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Allen King: 5 reasons there are so few young COG ministers
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Post Sad but true KingJamesOnly
the COG denomination hasn't cared enough about fostering and harnessing the talents and gifts of young ministers and has continued to pursue organizational dehydrating activities that make it hard for a young man (or woman) to desire to stay with such an institution. i know of a young man that has been hired as an associate pastor at one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation... he desires to keep his credentials with COG, but can't even get his Ordination papers, even though he has passed the test and been signed off on. He is frustrated and ready now to get ordained in another organization because of the slothfulness of the licensing bureaucracy.
Tell me this...

If you were 25 and know what you know now... would you choose the Church of God to minister in?

We can outline lots of problems... but name some positive benefits for being a COG pastor.

What is the #1 main objective of the COG as a body?

I think if we look critically at these type questions we will gain the perspective of our young ministers and see why we are loosing them.
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4/17/08 1:38 pm


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Post Re: Sad but true Matt Boyd
KingJamesOnly wrote:
the COG denomination hasn't cared enough about fostering and harnessing the talents and gifts of young ministers and has continued to pursue organizational dehydrating activities that make it hard for a young man (or woman) to desire to stay with such an institution. i know of a young man that has been hired as an associate pastor at one of the largest and most influential churches in the nation... he desires to keep his credentials with COG, but can't even get his Ordination papers, even though he has passed the test and been signed off on. He is frustrated and ready now to get ordained in another organization because of the slothfulness of the licensing bureaucracy.
Tell me this...

If you were 25 and know what you know now... would you choose the Church of God to minister in?

We can outline lots of problems... but name some positive benefits for being a COG pastor.

What is the #1 main objective of the COG as a body?

I think if we look critically at these type questions we will gain the perspective of our young ministers and see why we are loosing them.



Kingjamesonly,

The answer for me is yes, I would still choose to minister in the COG. I am 36 and when I was 25 I graduated Lee and had already had some very discouraging experiences with the COG government. (One where my pastor was being attacked through me and many with in my journey through the licensure process) I had many challenges that were produced by individuals in our government system and many from other sources. However, I knew and still know this is where God has called me to be. So, no matter how bad it got. So I refuse to leave until God leads me to leave.

This focus on obedience to God's Spirit and not circumstances or a list of benefits to stay COG left space in my life for God to bless me. Eventually I was on staff at North Cleveland, being offered churches etc. These are big things for someone who came to Lee with no history or legacy in the COG, not the most talented or best preacher. But I was determined to obey the Lord and I was confident that he would find a place for me.

It is easy for us to forget that God is present in our crisis and He is doing something in and through us in the fire. If we choose to run out and jump ship we will jump right out of God's will into the pursuit of the road of least resistance.

What concerns me is that when we outline some positive benefits to being a minister in the COG we are using a consumerist approach in choosing where we will be ordained instead of going where God leads & obeying. God calls us into crisis to be agents for HIM in those situations and to purge us.

Yes, ministers are leaving our denomination. I have personally reached out to several that have left. Some were burned so badly only through God's grace and healing will they recover. But some were just spoiled, made mistakes and the state office and others bent over backward to help them.
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4/18/08 7:45 am


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Post KingJamesOnly
Matt said, "I have personally reached out to several that have left. Some were burned so badly only through God's grace and healing will they recover. But some were just spoiled, made mistakes and the state office and others bent over backward to help them."

the problem is that we, in the COG, label those who leave us as "burned" or "spoiled" and not as moving on to a place more fertile for them. God is very particular about stewardship.. and what is more important than the stewardship of our lives? I believe in all that you said about allowing the Spirit of God to move you... but why is that never the case, in our perspective, when people go elsewhere? If the COG would focus on the young ministers, the young ministers would stay. Its really simple, but they don't. And here we are in the situation that will be tell tell in one more decade. by 2020 the COG will be nothing more that stories and bygones unless we move our focus back to perpetuating, guiding mentoring and cultivating (this is called stewardship) the talents (young ministers) that God has given us. This will be costly and very time consuming... But unless we make the investment, we are finished. This should never be a debate, it should be our marching orders. instead of arguing about why people are leaving, we should be working to make this organization so strong that no one would want to leave. But i foresee the argument to continue, the exodus to continue and the rug sweep of the essential issues of our future to continue... until someone has enough guts to stand up and shout about it. I say this with respect.. and passion. We can turn around.. but its going to take work.
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4/20/08 9:41 pm


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Post KJV response wannabebishop
Grace and Peace unto thee, Kingjamesonly.

Thou hast heardeth thy cry from the rooftops. And I say unto thee, yea, we must sow bountifully into thy young Timothy's of thine great Church of God. My soul is downcast, for I myself am a young servant unto the Most High. Verily, we must lay prostrate and seek the face of God for thine elect to usher in a mighty, mighty move at thine Assembly.

The Message version:
T-Mobile Fav Five, are you listenin'?

No, really. Our leaders need to listen, and we need to make some serious changes. Peace out.
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4/20/08 10:19 pm


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Post roughridercog
The Dawg wrote:
Allen, you said a mouthful, my friend, and you are right on the mark.
My son told us last year that he knew he was called to preach. He will be leaving for college in a couple of months. He will be getting a degree in Physics Engineering and then going on to Medical school, as he plans on being a radiologist. So the kid is looking at 9 or 10 years of very difficult, time consuming college. I share this, because if he does the COG stuff, they want him to do 2 years of CAMS then the MIP; this on top of his college requirements. He is really torn. He wants to stay in the COG, which would make him a 4th generation COG preacher. But he is questioning at how realistic this is under his circumstances. I told him that I will support him in what ever decision he makes, and added that I could not blame him at all if he walked away from the COG. Quite frankly, if I were in his shoes, I would not even consider the COG with all the hoops they want him to jump through.


But if he's big on TBN, maybe they'll give him a building.
(I gotta go to bed. That was downright mean of me.)
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4/21/08 9:28 pm


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Post Well from experience..... REVKC
I got my licenses 7 years ago I was 18. I knew and I still know today I am called to pastor, when I preach, at a church of God I feel like I am being looked down at, and no one responds people continually tell me I am blessed by God, and that I have a very powerful annointing, but I still feel like my age is holding me back, after 5 years only my pastor would ask me to preach, I didn;t think nothing of it, I went MIP when I was 19 closest person to age was 27 and he was the grandson of a prominent pastor in the state, the next age was I think 41. a couple of months ago preached one message at my wifes old church which is a church of another denomination, people were very responsive and inviting and I have had different from churches in that denom, haven't tooken them afraid of losing my license,

it's not only that if I ever mentioned being a pastor to another pastor, not the pasotr I had it was like well less changed the subject there is definately a age thing going on with the Church of God, and people definately push out the younger
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5/8/08 3:43 pm


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