About UCMI

About UCMI

I have contacted Brother Steve (Senior Pastor / Administrator Rev. Steven B. Smethers, DD), over at UCMI for some facts as to the outreach and ministry of UCMI.

Hello Carlos,
    I guess it would depend upon just “WHO” was making such a statement. If it is a member of clergy then I would simply direct them to our web site and let them know that we are recognized fully by the government as a nonprofit 501c3 entity and that we have met the measure of the law of the land as well as all Biblical mandates. We have nearly 5000 ordained ministers as well as 768 licensed and chartered churches world wide. We also have a valid seminary who’s credits are accepted by most mainline seminaries and we have over 2450 students at the present time. These numbers alone exceed the boundaries of what makes up most Denominations in America today. UCMI also has a sister ministry in Canada and through them we receive recognition in Canada. It is also important to note that our seminary has 3 extension campuses (NY, Washington DC, And Ontario Canada)
    Do not despair when someone questions the validity of your licensure. The License is there that no man can stop you from the performance of your ministry and its purpose is not to make an impression upon other men.  We work for the Lord and not to please man.
 
    God bless.
 
Yours in Christ,
Brother Steve
 
United Christian Assemblies International,
United Christian Ministries International,
United Christian Chaplains Association,
United Christian Ministry Institute, Ltd.
Developing NEW Ministries for Christ
Assemblies: http://www.ucai.org
Ministry: http://www.ucmi.org
Chaplains: http://www.ucca.us
Institute: http://www.ucmi-edu.net
Email: webminister@ucmi.org
Senior Pastor / Administrator
Rev. Steven B. Smethers, DD
By the way, Phil, Brother Steve invites you to call him if you have more questions.
 

You can go to the Yellowstone Baptist College and check out their outreach and ministry. I believe it is a good one but really not one that can compare to UCMI. They do limit there students to 100, I think this increases the quality of the education, yet I think also they do not have the ability to take on more students than that. This looks like a good school, though for me I see too much “man made requirements” to be able to enter and even begin to do when the Bible teaches: 2 Peter 1: 2.  Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I think is one wants men’s approval for one’s calling then you should go to a place like this. Again, I am not saying this is a bad school; it looks good for a Baptist oriented school, if that is one’s persuasion.

The comparison though is like comparing an apple to an orange.

Blessings,
iggy

About UCMI

About UCMI

I have contacted Brother Steve (Senior Pastor / Administrator Rev. Steven B. Smethers, DD), over at UCMI for some facts as to the outreach and ministry of UCMI.

Hello Carlos,
    I guess it would depend upon just “WHO” was making such a statement. If it is a member of clergy then I would simply direct them to our web site and let them know that we are recognized fully by the government as a nonprofit 501c3 entity and that we have met the measure of the law of the land as well as all Biblical mandates. We have nearly 5000 ordained ministers as well as 768 licensed and chartered churches world wide. We also have a valid seminary who’s credits are accepted by most mainline seminaries and we have over 2450 students at the present time. These numbers alone exceed the boundaries of what makes up most Denominations in America today. UCMI also has a sister ministry in Canada and through them we receive recognition in Canada. It is also important to note that our seminary has 3 extension campuses (NY, Washington DC, And Ontario Canada)
    Do not despair when someone questions the validity of your licensure. The License is there that no man can stop you from the performance of your ministry and its purpose is not to make an impression upon other men.  We work for the Lord and not to please man.
 
    God bless.
 
Yours in Christ,
Brother Steve
 
United Christian Assemblies International,
United Christian Ministries International,
United Christian Chaplains Association,
United Christian Ministry Institute, Ltd.
Developing NEW Ministries for Christ
Assemblies: http://www.ucai.org
Ministry: http://www.ucmi.org
Chaplains: http://www.ucca.us
Institute: http://www.ucmi-edu.net
Email: webminister@ucmi.org
Senior Pastor / Administrator
Rev. Steven B. Smethers, DD
By the way, Phil, Brother Steve invites you to call him if you have more questions.
 

