THE MEMBERSHIP OF BROTHERHOOD OF THE CROSS AND STAR

In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, . In the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, Now and for ever more. Amen The members of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star are arranged in pews and ranks and have their specific relevance. There are also certain activities that have their own significance and relevance. 13.1 The pews 1. Congregation: These are the newly baptised members who are not yet assigned to any of the specific groups here listed. 2. Children: These are members who are babies and includes members who are below twelve years that constitute the Sabbath group. They are encouraged to exhibit their spiritual talents in singing, praying and conducting children's feasts. They attend the Sabbath fasting every first Saturday of the month and Sabbath bible class for quiz study, singing and recitation of memory verses. 3. Choristers: These are members assigned to sing new heavenly melodies and songs before the throne of God. They play an important role in the bethel in reviving the spirit of the members through stimulating spiritual songs. Since the pew contains many young brothers and sisters, they also assist in the other activities in the fold as necessary. 4. Spirited Children: these are members endowed with spiritual gifts of seeing visions, dreams, and prophesying about past events, present and future occurrences for the enhancement of the Fathers work. They also heal the sick. 5. Elders: These are members expected to play an active role in the bethel by ensuring the smooth functioning of the Bethel by maintaining peace and unity among the members. They are the pillars of the bethel, men with one wife, knowledgeable to impart the word of God without fear or favour, provides facilities and amenities, must have exemplary character. The elder is the social welfare officer. An elder must be loving, humble, merciful, righteous, honest, so that he may be able to execute his duties effectively. 6 Ordained ones: These are members chosen and ordained whose feet were washed and anointed by the Holy Father for the spreading of the message of this New Kingdom, LOVE ONE ANOTHER to all the nooks and corners of the world. They are, along with others, assigned the baptism of the new members in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. They are the fathers and mothers of the bethel. They include pastors, prophets/ prophetess, deaconess, evangelist, apostles and bishops. In 1994, a separate pew was created for the Bishops. 7. Christ Students/Witnesses: These are members who are called, chosen and commissioned by the Holy Father to teach in the fold. They are bestowed with spiritual gifts of preaching, visioning and singing of natural songs before the throne of God day and night. They are celibate, and do not marry. 8. Christ Servants: These are members who are called, chosen and commissioned by the Holy Father to preach and baptise. They are blessed with spiritual gift of healing and visioning. They may marry if they wish to marry. 9. The 144,000 virgins: These are members who are called, chosen and commissioned to teach and baptise new members. They are blessed with many spiritual gifts of singing, healing the sick, baptising and propagating the gospel of the New Kingdom to the entire world. They are to remain celibate and chaste all their life. They are virgins. 10.The Christ Preachers: The Christ Preachers are members who are called, chosen and commissioned by the Holy Father to preach and baptise in the fold. They are blessed with spiritual gifts of healing the sick, singing and visioning. By 1998, all full time workers were grouped into the Christ Natural True Missionaries. These included the Witnesses, the Christ Servants, the Children of God and the Christ Preachers. They were other groups like the gospel practitioners, Christ practical students, New World Missionaries etc. 11. Christ Practical Students: These are members who were initially called and chosen as Christ Students but could not keep to the terms of their calling and they were later renamed Christ Practical Students. They are equally gifted in healing the sick, prophesying and preaching in the fold. 12. Bishops: The Bishops have a particular pew amongst the ordained ones. They are consecrated by the Holy Father separate from the other ordained ones. They are the fathers of the church and oversee all administration in the Kingdom and the overall physical administration of the kingdom is done through them. 13.2 The Different fellowships There are many fellowships in the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star which include the following as streamlined by the Holy Father at the world Headquarter 1. Universal Spirited Children's Fellowship 2. Leaders Representative Fellowship 3. All Ordained ones Fellowship 4. Women's Fellowship 5. Universal Men's Fellowship 6. Christ Natural Choristers Fellowship 7. International Education Fellowship 8. International Labour Fellowship 9. Universal children's Fellowship 10 International Youth Fellowship 11 Universal Preachers Fellowship 12 International Elders Fellowship 13 Brothers and Sisters Fellowship 14 Universal Mercy Fellowship 15 International Missionary /Crusaders Fellowship 16 Association of Brotherhood Academic Students Fellowship 17 International welfare Fellowship 18 Vegetarian Fellowship 19 Christ's Practical students Fellowship 20 New World Fellowship 21 Christ universal spiritual council of Churches 22 Lawyers Fellowship 23 Egbagba Aneyen Evai New World Language Fellowship 24 Traditional Rulers Fellowship 25 Senior Christ National Body meeting 26 Christ Witnesses Body Meeting 27 Spiritual Council of Churches The duties of these fellowship are so well outlined in their various handbooks. These fellowships exist at all levels of the kingdom administration from the lowest to the highest. 