Stallings
spoke on the incredible value we have as God’s children and that we must all
see God in each other if we want to create peace.
After the remarks of all these leaders, Dr. Chaney, then gave
an introduction for Bishop Rodgers.
After a high-spirited praise session led by the New
Jerusalem Worship Center Choir, Bishop Rodgers then spoke. He described himself
a Bapti-costal minister because of his Baptist and Pentecostal background. He opened with an amazing story about a meeting
he had with the President of Nigeria along with Arch-Bishop Stallings. Bishop Rodgers’
main message was on Christian unity and our value in God’s eyes. He emphasized our unique value. Bishop said “Jesus
himself says ‘Have not I called you gods?’” God didn’t just breathe life into
us when He created us, he said. “The soul of man is the mind, the will, the
emotion, the intellect and the imagination [of God].” He said “you and I are
not normal” and the devil recognizes that and wants to stifle our light by
working against us. On the topic of
unity, Bishop Rodgers said that just as Paul called for unity, we must be in
one accord as the body of Christ. He continued to emphasize that the bible encourages
this unity. He said, “God is trying to pull us together as one body in Himself…
and it can happen if you let it.”
After Bishop Rodgers’ deep message, there was a call for
offering. Then the audience was blessed with a few words of gratitude and
encouragement from the International Vice President of FFWPU, Dr. Ki Hoon Kim.
Afterwards, everyone present ate a delicious brunch and fellowshipped
together.