You can go to the Yellowstone Baptist College and check out their outreach and ministry. I believe it is a good one but really not one that can compare to UCMI. They do limit there students to 100, I think this increases the quality of the education, yet I think also they do not have the ability to take on more students than that. This looks like a good school, though for me I see too much “man made requirements” to be able to enter and even begin to do when the Bible teaches: 2 Peter 1: 2.  Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
3.  His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4.  Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

I think is one wants men’s approval for one’s calling then you should go to a place like this. Again, I am not saying this is a bad school; it looks good for a Baptist oriented school, if that is one’s persuasion.

The comparison though is like comparing an apple to an orange.

Blessings,
iggy

Good Questions…. and an answer to my critic

Good QuestionsAside from the attack that Phil Perkins who teaches at Yellowstone Baptist College here in Billings Mt. Phil raised some good questions. (Yet he is not listed on the personal page, though I did find him here) Sorry, I have no email to contact Phil personally to thank him for showing you I am a fraud! LOL!

What makes ones credentials legit and other’s not?

To me it is about first following God’s calling in one’s life. I have written many times as to how I ended up with UCMI and have never hid anything about it. I do not “use” these credentials to any real personal gain. I do use them at times when I find someone with lesser faith who needs that “authority” to give them comfort. By this I mean as an example, when my friend’s child died, I was able to minister to the family because I had this card that said I was a Reverend. Now anyone who knows me will know I never use Reverend. My real name is Carlos Shelton. I use iggy as a way of being neutral to those who read. I mean an iggy sounds harmless. It started out for my own protections as the internet is an ugly place at times, yet it stuck as I began to do the blog, and hosting my discussion group.

I am still in good standing with UCMI who when I applied over 2 years ago, had me answer many questions about my faith and beliefs, all of which are pretty much what I have on my word of mouth ministries website. UCMI has a college, and is a way for me to stay accountable in preaching Jesus and teaching from the bible. I may not agree with many who also have gone to UCMI for ordination, yet I see that they are fulfilling their calling as best they can. This is not like many of the “send money, ordains anyone” websites. I thoroughly researched and questioned and corresponded with them before I join and was ordained. Today I may not hold to some of what they believe, and I may not renew next year. I have been in denominations that ordain within their congregation. These are legal and it seems I have done more than many of these have themselves. I recommend checking out UCMI if one wants to. Even write to them and ask questions… even about me. BTW I have not had enough money to “buy” the parchments. LOL! I also have not gained anything monetary from anyone and have paid for this ministry out of my own pocket with the exception a good friend who has sent a very humble donation at times. Also, Word of Mouth Ministries is registered with the state of Montana as a legal entity. I have not yet found a reason to become none profit 501(c) as I have not received donations that would warrant the cost.

The second question is this, when the bible plainly states: “Who are you to judge another man’s servant?” So how can one rationalize attacking someone’s ministry without having any real knowledge… or even if one does have real knowledge? This comes to me under the guise of religion. To me the greatest evil to befall man is religion. It calls for the separation of God and man, whom God has now redeemed. It runs contrary to the Spirit and ministry of reconciliation that all believers are called to.

I know personally I may have not handled Phil right. Yet, as I looked into where he is coming from, a very legalistic Baptist background…. Most probably KJV only, I will have to say, we will never agree on much. In that I hope to live a peace as best I can. I will say if I had something to hide I could have deleted Phil’s comments, but since I don’t I will leave them as a reminder of who I once was and rejoice in the Life of Christ I now live, unshackled form religion that is not of a true believer. I contend and am content with the Scriptures teaching of True Religion and that is taking care of orphans and unwed mothers. The rest can burn in its false assumption of humility and self delusional self-righteousness. To me I can really care less about the Phil’s as I am sure those who I have ministered to will speak the truth of my character and ministry for they know me, Phil has not even taken the time to talk to me personally before he attacked me.

