Doctrine and Polity Committee Release Sixth Paper
Members of the Church of God Doctrine and Polity (D&P) Committee have released a paper entitled, “Speaking in Tongues: The Initial Evidence of Holy Spirit Baptism.”
The paper is the sixth in the series and is written by Dr. John A. Lombard, an adjunct professor of pastoral studies at Lee University. Past topics have included defense of the denomination’s stance on total abstinence from beer, wine, and liquors, authored by chairman Dr. French Arrington. The second was a commentary on observance of the Sabbath written by Martin. A third was penned by Dr. Terry Cross, a professor in the School of Religion at Lee University, who addressed the question of “Why Church?” The topic of human cremation was written by Dr. Jerald Daffe, professor in the School of Religion at Lee University, followed by the most recent release, a commentary on Spirit-filled Worship, researched and written by Seminary Professor Dr. Lee Roy Martin. The papers are located on the Church of God website (www.churchofgod.org) under the BELIEFS tab on the home page. They are also available in Spanish at the site.
The Doctrine and Polity Committee exists to routinely examine the belief statements, doctrines, and polity in place within the structure of the denomination. The group considers amendments reflective of modern culture and offers recommendations for modifications employing extensive biblical research.
Serving alongside Arrington, Martin, Daffe and Cross is a group of ministers, scholars and academicians. They include, professors at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary Dr. David Han and Dr. Steven Land, and Dr. Victor Pagan, retired leader with Church of God World Missions. Second Assistant General Overseer Dr. J. David Stephens serves as executive liaison.
To read the document “Speaking in Tongues: the Initial Evidence of the Holy Spirit Baptism” in its entirety, including endnotes, and to read previous papers, please visit www.churchofgod.org and click on BELIEFS.
