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- Feb 2, 2012
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While running around my little town recently I noticed an individual soliciting donations on a street-corner well known to panhandling activities, but the fella didn't look like the usual suspects of street people. There was something off just a bit about his appearance. He had one of those hats on like a Hillbilly would wear as part of a get-up sometimes in parades, and he was holding a bucket that looked like one of those colorful kids sand pails that gets used on beach days of vacation. As I passed him and turned the corner I noticed him pull out a cell phone and I was convinced it wasn't one of our customary vagrants. At the next corner, another popular spot for beggars I passed someone in a similar arrangement, and was then sure it wasn't panhandlers but people soliciting for an official cause. A couple blocks over, as I was heading out of town and on my way home I had to stop at the red light, where there was yet another of these fellas (also at another corner popular for the homeless to hold their signs asking for money), I studied the dude's sign much harder to see what his cause was. Turns out he had a sign that said he was soliciting for a local food pantry "to feed thousands" that I had not heard of, so I rolled my window down with donation in hand and casually asked "who are you representing". He replied "The IPCC, International Pentecostal Church of Christ". I almost instantly pulled my cash back, because this wacky Baptist fundamentalist has quite the aversion to charismatics, lol, but I went ahead with the contribution. As I drove away I thought, "that's weird, Pentecostals mixed with Church of Christ????" If you know anything about the Church of Christ, they are FIERCELY doctrinally independent, and I could NEVER imagine a merger of their folk with charismatics. Since it perplexed me so much I decided to look them up online when I got home and found that the name was misleading, as their (Ohio) roots are only about 25 years old and they merged from two different (but doctrinally very similar Oneness Pentecostal roots) groups, neither of which had anything to do with Churches of Christ (restorationists and waterdogs, lol).
Moral to the story you say? I learned that names of denominations are sometimes wackier than I already thought, AND, I gave to a group for a good cause that had I known their identity and theological stance beforehand would have probably kept my cash in my pocket.
Moral to the story you say? I learned that names of denominations are sometimes wackier than I already thought, AND, I gave to a group for a good cause that had I known their identity and theological stance beforehand would have probably kept my cash in my pocket.