On Brian McLaren: I agree with him on many levels, and disagree with him on many others. In him I found the freedom to question and in that I have grown more in Christ. If one reads Brian’s books you may be surprised on how traditional he really is. In fact I may not be comfortable in his church for just that reason…. Tooo traditional.

The Emergent Movement: I am very open that first off I am reluctant to call this a movement as I see it then loses the substance we “emergents” hope to accomplish. In this “movement” I have found many who have outgrown the traditional man made institutional church. They have found a richer and deeper faith that connects them to Christ’s Body and gives a real meaning to being brothers in the Lord.

I will add this, I hope to someday develop the grace and humility to answer my critics as well as Brian McLaren, I see in this I have much to learn from him.

Blessings,
iggy

Good Questions…. and an answer to my critic

Good QuestionsAside from the attack that Phil Perkins who teaches at Yellowstone Baptist College here in Billings Mt. Phil raised some good questions. (Yet he is not listed on the personal page, though I did find him here) Sorry, I have no email to contact Phil personally to thank him for showing you I am a fraud! LOL!

What makes ones credentials legit and other’s not?

To me it is about first following God’s calling in one’s life. I have written many times as to how I ended up with UCMI and have never hid anything about it. I do not “use” these credentials to any real personal gain. I do use them at times when I find someone with lesser faith who needs that “authority” to give them comfort. By this I mean as an example, when my friend’s child died, I was able to minister to the family because I had this card that said I was a Reverend. Now anyone who knows me will know I never use Reverend. My real name is Carlos Shelton. I use iggy as a way of being neutral to those who read. I mean an iggy sounds harmless. It started out for my own protections as the internet is an ugly place at times, yet it stuck as I began to do the blog, and hosting my discussion group.

I am still in good standing with UCMI who when I applied over 2 years ago, had me answer many questions about my faith and beliefs, all of which are pretty much what I have on my word of mouth ministries website. UCMI has a college, and is a way for me to stay accountable in preaching Jesus and teaching from the bible. I may not agree with many who also have gone to UCMI for ordination, yet I see that they are fulfilling their calling as best they can. This is not like many of the “send money, ordains anyone” websites. I thoroughly researched and questioned and corresponded with them before I join and was ordained. Today I may not hold to some of what they believe, and I may not renew next year. I have been in denominations that ordain within their congregation. These are legal and it seems I have done more than many of these have themselves. I recommend checking out UCMI if one wants to. Even write to them and ask questions… even about me. BTW I have not had enough money to “buy” the parchments. LOL! I also have not gained anything monetary from anyone and have paid for this ministry out of my own pocket with the exception a good friend who has sent a very humble donation at times. Also, Word of Mouth Ministries is registered with the state of Montana as a legal entity. I have not yet found a reason to become none profit 501(c) as I have not received donations that would warrant the cost.

The second question is this, when the bible plainly states: “Who are you to judge another man’s servant?” So how can one rationalize attacking someone’s ministry without having any real knowledge… or even if one does have real knowledge? This comes to me under the guise of religion. To me the greatest evil to befall man is religion. It calls for the separation of God and man, whom God has now redeemed. It runs contrary to the Spirit and ministry of reconciliation that all believers are called to.

I know personally I may have not handled Phil right. Yet, as I looked into where he is coming from, a very legalistic Baptist background…. Most probably KJV only, I will have to say, we will never agree on much. In that I hope to live a peace as best I can. I will say if I had something to hide I could have deleted Phil’s comments, but since I don’t I will leave them as a reminder of who I once was and rejoice in the Life of Christ I now live, unshackled form religion that is not of a true believer. I contend and am content with the Scriptures teaching of True Religion and that is taking care of orphans and unwed mothers. The rest can burn in its false assumption of humility and self delusional self-righteousness. To me I can really care less about the Phil’s as I am sure those who I have ministered to will speak the truth of my character and ministry for they know me, Phil has not even taken the time to talk to me personally before he attacked me.

