Editorial


LANCE COLKMIRE MANAGING EDITOR


A ASSEMBLY AFTERTHOUGHTS


FORMER LONGTIME employee of the Church of God Publish- ing House wore a Mickey Mouse lapel pin to work every day. When I asked this layperson why he wore it, his answer dumbfounded me: “Because I’m working for a Mickey Mouse organization.”


How could someone who made his living from the Church of God carry out a silent daily protest against the very denomination that provided for him?


I remembered that man’s astonish- ing comment from many years ago as I headed for Orlando, the land of Mickey Mouse, for the 2010 International Gen- eral Assembly. I was one of thousands of ministers who are financially supported by the Church of God who came to Orlando to do church business, fellow- ship, and worship together. Joining us were many more thousands of Church of God laity.


Were there any silent protestors among us—those who are bitter at the Church of God but keep quiet because the denomination is their means of sup- port? I wish not, even though marriage to a church body, like marriage to a human spouse, has its hurts and heartbreaks, and can result in deep and painful wounds. Church research specialist Ed Stetzer


wrote:


Denominations are . . . prone to navel- gazing, and often move more slowly than they should. But these aspects are products of human fallibility and sin.


Every time churches work together, ego, failure, and inefficiency will arise. And when they don’t work together, ego, failure, and inefficiency will arise. People, not denominations, are the source (“Life in Those Old Bones,” Christianity Today, June 2010).


Of necessity, some “navel-gazing” must take place every two years at our International Assembly. So this year we dealt with restructuring, term limits,


“MOST IMPORTANT, WE MUST LIFT OUR EYES FROM INTERNAL ISSUES TO THE LOST WORLD AROUND US.”


finances, and other churches associating with our movement—stuff that won’t change the world, yet issues we must deal with to be positioned for more effective ministry.


Tensions rose as we debated the role of women in ministry: Should women be ordained as bishops? Should women serve on local church councils? While most of the debate rightly centered on interpreta- tion of Scripture, some hurtful, out-of- bounds comments were made. When the dust settled, the decision was no to the first question, and yes to the second. Whichever side you or I supported in the debate, I pray that the Lord will help us to be reconciled to one another and to agree to disagree in an agreeable manner, being willing to learn from one another


in the process. Most important, we must lift our eyes from internal issues to the lost world around us.


This is what General Overseer Ray- mond Culpepper is leading us to do. In the opening meeting of this year’s Assem- bly, before we dealt with one matter of business, he opened his heart to tell us how Jesus Christ used the Church of God as a rescue station for his abused grand- mother and alcoholic father. He then led the ministers in praying that God will first help us to win the unsaved people in our own families.


In the General Assembly’s closing worship service, as Brother Culpepper was preaching on the church’s missional mandate, he began crying as he spoke about Christ’s death on the cross. The Holy Spirit moved across the convention center as our overseer led us in singing, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Then he related how, when he was 5 years old, while at home, his mother and his once alcoholic father helped him to receive Christ as Savior. Because the Church of God was involved in the Great Commission decades ago, the Culpepper family was rescued by the providence of God. We are no Mickey Mouse movement.


You may contact the managing editor by writing to him at lance_colkmire@pathwaypress.org or by calling 423-478-7592.


EVANGEL • SEP 2010 3


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