Meeting Transcripts

Sola Adesope | July 8, 2024

Opening Remarks

Welcome

First, I want to welcome you once again to the 2024 camp meeting convention here in Portland, Oregon. I know Brother Darrel has welcomed you already. Sorry I could not be here earlier—I deliberately chose not to be here on Saturday when Brother Darrel announced the leadership transition. So now, I want to say thank you for coming to Portland for this year’s camp meeting convention. May God bless you. Thank you also for all your text messages, calls, and emails. I’m very sorry that I have not been able to reply. By now there are probably thousands of those messages and emails that have come in. But most importantly, we appreciate your prayers, and in due course, I promise to reply to every single one of those text messages and emails.

Introducing Sister Tolu

Brother Darrel and I have spoken, and we thought this afternoon would be a great opportunity for me to introduce myself a little bit to the global work. Brother Darrel actually wanted to introduce my wife and our children yesterday at the installation service, but on Sunday morning in Portland we have the KPDQ radio audience, so Sunday morning services are usually crunched for time. So we didn’t do that yesterday. But now I have such a high honor to introduce my wife to you: Tolu. She will stand up so that you can see her. She is like Sister Debbie in that she just likes to be at home, to take care of the home front and not be seen. So bear with us as we get used to being seen a little bit. But in all of this, we want Christ to be seen and to be lifted up.

To the Lees: Thank you from a grateful church

I asked for Sister Debbie to be in this meeting today along with Brother Darrel. On behalf of a grateful church, I want to express our deep appreciation to you, Sister Debbie, and to you, Brother Darrel, and the entire Lee family for the tremendous work that God has used you to do for the Apostolic Faith Church. Would you kindly please join me in thanking Brother Darrel and Sister Debbie? [The audience stood and applauded.] Thank you so much. You may be seated. Thank you, Brother Darrel and Sister Debbie. We love you both.

One question that I have been asked is, “What does all this mean for Brother Darrel and Sister Debbie?” Even though Brother Darrel has passed on this leadership role to me, he is not retired. He will continue to serve and you will continue to see him and Sister Debbie around, and not only here in Portland. He will also be part of the face of this great work. In fact, Brother Darrel is scheduled to be in Africa later this year. So really, nothing has changed in that regard.

At one point, I told Brother Darrel I could just be his secretary for the next five years. I said, “Let’s do it quietly. I will continue to serve you from Pullman,” so that nobody would see me. But he had a firm conviction that this is the time to make the change. Also, he felt I needed to have the privilege of working with people from the headquarters staff, who are just wonderful. Many of you have not had the privilege of saying “thank you” to the headquarters staff; if you see any of them around, please, I would encourage you to say “thank you” to them. We thank God for them. All of them have been tremendous over these past few months. I’ve had the privilege of working lightly with many of them, and I will tell you they are head and shoulders above many that I have worked with around the world. We have the best staff here, and we just want to say “thank you” to them.

Enduring Faith in a Changing World

I prayed about how to introduce myself to you, and I thought, There’s no better way to introduce myself than to tell you what I believe. What I believe is exactly what you all believe. So I titled this presentation “Enduring Faith in a Changing World.” 

[Photos projected on the media screens show a floppy disk, a pay phone, and an Apostolic Faith airplane from the 1920s.] Think about the images that you see on the screens. There was a time when we had to commute very far just to have the privilege of holding a pay phone. How many of you would like to fly in that airplane? In the early part of the twentieth century, the Apostolic Faith Church pioneered the field of aerial evangelism and became known as the first religious organization to use an airplane exclusively for spreading the Gospel. The first Apostolic Faith plane, which is the one that was on the screen, was called the Sky Pilot. It was purchased in 1919 and Brother Raymond Crawford piloted it. As much as we all love Brother Ray, not too many of us would like to fly in this kind of plane today! Even if you would like to, this plane has been discontinued.

