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General Assembly
We are grateful for the opportunity to have attended the
2014 General Assembly. This assembly’s theme “ONE”
permeated through every aspect of our General
Assembly. It was a pleasure to experience the quality of
ministry and administration of the Church of God
through dynamic messages, impressively coordinated
presentations and wisely moderated sessions. But
knowing that these events were continually bathed in
prayer, from preparation to conclusion, provided me the
greatest confidence that our denomination will continue
to be productive for the Kingdom of God.
Dr. Mark Williams’ competence was duly noted as he
navigated the treacherous waters of General Council
with grace and poise. At the helm, he guided us through
a few emotionally charged discussions and some
humorous moments of confusion. Every discussion,
whether well informed and properly prepared or not, was
treated with respect and acute attention was given to
proper order. The integrity of ONE was well preserved.

RE-CAP!

By: Judd Vowell
Pastor - Tupelo, MS

We as ONE must remember what made the Church of
God a viable part of the Kingdom. Generations must
stand beside one another and ask, “Was it creative
intelligence? Was it exhaustive planning and smoothly
executed programs? Was it youthful energy? Or was it
all night prayer meetings, weeks of fasting and
dependence upon God’s anointing?” Certainly, it was
the latter. I can hear people from my own generation as
they cringe at the sound of this. Immediately they
assume that I am suggesting that we return to poor
planning, minimum education, and “….just let the Holy
Ghost have his way.” But that is not what I am
suggesting. I would like to propose that in this concept
of ONE, each generation should appreciate the
contribution of education and planning along with
experience, wisdom and the anointing that comes
through years of submission to the l eading of the Holy
Ghost. We must remember as ONE.

But there are a couple of things that weighed heavily
upon me as I left this Assembly. First, I understand that
it is appropriate to limit debate for the sake of focused
attention and time conservation, but it seemed more like
many were tired of listening as opposed to thoroughly
persuaded. The rushed and skimpy attention to detail by
the body, did not provide an opportunity for legitimate
discussion, debate or defense. In one instance, we
bundled a series of items for the sake of time only to
discover later that the wording was ambiguous. But at
that point we could not correct the wording.

Doctrines and bylaws cannot be formulated upon the
lines of division between generations and the fear of one
generation’s influence over the other. The young must
find men and women who operate in wisdom and the
anointing even if they aren’t educated and even if they
don’t pastor a large congregation. They must embrace
the wisdom of experience. The aged must find a
confidence in their appointment that allows them the
freedom to bring people under their wings, utilize their
energy and creativity, and empower them to build upon
the foundation that has been laid. We must work as
ONE.

In the future, we must give ourselves permission to walk
through the agenda and appropriately discuss what is
actually written. And that is something to be treasured in
a culture that is constantly seeking ways to sneak in, or
out, new and faulty principles of integrity and morality.
It is our turn in the crow’s nest and we must be diligent
on our watch to ensure the continued doctrinal integrity
of the Church of God; or else, we just might awaken to a
Church of God that we do not recognize.

Our potential, our responsibility within the Kingdom of
God is too great for this gap to remain unclosed. We
must prayerfully, carefully approach our discussions and
debate. We must row in sync with one another finding a
like-mindedness that can only come from mutual time
spent in God’s presence and His Word. After all, Jesus
prayed, “Sanctify them in the truth…that they may all be
one…so that the world may believe that You sent
Me.” (John 17:17-21) We must be ONE: ONE FAITH,
ONE LORD, ONE MISSION, ONE!

The second thing which pressed upon my heart and
seems to pose the greatest threat to our doctrinal
integrity is the idea that we must trade experience and
wisdom for creativity and energy. The last two
assemblies have included debates that used the fear of
losing the young people as the justification for passing
certain measures. These ideas focused on new and fresh
approaches without the acknowledgement of anointing
and experience. This approach did not work well for
Rehoboam in 1 Kings 12, as he rejected the council of
the aged in order to make a name for himself and
destroyed what he had inherited.

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