General Council Votes on Re-Structure, Four Year Assembly
Orlando, Fla.–The Wednesday afternoon July 28 session of the General Council started with continued discussion regarding the elimination of the elected positions for the offices of director and assistant director of Evangelism and Home Missions.
A recurring theme was the clarification of the elimination of these positions only, and not the elimination of our Evangelism efforts. Loran Livingston, pastor of Charlotte Central Church and a newly elected member of the Executive Council, made an impassioned speech about the financial state of the church at large and it’s effect on pushing for necessary change.
When the vote was called, it was approved by a vote of 1,364-236 (85% -14%) for the director and 1464-146 (91%-9%) for the assistant.
Item 7 for the Restructuring of the International Offices and Item 8 regarding the Purpose of the General Assembly were adopted by 2/3 majority house vote.
Item 9 was one of engaging discussion for every part of the motion. There were a number of amendments proposed debated and voted on. Ultimately, however, the motions pertaining to the General Overseer, Assistant General Overseers and the Secretary General were adopted as originally written. These measures called for reelection every four years with a term limit of eight years.
Another agenda item was multi-layered, but hinged on the approval and adoption of changing from our current two year meeting schedule to a structure of four year meetings. This issue has been discussed in recent General Councils.
Remarks in favor of the motion centered on a continuity of leadership, financial stability and possible scheduling flexibility that could allow for such things as National Assemblies. Remarks from delegates opposed to the motion focused on the familial nature of the Church of God and the time sensitive issues that we face as a denomination. The most common thread of the discussion against a quadrennial schedule centered around words like “connectivity,” “fellowship,” and “relationships”.
Ultimately the vote was cast in opposition of the primary measure by a count of 1394-768 (65–35%). Upon completion of that vote, the other measures became irrelevant to the agenda. The General Council chose to continue the longstanding tradition of gathering for church business, the study of Scripture, and worship at the General Assembly every two years.
—Jeremy Isaacs
