Across town apostolics ... (was: Beards)

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On Mon, 7 Jul 1997, Donna L. Perine wrote:

> When I married my husband, Rodney, in 1985  he was a backslidden 
> Apostolic. Growing up in the Church in the late 60's early 70's,
> you **had** to be clean shaven. There was no question about it. 
> 
> I received the Holy Ghost in 1992 (former Baptist).  Rodney came back 
> into the Church six months later (with a full beard and mustache). 
> The first thing he asked the Pastor was "Do you want me to shave my 
> beard and mustache?". The Pastor stated that he had changed his position 
> on this subject through the years as he could find no scripture to
> substantiate it. My husband wore a full beard and mustache until 
> he was required to shave the beard on a job he worked at which required 
> him to wear a respirator while working in a hazardous chemical area (1994).

Hmmmmmmmm..... this is an interesting thing....

Being as I'm in the process of moving... I'm sure, that if I was
still Roman Catholic and I had to move across town, county, state, 
region, etc. that I'd land in a Catholic church and be accepted as
a *catholic*.  If I was Methodist and moved somewhere, I'd be accepted
as a Methodist when I arrived at the destination.  If I were Presbyterian,
Episcopal, Nazarene, etc. upon moving and settling, I'd be accepted for what
I am... no questions asked...

But apostolic pentecostals are different... it's almost like you have 
got to *prove* yourself to be accepted.  Why is it that oneness folks
do this kind of thing?  Are they inheritanly untrusting?  unloving?  I
would think that someone would be *welcome* anywhere.  Are the different
churches separate amongst themselves but common in name and once-a-month
in fellowship?  Has many a dreadfull thing happened to oneness 
pentecostals that causes the churches and the people in them to just 
always be on edge and wary of someone new?  

To me, it's much harder for the newcomer to open up if everybody else is 
already in a suspicious state of being.  Just like the way that ousiders 
of oneness watch us daily at work to see if we are the real article, much 
the same goes on inside the church to keep a *probing* eye on the 
newcomer.  I imagine that this very thing, is enough to keep the newcomer 
from fully opening up and blossming at the newly arrived at church.  At 
the time when the newcomer needs friends the most, he/she's often treated 
as an outsider until they've undergone a time of proof.

Bro Tyler