13.3 The sacraments of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. The new Kingdom of God has eight sacraments namely: 1 Child Blessing 2. Baptism of repentance 3. Baptism of the Holy Spirit 4. Love feast 5. Marriage Blessing 6. Confirmation of membership 7. Feast of Faith 8. Feast of Hope Other practices include: 1. Greetings (Peace) 2. Dressing (Soutane) 3. Ministry work 4. Fasting 5. Life (Love One Another) 6. Absolute Belief in God Almighty only 7. The Pentecostal Assemblies and 8. Tithe Payment A. Child Blessing Child blessing is mandatory for any child born into the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. The child blessing can be done either during morning prayers or evening prayers but has to be on the eigth day of the child's birth and the parents are expected to provide a fruit feast. B. Baptism of Repentance Everybody called and chosen into the new kingdom of God should be baptised in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Ghost to fulfil all righteousness. Whether one was baptised in any other church denominations, he/she has to be baptised again as in Ephesians 4:5 “ One Lord, one faith, one baptism” People can be baptised in all parts of the world. Philip baptised the Ethopian eunoch while he was going somewhere and he received the holy spirit and was saved. Baptism can be done by any baptized member. C. Child Baptism The Brotherhood of the Cross and Star has no age limit for baptism. As adults need salvation so do the little ones, but baptism is more meaningful when a person is mature enough to understand his or her commitment as a baptised person. The age of twelve is considered reasonable. Procedure for Baptism The form of our baptism is by full immersion. We do follow the steps laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in John 3:5 “Jesus answered, verily, verily I say unto thee except a man be born of water and of the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” Mark 16:16 : He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be damned” Once baptised and anointed, one becomes part of the fold where there is one body and one spirit. All become one in the Lord, one faith and one baptism. Our belief is very strong that as many of us as were baptised into Christ have put on Christ. Gal 3:27 For they are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and Holy spirit and these three are but one. And there are three that bear witness on earth, the spirit, the water and the blood and these three are one I Jn 5:7-8 “Go ye therefore and teach all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost” Matt 28:19 Note: Nobody should be coaxed or intimidated or threatened or begged to accept baptism into Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. Before anyone is baptised, he/she must believe in our Lord Jesus Christ as the only Son of God, Son of man and God himself. He /she must accept to resign his/her membership of all secret societies and or cults. And do away with charms and concoctions, rings, talisman and occult books and practices otherwise the baptism is of no benefit to him or her. It is necessary for people to know what they are baptising into. The day anyone is baptised into Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the most important day in the life of the man or woman and he/she should not fail to celebrate with a feast. It is the day of reunion of the person with God. It is the day when the man that was driven away from the garden of Eden is given freedom to return to God and start to pay attention to God's instructions. It is a day of salvation, a day of joy and a day of peace. D. Baptism of the Holy Spirit We are being purified through the word of God, when hearing the words of God and putting same into practice, then we are made clean. John 15:3 “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.” 1 Peter 1: 23 :Being born again, not of corruptible seed but by incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever” E. Love feast This is taken generally by every member of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star irrespective of rank at anytime. Love feast is a reunion feast celebrated in happiness, reverence, and thanks to God our Father for reunion with our Lord Jesus Christ during this his second coming. Love feast is very sacred and accomplishes many things and sometimes celebrated to show a thankful heart to God for various testimonies in the life of a believer. It can be celebrated with any amount because there is no price tag on feasts. It is not some thing you should eat until you can eat no more thus, a piece of bread or biscuit, a piece of banana, orange, paw-paw, pineapple and small quantity of rice is enough for a full feast or love feast. Fruit feast consists of the following fruits: Banana, Paw-paw, Orange, groundnut/pea nut, Bread, Garden eggs, coconut, apple, carrots, pears, quava and any other edible fruits and biscuit. Full feast may contain all of the above fruits mentioned and in addition cooked rice, or yam, or plantain or garri etc. It must be a vegetarian food. Love feast should be bought, prepared by the mother and other members of the feast committee. It should be eaten with utmost reverence and respect. Nobody should struggle for feast when the feast is being served everybody should kneel down to receive the feast and partake of the feast. Brethren should take only one piece as the tray is passed around. It is important that those who buy, cook and serve the feast should sanctify themselves for the assignment by fasting during those activities. F. Feast of Hope This feast of hope is to commemorate the Passover or last supper during which our Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour changed bread to His living body and wine to His priceless blood. This feast requires those who have love, hope and faith especially those who have mortified the body as written in Gal. 5:22-23 “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, temperance against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” ICor. 11: 20- 24 “When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lords supper. For in eating everyone taketh before other own supper and one is hungry and another is drunken. What! Have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed took bread. And when he given thanks he brake it and said take eat, this do in remembrance of me. After this same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood, this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lords death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthyily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drnketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord that we should not be condemned with the world. Wherefore my brtethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another. And if any man hunger, let him eat at home, that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I come” G. Blessing of Marriage Marriage is recommended to all brethren of the fold if they so wish but one condition is that a man be a husband of one woman the wife and the woman be a wife of one man the husband. Solemnisation of marriage in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is the highest anybody can desire because it is done by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Father therefore advises that all brethren have their marriages blessed. Even if you were married in the court or church before your baptism into the fold, you are still advised to have your marriage blessed. If you cannot remain faithful to