On Brian McLaren: I agree with him on many levels, and disagree with him on many others. In him I found the freedom to question and in that I have grown more in Christ. If one reads Brian’s books you may be surprised on how traditional he really is. In fact I may not be comfortable in his church for just that reason…. Tooo traditional.

The Emergent Movement: I am very open that first off I am reluctant to call this a movement as I see it then loses the substance we “emergents” hope to accomplish. In this “movement” I have found many who have outgrown the traditional man made institutional church. They have found a richer and deeper faith that connects them to Christ’s Body and gives a real meaning to being brothers in the Lord.

I will add this, I hope to someday develop the grace and humility to answer my critics as well as Brian McLaren, I see in this I have much to learn from him.

Blessings,
iggy

The Law is abolished…Right?

The Law is abolished…. Right?

There seems to be two scriptures that contradict each other on the “abolishing” of the Law.

Jesus says in Matthew 5: 17. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Paul seems to say the opposite in Ephesians 2:10. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
11. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)– 12. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15. by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16. and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20. built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22.And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

So how can both be true?

Jesus spoke to the Jews concerning the Law in a way that buried them… “Be perfect as you Father in Heaven is Perfect.” Of course the disciples asked as we should, “Who can be saved?” Jesus replied, “With God all things are possible.”

Jesus’ statement is about the expectation of the Messiah to come and establish His power here on earth…. Which He did, but not the way they expected. He came to fulfill the Law. In His work on the Cross and through His resurrection He did this… In Hebrews we are told, He “5: 8. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9. and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10. and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

What Jesus did was remove the earthly sacrificial system and replaced it with the Kingdom of God.

This was unexpected for the Jewish leaders of the day.

In this Jesus did abolish the Law as Paul states in Ephesians. We either can walk in faith in the Law…(Torah, and the prophets) or walk in Faith in Christ Jesus. And that is the issue…. Do we walk in our own righteousness or His?

Now the issue of homosexuality to me is about one’s identity. Is one a gay or lesbian or transgender, or a child of G-d? If one has the identity of a child of God, then one should seek out how and what a child of God is about and to properly respond to our Father through our Lord Jesus. We need to understand grace is for all and that is how we are saved… not of our own doing. We need to think though that God is saving us FROM sin and death into HIS LIFE, which is ETERNAL. How can sin continue to dwell in Christ’s very own life imputed to us? The mistake is thinking that my life is still mine as a believer… so one cannot be gay or lesbian as a Christian, as that would lead to a double-minded half-life in Christ. I am not saying one might not struggle with this as a sin that is in ones life as a Child of Christ, but rather that the focus is not to be on our sin, but on the Life of Jesus as He lives it through us.

My motto is this: He who gave His life for me, gave His life to me, to live His life through me.

The bottom line is Jesus transcends the sexual issue… even to say in the Gospels that there is not going to be the marriage of man and woman in heaven, but rather, the marriage of the Bridegroom (Jesus) and the Bride (His Church).

Blessings,
iggy

The Law is abolished…Right?

The Law is abolished…. Right?

There seems to be two scriptures that contradict each other on the “abolishing” of the Law.

Jesus says in Matthew 5: 17. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
18. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Paul seems to say the opposite in Ephesians 2:10. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
11. Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (that done in the body by the hands of men)– 12. remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
14. For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15. by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16. and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.
17. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
19. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, 20. built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.
21. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22.And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

So how can both be true?

Jesus spoke to the Jews concerning the Law in a way that buried them… “Be perfect as you Father in Heaven is Perfect.” Of course the disciples asked as we should, “Who can be saved?” Jesus replied, “With God all things are possible.”

Jesus’ statement is about the expectation of the Messiah to come and establish His power here on earth…. Which He did, but not the way they expected. He came to fulfill the Law. In His work on the Cross and through His resurrection He did this… In Hebrews we are told, He “5: 8. Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9. and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10. and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.

What Jesus did was remove the earthly sacrificial system and replaced it with the Kingdom of God.

This was unexpected for the Jewish leaders of the day.

