Response to a False Statement of Faith - Galatians 1:8

[Dr. Henry, President of the AOCI]

RESPONSE TO A FALSE STATEMENT OF FAITH BY DR. HENRY 3/31/2010 GAL. 1:8

INTRODUCTION: Recently I reviewed the website of a new AOCI member. As president of the AOCI it is ultimately my responsibility to ensure I protect the members from “wolves” dressed as sheep (shepherds). After concluding my research and receiving feedback and commentary from our board of advisors, I wanted to use this individual’s statement of faith to provide commentary and correction to some of the beliefs now attempting to infiltrate the Church of the Living God. The Church of Jesus Christ and its ministers are my passion. I refuse to compromise essential Christian orthodox doctrine for the sake of “adding more members to the AOCI”. In the final analysis, I as well as all other Clergy men and women, will be held accountable for “what we believe”. What we teach and believe is so important that it will make the difference between heaven or hell.

I hope this response to this former member cultic statement of faith stirs you up, challenges you, and assures you that The Association of Clergy International will always stand for sound biblical doctrine as written in the Word of God. Jesus put it this way: ……”ON THIS ROCK (JESUS) I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH AND THE GATES OF HELL WILL NOT PREVAIL (BE VICTORIOUS) AGAINST IT” (Matt. 16:18)

(Portions of this former AOCI member’s statement of belief are written first. A response is provided following the word "CORRECTION" by Dr. Henry)

We are a New Testament Free Church, accepting all who come to us with a sincere desire to learn more about how to live a spiritually fulfilling life.

CORRECTION: Although very vague, the purpose of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ, to glorify God, and to teach them how to live mature Christian lives. To also be a platform to evangelize the world for the sake of the Gospel. NONE OF THIS WAS REFERRENCED. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, TEACHING them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen (Matt. 28:19-20).


Trinity Christian Church of Clearwater believes in living a life of Spirituality by holding Jesus Christ as our Ideal. There is no secret to being a good Christian. All we need to remember is that to be a Christian we need to do Christian acts and deeds. To that end we have provided on each page an opportunity for you to "practice what is preached". But most importantly, please enjoy life, help each other, love one another and pray. Each of us has been given wonderful gifts to reveal the Glory of the Creator, use them. It is an exciting opportunity to discover in each new day the wonders of our Creator.
What We Believe

CORRECTION: Nothing points here to the grace of God whereby we are saved. We are not saved by good works; we are created unto good works, BUT NOT SAVED BY THEM. The emphasis here is on doing “good deeds” which is actually cultic. Based on this premise alone, this ministry is pronounced to be a cult. (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:4-8; Rom. 3:23-28)

We believe in one Creator.

CORRECTION: No definition is given about who that creator is. Is it Allah? Buddha? The sun? The Christian Creator is outlined in the bible and there is no reference to any of his communicable or incommunicable attributes here.

We identify the Creator by the name of God and accept that others may identify the Creator by a different name and we will not allow the limitations of language to create any barriers on our spiritual journey.

CORRECTION: Even if we assume they are talking about the biblical Jesus, JESUS IS NOT AN IDEAL. The ontological and biblical Jesus is the Son of the living God, the second person in the trinity, 100% God and 100% man. He is the incarnate of God. God come in the flesh. He is the God man. The above statement implies and propagates somewhat of a “universalistic” or “all inclusive” doctrine. Again very vague. The bible “CLEARLY” defines who God is. In addition the Word of God uses “specific language and words” to articulate who we serve. God is not a “secret agent” and he is not vague. Christianity is an EXCLUSIVE religion. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father but by me. There is no other name whereby mankind can be saved. Accepting other beliefs and identifying and mixing other belief systems of who the creator is does injustice to the God of the bible. We can gain a better picture of who God is only in the word of God. Using and identifying with other belief systems is poison to the Christian faith and sound doctrine. Though we will never understand all of who our Creator is and does, He provides Christians with Clear guidelines and language within the Bible in explaining and understanding the one true living God (our Creator).

We believe in peace, love, forgiveness, and charity to all, as we are all physical manifestations of the One Creative Force.

CORRECTION: Creative force is a huge problem within Christian orthodoxy. God is “NOT A FORCE” God is a spirit. He is a person with feelings, personality, etc. He is NOT SOME COSMIC FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE. GOD IS A SPIRIT (John 4:24).

We accept Jesus the Christ as our ideal.

CORRECTION: Accepting Christ as “an ideal” is not enough to save anyone from the lake of fire. Christians place their faith and belief in Christ in order to satisfy the wrath of God against sinful human beings. We accept Jesus because we will NEVER SATISFY GODS RIGHTEOUS REQUIREMENTS. This is what makes Christianity different than a cult. Christianity called things “DONE” A cult calls things that you have to “DO”. We accept and receive Christ because our righteousness is as filthy rags! Here, this cult fails to really identify the ontological Christ. Who is this Christ? What has he done? This definition fails to tell about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. (Rom. 3:10,12)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the energy of the Creator which can manifest itself in and through all of us.

