For the next few days, I am going to overview the agenda of the General Council of the Church of God which convenes in San Antonio, Texas as part of our biennial General Assembly.  A good number of those who read this blog are either ministers or laity in the Church of God, largely in Louisiana where I serve as Administrative Bishop or have connection to the denomination–Church of God–with international offices in Cleveland, Tennessee.

It has been my privilege to serve as an elected member to the Executive Council during this past two year term and to view firsthand the process of the agenda’s development and presentation.  Since this was my first time to do so, I will openly admit it opened my eyes to the process which has guided our church during more than 100 years. My insights here are simply my own and do not reflect those of others who sat on the Council this term, nor will I use this platform to advocate for any personal political agenda.  

I love our church, even with its many flaws.  I believe in the future of the Church of God, as well as the history of our fathers before me who likewise sought to lead the church in congruence with God’s will for any group of believers who seek to do His will.  How these issues will come out is anybody’s guess.  Some will not pass because they possess elements which foster deeper questions which need study and development. Some will likely not pass because they are repeats of earlier issues not accepted but continued to be pushed from certain groups of individuals in our church, even though the Council has rejected them before. Some will pass because they make sense and in some way they advance the kingdom and our position in that kingdom.  Every delegate is entitled to his/her opinion and to act upon that with conviction and honor.  The diversity of opinion and thought only makes our church stronger.  Regardless of the outcome, it is my hope we will leave this biennial gathering of our “family” more poised and ready to do God’s work.

One final thought before we get into today’s post on the agenda…

I do not accept the premise that our leaders are corrupt, evil or deceptive.  I have not seen that in any degree which convinces me it is so.  There are those who feel strongly that our Executive Committee is power-hungry and poised to take our church into demise.  I am not of that group.  My view has been one of admiration and appreciation for how hard it is to lead this church and how massive the organization has become.  We need change and there are things we can do together which will help the Church of God be more cultural relevant, more missional in approach and more harvest-minded.  There are leaders who are gifted to help us do that and we are blessed to have such diversity of thought and such unity of purpose as our great church possesses.

Feel free to email questions to bill@lacog.org.  I’ll do my best to respond.

Now for the agenda…

ELECTIONS

The General Council of Ordained Bishops is charged by our Minutes to nominate the following positions for election by the General Assembly..

• General Overseer–Presently held by G. Dennis McGuire.  He is not eligible for re-election to this position but can be elected to another position on the Executive Committee.
• 1st Assistant General Overseer–Presently held by Raymond Culpepper.  He is not eligible for re-election to this position but can be elected to another position on the Executive Committee.
• 2nd Assistant General Overseer–Presently held by Timothy Hill.  He is not eligible for re-election to this position but can be elected to another position on the Executive Committee.
• 3rd Assistant General Overseer–Presently held by Orville Hagan.  He is eligible for re-election to this position or any other position on the Executive Committee.
• Secretary-General–Presently held by Paul L. Walker.  He is eligible for re-election to this position or for any other position on the Executive Committee.

 

AGENDA…REPORTS

There are 24 items on the agenda (not withstanding the election of officials) and nine (9) call for reports to the General Council.  These reports are in some cases, the result of previous General Council work and the assignment to smaller committees to research and develop strategies and bring back reports.  In other cases, the Executive Council has chosen to give a report to the group regarding work it has done in specific areas which may directly impact on the mission or scope of the church.  There is no action other than receiving of the report, although it is possible for a member to offer advice to the committee should their work be continued by the General Council.  

Item #1 will report to the Council on the 2008 Intercessors Conference which was held in Cleveland, TN and will highlight the need for the call of the church to issues and matters of prayer. There is a world-wide prayer movement ongoing and our leadership has chosen to kick-off the agenda with this important item.

Item #5 calls for a report from the Group Health Insurance Committee on their study to explore the feasibility of a national health group insurance plan. 

Item #10 is a report directed by the Executive Council outlining significant changes in the operational flow structure of International Offices as previously approved by the General Council/Assembly.  This report will come in a handout to the Ordained Bishops and will orient to the five divisions (Communication, World Evangelization, Care/Benevolence, Church Ministries, Education) which are now in operation (some are more advanced in operation than others).  This is designed to help the Bishops understand the changes being made in personnel, budgets, etc. as the churches embraces this new shift.

Item #11 will be a report calling for an appointed commission to study our by-law structure and report back to the 2010 General Council. The recommendation reads…That a study commission representing the leadership and constituency of our church is being appointed by the general overseer in consultation with the Executive Committee to study our bylaws and structure and to make a report with recommendations to the 2010 General Council.

Item #17 is a report from the Executive Council on the policy approved in receiving large groups of churches into the Church of God from other countries and comes with this recommendation…

a) In countries where the Church of God is already organized and under the oversight of a national overseer appointed by the International Executive Committee, no new church or group of churches shall be received into the Church of God without the involvement of the national overseer.

b) No church or group of churches shall be organized in any new country without the permission of the regional super¬intendent and field director.

c) In all areas where the Church of God is already firmly established and officially organized, great patience and extreme caution should be exercised when seeking to re¬ceive large groups of churches into the Church of God.

Further, we recommend this policy be referred to the World Missions Board to be published and implemented through their policies and procedures manuals. Also, we recommend the policy be distributed to Administrative Bishops in the United States and Canada and made available to local congregations seeking to plant churches in other nations of the world. 

Item #20 is a report calling for a study commission to outline the structure for the USA National Assembly. This came from the last General Assembly and is designed to allow American Bishops to deal with matters exclusive to the American church in session without the full General Council. This is common practice for all other countries with the Church of God and was adopted last year. The recommendation will ask for specific recommendations on the necessary structure and governance to oversee this national assembly.  The recommendation is..That a study commission is being appointed by the general overseer with representative membership (age, gender, eth¬nicity, laity and ministers) to prepare recommendations for the bylaws and governance structure of the USA National Council/Assembly to report to the 2010 USA National Coun¬cil meeting for consideration. Further, this commission will consider the feasibility of a delegated National Assembly and International Assembly.

Item #22 is a resolution report calling for the official designation of CIMS as the curriculum for lay and ministerial training.  CIMS stands for Certificate in Ministerial Studies and is presently used in the credentialing and lay leadership training components of our educational processes.

Item #23 is a report on Care & Benevolence and stipulates that the care and oversight of the 70+ international orphanages operated under the direction of the Church of God will be jointed coordinated by the Division of Care and World Evangelism.

Item #24 is the report from the Motions Committee and involves those motions submitted by delegates to the General Council but not on the approved/accepted agenda.  These items are reported to the General Council in the order of their submission and acted upon usually with referrals to committees or up/down votes.  This report only comes to the body once all the items on the agenda are completed.  those motions from this committee which are not acted upon generally are then placed on the agenda for the next Executive council meeting who decides if they will be given to the Agenda Committee for the 2010 General Council.

Feel free to post comments for others to review and respond.  

Tomorrow…

Item #2 which one of the hot-button items for this council–the reduction of funds from local churches to state and international offices.  And more…