In this Jesus did abolish the Law as Paul states in Ephesians. We either can walk in faith in the Law…(Torah, and the prophets) or walk in Faith in Christ Jesus. And that is the issue…. Do we walk in our own righteousness or His?

Now the issue of homosexuality to me is about one’s identity. Is one a gay or lesbian or transgender, or a child of G-d? If one has the identity of a child of God, then one should seek out how and what a child of God is about and to properly respond to our Father through our Lord Jesus. We need to understand grace is for all and that is how we are saved… not of our own doing. We need to think though that God is saving us FROM sin and death into HIS LIFE, which is ETERNAL. How can sin continue to dwell in Christ’s very own life imputed to us? The mistake is thinking that my life is still mine as a believer… so one cannot be gay or lesbian as a Christian, as that would lead to a double-minded half-life in Christ. I am not saying one might not struggle with this as a sin that is in ones life as a Child of Christ, but rather that the focus is not to be on our sin, but on the Life of Jesus as He lives it through us.

My motto is this: He who gave His life for me, gave His life to me, to live His life through me.

The bottom line is Jesus transcends the sexual issue… even to say in the Gospels that there is not going to be the marriage of man and woman in heaven, but rather, the marriage of the Bridegroom (Jesus) and the Bride (His Church).

Blessings,
iggy

OK I will be the first to try this.

OK I will be the first to try this….at least of those of you that are my daily reads.

Enter with me if you will the dark side… the Nohari Window.

Enter you negative critism….. It’s ok I can take it… I think……


http://kevan.org/nohari?name=iggy


blessing,
iggy

OK I will be the first to try this.

OK I will be the first to try this….at least of those of you that are my daily reads.

Enter with me if you will the dark side… the Nohari Window.

Enter you negative critism….. It’s ok I can take it… I think……


http://kevan.org/nohari?name=iggy


blessing,
iggy

CHRISTFOLLOWERS EVERYWHERE ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH – WHERE IS JESUS TAKING THEM?

CHRIST-FOLLOWERS EVERYWHERE ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH – WHERE IS JESUS TAKING THEM?


Catchy title huh? I have not read the book yet, but I have been e-mailing Paul Vieira a bit and have found that I agree with what he is trying to say. In talking to him I think he wrote the book I was going to….

Check out his website here. He has some interesting things on his page… check out the mp3’s and sign up for the pre sale of his book.

If you haven’t noticed we are adding some shows and teaching to iggyROCKS!
Jason Clark of Sutton Vineyard of the UK said I could broadcast some of their pod casts….

We have added another show called Life As One… Dave and Kathy Foreman have gone through a lot… and almost did not make it… somehow; by the grace of God… they are surviving… something called Marriage.

Sonia V. is also doing a show on iggyROCKS! called the “Indie Rock Show” there are two segments to this show… 1. Sunday morning Indie worship… and 2. The Indie Rock Show on Friday at noon.

Blessings,
iggy

CHRISTFOLLOWERS EVERYWHERE ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH – WHERE IS JESUS TAKING THEM?

CHRIST-FOLLOWERS EVERYWHERE ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH – WHERE IS JESUS TAKING THEM?


Catchy title huh? I have not read the book yet, but I have been e-mailing Paul Vieira a bit and have found that I agree with what he is trying to say. In talking to him I think he wrote the book I was going to….

Check out his website here. He has some interesting things on his page… check out the mp3’s and sign up for the pre sale of his book.

If you haven’t noticed we are adding some shows and teaching to iggyROCKS!
Jason Clark of Sutton Vineyard of the UK said I could broadcast some of their pod casts….

We have added another show called Life As One… Dave and Kathy Foreman have gone through a lot… and almost did not make it… somehow; by the grace of God… they are surviving… something called Marriage.

Sonia V. is also doing a show on iggyROCKS! called the “Indie Rock Show” there are two segments to this show… 1. Sunday morning Indie worship… and 2. The Indie Rock Show on Friday at noon.

Blessings,
iggy