Happy New Year!

Well here we are at the end of 2008! Who said we would not make it. Just think your car has depreciated by $1000.00 and you will be, after Wednesday night, be waring last years style of cloths. The big question is will your heart make any changes? I hope that all who read this blog will engage themselves in a desparate attempt to draw nearer to God than ever before in your life. You are worth it to God to be better than what you have been. We all can love Him more and do more than we have been doing.
I look forward to hearing of the great things God is doing in your life.

When will the Tithe of Tithe begin to be used as prescribed in the General Assembly Minutes?

The new executive committee has been in office now for 90 days. It appears there has been no movement to start using the moneys for Evangelism and Home missions as prescribed in the minutes of the General Assembly. Is this maleficence in office when the do not obey the by laws and administer the EHM moneys to the support of evangelism, new churches and helping old churches who are having financial problems.
I join with other of my fellow Church of God Bishops in calling on the Executive Committee to change this practice and adhere to the minutes.

What is the Price of Freedom

While I disagree with how the election of the president turned out the truth is we all will have a new president come January 20, 2009. It is going to be interesting to see all the back peddling and excuses he will give when he cannot put a check in everybodies hand and make all their hurts go away. In his speech of acceptance when he stated that it might not happen in a first term and that there would be cause for a lot of sacrifice the whole temperment of the audience changed.
The truth is that he will never accomplish half that he has promised. While it is true that the economy is in a mess we as christians are not bound by the economy of the United States. Our income and success depends on Christ and our service to Him.
I will be praying for Barak Obama that God will bless him with great knowledge and the real ability to do a lot that he has said he will do.

Obama wrong for America

Obama is wrong for America. Not one major CEO from any company has endorsed him. The banks have already stopped small business loans because of his announcement of his tax policy.
But the biggest reason I can't vote for Obama is I can't bring myself to vote for anyone who believes it is alright to kill unborn babies or let live birth babies die with out rendering medical help.
This is what you will get in a President who would be committing genocide against his own black people. No, No, I just can't vote for Obama.

A New Pastor Finally Appointed

I wrote last month on the lose of one of our pastors in a near by town. He had to leave the ministry because of moral falure to the point that he can never be restored to ministry in the Church of God.
Finally after a month the church has a new pastor. A young energetic minister who I believe will quickly get the church back up to speed and to winning souls to the Lord Jesus Christ. I am a little perturbed. Number one I felt the State Office took to long to name a replacement pastor for this church. Number two the one they appointed was my executive pastor. So now, even though this church is blessed, I have a vacant spot on my ministerial team. It will take someone with a lot of energy and get up and go attitude in a replacement I know God will send us someone to take his place. I am sure that God is going to bless him in this new endeavor. This will be his first time being a senior pastor. So pray for this church!
I receive a call from the state offices this morning wanting an address for the father and mother of the fallen minister. After a month maybe they are going to reach out to them and minister to them. They also served the Church of God many years as pastors. They are loved and appreciated so much and are just one of the many who are hurting because of the moral failure of their son. We are praying for Samuel and Mary that God will bless them greatly in their retirement years. Please keep this family in your prayers. They really need it.
I hate to sound like a broken record but I just can't believe the greed and selfishness of a minister who will indulge his own lustful desires to the point that it destroys so much having to do with family and the church. This happen way to many times.

Another Fellow Minister Has Fallen.

On November 28 I wrote about all the ramifications when a minister falls because of moral failure. It has happen again. This time it was a minister in a town right next to my town. It is a very sad situation. He will never be able to be licensed again in the Church of God. Much worse he has lost his marriage, his church of loving people and all the years of confidence that others had come to have in him.
It was like a funeral when the letter of resignation with the reason was read to the congregation. They loved him so much that they were willing to try and work something out. However, under the bylaws of the church that was impossible.
The next day was a terrible day when two seperate trailers were backed up to the parsonage one to be loaded for him and the other loaded for his wife and daughter. The heart break with a wide range of emotions was very visible to everyone. The wife and daughter had NOTHING left but their cloths to pack in the trailer. No home to go to. No relatives to accept them; just nothing. I also felt so broken as my wife and another of the ladies from our church went to clean the parsonage for them because the wife was not physically or emotionally able to do it. We tried to show them all the love we could but the brokeness was so hard for them. I did receive an offering in my church for the wife, ($1596.90), to help her until she could some how put her life back into some kind of order.
HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO SELFISH I keep asking myself? That for their on lust and physical pleasure for a few moments in a life time could be so overpowering and cause the break up of a home, a church and many families. Pray for this family! It hurts to see a fellow minister fall and bring about such distruction.

