Church of God (Holiness) http://www.cogh.net The mission of the Church of God (Holiness) is to exalt Christ, equip the Church, and evangelize the world. Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:21:39 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 New Calendar http://www.cogh.net/new-calendar http://www.cogh.net/new-calendar#comments Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:21:39 +0000 David Woods http://www.cogh.net/?p=893 As you may have noticed, the different calendars we have used in the past for cogh.net have loaded very slowly or had other issues. We are now trying out Google’s calendar, which seems to work much better. Please forgive us while we rebuild our calendar database. Past events will not be recreated.

We apologize for any inconvenience!

]]> http://www.cogh.net/new-calendar/feed 0 Book Review: Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry http://www.cogh.net/rediscovering-pastoral-ministry http://www.cogh.net/rediscovering-pastoral-ministry#comments Wed, 23 Jun 2010 19:02:55 +0000 David Woods http://www.cogh.net/?p=878

Recently, I felt that as a pastor I needed a refresher on what pastoral ministry is all about. I found Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry by John MacArthur, Jr. and the Master’s Seminary Faculty to be a challenging and encouraging read on God’s call to ministry.

Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry reads much like a manual on pastoral ministry and would certainly be appropriate for a college or seminary class on the subject. This 439-page book is split into four main parts. First, biblical perspectives are considered. Second, issues concerning preparation for ministry are discussed. The third section is devoted to personal issues with which the pastor will grapple. The fourth section discusses various pastoral perspectives.

The end of the book includes suggested reading for the pastor as well as three appendices to help the candidate for ordination. There are also three helpful indices of authors, scriptures, and subjects discussed throughout the book.
I appreciated Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry, firstly, for its conservative stance on pastoral ministry. It is obvious that this book was written not to capitalize on trendy issues within the church world, but to present a manual on ministry that would be current for many years. I also liked the wide variety of topics and in-depth consideration of various issues.

The conservative holiness reader should be aware of various theological differences he or she will probably find with these writers. First, the Calvinistic doctrine of these writers is evident, although usually not blatant. Secondly, it is suggested that only males are called by God to pastoral ministry. Thirdly, these writers suggest that a man is not fit for the ministry unless all of his children are born-again Christians.

While John MacArthur, Jr., is the editor of this book and his influence upon the faculty of The Master’s Seminary is understood, I found several promotions in the first few chapters by various writers of MacArthur’s books, etc. to be a little nauseating. Furthermore, several chapters delved into such deep Biblical word study that the point and practical application were lost upon me.

Regardless, the strong loyalty expressed by these writers to the authority of God’s Word and the primacy of preaching in pastoral ministry were refreshing to me. Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry would serve as an excellent manual for the ministerial student, an positive encouragement for the seasoned pastor, and a great introduction to the pastor’s passion and purpose for the layperson.

Recently, I felt that as a pastor I needed a refresher on what pastoral ministry is all about. I found Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry by John MacArthur, Jr. and the Master’s Seminary Faculty to be a challenging and encouraging read on God’s call to ministry.

Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry reads much like a manual on pastoral ministry and would certainly be appropriate for a college or seminary class on the subject. This 439-page book is split into four main parts. First, biblical perspectives are considered. Second, issues concerning preparation for ministry are discussed. The third section is devoted to personal issues with which the pastor will grapple. The fourth section discusses various pastoral perspectives.

The end of the book includes suggested reading for the pastor as well as three appendices to help the candidate for ordination. There are also three helpful indices of authors, scriptures, and subjects discussed throughout the book.

I appreciated Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry, firstly, for its conservative stance on pastoral ministry. It is obvious that this book was written not to capitalize on trendy issues within the church world, but to present a manual on ministry that would be current for many years. I also liked the wide variety of topics and in-depth consideration of various issues.

The conservative holiness reader should be aware of various theological differences he or she will probably find with these writers. First, the Calvinistic doctrine of these writers is evident, although usually not blatant. Secondly, it is suggested that only males are called by God to pastoral ministry. Thirdly, these writers suggest that a man is not fit for the ministry unless all of his children are born-again Christians.

While John MacArthur, Jr., is the editor of this book and his influence upon the faculty of The Master’s Seminary is understood, I found several promotions in the first few chapters by various writers of MacArthur’s books, etc. to be a little nauseating. Furthermore, several chapters delved into such deep Biblical word study that the point and practical application were lost upon me.

Regardless, the strong loyalty expressed by these writers to the authority of God’s Word and the primacy of preaching in pastoral ministry was refreshing to me. Rediscovering Pastoral Ministry would serve as an excellent manual for the ministerial student, an positive encouragement for the seasoned pastor, and a great introduction to the pastor’s passion and purpose for the layperson.

