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!

When a pastor falls

In the world of the church it is always sad when a pastor has a moral failure. This happen recently near where I live. A very good preacher and pastor fell into the waiting arms of a woman other than his wife. I not only destroys the effectiveness of the church, that pastors ministry but also destroys the life of the wife and the children. WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MIND OF THAT PASTOR? In the process of the act or acts does he ever stop to think what he is doing to so many people especcially his family.



The wife: Where this wife was in the limelight of a great number of people (in this case several thousand) now she only wants to hide, not be seen or answer a phone. She has to tell the children something as to why their father is no longer at home. Why they are not attending church where they always have and having people pouring love into their lives. The income is stopped in most cases so how does she put food on the table and take care of all the other things that a loving husband once helped with. Where she was once the FIRST LADY of the church she is now the last. Her mind is going in a million different directions. Did her husband, the pastor, ever think of what he was causing as he enjoyed his moments of indiscreations in a hotel or an apartment somewhere?



The Church: Here are thousands of people who put all their hopes and dreams into every word, demostration, and act of faith that this man preached. Do they look for another church? Do they just quit church in doubt and unbelief? Do they hang in there hoping that it will all work out in the long run? Or is their faith crushed to the point that they stop praying and doing all the other things that would help them dig their way out of the doubt and dissappointment.



The mom and dad: Our boy was reaching the top ranks of noteability of preachers. He had his own television program, billboards everywhere, spoke in national conferences, spoke and hosted on the largest Christian Television networks in the world. Surely our boy did not lose all he had going for a trist with another woman? Our hearts are broken into a million pieces.



Yes, he has gone to a counseling center for restorestation but what about all the rest of us. Who is going to help us recover from such a far reaching hurt. The answer is simple but it is also very hard. Just trust in God to lead you through and out of all the hurt. It is very hard but it can be accomplished with much prayer and talking it out with people of like faith. Try not to hate the pastor or his wife. That is the wrong direction. Let the love of Christ be you main place of release from the hurt come from. Just remember this is not the first time a pastor has gone into moral failure and sad to say will probably not be the last time. So pray, love and keep yourself in church. You will come out of this with your faith in tact!

Thanksgiving

It is only a few days before Thanksgiving for all Americans. We have a lot to be thankful for. However, there are those among us who do not seem to be thankful for being able to live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. Where else could a person live and have the freedoms that we enjoy yet we only celebrate it one day out of the year. On any given day YOU have the right and the ability to decide what you are going to do that day. If you don't want to go to work you can call in sick and in most cases your excuse will be accepted without question. Thus you have the day off to do as you please. In most cases our needs for the day are already there for us to partake of. Yet in most of the countries I have had the opportunity to visit they do not have it this way. They wake up, hopefully, with one goal in mind and that is to try to get something to eat that day. They may not have eaten for several days. Their cloths maybe dirty. Their bodies may be dirty. etc. Yet we with all of our problems do not have to rake and scrap for every morsel of food we eat. We don't have to dig in the garbage dump for food. Yes I have been to the garbage dump to help feed those poor people in another country who live, eat and survive because they have a garbage dump. Then the city fathers in that country come along and burn the garbage dump along with the huts that the people who love there have built to help survive against the elements. Our poor in the city where I live are not getting run out of garbage dumps but out of city parks where people of good character and caring natures come each day to feed them. What do our city fathers do? They pass an ordinance that will not allow anyone to feed people in the city park. I guess they are trying to send them to the garbage dump too.
So! How thankful will you be to get to sit down with your family Thanksgiving day to a full table of all the finest and best that can be prepared. Will you be thankful enough that you will go to one of the many care centers in your city and volunteer to dish out food on to a plate that you did not furnish and with food you did not cook. Could we at least just dip the food and put it on their plate.
Well let me get past this and look to the next holiday, Christmas. I have plans to help provide a Christmas for kids in an orphanage in Guatemala. Ooooo you should see those happy faces to get a gift that may cost very little as far as we are concerned but to them just to get a gift means everything to them. Join all the rest of us and let us make this a wonderful and thankful Thanksgiving!

My first post!

I enjoy communicating with people about just about everything. I guess right now all the guys are talking hunting and speck fishing. I personally am trying to get my outboard motor started after it set up for a year. I had surgery on my neck so I haven't done much fishing etc.

So what is going on in your world? Write me all the good stuff. I enjoy all sports, traveling and most anything to do with family history. I have done pretty good tracing my family tree. We are a rare bunch of old Germans on my dad's side and English Hughes on my mother's side. I really have enjoyed looking everybody up and finding kin folks I didn't know I had.

My mom passed away a month ago. I got to see a lot of cousins and other kinfolks that I had not seen in 30 to 40 years. If any one out there has any information on my family I would appreciate knowing what information you have.

Stay alert out there in cyberspace. There is no telling what you will find next.

Dr. Ray G. Minger, Ph.D.