General Council Deals With Agenda Items

Nashville, TN—The Church of God International General Council, the group of ordained bishops registered and attending last week’s International General Assembly in Nashville, began their business session on Tuesday, July 19. Following Presiding Bishop Mark Williams’ “State of the Church Address,” corporate prayer, and communion, the General Council participated in the ordinance of foot washing. The experience set a unique and beautiful tone for the ensuing business of the church.

The first order of business for the Council was nomination of the Executive Committee, Youth and Discipleship and World Missions leaders, followed by the Council of Eighteen. This continued all day Tuesday and into Wednesday.

The election process of the Executive Council paused on Wednesday morning and listeners were inspired to reach the urban harvest. Dr. Tony Evans turned a “special order of the day” into a power-packed 40 minutes of anointed teaching. Evans talked about the power of a unified church and said, “Jesus did not come to take sides; He came to take over!” In the middle of troubled times and cultural divisions, Evans pointed toward the role of the church to influence culture stating, “God will not skip the church house to fix the White House!”

Wednesday afternoon included a second “special order of the day” with Pastor Larry Stockstill, of Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, La. Stockstill believes that “you can grow up in the church, but you can only be raised by a father.”

Attention of the General Council soon turned to item VIII of the agenda. Currently, General Assembly Minutes designate that, “The International General Council is composed of all ordained bishops of the Church of God, who shall comprise its voting constituency.” (Page 59, S2 Bylaws of the Church of God, Article VI, International General Council, Members.) The new measure suggests amending this item by adding the words “ordained ministers 25 years of age and older and” so as to read: “The International General Council is composed of all ordained ministers 25 years of age and older and ordained bishops of the Church of God, who shall comprise its voting constituency.”

The rationale behind this motion seeks to affirm the value of a new generation of ministers and would also expand the International General Council to include ordained women. After the nomination process of key Church of God elected offices, the measure above was presented to the body for consideration. This measure produced exceptional engagement, debate, and interaction among those speaking to the issue.

The members of the General Council seemed to earnestly wrestle and grapple for an accurate understanding and proper application of scripture related to this measure. After a robust debate and a balanced number of presentations from members, the item was ready for a decision by vote. The measure, as presented, failed.

Item IX on the agenda offered the potential of extending the term of state overseers from 12 to 16 years, effective in 2018. The other criteria for service as a State Overseer would remain the same. The primary rationale behind this measure is that longevity in leadership roles provides several benefits. After some discussion and debate, this measure failed and did not appear on the General Assembly agenda.

The Thursday morning General Council business session welcomed Jimmy Evans for the “special order of the day.” Evans is founder of Marriage Today that gives people help and hope to succeed in marriage. The General Council was reminded that “marriage is the holy institution that God loves” and “never has there been a great society that wasn’t built on the foundation of healthy marriages.”

At the 2014 General Assembly, the International Executive Council was asked to conduct a detailed review of the meaning and usage of the term “bishop.” Item X on the Agenda recommended that the review continue and that study include a detailed look at the title of “Ordained Bishop” and any effect it has on the legal and cultural issues of the International Church and on the IRS rulings concerning the national church. Further, that the titles for all ranks of ministry, qualifications of ministry and women in ministry be part of this report. The recommendation that this study be brought back to the 2018 International General Council was affirmed.

Item XI of the General Council agenda considered the qualifications for the serving as an Ordained Bishop. The motion allows for candidates, who are otherwise qualified, to become Ordained Bishops if “or he has three (3) years of active ministry accompanied by a ministry-related degree or its equivalency from an accredited institution or one certified by the Church of God Division of Education.”
The purpose of this motion was to account for those ministers who have chosen to obtain a ministry-related degree or its equivalency rather than go directly into active ministry and better connects the oncoming generation with the church of today. The motion carried, becoming a part of the General Assembly agenda.

The final “special order of the day” was Ed Stetzer; well-known conference and seminar leader. Stetzer challenged the General Council to be “salt and light” in culture and to effectively evangelize in these tumultuous times. “Holiness is separation from sin…not separation from sinners,” Stetzer declared.

Item XII was a report that focused on the development of a minister’s “culture of learning.” This report encouraged preparation for every minister for the challenges and opportunities of ministry by mobilizing every agency and all available resources to invest in perpetual ministerial training. This report was adopted by the International General Council.

Agenda item XIII included the presentation and adoption of resolutions of appreciation for Mark L. Williams, David M. Griffis, Wallace J. Sibley, M. Thomas Propes and the General Assembly Cabinet. A resolution was offered and adopted on the issue of transgender bathrooms. Further, a resolution was also adopted regarding the sanctity of marriage advocating that, “the Church of God exercise due diligence in teaching and preaching the truth about marriage in the biblical model—between one man and woman for a lifelong union—as God’s divine plan for His people.”

The afternoon session concluded with one remaining resolution for consideration. The International General Council addressed the motions offered from item XIV, “Motions from the Motions Committee,” in the final session of the General Council on Friday. The General Assembly convened that afternoon in the Grand Ballroom of the Music City Center.

(Source: General Assembly TODAY. Article compiled by B. Randall Parris)

Print This Post Print This Post