HOW DO WE ADDRESS THINGS LIKE THIS AT OUR COGIC HOLY GATHERINGS?

I have had numerous people to share this photo to me; from the recent (November 2017) 110th Holy Convocation of the Church Of God In Christ in Saint Louis, Missouri. The question goes pretty much, "If you all have so much power and are so holy; then why was this able to take place at your meeting?"

First, (as far as I know) I do not know the person in this photo; nor the circumstances. Since you have so many "church people" that celebrate Halloween now (something the saints never did); I do not know if this is a Halloween costume. At first, I would assume that it is someone "special." I have seen "special" people do things like this before. However, some have told me that it was a warlock and others have said that it is a "flaming homosexual." But, the fact remains that I cannot put a handle on "who" it is, nor the circumstances that would cause this person to adorn themselves in this manner.

Second, I remember in the late 80's when a cultural war got started in the Church. Many said, "let's go back to the old time way." This was exemplified in the last few message of the late Presiding Bishop J. O. Patterson, Sr. Others said no; it does not take all of that anymore. This was influenced by the Azusa Conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma (which many of us highly esteemed and attended). This conference had a major influence on the Church as I personally heard many say that they were not going to attend the Holy Convocation anymore; they were going to Azusa.

Azusa even began to be scheduled during the April Call Meeting (the annual business meeting of the Church Of God In Christ) and many leaders chose to take busloads to Azusa; rather than go to the April meeting. It was at the Azusa meetings that many of us heard that "it doesn't take all of that anymore." While we appreciated the praise methods of yesteryear; we were told that the old dress codes no longer needed to be enforced. Many people "ate" this up; "hook, line and sinker." My point is (I know that salvation is not in clothes), but if you abolish and fight the dress codes - then don't be surprised when things like this come walking up into the Church. Basically, you can't "have your cake and eat it too" (that is fights the standard; then get mad when people do not keep the standard).

The whole Western culture is, "its your thing, do what you want to do." People are quick to say, "you can't judge me." But, that's not Bible culture. We say we are Kingdom. In a Kingdom, you do not have charge of your life; the King does. The King runs EVERYTHING; including how you are to dress.

The Bible addresses how the saints are to dress, "And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes" (1 Timothy 2:9). Again, we all know that salvation is not in clothes; but if male and female would adhere to the PRINCIPLES found in this passage (to not draw unnecessary attention to yourself) then perhaps things like we see in this picture would not feel so bold among us.

Third, you are always going to have the devious to attend the meetings of the saints. I have been attending the International Holy Convocation for well over 30 years. Even back when in Memphis at Mason Temple; I would often see "spectacles" attending our meetings. One man wore a hat that was probably 3 feet tall. Another man drove around with 2 swords sticking out of the back of his car. The Holy Convocation is a large public event. And, just like other events (football games, concerts, etc.) it is a public venue; and unless a person has a restraining order or is disrupting the event, the person can attend. Just because you "attend," does not mean that you are a part; nor does it mean that the Church endorses you. For that matter, God has always had "attenders." Consider the following:

Jesus is the Son of God. But, John 6:70 says, "Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" God is Almighty. However, Job 1:6 says, "One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them." These two passages alone refute the statement, "if y'all really had power this would not show up." Are you going to say that the Son of God has no power? Are you going to say that the LORD has no power? God forbid.

So if this happened in the Bible; it is going to happen in our day. We just have to be vigilant. We must plead the blood against anyone casting spells (Revelation 12:11) and proclaim deliverance to those who have bound minds (Luke 4:18). Take such a person attending the meeting and seat them by some strong evangelistic saints. And let the saints go to work. We often look for the pulpit to do everything (a result of this modern entertainment style church) but Holiness was made great by the power in the pew. God put gifts in the saints (1 Corinthians 12).

Also, some might say that Bishop Mason would "turn over in his grave." On the contrary, HE WENT to the grave because of how the "church people" were conducting themselves back then. Yes, you had MAJOR issues in those days as well. According to Bishop Mason's late daughter "Tiny," the doctors had told Bishop Mason (even in his 90's) that he was extremely healthy and could live "as long as he wants." But, the people had cut up in the Church so bad; Bishop Mason said he would rather "go home" than deal with the people (the church people had sued him, jailed him, called him on the carpet before the General Assembly, accused him of taking all the money, etc.). So there has never been a "perfect time" in the Church (read the Gospels, Acts and the Epistles).

But, what we must strive to do is live holy and come up to God's standard. As we do this and proclaim the Gospel; our light will either draw people or drive them away. But, there won't be any room for in-between. Instead of saying, "somebody ought to do something," or playing the blame game; YOU be the light that will cause people to see and experience the difference. YOU be the example; instead of criticizing everyone else. YOU live holy. In closing, I pray for whoever this is in the picture. I pray against whatever would have their mind bound. And, I also pray for all of us as well.