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Aaron Scott

The Old Church of God vs. the New Church of God

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 6032 **5/31/19 7:52 am**

Let's assume for a moment that we are indeed in need of fixing. The problem with even making that statement is that if we ask 100 members what needs to be fixed, we'd like get a lot of different answers, some of them with obvious solutions (e.g., if they think the problem is transparency)...and others without an obvious solution (e.g., we need to go back to our holiness ways--something many of us might agree on, but which is not doable outside of a miracle).

To ME, the fix I want is to somehow reclaim the "old" Church of God, without again taking on the perceived extremes. That cannot be done denominationally. First, because that would entail a "holiness" stance that the majority absolutely reject if it touched upon apparel, outward adornment, jewelry, worldly amusements, etc.

In effect, we ALREADY have a "fixed" Church of God. Check out the Dallas Church of God in North Carolina. I have never set foot in the wonderful church, but that is the very church I grew up in (if you know what I mean). In fact, many of us grew up "there." Conservative dress, anointed singing, moves of the Spirit, on and on.

What we have are (at least) TWO Churches of God within the same denomination. Those that are "old school" and those who aren't. BOTH love and worship Jesus. But if I am being very honest, I have to think that the "old school" churches have a little something that the rest of us may have lost (or at least do not see regularly). It is MY thinking that part of this comes from the fact that the old school Church of God, for any of its mistakes--and there were no doubt many--was willing to set aside ANYTHING to be pleasing to God. It may not have been the actual setting aside of jewelry and makeup, etc. that brought about the blessings we seemed to regularly seemed to experience in church, but rather the WILLINGNESS to set aside anything.

That willingness is not as evident in the "new" Church of God (and I say this having lived in both worlds). I have zero doubt that the members of this latest version of the Church of God would absolutely lay aside anything...so long as they were SURE that God said it in scripture or in the Spirit.

Contrast that with our earlier incarnation. In the old Church of God, plenty of folks quickly and willingly set aside "worldly" things NOT because there was some clear statement in the scripture or Spirit, but simply because, I think, they loved the Lord and didn't need it signed in triplicate before they complied. It may be that the old Church of God was too quick to comply...while the new Church of God is too slow to do so.

Of course, this all has a rose-colored glasses thing going on. In truth, the Church of God of yore, as golden as it may be in our memories, was not nearly a denominational utopia. We likely reflect too fondly upon it, brushing aside some of the more troublesome aspects.

However, the old Church of God was not nearly so "rotten" as some remember it. If I recall correctly, Eddie once recounted the hard time he (or his mother?) had with an uber-conservative Church of God. I hear and recognize that. Indeed, harshness was often conflated with holiness, when nothing could be further from the truth.

But despite many of those things, the old Church of God was, in general, I believe, one of the most positive ecclesiastical events ever, and was a blessing that shaped many of our leaders today.

So...fix it? It's already as fixed as it's going to be, barring some supernatural event. And the solution is found by finding an "old" Church of God...and attending there.

Eddie Robbins

Acts-pert Poster Posts: 16509 **5/31/19 8:28 am**

The Church of God is made up of people from different cultures. What works in Dallas, NC doesnâ€™t work for downtown Charlotte. It is not a franchise like Chick-fil-A where every store is the same. So, embrace the different cultures in love. I remember seeing a video where a guy at Dallas COG was blasting the COG in Cleveland for whatever reason. Maybe it was the music style or something, i donâ€™t remember. I do remember feeling embarrassed for them and they took the video down. So, let the churches embrace their cultures, love on people and not try to â€œfixâ€ the other church. Itâ€™s amazing that itâ€™s always the other church that needs fixing.

UncleJD

Golf Cart Mafia Consigliere Posts: 3138 **5/31/19 9:00 am**

Tom Sterbens

Golf Cart Mafia Capo Famiglia Posts: 4507 **5/31/19 11:20 am**

sheepdogandy

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 7298 **5/31/19 11:45 am**

Listen to the message.

If you possess the courage to do so.

I am not surprised at the reaction to my invitation.
_________________
Charles A. Hutchins
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Congregational Church of God

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revuriah

Golf Cart Mafia Underboss Posts: 3682 **5/31/19 11:54 am**

Definitely agree with Eddie. Localized cultural norms will dictate how we interact with those in it. Southern style churches donâ€™t tend to do well in the Midwest (from my own experience, my home church in Michigan being at the time we found it very southern...the church over time has become more â€œnorthern or Midwesternâ€ in its culture). Part of that reason was it was founded by southern people that moved to Detroit to work in the auto plants. But they raised Midwestern kids, and didnâ€™t really connect with the southern Pentecostal style. I guarantee that what works in Dallas, NC or Dallas TX isnâ€™t going to work in Ann Arbor, MI.
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Cojak

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24276 **5/31/19 11:22 pm**

sheepdogandy

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 7298 **6/1/19 9:18 am**

The Holy Spirit crosses every cultural divide.

Every extreme of the human condition.

Take a God called person.

Put them through the "School of Christ" as taught by B. H. Clendennen.

Drop them anywhere in the world.
_________________
Charles A. Hutchins
Senior Pastor SPWC
Congregational Church of God

www.spwc.church

Carolyn Smith

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 5909 **6/1/19 11:06 am**

The "old" COG you are missing through those rose-colored glasses also had a very judgmental spirit to everyone that didn't look like them. Some of the folks were harsh, judgmental, and to be honest, just plain mean. That is not the Spirit of Christ. Let's recall the churches that tossed out young people for attending a ball game or wearing makeup or adults who were removed from using their gift like playing the piano because they got a divorce?

I agree about the saints who were willing to do anything to have a close relationship with God, who were willing to sacrifice whatever it took, but the problem arose when they tried to teach it to their kids. Instead of its being a beloved tradition, it became legalism as it was passed down as "you can't do this or you're gonna split hell wide open!"

What is missing in the church today is balance. It's neither "you can't do anything" or "you can do everything." It's "what is pleasing to the Lord"? The rules imposed were meant with love to help us not stray or displease the Lord. But being flesh, we rebelled. (Hello, Adam & Eve!) And once given freedom, we had to take it to the extreme. We've got to find the balance and the love to not judge others based on our walk with the Lord.

I also agree with the comments about culture. Life in NC is different than life in NY. We need to celebrate and respect our differences, not judge them. It was quite the culture shock for us to go to WI to pastor and find they didn't follow the same "rules" we did. But loving Jesus and loving people should always be the same.
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