CORRECTION: The Holy Spirit is NOT AN “ENERGY”. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person in the godhead (the trinity). The Holy Spirit is a person. Yes, the Holy Spirit can energize us and empower us, but He himself is not an ENERGY. The Holy Spirit is THE SPIRIT OF GOD. The Holy Spirit TEACHES US and HELPS US (John 14:26). He is a person and He even speaks through us (Acts 1:16). The book of Acts 10:38 even makes a separation between the Holy Spirit and power.

We accept the Biblical Scriptures as the basis for our spirituality and believe that there are additional Scriptures and Spiritual writings that contain information that is vital to our growth as spiritual beings.

CORRECTION: As evangelicals and Spirit Filed believers, we have settled the question of “what is actually considered” to be holy writ. The only scriptures profitable for study, correction, doctrine, belief, etc are contained in the 66 books of the Bible. Orthodox Christianity DOES NOT HAVE ANOTHER NEW TESTEMENT OF JESUS CHRIST, nor do we embrace the apocrypha or the pseudo-apocrypha. The Gospel of Thomas for example is not considered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit and included in the canon

We believe in seeking to understand and communicate with those of other belief systems in an effort to discover the common threads which bind all of us to the Creator of the Universe.

CORRECTION: This is clearly a “universalist” approach. Universalism is a very dangerous doctrine which states that all forms of beliefs systems can be acceptable and that God will save All humanity because after all, Christ died for all men. This clearly does violence to orthodox Christian doctrines and will lead many souls to the lake of fire. (Hell)

We believe that dreams are a way for the non-physical universe to communicate to the physical universe.

CORRECTION: Why would a Christian want to communicate to the physical universe? Anyone using dreams to connect to the universe is deceived. We use the word of God as our sole guide and prayer to communicate directly to God through the authority of Jesus. No man goes to the father but by Christ. The subjective experience of dreams have led many astray like Joseph Smith the founder of Mormonism who claimed the angel moroni showed him things and the result was the cult he formed. The Bible WARNS about the dreams of men and vain imaginations: FALSE DREAMS (Jer. 23:32). FALSE VISIONS (Ezek. 21:29). DREAMS OF DECEPTIION CAUSED BY MAN (Jer. 29:8-9). The Bible is our guide not subjective experiences such as dreams. That being said, this does not mean that God cannot use dreams, in fact He has and He still does. But using dreams as a way for the non-physical universe to communicate to the physical universe clearly is new age philosophy and unscriptural.

We accept that correct understanding and analysis of dreams are a key to attaining our spiritual goals.

CORRECTION: Again using subjective experiences to attain spiritual goals is not biblical and anyone using their dreams as a guide will be very disappointed. Christians use the Bible for faith and practice.

We believe in healing through energetics.

CORRECTION: Healing comes through the laying on of hands and believing that Christ is the healer (James 5:14-15). Jesus is the healer not “energetic”. We believe in the prayer of faith, the anointing of oil, and calling for the elders of the church to pray. (James 5:14-15). Yet, any believer can pray for healing. I will say that even though “healing” is contained in the atonement work of Christ, it is not guaranteed. Imagine if when you prayed every single person got healed! We would have a world full of big headed Christians and have no need for doctors….LOL. There is no system or method to receive your healing. Christ will heal who He wants and when He wants. Due to the scope and limitation of this article I will not be able to fully explain this position but for now it suffices to say some of the reasons all do not receive a healing is because: 1. We live in a fallen world 2. Christ himself said that in this life you will suffer. 3. Healing is unlike salvation which is the Lord guarantees that you will be saved. Yet, it requires the person to repent, turn from their wicked ways. Even in salvation, something is required from the individual. Healing is contained in the atonement but not guaranteed. Yet we are to believe and pray for healing. We are to preach and teach what is contained in the Bible even if we don’t fully understand it. Like salvation, God has called us yet we are to respond to that calling. Interestingly, when one is regenerated, God does not take mans will away so from an Arminian perspective, a believer may walk away and turn their heart away from the living God. The Bible also teaches that we are forever secure in Christ. From a Calvinistic perspective, once regenerated the believer is secure with their salvation. Both of these theological schools fall within the pale of orthodox Christianity. So what do we believe and preach and which system of belief does the Bible teach? From my perspective the Bible teaches BOTH. Like trying to explain a two sided coin. One has heads and the other has tails. We simply preach His word and LEAVE THE RESULTS TO GOD. The scope of this blog does not allow me to expand this thought but suffice to say, both are within the pale of orthodox Christianity and we love and embrace believers from both these schools of theology. Let me provide you with an example. I have prayed for people with cancer, tumors, ear disease, etc and witnessed firsthand the miraculous healing of Jesus. Other times, I would pray for healing and the people would die! I am just doing what the Bible says to do: to pray for the sick. I am called to believe this and have faith in God. Christians are NOT TO FOLLOW SIGNS, but the Word of God declares that SIGNS WILL FOLLOW THOSE THAT BELIEVE. 4. I personally believe that one of the many reasons many people that we pray for do not receive healing is because God knows our hearts are desperately wicked and we can be deceived (Jeremiah 17:9). It keeps us all humble knowing that we need to depend on the Lord. If Christ healed everyone all the time, our heads would swell up. My fear is that many of the teachings of Mary Baker Eddy (Christian Science) have crept into the church under the guise of “biblical”. The position written by this so called minister is one that propagates dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard which states a set of ideas and practices regarding the metaphysical relationship between the mind and body. How can something practiced by followers of the cult of Christian Scientology and something written by a science fiction author replace what is contained in the word of God? IT SHOULDN’T! Christians must be aware of such beliefs creeping into the church of Jesus Christ. As ministers of the Gospel we are to be the “gate keepers” of the faith and contend for the faith which was once and for all written and not allow any “private interpretation” to poison its content.

