Meeting Transcripts

Rev. John Baros | March 7, 2025

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Opening Remarks

Welcome

Good Morning. In this session, with the help of the Lord, we will look at Apostolic Faith Church services and their purpose. We’re thankful for the privilege to be able to hold Gospel meetings.

The dominant theme: Christ and His Cross

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).

The key from our text is the phrase “not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” In this text, we see a description of disunity or discord and a call to unity. We also see that the basis of unity is Christ and His Cross. Another way to say this is that the basis of unity is the doctrine of the Cross, the power of the Cross, or the work of the Cross. This theme is dominant throughout this passage, this Epistle, and even Paul’s life and ministry.

A note about public worship in the Bible

We will return to the text in a moment but first a note about public worship in the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments refer to God’s people gathering in specific places to worship Him. In the Old Testament, we see that public worship took place primarily in the tabernacle or later, in the Temple. By the time Jesus walked on the earth, synagogues were a big part of the Jewish public worship. After Christ’s ascension, Luke notes that the New Testament believers were continually in the Temple praising and blessing God.

We can say that there were definitely a lot of church services held throughout Biblical times. Whether we initially think of those gatherings in that way or not, they were occasions where people came together to worship God, and He was in their midst.

If we are looking for specific instruction regarding how church services are to be conducted, the Bible gives few examples. However, it does give much instruction as to the spirit and manner in which worship services are to take place. If you want to further your study on this subject, the Ministers’ Manual mentions a number of Scriptures and principles pertaining to the manner and the spirit in which worship services should be conducted. These are on page 222 of the Ministers’ Manual.

Agenda

So that you know where we are going this morning, I will tell you that our approach for this session will be divided into two parts. First, we will spend about thirty minutes on the text, considering a number of general lessons that apply to the manner in which we conduct services and the purpose of our services. We will be able to draw from Paul’s direct specific instruction to the church and also from his example.

Then, for the last ten or fifteen minutes, we will look more specifically at the components of an Apostolic Faith meeting. Perhaps over the years, many of us have been asked, “Why does your church do things that way?” Or we might ask internally, “Why does our church do things this way?” We will attempt to speak to that this morning, though this session will not be a comprehensive answer to that question.

Expect some overlap

By the way, there will be some overlap between what we’ve already heard [the role of the minister] and what we’ll cover. There will be overlap, because ultimately, we are talking about the spirit of the Gospel. We could use the corporate world as an illustration of this. There is the product a company offers, then there’s the company, the organization, and then there’s the culture of that company. I’ll use Starbucks as an example. They don’t just sell coffee. They offer an experience. When you go in and get a coffee, if you are inclined to do so, there is a seating area, lighting—everything is planned to produce a certain atmosphere. In the Gospel, we are not so concerned about creating a moment. However, the Gospel itself—whether we’re talking about the role of the minister, or the church service, or Paul’s example—all speaks.

Church Services in General

A unified atmosphere

Our text represents not only how Paul’s ministry was conducted, but how worship in general is conducted. Verse 10 is Paul’s call to unity: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”

To give some context, the Corinthian church, which we’re all familiar with, was experiencing great turmoil and division. The various church members were splitting into factions. Some identified with Paul’s simple preaching, while others, who were being influenced by the prevalent secular Greek culture preferred a more eloquent, sophisticated, philosophical approach. Some thought freedom in Christ meant freedom to commit sin—any kind of sin—while others felt Christians should strictly adhere to the Jewish rules and regulations. Another faction overemphasized the gifts of the Spirit and considered themselves to be spiritually superior. That obviously caused a lot of disorder in the church. There were some who manifested unchristian feelings and attitudes towards the rich versus the poor. All these issues were threatening divisions within the church and threatening the work of God. Paul wrote this letter to address these issues, and ultimately to call the brethren to unity.

We see in verse 10 that Paul called the church to be intentional about promoting and preserving unity. It’s worth noting that entire sanctification does not remove the need for us to choose to be in unity. Sanctification doesn’t make us robots. Paul urged the Corinthians to all speak the same thing, to be intentional about preserving a united message, and to keep their focus on the truth of the message, not on the style of the messenger. When he said, “that there be no divisions among you,” he was speaking of having no schism, faction, contention, or strife. The phrase “that ye be perfectly joined together” literally means to be perfectly knit together, perfectly united, or in one accord. When Paul said, “in the same mind,” he was referring to an interior mental state. He was speaking of their understanding, their mental state, or we could say, their beliefs. We are to be perfectly in unity in our beliefs, in our doctrine.

