The new general overseer for the Church of God, Mark Williams, was elected on the closing day of the 74th International General Assembly. He was commissioned and delivered his first sermon as general overseer Friday evening to close out GA2012.

The following is a re-print of a profile which ran in the General Assembly TODAY publication and outlines Williams background, his family and deep roots in the Church of God and a glimpse into the future of the denomination.

When Chick-fil-A Dan Cathy came out in support of traditional marriage as the union of one man and one woman, government officials from three cities said they would ban Chick-fil-A from opening restaurants in their municipalities.

Earlier this month, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual (LGBT) activists reacted with predictable outrage to Chick-fil-A President and Chief Operating Officer Dan Cathy’s admission that he believes in traditional marriage. Again, predictably, various organizations including the multimillion-dollar Human Rights Campaign (HRC) organized a boycott of the popular chain of more than 1,600 restaurants. Taking it a step further, Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston wrote the company a letter, pledging to abuse his political power to prevent their company from serving the people of Boston or providing jobs for Bostonians because of the mayor’s bigotry against traditional marriage.

Life as an Olympic hopeful can end as tragically as a Shakespearean play.

Christians are embracing computer tablets and e-readers at a faster pace than most consumers, according to CBA-commissioned research by the Barna Group (BG).

On the same day that U.S. and Chinese officials were holding a human rights dialogue in the nation’s capital, ChinaAid celebrated its 10th anniversary with a seminar on human rights and the rule of law and an awards ceremony recognizing Chinese human rights lawyers and U.S. congressmen who have been at the forefront of the fight to protect human rights and bring about the rule of law in China.

The Church of God has partnered with other Pentecostal denominations and libraries to make many of our heritage resources available to students and scholars around the world.

The U.S. House of Representatives will vote on Tuesday, July 31, 2012, on legislation that would end the current legal policy allowing abortion, for any reason, until the moment of birth in the nation’s capital.

Dr. Niko Njotorahardjo, pastor of the massive Gereja Bethel Church in Jakarta, Indonesia, was inducted earlier this week into the “Order of the Towel” from Church of God Prayer Ministries and Project Pray.