Discontinue

Some may say, “This organization has changed. Why can’t we do things the way they did in 1910s and 1920s?” [A projected photo shows a small boat delivering literature to a large ship.] How many of you, with your children, would like to do this? This is what was done in 1921 here in Portland. You see that small boat? It was called The Morning Star. The church purchased that first boat in 1921. After deciding to visit a certain ship, missionaries from our church pulled up as close as possible to the ship and then extended a ladder up the side of it. They were not invited there, but had invited themselves! Then one or two of the church members would climb the ladder to deliver church papers for the men on board to read. Would you like to do that today? Even if you would, I’m sure your spouses would say, “No way.”

One thing in common among all the pictures that I showed you is the fact that they are tools, equipment, or practices that have been discontinued. But we thank God that even though some means of evangelism or other practices become discontinued from time to time, there are foundational aspects of our church that have endured, and by the grace of God will continue to endure. Even though we don’t use those means of evangelism today, I am here to report to you that we have more ways to reach people today than we had in 1921. The devil may want to trick people and say we are not as evangelistic as before, but by the grace of God, we are still evangelistic.

The report of our Sunday morning service yesterday was sent to 32,511 devices via the app. Not only that, several thousand people have read the website report, and several more thousands of people read the sermons, testimonies, and Gospel information on our website and other platforms that we have. I truly believe that through the advent of the Internet and advances in technology, God has given us the privilege to reach more people today than we were able to reach one hundred years ago.

Continue

We read in 2 Timothy 3:14, “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them.” The word continue appears seventy-three times in the Bible in different forms. The meaning is familiar: “to persist in an activity or a process.” It is synonymous with phrases like “carry on” and “stay the course even in the face of opposition.” To give a little bit of background to this text, Paul was writing to this young pastor of the church at Ephesus, a very sinful city, and was warning him that the last days would be very terrible. In spite of how terrible the last days were going to be, Paul encouraged Timothy to continue in the faith; to continue in the things which he had learned and had been assured of.

There are things that we have learned over the years in this church, and by the grace of God, I want to declare to you this afternoon that we will continue. Even during this camp meeting, Brother Darrel gave a rousing opening Sunday message on “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel.” Brother Dwight Baltzell followed that up with the teaching last Tuesday on “Salvation.” Brother Darrel came back on Wednesday and taught on “Sanctification.” Sister Josephine McElveen gave another beautiful teaching on “The Baptism of the Holy Ghost.” We heard the teaching on the “Second Coming of Jesus Christ.” Yesterday, Brother John Baros preached on “Seeing the Glory of the Lord.” All through the evangelistic services, youth services, and children’s church services, we have just continued to learn about the good, old-time way.

I have learned so many things in this church, including from Brother Dick Taylor, whom I met in the latter half of his life. He actually went to Lagos with Brother Dwight one year, and he preached a beautiful message. I was encouraged by both him and Brother Dwight. Years later, the Lord gave me the privilege to sit close to Brother Dick at his last Midwest camp meeting at an ordinance service, during the washing of the saints’ feet. I told Brother Dick how much I appreciated what he had done for this wonderful work. He was getting up there in age, and I could see that he was struggling physically. I said, “Brother Dick, don’t worry about washing my feet. I will wash your feet but don’t worry about washing mine.” I still remember very clearly what Brother Dick Taylor said to me: “Brother, let’s do it God’s way.” And if you know Brother Dick, he was nodding as he said, “Let’s do it God’s way.” In other words, he told me, “Young man, let’s continue what we have been taught. Let’s not change it one bit.” He bent down with all his strength, and he washed my feet. That was what Paul was telling Timothy: “Just continue.”

Looking into the Bible and considering that word continue, I want to highlight five things that, by the grace of God, we will continue.

The faith. Colossians 1:23 says: “ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven.” We will continue in the apostolic faith. We will continue to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” Acts 14:22 says the same thing: “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith.” We will continue, by the grace of God.  

The doctrines. The second thing we will continue in is the doctrines. In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he said, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16). We need to continue in the doctrine. I have heard some people who were not from our church say, “We don’t have doctrines in my church because doctrines divide.” No way! Doctrines do not divide. Bible doctrines unite us. From North America to South America, to Europe, to Africa, to Asia, and Australia—our doctrines have brought us together. You and I, we need to contend and continue in the doctrines.

