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Re: the poster boy of the COG may not be COG anymore
Thats it?No description or nothing?Saying something like this is kinda like saying the bank’s interest rates are going to change …sooner or later you’re going to hit it right on the head.________________Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!Email me at: [email protected] planters are focused on just one thing …introducing people to Jesus!
Chattanooga
Re: the poster boy of the COG may not be COG anymore
Does this mean we will have to get another poster boy? If so, whom do you recommend?
7564Before it gets deleted
3,266.5When you live under a rock, a post like this could be ??????? Well I know it ain’t Wade Horton! Actually if someone is ‘pulling out’ and it is announced or someone KNOWS. what difference does a day make? I mean lots of folks read Acts, but it ain’t the Washington Post…………………………I do not read the Chattanooga news paper! I know that is hard to believe! ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Don’t even know where to begin here…I guess first would be the horrible leap to a conclusion that the only reason for leaving the COG would be because a person concludes they don’t need covering. And for what it’s worth the whole notion of covering seems conveniently overcooked whenever necessary – notwithstanding the fact it was pretty much done away with at the protestant reformation. But I digress…And then there is always my favorite one: How people will make gutless, disparaging remarks about a person’s character from behind the veil of a pen name. Seriously……….?? Well spoken Tom!I’ve never mentioned this part about my tenure in the CoG but when I was 23 & pastoring my first CoG church, my best friend (22 years old) & I were given permission to merge the two tiny churches (located in the same area) & I became the associate pastor since his building was much bigger, he had a few more people & we were right smack dab in the middle of town. After 2 years our little band of 80 people grew to over 400 & the two guys who merged were now 25 & 24 years old. We began to run into some major road blocks & a plan was developed by the 12 men on our pastor’s council to consider giving up our beautiful location & to leave the CoG.Things happened & we eventually left in December 1984.I stayed there until the Spring of 1992 & was very glad to be a part of a church that grew to over 1,300 in attendance on a consistent basis.The year after I left my friend resigned & the current pastor who is there now was elected to lead the congregation. Under his leadership the church grew to well over 4,000 & today it is a leading church in the community.I mention this because had we hunkered down & listened to bad advice, I sincerely doubt we would have seen the hundreds of families that we saw come to the Lord & nor would we have seen the many people called to ministry as we did. It was a God thing but people made it very messy for awhile.I came back to the CoG in 2000 & I’m pastoring a church with no intentions of ever leaving this denomination.It’s kind of funny to me how we look at it as a negative thing when it’s very possible that God has a major plan to do a wonderful thing, if we let Him.________________Empty nest syndrome is for the birds!Email me at: [email protected] planters are focused on just one thing …introducing people to Jesus!
I have said many times on this forum. Here I learn. Folks can laugh or scorn. but I can read a post one way and have a mind-set. Then commenters come in with new data or an angle I have never considered, and change my thinking SOME. There are times it changes my mind a LOT. I really try to be open minded about a post, but there are times once a post gets footing and takes off there are times, I realize, ‘Hey the dude has a point, one I had not considered.’We are in this way for a cause, that cause is out Lord. We can forget that at times, if we are not careful!You can point at men who have gotten too big (in their own minds), Earl Paulk JR is one. YOu can see across the landscape where men reach out and win souls and make disciples.Anyway, I just wanted to say, we have read some good comments on this thread. No matter it’s intent, if it was nefarious. (Is that a good word?) ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Good night all, hope you have adjusted your clocks… We are headed for Sanford, Riverwalk COG in the AM. God Bless and Good night. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Do COG folks believe in the ‘covering’ doctrine now________________
You can’t be a Christian and pull out of the denomination, can you?Uncovered________________I’m not saved because I’m good. I’m saved because He’s good!My website: http://www.bradfreeman.comMy blog: bradcfreeman.tumblr.com/
Well, there is covering and there is covering. Some people who like to wax sentimental about belonging to THE denomination will carry on about the organization offering covering to churches. Most usually this is stated by officials whose livelihood depends on the strength of the organization. In aprilmay’s case, one never knows exactly where the snark might have been directed in a statement like too big for their covering. It could be a euphemism for too big for his britches.As far as the doctrines believed by the church folk, there seems to be a considerable trickle down from TV preachers.
Mike Chapman and City Church?Just a guess.Kind of like the identity of the big churches about to affiliate with Cleveland.I don’t doubt it, just that no one wants to identify them. ________________Charles A. HutchinsSenior Pastor SPWCCongregational Church of Godwww.spwc.church
It’s not Mike Chapman. Brother Mike is in the processing of retiring and his son, Shannon is leading the charge. Shannon is doing a great job.City Church is an amazing congregation. Their new building is beautiful. Make plans to stop and see it when you are near Chattanooga.Mart________________
I’ve always found some degree of mutual exclusion when using the terms transparent and anonymous in the same sentence.Nonetheless, the counsel you have given is good.
I am sure this did not help him to decide to stay. But I doubt it was THE main reason.
