What Was The Merger?

The term merger is a special one for United Pentecostals. It refers specifically to the formation of our organization. So in 1945 uh two apostolic Pentecostal organizations joined together to form the United Pentecostal Church. And so that's the merger. I look back um the the story is rather complicated. If you want a full discussion, you can read my book, A History of Christian Doctrine, volume three. It's also found in the abridge version. I actually have three volumes in that series. It's also published in one volume as an abrbridgement.

But if you want the full story, get the unabridged volume three. And it discusses how the early the the oneness movement began in the early 20th century, how different organizations were formed. And uh but there was and they were formed for various reasons culturally, socially, doctrally, politically, racially, you know, different people form different groups. And so there's a complicated history of little groups joining, splitting, and so forth. But if you uh in 1936, two of these organizations started discussions because there was a feeling that we certainly scripturally we need to work together. we need to be uh united in oneness of spirit if nothing else.

But that also led to maybe we should be united organizationally. So the two largest of these oneness organizations at that time were known as the Pentecostal Assemblies of Jesus Christ which uh the acronym is often used PA of JC. And then the the next largest was the Pentecostal Church Incorporated. Now both uh organizations were incorporated but this other one liked to emphasize that in their title I guess still in credibility. So they were known as the PCI. So we have record as back as far back as 1936 they were in discussion but they didn't u form. So in 1945 they agreed to merge. So the two largest apostolic or witness Pentecostals merged the PAJC and the PCI to form the United Pentecostal church.

Now when you look at their their directories for 1945, the merger happened in the fall. U the PAJC I think had 346 churches. The PCI 175 churches. If I remembered correctly, if you add those two numbers, I'm pretty sure the total number is 521. I mentioned that because the that means the PA of JC was almost exactly twice as big as the PCI. So we often think of them as two equal organizations. Actually the PA of JC was by far the largest 2:1 U margin. But uh perhaps the reason why the PCI has become more prominent or in the thinking equal in prominence is the chairman of the PJC uh brother Witherspoon did not want to resign his church and become full-time.

So the goal was for for the new general superintendent to be full-time. So the chairman of the smaller group PCI Howard Goss was willing to be full-time. So he was elected as the first general superintendent and brother Witherspoon was elected as the first assistant general superintendent and Goss was a a well-known organizer. He'd been part of several organizations and forming them going back. He was actually a convert directly of Charles Parm at the very early part of the even before the wonders movement part the early Pentecostal movement. So Goss was chosen for his organizational ability as well as his availability and that led to the formation as I said of the United Pentecostal Church.

The word international was added later. So the UPC or what we now know the UPCI was directly formed in 1945 by what we call the merger. Now there as I said there had been a number of mergers and splits and other groups formed but since this was the direct formation um we look back and now we're celebrating the 80th anniversary. So the oneness movement itself the Pentecostal movement goes back to 1901 the modern movement uh although obviously there are many people who received the Holy Ghost throughout the centuries and even many people were baptized in Jesus' name throughout the centuries and the roots of the oneness movement that is Pentecostals who began preaching and teaching and practicing water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ even rebaptizing people who've been baptized with a three-fold formula that goes back to 1913 1914 So the actual formation of what is now the UPCI occurred really a generation later.

Uh so we can celebrate the origins of the Pentecostal movement, the witness movement back to the early 1900s, but we celebrate the formation of our organization to 1945. It's interesting as well that the smaller organization actually had was better organized at least as far as documentation as far as the articles of faith and the constitution. So a disproportionate part of the UPCI original articles of faith and constitution came from the smaller group the PCI. If you're interested in that process, um there's a book uh called understand uh called um United We Stand, which goes more to the organizational side of it. And then I wrote a small booklet called Understanding the Articles of Faith.

So you want to see our original articles of faith, where they came from, what organizations had the same or similar wording before, and then how they've been slightly amended over time. That booklet is understanding God's word. I will mention one other thing because the basis of the organization was what we call the fundamental doctrine. That was the key point and it has two paragraphs which are two sentences. The first sentence says that we believe the Bible's standard of full salvation is repentance, water baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and the baptism of the Holy Ghost with the initial sign of speaking in tongues as the spirit gives utterance.

So that is the plan of salvation or in the New Testament age or our response to the gospel. That's the Bible standard of full salvation. So we're not denying that people of other ages were, you know, did not necessarily have the full experience or even today God is working in people's lives in different ways, but this is what we unite on is to preach. Then the second sentence and paragraph states a pledge that although we might have differing views on other matters that we will not contend for our differing views to the disunityity of the body. So the first sentence is a strong doctrinal statement on the plan of salvation.