John 8:31 says, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed.” Whether we are in Japan, or in Seoul, or in Lagos, or in Angola, or in Van Buren, or in Pullman, or anywhere we may be, may God help us to continue in the doctrine.

The love of God. The third thing we want to continue to practice is the love of God. In his prayer, I think Brother Donald Fittin said, “We just want to guide and lead with the love of God.” John 15:9 says: “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” And Hebrews 13:1 says: “Let brotherly love continue.” By the grace of God, we will continue to lift up one another in prayer in the love of God. I love it that the Gospel of Jesus Christ cuts across all sorts of barriers. I want to be among those who continue in the love of God and who show His love.

What has been handed over to us has not been a “beat-down Gospel.” This is not a beat-down Gospel. We don’t beat anybody down; people are already beaten down on Monday, on Tuesday, on Wednesday—they’ve been beaten down all the way until Saturday. When they come to the house of the Lord on Sunday, they want to be lifted up. So with God’s help we will continue to lift up one another. And of course, we will lift up Jesus, because He said that if He is lifted up, He will draw all men unto Himself. We will continue in the love of God.

Fellowship. Acts 2:42 says, “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” Fellowship! It’s just so wonderful that we are all here in Portland. Right now, traveling from Nigeria is tough with the exchange rate. Ghana is not better. Zambia is not better. Angola is not better. Where do people get money to come to Portland? God provides for them because they want fellowship. We must continue to come together to Portland, where we can have fellowship with one another and, most importantly, with the great God of Heaven.

We need fellowship. We need one another. I have heard Brother Earl Phillips say, “Pastors, don’t get rid of fellowship time. It’s important.” When we finish a meeting and there has been a good altar service, and then the young people get together outside and talk, that is fellowship. Brother Earl’s advice was, “Pastors, don’t dismiss them. We want them to have fellowship.” If we don’t encourage fellowship in the house of God, there are other people who are calling for them. Other people want our young people. God help us to continue to show love to them and to encourage fellowship. It’s important.

I let people in Pullman know that yes, we really want them to pray—that’s the number one reason we are in service. We want to connect with God. But I never put the time of fellowship down. I tell them, “After you have finished praying and you’ve had an encounter with God, then go have an encounter with one another. Just step outside and have a good time of fellowship.” I think Brother Darrel once said, “There’s a reason we have the Fellowship Lodge—it’s for us to have fellowship.” By the grace of God, we will continue in fellowship.

Prayer and thanksgiving. Finally, Colossians 4:2 says, “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.” Inside the Philippian jail, Paul and Silas were singing and praying when suddenly, the power of God fell. There is power in prayer. There is power in thanksgiving. By the grace of God, we will continue in prayer.

Our church is known for praying, preaching, and publishing. Everyone can see how those key practices are featured in all that we do. We pray before service, after service, over the literature—the literature that we receive has been prayed over in Portland. By the grace of God, we will continue to pray, preach, and publish.

Don’t be a major in minors

Some years ago, Brother Nolan told us ministers, “Don’t be a major in minors.” I will never forget that. As a pastor, this advice from Brother Nolan has been transformational for me. There are so many minors—things that just do not matter. Don’t even look there; move your eyes away. The little things like, “My pastor did not do this . . .” or, “A minister is saying my pastor should have done this . . .” No—we forgive, we forget, and we put it under the Blood. We don’t want to take little things and garner them up into something big. A great deal of a leader’s time can be consumed in resolving conflict. I charge you: let’s not spend time resolving conflict; let’s spend time disseminating the Gospel. The way that will happen is if we take Brother Nolan’s advice. We all have individual differences. Your pastor might be different than you. But does he preach the sound doctrines? I should not expect every minister to behave and act exactly the way I do. And ministers, workers, and members also should not expect me to be just like them.

