Church Leadership Honoring the Church of God in Christ Protocol By Leonitta L. Turner


By Queen E. Phillips The worship leader


of the evening service mounted the platform as the thunderous applause and triumphant shouts of praise from the Saints saturated the auditorium. The call to worship and high-spirited invocation had invoked the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was definitely a Psalm 150 atmosphere.


Gradually, as if adjusting


the volume on a blasting radio, the joyful noise was lowered by the hand gesture of the worship leader. A holy silence hovered over the auditorium at the directive, “Standing all over the building!” All eyes were fixed as the distinguished episcopacy of the Church of God in Christ entered the assembly majestically, arrayed in their sacred


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vestments. The adjutant’s rever- ential tone intensified the solemnity of the procession as he announced each official’s name and title, “The Right Reverend...” As these high ranking officials and distinguished leaders of the Church proceeded up the center aisle, there was an indescribable presence and humility about their demeanor that demanded the highest level of respect and honor to be given mankind; specifically, great men of God anointed and appointed to lead God’s precious people. Once the adjutants ensured that the leaders were properly seated, the worship leader addressed the House. Protocol was established. It would not be necessary for others to address the House again because protocol was set. Perhaps you have witnessed


a similar scenario as described above, either in the international Holy Convocation, Jurisdictional Convocations, or other special ceremonial services where the Church of God in Christ leaders and ranking officials were present. Each time that I have been blessed to attend an Official Day wor-


ship service, or special ceremonial occasion, it was an awe-inspiring experience that revealed the sacredness of such consecrated offices. There was always an atmosphere of reverence and holiness that was conducive of the powerful manifestation and ministry of the Holy Spirit. In addition to the presence


of the Holy Spirit, the commonality in these services is protocol, etiquette and order. These are areas of concentration assigned to adjutants who are called and selected to serve church leadership. In her book, “A Call to Order—A Handbook for Those Who Serve, Adjutants-Dea- coness- Mother’s Board”, Mother Geraldine Miller writes: “Etiquette is knowing what to do at the proper time. Protocol is doing what is right at the proper time. Order is setting the proper time for protocol and etiquette to take place.” Oftentimes, set rules of


order, proper decorum and appropriate recognition of church leaders are considered unnecessary pomp and circumstance. However, such a mindset contradicts what scripture teaches about orderly


conduct. God is not the author of confusion (disorder) (1 Corinthians 14:33). Therefore, preserving protocol within the church honors God with excellence in service and shows respect to His chosen leaders.


There are two specific reasons protocol and etiquette are necessary and important within the Church:


1 Without a prescribed code of etiquette or courtesies, worship services would be disorderly. Disorderly conduct and confusion prohibit the consistent flow of the Spirit. Have you ever been in a worship service when the Spirit was high, and something was said or done “out of order?” Disorder interrupts the flow of the Spirit. However, obedience, divine order and a unified body of believers are prerequisites for a mighty move of the Holy Ghost in a worship service. Additionally, protocol and order originated with God. For example, God created the heavens and the earth in a structured and orderly arrangement (Genesis 1:1-31). He set rules and systems in place to govern the universe at His command so that everything that was made is held together by Him and upheld by the authority of His word (Colossians 1:16-17). Namely, protocol, etiquette and order are necessary because everything should be done decently (properly) and in order. “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).


2 It is very important that we respect and honor the leadership God has placed within the church, as well as appreciate their God-given gifts (Ephesians 4:11-16). The Bible teaches us to “honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance. We are to show them great respect and wholehearted love.” (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). A common protocol tradition in the Church of God in Christ is addressing the House. That is, acknowledging ranking officials and church leaders in worship services. Properly addressing the House is a way of showing respect to church leaders.


There are four levels of “governing” leadership within


COGIC. Listed in order of rank, they are: 1) Presiding Bishop 2) Jurisdictional Bishop 3) District Superintendent 4) Local Pastor


Showing respect for leadership by acknowledging them begins with the highest ranking leader present at that particular meeting, and continues in descending order to the lowest ranking leader present (as listed above in a-d). The four most common meetings are: 1) National meeting 2) Jurisdictional meeting 3) District meeting 4) Local meeting Finally, Mother Geraldine Miller also writes, “If we are to be


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good stewards and effective in our ministries we must know the proper way to serve...This means that we need to know etiquette, protocol and order.” Therefore, our commitment to serving prop- erly and showing respect toward leadership and each other gives glory and honor to God, whether we are in one of the meetings listed above, or in a small group meeting. In essence, we honor protocol within the Church of God in Christ because we honor God who has already set the standards for knowing and doing what is right in His Holy Word.


Queen E. Phillips is a member of Mt. Rose COGIC (Crosby, TX), where she serves as a curriculum writer and teacher on the ministerial team.


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