Then Paul said, “in the same judgment,” which speaks of exterior purpose, as exhibited through action and practice. So, to be perfectly joined together in the same mind and the same judgment is to be unified in beliefs and in behavior, or in doctrine and in practice.

How would you like to pastor the Corinthian church? The Early Church functioned as one church, with it’s members dispersed at various locations. This is illustrated in verse 2 of this chapter. Notice that Paul wrote, “Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both their's and our's.” In this sense, our organization functions very similarly to the early church, doesn’t it? Our organization functions as one organization, one church, one body, with many branches. We do not operate independently from one another. In fact, one of the unique aspects of our organization is the beautiful unity we enjoy among all the Apostolic Faith brothers and sisters throughout the world. This is an illustration of it. Our camp meeting reminds us of this beautiful unity we enjoy.

The Ministers’ Manual puts it better than I could, so I’ll just read it here: “One of the unique characteristics of the Apostolic Faith organization is our global unity and consistent manner of worldwide operation. All branches of the organization, both domestic and international are under the leadership and direction of the headquarters and uphold the same Bible doctrines. They are also one in purpose and in practice with the headquarters church. Those who travel to our branch churches throughout the world feel at home spiritually, even though surroundings, languages, cultures may be vastly different.” This is because we are united by a higher culture—a holiness culture. The holiness Latter Rain Gospel. And of course, the internet has only brought us even closer together as a body of believers.

A unified message

Paul exhorted the church in Corinth to “speak the same thing” which means to communicate the same thing, including through actions. The message has to do with exalting Christ and the Cross. Remember that Paul wasn’t writing this letter only to pastors or preachers, but to all believers. We can apply this to ourselves. As a body of believers, our actions, our attitudes, our doctrines, our form of worship, our church culture ought to communicate a unified message. Amen? We’re thankful we enjoy this in the Apostolic Faith; we see it.

We might mention that we know that the universal church is larger than the Apostolic Faith. It includes all people of all generations who are part of the Body of Christ. We recognize we’re not the only organization going to Heaven. But also, we recognize that there are many that have deviated from teaching and upholding sound doctrine. We’re not so concerned with other denominations, because God will sort all of that out. We’re very concerned with the Apostolic Faith, because this is where God has called us. By the grace of God, we want to be intentional about preserving, not only the doctrines, but the practices and the traditions of this holiness Latter Rain Gospel.

There are times we might be able to learn methods from other organizations. However, we must be aware that God has called us as an organization to a unique calling. We’re not called to be like other churches. We are convinced that we are called by God to be faithful stewards of the holiness Latter Rain Gospel. We’re certainly inspired by those faithful ministers over the years who have fought and endeavored to preserve it, and we’re challenged to maintain that mandate from Heaven, both in teachings and in practice.

A unified purpose

Our Apostolic Faith services are designed with a purpose, with an end goal in mind. The principle in our text beautifully captures this purpose. The purpose of our meetings is to be unified in promoting an atmosphere where Christ is glorified, where the preaching of the Cross of Christ can effectively transform lives.

In our text, we see a description of disunity. As pastors and ministers, as we’ve heard, we have the privilege and responsibility to lead by example. In verses 13-17, we find the basis of unity, and in verse 17, we see Paul’s attitude or approach to his ministry. He said, “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.” Since we’ve already covered the role of the minister, we are specifically focusing on Apostolic Faith Church services. However, the role of the minister and the atmosphere of a worship service are both rooted in the Biblical instructions of our calling to exalt Jesus and let the work of the Cross have its transforming effect on lives. Paul did his best to keep his congregations focused on Christ and His Cross. He gave specific or explicit instructions, but he also demonstrated by his attitude the role of the minister. At the same time, he taught by example. The principle he exemplified in this text is critical to how church services should be conducted.

Paul was not flattered by his fan club. He had a fan club. Can you imagine the destruction to the Gospel if Paul had directly or indirectly pandered to his fan club? What if he said, “You’re right, Apollos is a little too showy”? or, “Peter and the folks in Jerusalem don’t get you like I do.” We can’t imagine Paul doing that. It’s not a compliment when people become more attached to the minister than to Christ and the Cross. It is not an effective ministry when our congregations are more impressed with us or our style or our methods than with the doctrines and the practices of the holiness Latter Rain Gospel. This is true not only for a pastor or preacher, but it can be said about a music leader, or singer, or musician—anyone in any part of the ministry. Our focus and desire, our aim, is to lift up Jesus.