one man or one woman then be celibate. Trial marriage are not allowed in the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. Once marriage is blessed, you cannot marry again except a) A partner is caught in adultery b) A partner dies Couples who come to have their marriage blessed in the kingdom must have previously received the approval and blessing of their marriage from their parents. This usually takes place during the traditional marriage ceremony, when the parents join the couple in marriage in the presence of families and friends. F. Confirmation of Membership Any person who wishes to be a full member of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star must pass through the undermentioned stages. He/She must be a baptised member and must obtain the following credentials for identification A)Membership Card b) Baptismal Certificate c)Men/ Women Fellowship cards d) General meeting Card and e) Payment of regular tithe 13.4 Membership a) All members of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star are called and chosen by the Father into His Kingdom. Therefore the membership of the kingdom is spiritually accreditated before the physical presence of any man in the fold. b) All members should pray daily wherever they are Luke 18:1 “And he spake a parable unto them to this end that men ought always to pray and not to faint.” c) Members should sing from the hymn books, psalms and spiritual songs. Col 3:16 “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. d) Members should always search the scriptures I Tim. 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” e) Members should always attend prayer meetings and other meetings of the organisation. Mark 11:17 “And he taught, saying unto them, is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayers? but ye have made it a den of thieves.” f) No member should join any worldly organisation Gal. 6:8 “For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting” 13.5 The Practices i) Greetings: The kingdom is a kingdom of peace. Each member greets the other by saying PEACE and the response is PERFECT PEACE . It is an abbreviated form of “ Let the peace of God abide with you”. ii) Dressing: All members dress in white soutanes during worship. Women wear a white veil on their head. All wear no shoes when they wear soutan. iii) Ministry work: Members undertake ministry work to other cities and bethels in order to share fellowship with one another outside their immediate bethel. It increases faith among them as they interact. This ministry is also useful to solve their personal spiritual problems. iv) Fasting: There are two types of fasting in the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. There is general fasting on every Thursday from 6:00am to 6:00pm.. There is the three days dry fasting which lasts for 72 hours mostly from Monday midnight to Thursday midnight. There is normal dry fasting for twenty four hours lasting from twelve midnight to twelve midnight the following day. The dry fasting is undertaken three times a year just before the beginning of the Pentecostal period to sanctify the brethren ready for the Pentecostal period. v) Our way of Life: All members believe that God is the final arbiter of all things and our belief centres on the only one God. The only one commandment that all members must abide is” love one another. And live in love and righteousness always” vi) Mother: In this kingdom the office of mother is very important. Every organisation in this kingdom (Bethel, Zone, State, Nation, and even the world) has a mother appointed for it. The Holy Father says that this official recognition of mother by us, spiritually accepts and reverences the feminine aspect of God. For God is both masculine and feminine, but man so far accept only the masculine aspect and ignores the feminine aspect of God. This recognition in this kingdom of mother corrects that error. The Holy Father says that the mother nurtures spiritually and physically the material needs of mankind. A mother is very loved and respected in this kingdom. We have the Holy Mother Elizabeth Obu as the first mother of the brethren all over the world. She is the holy spouse of the Holy Father. We also devote one week each year for the celebration in memory of and respect to Holy Queen Mother Ibum Mba, the mother of the Holy Father Leader Olumba Olumba Obu. Once a year, she now represented by Her holiness Ibum Olumba Obu, visits one nation or state and from there blesses the whole world. 13.6 The Pentecostal Assemblies There are three Pentecostal periods observed in the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. They are: 1) Easter Pentecostal 2) August Pentecostal 3) December Pentecostal These Pentecostals are always proceeded by 3 days dry fasting which helps to prepare us spiritually for the Pentecostal assemblies. i) The April Pentecostal serves to remind us of the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We remember and honour Him because He was crucified for our sins and through the shedding of His precious blood and death, he redeemed the whole world. The three days dry fasting signifies his three days and three nights in the grave. We normally observe this fasting one week before each Pentecostal Assembly begins in order to prepare and sanctify ourselves and make our bodies pure and acceptable to God for His service. ii) August Pentecostal: It was on the 8th of August 1958 that members of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star first put on the white apparel and marched from 8 Eton Street, to 26 Mbukpa Road. That marked the beginning of the August Pentecostal Assembly for Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. It also marked the revelation of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star as the kingdom of God on earth and the brethren as the children of God. It coincided with the day our Lord Jesus Christ was revealed to the world by John the Baptist. Before then Brotherhood of the Cross and Star was not heard much of and was not very much known. Brethren should understand the significance of the month of August. The children of Israel were liberated from the Egyptian slavery in August. The Wednesday on which our Lord Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist was in August. Iii) The December Pentecostal: The December Pentecostal has no significance than to commemorate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the time of the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ, the time of his glorification and the time to magnify his name. That is why we start from the beginning of December to the end of it to show our gratefulness to His physical manifestation on earth. THANK YOU FATHER Pastor Aniedi Obot