The best thing hasn't come yet. [Isaiah 6:8, 13]
1. I’ve had a long-lasting fear. It’s about what Arnold Toynbee had said. He said that the Islam would stand and be the last religion of the humankind. This prophecy-like statement of the historian should call for a reformation of the current situations. If and when the church turns its back from the Bible and compromises with this secular world, it would be thrown out like the salt which lost its saltiness. Consequently, the Gospel would no longer be considered as the words of Salvation. People would remember the Gospel simply as one of the books of proverbs.
2. The United Methodist Church (UMC) has already elected a homosexual as one of the bishops, and will enact the homosexuality bills. Once enacted, there would be the point of no return. The UMC made it sound that each local church and individuals would still have the freedom of choice, but the theological school will have to accept the homosexuality and there would be homosexual pastors in the ministry in 10 to 20 years. The UMC’s destiny would be that of a frog in the boiling water in a pot.
3. There are things which need to be changed while certain things are to be kept. Systems and policies may be readjusted as time changes, but the Bible must be kept. Now is the time. The Bible must be upheld high, and the decadent systems must be reformed.
4. The Baptist Church in the United States is the biggest church in numbers, but its power of unity is weak due to the church individualism. If and when the UMC accepts the homosexuality, the rest of the denomination would easily follow this foot step. It’s a matter of when, not if. The UMC’s Special General Conference is imminent, and now is the time to stop their movement.
5. The laity in the UMC is able and powerful. The laity needs to rise in unity. However, the decision-making can be challenging and fearful for the laity, and for this reason, the reverends must lead the way.
6. We are hereby determined to do the followings: First phase: Withdrawal from the UMC, Second phase: Initiate and continue a campaign to stop the UMC’s One Church Plan, Third phase: Create a coalition of the churches.
7. This campaign cannot be conducted in the UMC. Our campaign is currently being conducted through the means of leaflets, posters, newspapers, inserts, radio, text messengers, emails, GoFundMe, and YouTube. Our campaign will soon be conducted via local newspapers, local radio programs, and TV programs.
8. Although we are currently holding our services in a public park, we are highly determined to uphold the Bible, keep our faith, and pray tirelessly. This is the beginning of a campaign spearheaded by the laity in Hawaii to keep the Bible as the true words of our God. Through a coalition with many churches, we will intensify the campaign known as “Upholding the Bible” led by the laity.
9. Christians were once considered salt and light of the world. Christians were once respected, honored, and trusted. But the time has changed. On a contrary, the world now worries about the church. The Bible and Jesus have done nothing wrong. Instead, we, the Christians, simply failed to uphold the Bible.
10. Religious reform was, is, and will be a campaign to restore the Bible, the true foundation of the Christian beliefs. Jesus said that people who love me would uphold my words. It’s the time for us to choose between the Bible and the voice of the world, and take an action accordingly.
11. We will move forward with this campaign, believing and trusting that God can and will change the course of hurricanes with small flapping of the butterfly wings.