Where I teach, our semesters are usually fourteen weeks. Around the sixth or seventh week, I do a mid-term evaluation. I will ask the students, “Please tell me what has worked in this class and what has not worked. What would you want me to change for the second half of the semester?” It is alarming when I read the students’ responses. Some students say, “Sola, you do A, B, C, D. Continue to do them; those things are great!” About four or five students will say, “A, B, C, D—those four things: never do them.” In that situation, what I normally do is confront the students with what they have said. I bring their exact statements to class, show them on a screen, and ask, “If you were in my shoes, what would you do?” In the same way, there is no way a pastor can satisfy all the wishes of every minister. There’s no way a district superintendent can satisfy all the wishes of every pastor. Let’s just do what Brother Nolan said: “Don’t be a major in minors.” If there are minor things, put them under the Blood so we can deal with majors.

Be a major in majors

What are the majors? By the grace of God, we want to vigorously do evangelism. We want to make sure that we go to the nooks and crannies of our city and invite people to church. Let them come to church, and when they do, they will be attracted by the power of God.

There are people here at camp meeting from Pullman who had never stepped foot on this campground before. If I’m not mistaken, there are about sixty-five here from Pullman this year, and ten or so of them had never been before. Some of them were not Apostolic Faith people; they were just invited to church, they came, and they felt that magnet—the love of God that we want to continue. We never judged their appearance; we allowed them to come as they were, but we prayed that they would not leave as they came. That will happen if we do not consume all our time in resolving conflicts. I charge you, I encourage you, I plead with you—like Paul said, “I beseech you by the mercies of God”—let’s learn to live peaceably with one another. Let’s put aside the minor things and focus on what is major: the goal of Heaven.

We need to pray for our leaders. Pray for our pastors and our district superintendents. They are human beings; they have emotions and they have their own problems and challenges. We want to lift them up.

Once in a while, Brother Nolan and Brother Earl Phillips will send me text messages saying, “We are praying for you,” or, “Just wanted to check up on you.” We are not living on an island. Let’s reach out to fellow pastors. “I’m dealing with this. Will you pray for me?” Reach out to the headquarters. “Please pray for me.” Brother Bob Downey, Sister Josephine McElveen, or whoever your district superintendents is; reach out to them. We are all one, and we are stronger together.

When I was a minister in Langley, B.C., Canada, Brother Chet King was my pastor. He would always tell us, “We all have to be in Portland for camp meeting.” He encouraged us to be there for camp meeting and special meetings. One year, while I was still a student, Brother Chet announced to all ministers, “If you do not have money to go to Portland for special meetings, I will make it happen. We will pay for you.” By the way, Langley is only a five-hour drive from Portland. We just loved to be at camp meeting and special meetings. I charge all of you pastors: we must continue that tradition to encourage and inspire our young people, our workers, and the entire ministry: “Come to Portland! Come to camp meeting!” The Lord will bless us as we continue in this tradition.

Closing remarks

One of the things I want to continue, which I learned from Brother Darrel, is not holding long meetings. He told me not to be bound by what he did, but we appreciate that lesson. He has been such a wonderful pastor and mentor to me, too. So I will wrap up this session now.

I hope all the ministers who are listening to this, including those watching online, will understand a little of what I am going to stand for, by the grace of God. We will continue those traditions and not move away from them. We will stay in the middle of the road. We will love, and love, and love: God, the saints, and this great work. You can count on that, by the special grace of God.

Thank you

My wife and I would love to be with each of you at your locations, but at a District Superintendents’ meeting this morning we found out that we have 2,372 churches all over the world! It’s almost impossible for us to go to all of them, but we will visit as many as we can. We pray that God will continue to bless this great work. Thank you so very much for your labor. The Bible says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9). Thank you and may God bless you.

Prayer

I love the song that says, “The soul that would live close to Jesus is he who spends much time in prayer. Although it may not always please us, it is that which relieves us from care.” We’re going to finish this session with an opportunity for everyone to pray for this great work. Let’s stand and sing “Prevailing Prayer,” after which, Brother Oniyas Gumbo will come forward and give us the closing prayer.