Our church services do not function as personality-driven ministries. For some churches, as the founding pastor goes, or as the charismatic leader goes, so goes the church. We do not run our church services for the purpose of gaining a personal following; we want Jesus to gain a following. When we were asked to pastor, after the Lord had called us, we were told plainly, “Your job is to go hold Gospel meetings.” We are successful if we hold Gospel meetings where Jesus is lifted up and the pure doctrines of the Latter Rain Gospel are preached with clarity. If at the end of a service, the people kneel to apply what they have heard, then we are successful. Paul did not allow the intense social pressures or even the subtle social pressures, or cultural pressures, or religious pressures of his time to distract his audience from the Cross and its power.

Not based on conventional wisdom

Continuing to look at verse 17, Paul said Christ called him to preach, but “not with wisdom of words.”  Later in this chapter and in the next chapter, he also used the phrases “wisdom of this world,” excellency of speech or of wisdom,” and “enticing words of man’s wisdom.” Paul was speaking of human eloquence, which was highly prized by the Greek culture. There were persuasive philosophies, ideologies, or talking points of the culture. In 1 Corinthians 2:4, we read that Paul said, “My preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” He explained why in the next verse: “That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” We see that Paul knew that the preaching of the Cross would have a powerful effect on the hearers. That’s what he wanted. He wanted the Cross of Christ to have an effect. Every aspect of how our church culture is and how we hold our services is with this in mind, that Christ would be glorified, that the Cross of Christ would have a transforming effect.

We see that Paul didn’t get pulled into cultural pressure at the expense of the Cross. He recognized that the persuasive words the Greek culture demanded would render the Cross ineffective. Human wisdom, which was highly prized by the Greek culture, would threaten to, as one translation puts it, “rob the Cross of its power” (see the Good News Bible). Religious and cultural pressures can bleed into the church, and they can be subtle or intense. This is what Paul was dealing with.

We know that the Jews required a sign. That was religious pressure. The Jewish culture had its demands. In essence it said, “Show us signs and wonders. Put on a show. Impress us or convince us with miracles.” The Greeks sought after wisdom. That was cultural pressure. The Greek culture said, demanded, “Wow us with your speech. Entertain us with eloquent words. Move us with your rhetoric. Speak to us with the world’s talking points.”

Things have not changed much. Conventional wisdom today might say, “If you want to be relevant or successful, give the people what they want.” Paul was very discerning, and we must be, too. We don’t want to be pulled in, away from the Cross, by any cultural or religious pressures of our day. We must be intentional like Paul and say, “But we preach Christ crucified.” He was intentional. He knew what the culture demanded, but he determined, “We’re going to preach Christ and Him crucified.”

Our church culture informs people of who we are in so many ways, and that is the principle in this text. Paul’s call to the church was that they would be unified in exalting Christ and allowing the work of Calvary to have it transforming effect. We do what we can to put forth the message, to put forth the Name of Jesus, put forth the Latter Rain Gospel, and let it do its work. Our logo reflects this: “Jesus the Light of the World.” This is who we want people to see first and always. Our motto reflects this: “Earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints,” and not transitory philosophies or ideas. Our name, “Apostolic Faith” speaks of the pure faith of the Apostles, that system of beliefs that brought on the Latter Rain Gospel. Our mission is to “Pray, Preach, and Publish” the pure Gospel, not trending religious buzz words nor secular cultures, pressures, and ideologies.

The principle in our text very much informs every aspect of our church services. Our meetings are designed to go forward with a purpose or end goal in mind: to glorify Jesus during the service and ensure that there is a holy reverent spirit in the sanctuary to create an atmosphere where the work of Calvary will have a transforming effect in every life. A beautiful truth that we have been taught is that we don’t work up the Spirit, we pray it down. We’re not trying to manufacture something. We just want to lift up Jesus, proclaim and preach the Cross, declare the Latter Rain Gospel, and let it do its work.

Our goal is that every aspect of our meetings is focused on exalting Jesus and the Cross. We want the congregational songs, the music specials, the testimonies, and above all the sermon to exalt the Name of Jesus. We want people to be drawn to God. A Gospel meeting’s most basic purpose is that: meeting. It is not just that we want to meet, or gather, but that we want people to meet God. We don’t want people to come to church just to hear a sermon about God, but that they would come meet God.

