The month of May always brings with it two momentous events: my birthday (May 5) and the annual Men's Conference of the South Texas District of the United Pentecostal Church, United. Held in San Antonio around the first weekend of the month, the conference is a gathering where men of like-minded faith can get together and share a common spirit, gain strength and encouragement, and renew a commitment to God. I have written previously of high moments (See https://bobdowning.blogspot.com/2015/05/mens-conference-2015.html )
and low moments (See https://bobdowning.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-concert.html )
in the conferences, but the positives far outweigh the negatives, so it was
with anticipation that we group of old veterans headed west toward the Promised
Land again on Friday, May 3.
As usual, and for the fourth time in the
last seven years, it was Brothers Jerry Steward, John Cook, and me in Brother
John’s venerable Honda Pilot…and as usual, we left Houston after having
breakfast at our favorite Denny’s Restaurant…the Denny’s where we have enjoyed
breakfast every Friday for the last five years.
The place where, when we walk in the door, the coffee is already at our
favorite table, waiting for our first sip.
They take care of us; they should…we tip pretty well.
Unfortunately, we were missing Brother
Prentiss Smith, John’s father-in-law, who backed out at the last minute for
undisclosed reasons. I’ve said it
before…it’s always good when you’re in the company of Brother Smith because he
is a man of such impeccable character that some of his respectability sort of
rubs off on common old church members like me.
However, this past year Brother Jerry Stewart was chosen as a certified
board member of Bethel Tabernacle, and, with John Cook already being a board
member, I am still surrounded by Men of
Impeccable Character…I couldn’t sin even if I wanted to.
Anyway, we left Denny’s under threatening
skies which opened up as we headed west on Interstate 10. From Katy to Columbus, it was heavy rain and
dark clouds, but as we sailed by Columbus, the weather began to lighten and we
made an uneventful trip to our destination, The Drury Hotel at I-10 and Loop
1604 in Northwest San Antonio, arriving around 4:00 p.m. Jerry and I shared a room, and John was left
out in the cold, all alone. He had to
wing it alone in his room because his father-in-law had backed out. I offered to get an extra bed in our room,
but he declined…probably because I had told him Jerry snored like a freight
train…or at least, someone in our room does.
Drury offers free evening and morning
buffets, so downstairs we went after the obligatory naps for some tacos and
salad. They were not five-star tacos,
but they were sufficient for the moment.
While we three were dining, Pastor David Fauss came in and joined us for
a bit of conversation. In his new
position as Superintendent of the South Texas District, he was constantly being
tapped on the shoulder by passersbys who wanted to say hello. Such is the price of fame and responsibility.
Brother Fauss is the newly elected superintendent of the newly formed South Texas District.
Actually, the name is the same as before, but where the South Texas
District once ranged from Beaumont to Brownsville, it has now been split
roughly on a line from Austin to San Antonio into the South Central District
(San Antonio to Brownsville) and South Texas District (east of that line to the
Louisiana border.) I can’t give you the
exact boundaries because no one knows what they are; the boundaries have never
been published, documented, or publicized.
The UPCI, from its national headquarters to the local church
organization, is highly secretive. If
you read Pentecostal Life, the
official publication of the UPCI, you will read wonderful inspiring sermons and
testimonies, but very little about the administration of the organization. The local and state districts carry on that
policy. The original South Texas
District, which split from the original Texas District, has now been split into
the aforementioned two districts, and rumors have abounded as to the reasons
for the action. Nowhere can you read or
hear of the new boundaries or the reasoning for the divide. The pattern of non-information is carried to
the local churches.
About 7:30 p.m., the lights of The Hope
Church, Rev. Scoggins, Pastor, dimmed and the service began…or rather, the show
began. There was suddenly a cacophony of
rolling drums, blinking lights, wailing keyboards, and blasting voices,
accompanied by flashing psychedelic images on two large screens. Someone needs to watch the Michael Caine
movie The Ipcress File (1965). In that movie, those same procedures were
used as torture for captured prisoners in an attempt to break down their
resistance to questioning. It was standard questioning procedure during the
Cold War period of the fifties and sixties.
To complement the entertainment, there was also the obligatory lead
singer yelling at the top of his/her voice.
We also received a heavy dose of good old Christian rap (that is an
oxymoron, my friends). However, I am not
going to dwell on this negative aspect of the conference; I have made my
opinion known before (see above blog “The Concert,”) but I will make this one
statement and use a term I have heard two ministers use recently; albeit, they
were using it in reference to the world. Pentecostal music has gone to hell in
a handbasket. The music may bring in
people, but it destroys the spirit and cheapens the church experience. ‘Nuf sed.
We were blessed to have as our main
speaker, Brother Stan Gleason, who is the Assistant General Superintendent of
the UPCI, Western Division. He preached
an outstanding sermon concerning the role of men in the church and the
responsibilities we have as men to represent Christ and the church. It was powerful, positive, and inspiring, and
most of us wound up somewhere around the altars reconsecrating ourselves to the
work of God after the sermon.
There is an unwritten rule amongst
Pentecostals…after church…we go eat.
Fortunately, in the Drury Hotel complex is an Applebee’s, and that was
and is our usual stopping place after service.
By that time, we had other great friends join us, Brothers Melvin Hogan
and his son and Carl Boothe…who is more than a brother. Brother Boothe is a
minister and leader/teacher of our Senior Bible Class at Bethel
Tabernacle. We had a great visit at
Applebee’s, and it was after midnight before we left the restaurant, primarily
because Brother Hogan can eat more…and slower…than any person I have seen
recently. But it was OK.
The next morning, bright and fairly early,
we were downstairs for the Drury breakfast which was full course and pretty
tasty. We made it to the church about
9:00, and, thankfully, the weather had brightened considerably after
yesterday’s rain and storms. Revs.
Donnie Huslage and Roger Blackburn preached briefly but eloquently on the
subject “Men at the Gate.” Then it was
time again for Brother Gleason.
Brother Gleason’s sermon that morning was
worth the $50.00 price of the conference.
His subject was “Be Famous with your Family!” His most noteworthy statement to our group of
men was,” If you have to choose between saving your church or saving your
family…save your family.” He used
examples of ministers who are so wrapped up in building churches, they neglect
their own families, and men who try hard to provide for their families, yet
they forget their families’ spiritual welfare.
“Do not be afraid,” he said, “to say ‘I love you’ and ‘I’m sorry.’” The sermon created some serious
soul-searching and re-committing among many listeners.
Shortly after noon, John Cook headed the
Pilot back eastward toward Houston. We
had one more obligatory stop to make: at Chili’s in Seguin, Texas. The food is good, and we were ready to eat,
but it’s the chocolate volcano dessert which made me want to make the
stop. If you’ve never had a “chocolate
volcano,” it’s a big chunk of fudgy chocolate cake (hot) with a great scoop of
vanilla ice cream on top. Chili’s chocolate volcano is huge and comes with 3-4
spoons, depending on the number of participants. Sadly, another memory has been tarnished a
bit. This time the cake was not very
fudgy…more like a regular lightweight chocolate cake. It was OK, but you didn’t get the usual
chocolate overload with each bite.
After one more brief stop for fuel, John
delivered Jerry and me to our respective homes about 5:00 and another enjoyable
conference was in the books. Next year,
the two now-separate districts will each offer its own men’s conference, so
whether we ever return to the Drury Inn or San Antonio is unknown at this
time. Personally, I enjoy the trip
traveling with my good friends nearly as much as I enjoy the conference
itself. The idea of driving across
Houston to a conference is not as appealing.
We’ll see.