We accept that hands on healing is the healing energy of the Creator working through use and that there are other descriptions of energetic healing with a common goal.
We believe that the subconscious mind is one of the keys to unleashing our Christ potential.

CORRECTION: The Bible DOES NOT STATE that our subconscious mind unleashes the Christians potential in Christ. The Bible teaches a “positional” and “Progressive” SANCTIFICATION process for the believer. Through engaging in the Christian disciplines a Christian can “PARTICIPATE” with the sanctification process. When the Word of God tells us to “work out our own salvations” it is not teaching a works based faith. The Bible teaches that we should engage in the Christian disciplines and virtues and that good works is a by-product of a truly regenerate soul. Put another way, little bible study……Little growing in knowledge of Christ and the Word. Little prayer life……(as one Pentecostal brother put it)….little wonder working power. Little prayer life also leads to a “distant” relationship with Christ. Not going to church? Leads to a stagnant, dry, and complacent life. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God being preached (Rom. 10:17). We will grow up to be mature believers if we pray, go to church, read and study the bible, engage in other Christian activities such as witnessing, giving, etc. It is also adequately important to engage in fellowship with other like minded believers and be careful who we allow in our lives that will influence us.

[Christopher R. Dockrey]

I am very much a believer in strong Statements of Faith that are consistent with sound doctrine. In fact, as a prerequisite to joining the AOCI, I made doubly sure that I was agreeable to the core doctrinal statement of the organization. I believe it is always best to be direct and specific with respect to communicating what we believe and why we believe it.

I would like to point out that at times I have witnessed Christians, most often ministers, whose statements, whether written or spoken, were intended to mean something other than what it was assumed they meant. From my perspective, this is most generally a fallacy of communication rather than interpretation, and the onus falls on the one who is speaking. Ideally his statements would be made in clearly Christian language so there is less of a possibility for misunderstanding. For Christianity does have a language, and when certain terms are replaced with other terms or one term is applied in a way not traditionally applied, then miscommunication occurs. So for that reason, specific and direct language consistent with their traditional theological meanings is preferable than non-specific descriptive language.

That said, it is my personal policy to give the benefit of the doubt to the speaker if there is any reasonable possibility that what he says, though inconsistent with more direct theological language, may not be entirely wrong. In the case of the above-referenced example, in my view, there is enough wrong even after allowing for this possibility to prove that I personally cannot find enough common ground to forge any true fellowship around these very general beliefs, as they are expressed.

However, I would like to point out one possible interpretation to one of the statements presented here. It may not be the correct interpretation, but rather a possibility. I will let the reader judge whether it is reasonable or not.

We believe in seeking to understand and communicate with those of other belief systems in an effort to discover the common threads which bind all of us to the Creator of the Universe.

My first thought here is exactly that of Dr. Henry's - Universalism. I, like [hopefully] all of you am not a Universalist. And I believe that Dr. Henry and I are most likely correct in assuming this is what is meant here, but in all fairness compare this statement with this passage from Acts 17:

22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 24"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. 27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

Question: Was Paul "seeking to understand and communicate with those of other belief systems in an effort to discover the common threads which bind all of us to the Creator of the Universe"?

It would seem so. This was not his ultimate intention obviously. He was using this as a starting point to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Considering the entirety of this particular Statement of Faith, I have doubts as to whether the author of it meant the same thing Paul meant, but the fact that he is vague prevents us from knowing for sure.