Focused

We are cautious not to distract or detract from Christ and the Cross in our services. For that reason, we encourage visiting to be conducted outside of the sanctuary as much as possible. We limit unnecessary conversations on the platform or around the altars of prayer. We want our congregations to sense the Spirit of God throughout the meeting, to be drawn to prayer and surrender. Our focus is, for the same reason of what we’ve covered, not on entertainment or performance, but an attitude of approaching God with holy reverence and devotion. For obvious reasons, dancing doesn’t have any part in our church services.

We’re careful to avoid political comments in our services. Politics, in the context of church services, promotes temporary earthly solutions. Politics do not promote Christ and the Cross. We run the risk of alienating or distracting—and I could in this context also say that we run the risk of robbing the Cross of its power.

We don’t pass a collection plate. People are turned off from Christ and the Cross by churches that come across as being after their money. Occasionally, it is good to teach on tithing, but we don’t make public solicitations for money.

It’s good to remember the product. I mentioned the corporate world or culture. It’s good to remember the product that we present in the Apostolic Faith Church. We preach a powerful Gospel. There’s power in the Gospel to deliver from sin, transform lives, eradicate carnality. There’s power to live a consecrated life, power for service through the infilling of the Holy Spirit, power for healing, both body and soul. There’s power or grace to make restitution, power to keep a marriage together. We’re very careful to guard, not only the sermon, not only our own lives, but even our services—to guard our time of worship from things that distract from Christ and the power of the Cross. We’re intent to guard the purity of the message in our services.

Some churches, to become more “seeker-friendly” or relevant, substitute in their services action for unction, programs for power, entertainment for joy, happiness for holiness, and comfort for the Cross. These are things that basically appeal to the flesh instead of the spirit.

There’s risk in tampering with the product. For instance, if we removed the altar benches, we would risk moving away from a precious practice that we have inherited—the experience of praying through. Before I was twelve, I grew up in a church that dedicated a block of time for prayer during the service before the pastor’s sermon. But the experience that I have personally enjoyed and treasured is kneeling at an altar after the closing message—unrushed and uninterrupted—where I could consecrate to God and allow the work of Christ and His Cross to have its effect in my life.

There are different aspects to a service, but the Spirit of the Lord shows up and He moves the service forward. It is something supernatural, the divine power of God. That’s what we long for. We don’t want to tamper with it in any way.

Specific to Apostolic Faith Services

There are components of a standard Apostolic Faith service. We’ll quickly go through each of these components.

The prayer room

A precious aspect of the Apostolic Faith services worldwide is our focus on prayer in accordance with Jesus’ words. In Matthew 21:13 He said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer.” We want the glory of God in our meetings, and that begins with prayer. Workers gather before each service in the prayer room to ask God’s blessing upon the upcoming meeting and pray for the many requests that are brought by the saints to the Lord, and obviously this is far more than a mere formality. There are times when we go through the motions, if you will. A good habit to have is going to the prayer room, and we thank God for those times where the Spirit is in the prayer room in a special way. At other times, maybe it doesn’t seem like He is as present, but He is. Either way, it’s not just a mere formality. We believe in prayer. We believe in a God that answers prayer. We pray because He answers prayer. The prayer room prepares our hearts, helping us to be in tune with God’s Spirit and to be focused on the service ahead.

Musical preludes

Most of our services begin with a musical prelude. The prelude helps create in our services, an atmosphere of worship. It invites the Spirit of God to be present among us, and it focuses our hearts on spiritual matters.

After the prelude, the pastor or minister in charge briefly welcomes those in attendance, and perhaps those online if there is a webcast. This is a great opportunity to make a connection with the audience by extending a warm welcome. It’s also a great opportunity to convey anticipation for the Lord’s blessings in that meeting. It’s a meeting with God.

Congregational singing

Singing gives everyone present an opportunity to participate in the service and to personally engage in worshiping or praising God. Worship is not a spectator sport. The orchestra is not putting on a concert during the congregational singing. It’s an opportunity for those present to offer praises unto God. We thank God for the old-time hymns. Many churches have moved away from the old hymns, but we love them. This is not because we’re sentimental, but rather that those old-time hymns capture the Biblical truths that are so precious. A good combination of choruses and old hymns are valuable in a service.

Congregational prayer

When we are called on to lead in public prayer during a service, we are praying on behalf of the entire congregation. So, we use words like “we” or “us,” instead of “I” and “me.” We don’t say, “I ask You, Lord,” but instead, “We ask You.” We say, “Bless us.”