The second statement is a strong affirmation of unity in the body. Now some have said over time that there was a significant difference in the two organizations. Actually the differences were minimal. Both were firmly believed the oneness of God. Both firmly taught Acts 2:38 is the plan of salvation. and both taught practical holiness of life. So there are always some differences among churches but the difference between the two organizations would not have been significant other than the natural variation among churches. But there was there was one significant difference. The smaller group had an official policy of toleration on the teaching of the new birth. So while they said full salvation involves all three steps of Acts 2:38, repentance, water, baptism, and the Holy Ghost, some of them, actually the majority would say that constitutes quote the new birth from John 3, unless you're born again, you cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Others would say, "No, you're born again at repentance, but as truth is revealed to you, you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." Uh, andor as truth revealed you, you must receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues. But they made a greater provision. If you had never heard of this or never understood it, you might could be born again before that, but once it's revealed to you, you needed to go on. So that was a difference of policy. I've done my documentation and my little book understanding the artists of faith actually cites the sources. So the larger organization the twothirds majority PJC was almost unanimous in saying this is the new birth.

In fact they had previously uh been part of a statement of saying that and that was really one of the things that prevented the uh first attempt at the merger in 1936. The smaller organization, my best estimate is about twothirds, certainly a majority, but probably closer to twothirds of the smaller body also agreed that Acts 2:30 is a new birth. But they officially allowed and knew that there were probably onethird of their preachers that had a mediating view. So when they merged that would have meant maybe if you had 2/3 practically unanimous and then another 2/3 that would have been only like 15% maybe uh and it might have been as low as 10% that would not have had such a strong view.

The reason why I bring this up is over the years some of our critics have said, well, you know, half the UPCI believed Acts 238, half didn't believe Acts 238, and gradually those that believed Acts 238 persecuted andounded the others out, took over the organization, and now it's a strict narrow organization. Well, that's never was true. the vast majority always uh accepted Acts 2:38 as the new birth e but then here's the important point even the smaller group that didn't it was in the matter of theology and I interviewed people on both sides by the way I had the opportunity of interviewing senior ministers who are part of both of those predecessor organizations I knew a number of those ministers in my early ministry I met and had discussion in some cases worked closely with at headquarters people who had come from both organizations and they both told me this uh I met people of the smaller organization were very strong new birth advocates and so they said really we saw it as a matter of terminology not of practice.

So in theory or in theology or the way we would define it, we define repentance, baptism and the Holy Ghost and and their their theological um consequences in different terms. But on the level of practice, what should everybody do? What should everybody preach? There was no difference. So if you went to a a a rally or a crusade or you know a revival by one or the other of the views, you would hear the same message. you wouldn't know there was a difference and that's why they agreed to merge. You know, Pentecostals in general very pragmatic. So we don't look so much as developing systematic theology as what is important to obey.

And so that's why they merged. They agreed on this is what everybody needs to preach. This is what everybody needs to practice. This is what everybody needs to obey. So however we define these individual elements separated from each other, we all agree this is what's supposed to happen. This is what the early church did. And if you had a full knowledge, you would all do the same thing. And they even stated in the merger document that until we we we're going to keep the unity of the spirit and and this actually is in the fundamental doctrine that that plea for unity. We'll all keep the unity of the spirit until we all come into the unity of the faith.

And I feel like that was their uh that was their platform for the merger. And over 80 years, the UPCI has essentially uniformly agreed that Acts 238 is the plan of salvation and is the new birth. So what the founders hoped would be the outcome of the merger actually has taken place. And now you don't really have even a difference in the terminology or the theology. So some say, well, this is because, you know, one group destroyed the other group. But the other way of looking at it, which I think is correct, number one, this is this was the overwhelming majority view anyway. So it would only make sense that if you merged, the overwhelming majority would eventually prevail.

Second, this was their prayer and belief and hope, all both sides felt God's going to lead us. Whatever our differences, if we work together and we preach the same thing, God will help us work it out and we will have a greater unity of the faith. And that's exactly what happened. I would use an analogy. You know, when the Declaration of Independence was adopted, it said all men, meaning all people were created equal. Unfortunately, we know that they didn't practice that. They they allowed slavery, but the principle was there. Even though that first generation did not perfectly fulfill it. Later, when the constitution was formed, uh they still didn't fulfill it, but everybody thought slavery is going to eventually die out.

Well, because of economic reasons, the invention of the cotton gin and so forth, it it actually got new life. But then at the time of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, the famous Gettysburg address, he said, "It's time for a new birth of freedom. What we enunciated in the Declaration, that's the founding document. That's the the basis of the Constitution. That's the basis of the nation. So, what we proclaimed and never have yet implemented, now it's time to finally implement it." And so he called for a new birth of freedom. So some people said, "Oh, you're you're trashing the Constitution because the Constitution doesn't forbid slavery." And Lincoln said, "No, even more basic than Constitution is the Declaration.

And now we're finally at a point where we're going to fulfill what we said we do from the beginning." I kind of look at that the merger is not uh getting away from what we agreed to. It's actually fulfilling what we originally agreed was the most important. So, I'm happy to say uh our fundamental doctrine we still hold and I I would argue that it's even stronger and more fully implemented today. So, the merger is a powerful movement from 521 churches in 1945 to over 45,000 churches around the world today. Uh 203 of the 210 nations plus about 40 territories. I can only say God has blessed the merger.