]]> http://www.cogh.net/rediscovering-pastoral-ministry/feed 0 Church of God (Holiness) Regions http://www.cogh.net/church-of-god-holiness-regions http://www.cogh.net/church-of-god-holiness-regions#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 15:07:23 +0000 David Woods http://www.cogh.net/?p=875 During the Strategic Planning session of General Convention this year, a restructuring of the COGH regions was presented to delegates. This information has been used to create a “Regions” page on this site.

If you have any further information concerning your regional structure (officers, etc), meeting dates, news, etc., please let me know so that I can update cogh.net with your information.

Thanks!

]]> http://www.cogh.net/church-of-god-holiness-regions/feed 0 General Convention 2010 http://www.cogh.net/general-convention-2010 http://www.cogh.net/general-convention-2010#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 14:09:47 +0000 David Woods http://www.cogh.net/?p=863 Last Monday, the 2010 General Convention of the Churches of God (Holiness) was convened. After the election and financial reports of the various boards and committees was completed in the morning session (see our updated “Boards and Committees” page), delegates spent the afternoon in Strategic Planning.

Delegates first heard a report from Mark McCalmon concerning the investment account set up for COGH ministers to use as a retirement fund. Delegates were instructed how to keep their portfolio in balance, etc.

Next, representatives from Christian Healthcare Ministries presented their health cost sharing ministry to delegates. CHM informed delegates that the recent health care reform bill passed by Congress that requires everyone to carry health insurance provides an exception for those who are part of a health cost sharing ministry. The representatives went on to demonstrate the large savings one could make using their ministry rather than a regular health insurance plan. CHM also promised to make a donation to Kansas City College and Bible School for any new subscriber gained as a result of their promotional efforts at the Convention.

Chad Pollard next spoke, presenting a six part church planting strategy that Home Missions / the Strategic Planning committee plans to use in its effort to start new churches. Chad spoke of the need for church planting, noting that if the Church of God (Holiness) continues to lose churches at its current yearly rate that the U.S. movement will be gone in 2075.

Jack Smith noted that most of the “regions” developed several years ago are not functioning today. One exception is the northwest Arkansas region. Lonnie Witt, chairman of that region, talked of how their region functioned and noted a number of topics this region had studied as part of their meetings as well as activities in which they had engaged.

Thank you for your prayers for COGH delegates during this year’s General Convention. May God bless the Churches of God (Holiness) throughout this next year as we serve Him faithfully!

]]> http://www.cogh.net/general-convention-2010/feed 0 It’s Summer Time! http://www.cogh.net/summer-time http://www.cogh.net/summer-time#comments Sun, 30 May 2010 00:35:58 +0000 David Woods http://www.cogh.net/?p=848 It’s summer time and the next week or so will be filled with activities in Overland Park, KS, as congregants of various Churches of God (Holiness) gather to worship together at General Camp (June 1- 6) and then convene the General Convention (June 7). Already, the campus 0f Kansas City College and Bible School has become a busy place with the annual Council of ’69 meeting and high school graduation yesterday.

In the Council of ’69 meeting yesterday, four changes were made to the Articles of Incorporation. Two changes were housekeeping matters, but two were more substantial. The first of the two substantial changes was an alteration in language to allow the Council to elect members of the Board of Trustees who did not belong to the Council of ’69. The second substantial change empowers the Board of Trustees to make all corporate decisions set forth under KSA 17-6002 or any successor statute.

These amendments to the Articles of Incorporation were followed with four changes to the By-Laws. Two of these changes were also housekeeping matters. The third change was made to mirror the change in the Articles of Incorporation – that board members need not belong to the Council in order to be elected to the Board. The fourth change set a restriction on the election to the Board of Trustees to elect those who are affiliated with and in regular attendance to churches that are Wesleyan-Arminian in doctrine but are not associated with the Churches of God (Holiness), as long as that number of trustees does not constitute a majority of a quorum.

After the ensuing elections of Council members and board members, the Kansas City College and Bible School Board of Trustees is thus constituted

Term ending in 2011

  • Richard Beckham
  • Rodney Davis
  • Marley McLerran
  • Wayne Skeen, Jr.

Term ending in 2012

  • Kevin Askew
  • Larry DeOrnellis
  • Dwight Purtle
  • Rodney Smith

Term ending in 2013

  • Jeff Collins
  • John Dowd
  • Matt Lee
  • Greg Wright

Your prayers are appreciated for Dr. Delbert Scott, the Board, faculty, and students of KCCBS.

As you prepare and pray for our upcoming General Convention, you may wish to review the members of Church of God (Holiness) boards and committees in order to help you pray about those who should be elected or re-elected to these positions.

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