We also conclude our prayers by specifically saying, “In Jesus’ Name,” or “In the Name of Jesus, we pray.” We should strongly consider avoiding concluding our prayers with, “In Your Name, we pray,” or “We ask this in Your Name.” I realize that in our circles when a minister may have prayed this way, they were really meaning “In Jesus’ Name.” But I know we can relate—I’ve experienced this personally at secular luncheons in my professional career—to hearing nondenominational ministers intentionally concluding their prayers with, “In Your Name.” They are trying to be more inclusive so as not to offend those who believe in some form of God, but not in Jesus. They also use words like “Father” or “God” while staying away from using “Jesus.” We want to take advantage of every opportunity to exalt the Name of Jesus, so we say, “In Jesus’ Name, we pray.” This is Biblical. In John 16:23, we read that Jesus said, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” We don’t come before God upon our own merit, but in Jesus’ Name.

Announcements

These should be brief and cover necessary information about times and dates of upcoming services or events. If there are multiple details pertaining to the event, it’s more practical and valuable to mention the event, and refer people to a flyer on a bulletin board for further information.   

We should be careful to avoid inserting into a church service anything that has nothing to do with the service. Why? Because the Gospel meeting is supposed to be about a meeting with God. We’ve been taught this, we’ve enjoyed it, benefitted by it. We want to continue to keep God close and allow Him to transform lives.

Song specials

In the service, music selections should focus on glorifying God rather than displaying a performer’s talent. We certainly thank God for talented people. We’re blessed with many talented musicians in our church, but the focus must be on God.

Also, talent does not trump spiritual qualification. Musicians must be genuinely saved and live victorious lives. We want the songs to minister to the hearts of saints and sinners alike, so the music must be anointed by the Holy Spirit.

The music, when presented by faithful, holy people contributes so much to the beauty and holy nature of our church services. I have said publicly before our local church that I appreciate how our faithful musicians usher us into the presence of God. When the musicians have victorious testimonies, the music elevates Christ and is a wonderful springboard to the sermons.

Scripture readings

We read the Scripture reading with reverence and care, and it’s practical to read the Scripture in advance if there are unfamiliar names or places. An audio Bible can certainly help us learn how to pronounce those words. In our organization, in Apostolic Faith churches, we rely on the King James Version of the Bible for use in our services. It is also our primary source for personal study. For those whose native language is not English, we recommend finding a translation in your language that is a word-for-word translation of the original.

Personal testimonies

We encourage those who testify to focus on the victory side. The testimony service is so encouraging to the saints. I have thought about how much it strengthens our unity. I think about this as we’ve had some new people attending our church in Medford. It’s one thing to hear a pastor on Sunday morning preach on entire sanctification, but it’s so valuable when the testimonies at night reinforce that. This is not just a theology. The Lord does confirm the Word with signs following.

The last special

The final musical special should be a signal to the congregation that there’s a transition. It should turn everybody’s attention toward the sermon.

The message

A lot has been said about the sermon already. We’ve been encouraged to open with our texts. In the context of what we’ve talked about today, if we want the audience to see Jesus first, then let’s begin with the Word. Our actions convey the emphasis, and we emphasize through our actions that we believe in the authority of the Scriptures. The only authority that we have for standing behind the pulpit is the Word of God. It is not our talent, if there’s any there, or our personality, education, style, or oratory skills. None of that matters. We remember when the Word of God speaks, God speaks; all texts lead to Christ and the Cross.

The song of invitation

The invitation song is valuable because it encourages people to pray. It’s helpful when the congregation is familiar with the song. In other words, the invitation song is probably not the best time to teach the congregation a new song.

The benediction

The benediction should be brief, thankful, and inviting. It is wonderful when it is evident that the person closing in prayer has been inspired by the sermon. However, there is no need to re-preach the sermon.

Prayer time

The climax of our services is prayer. We don’t just say this. This is what we aim for, this is what we desire. We want everything to build to this point. Our aim is that people will pray through to real experiences with God.  

Following the closing prayer, we want to encourage a spirit of prayer. Our accompanists follow the practice of playing a postlude. This, obviously, should be soft and subdued. This is not a piano concert. How many times have we been in an altar meeting, and the organist or pianist is playing songs of consecration, praise, or thanksgiving, and the Spirit of the Lord has used that? Suddenly, the songs give a seeker a boost of faith or draws a final consecration that breaks open the tide of blessings from God.

Closing Remarks

Our prayer is that our meetings will exalt the Name of Jesus, and that the Cross of Christ will have a transforming effect. God bless you.

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