Proposed change in Exhort rank of ministry

It will be a grave mistake for the General Assembly of the Church of God to make the Exhorter rank of the ministry the responsibility of the local church. There are more law suits brought against the church in the removal of exhorter license than all others combined. If the State and General Offices cannot handle all the law suits how in the world will the local church handle them. It will mean a run on local churches and pastors to give exhorters license to any and everybody that comes along. At present the canidate for exhorters has to graduate from cims and mip plus have a background check done before being tested for license. In my opinion the reason for passing this responsibility on to the local church is to get rid of the possibility of law suits on the State and General Offices of the Church of God. Putting it really simple: don't vote for this to take place. It will be a giant step backwards for the church.

Storm of discussion to hit Church of God General Assembly

For those of you who keep up with such things know this. The worlds oldest Pentecostal denomination is on the bring of division and split. The Church of God General Assembly, which is the highest rule making body of this church, will meet in August. There is a great cry going out for finiancial openeness by the General Headquarters. However, it does not yet appear that this will happen anytime in the near future. It seems to steam from the resent new building of three new buildings at the General Headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee. It is my understanding that the construstion was suppost to be limited to $10 million dollars. However, with cost over runs it went far beyond that amount thus money was taken from any and every department source they could find. There are many who are questioning the legality of doing this with out the approval of the ordained bishops. It is causing quite a fire storm that could cause a lot of problems for the current leadership who remains closed mouth as to how this was done. Even though the minutes of the General Assembly requires that any bishop in good standing with the church can receive a finiancial accounting of all funds upon request this policy is not being followed. Therefore, a lot of bishops are taking up the cause to find out why the secret involved.
There is a simple answer to the delemia! Let the leadership, executive committee, follow the General Assembly minutes and release the wanted finiancial information. So simple yet so secretive and all is determental to the future of the denomination.

John McCain not a Conservative!

The more I hear John McCain the more I am convienced he is not a true conservative. How could you be Mr. McCain when you are espousing all kinds of programs that will only bankrupt the nation even more than it already has been done. While I applaud your matilitary career and feel badly for you suffering and injuries that in and of it's self does not qualify you to become President of these United States.
You are no different that Obama when it comes to using the clergy when it works to your advantage like you did with Dr. Hagee and Rod Parsley. Once you have used them for your purpose, winning primaries, you throw them aside as used meat for any and all. You will rue the day that you wacked their generous backing and then turned your back on them. They both are highly regarded in the christian world and carry great weight on home people vote for.
I can say for myself that I will be listening very closely to both John Hagee and Rod Parsley and might I say taking some ques from them as to how I should cast my vote.
Some words of advise: make amends with these men. They can help you.

I'm Having a Hard Time With My Vote

I am having a hard time making up my mind on my vote. I suspect thousands more are just like me. I just can't find a real conservative on the ticket. O did I say I would not vote democratic not matter who was running. So that kind of leaves me with all these republicans that and to liberal for me. Even though John Macain won in my state it was not with my vote. I voted agains all of them by voting for someone I knew could not win. Just because I am a christian does that mean I am obligated to vote for a former preacher. I don't think so! I have been down that road when I was young and voted for Jimmy Carter because he was a christian. Now I know that was a bad vote.

Do I vote a certain person becaused of economic issues. The economy is always going to be up and down so I don't think that is a good measure to vote by. When you don't have any more money than I have it makes even less sense.

I cannot bring myself to vote for someone who believes in killing babies even though all the other issues may line up. So do I just not vote? I don't think so! I will vote republican but who I vote for is up in the air. That is where I think a lot of you are also. So answer my question...who do you vote for with all these hang ups. God help us if Hillary wins!! God seems to be our only hope. But how do I vote for God? I will do a lot of praying and searching before I step into that little box to cast my vote when the time comes. Again, God help us!