I will say at this point it seems that most ‘Christians’ are ‘playing nice’. As a general rule at least half our good folk ‘sorta’ declare the ‘Leave-r’ as hell-bent!TL was brought up as an example of ‘falling-in-line’ when he was becoming a BIG name. In my mind,I ask: What if his situation were today? I can see a small-minded person (like myself) who doesn’t know the reality of ‘What It Takes’ to operate a LARGE organization. Upon visiting COG HQ would question, part of my tithe built this ‘opulence’?Have you seen the state of the art meeting room of the council? WOW.It is possible that one would say, isn’t that a waste of God’s money? They could meet in a much less expensive place.I said that, not as a negative, but just what a person who is living hand to mouth on a weekly salary and paying 10% + of their meager income, could not in their wildest dreams buy one of those chairs and the electronics around it, in the council room.I stated as a disclaimer, I have no idea if this is something ‘required’ to operate this large organization. I know it is not General Motors, but to me the COG is a large organization.Let me clarify my statements: in reality my income tax, that helps keep up our government, is spent in the first few minutes Air Force One is cranked up. I do not envy a president having use of that plane.So in comparison I know that 10% of my yearly tithe probably would not buy the staff at HQ a Pepsi and a Big Mac. But it is still needed like that plane.________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Yes and just think about the person in your local church who pays a large sum of tithe to the church he is a member of. Just think of the savings and what he could do with it if he wasn’t a member of your church.
To be sure, I am sure there are expenditures that are likely opulent, but at the same time, if one has the technology to conduct world wide media rooms with state of the art ability to carry both audio and video data, there is a certain dollar level at which is required to do that — period. That dollar amount may seem excessive to the small local church, but may be the minimum amount needed to use that media device. If indeed, they are using that technology to conduct meetings to save air travel, hotel, etc of many people, it may be economically wise to acquire such state of the art equipment. On the other hand, if it just sits and isn’t being used, that is a whole different story. I have worked with companies with multibillion revenues and 50 thousand employees. My current employer has over 5,000 employees and almost 1 billion in revenue. I report directly to the President and Board of this organization. However, I don’t consider it to be extraordinarily large compared to multi national corps such as Apple, General Motors, etc. So large is one of perspective. Compared to a small congregation of 200 members, COG HQ is large, but taken in perspective of truly large organizations, it isn’t. Unfortunately, for HQ, the perception of the members and ministry is that it is large, since perception is reality, it is indeed large From conversations I remember from years ago about COG finances and that their audits are not publically available to the membership, I think that is a SERIOUS issue. The COG is not a corporation which derives it revenue from sale of goods and services and intimate details of salaries, etc is not available to people that are not investors. The COG has common charteristics of a government entity where data is generally available, including personal salaries, to anyone under Sunshine, open government laws that are common. While it isn’t a government per se, I do not believe that even according to the Bible can they conduct their affairs in secret. The Church derives its revenues from donors, either directly or indirectly via the Tithe of Tithe. Therefore, its finances should be publically available to its donors. At the minimum, information should be available in some form and perhaps the salaries of senior officials should be available.Then, the Church membership can determine if the organization is wasting its resources. Without information, those opinions are based on rumour and speculation. To their defense, unfortunately, if they did release more details, members would question why one bought a $1,500 desk versus the $200 el cheapo from Wally world. There is a balance between being cheap versus extravagant and those judgements are difficult to address. Truly, the HQ is between a rock and a hard place, but I think at least general information should be made available to the membership. Perhaps, policies that indicate the price ranges available for equipment, technology etc. Travel policies could indicate whether officials can travel first class or coach. Even the travel policies can be difficult to truly judge. For a person that travels virtually full time, first class is not a luxury as airline travel is a chore, tiresome, and stressful. Unfortunately, for individuals who rarely travel, the thought of travel can be exciting and one may wish they could travel, even if via Coach. To this day, some 30 years later, I STILL automatically get tired the minute I step onto an airport! And, we were allowed to travel first class, stay in first class hotels, our laundry was paid for, and we were members of airport executive travel clubs that offered real recliners, individual servers in the restraunts, etc. By normal standards, we traveled in style. But, if you had to do that travel on a routine basis, it was NOT considered a perk, but as a way to try to relax between flights. I understand both sides of those issues and they are far more complex than first blush. This was more than you asked, but I thought I’d offer my view.
[/quote]Thanks MC, I do understand where you are coming from. ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Where are the days when some of our good Alabama boys would have objected to the OP calling Lincoln and Grant good men.
everyone might not think so but I’m just about________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
Bonnie, we understood the good men was tongue in cheek… it was never about the men, but about the
Okay, Say it ain’t so BB! That would be snarky and Aprilmay ain’t snarky! Is they? ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/
This is the kind of high-quality sticky that keeps me coming back to Acts________________I’m not saved because I’m good. I’m saved because He’s good!My website: http://www.bradfreeman.comMy blog: bradcfreeman.tumblr.com/
aprilmay rates stickys – brad doesn’t.Sounds about right________________
I wasn’t good and nothing I could do merited His salvation for me, nothing. He saved me because He is good________________
Wow a deleted sticky!
The time I was going to agree with you 100%, Maybe I still do, but now we will never know!!! These are the posts that cannot be hijacked, where I am told to go somewhere else and stay on subject. THANKS!ANYONEBUTHILLARY! ________________Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/