holiness
Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...
Christian denomination
A Christian denomination is a distinct Religion, religious body within Christianity that comprises all Church (congregation), church congregations of the same kind, identifiable by traits such as a name, particular history, organization, leadersh ...
restorationist
Restorationism (or Restitutionism or Christian primitivism) is the belief that Christianity has been or should be restored along the lines of what is known about the apostolic early church, which restorationists see as the search for a purer a ...
traditions. The organization grew out of the evangelistic efforts of several Holiness evangelists in Indiana and Michigan in the early 1880s, most notably
Daniel Sidney Warner
Daniel Sidney Warner (June 25, 1842 – December 12, 1895) was an American church reformer and one of the founders of the Church of God (Anderson) and other similar church groups in the holiness movement. He called for evangelism, the preac ...
.
One of its more distinctive features is that there is no formal membership, since the movement believes that true salvation through Jesus Christ, the son of God, makes one a member. Similarly, there is no formal creed other than the Bible. Accordingly, there is much official room for diversity and theological dialogue, even though the movement's culture is strongly rooted in Wesleyan holiness theology.
This Wesleyan-Holiness church movement is not historically related to other Church of God bodies such as the
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
The Church of God, with headquarters in Cleveland, Tennessee, United States, is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian denomination. The Church of God's publishing house is Pathway Press.
History
Origins (1886–1902)
R. G. Spurling (1857–1935), ...
or the
Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee)
The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee) or TCOG is a Holiness Pentecostal denomination of Christianity. It is based in the United States. The church's actual name is The Church of God; however, the parenthetical phrase ''Charleston, Tennessee'' ...
. Though these bodies are also holiness Christian in outlook, the Church of God (Anderson) does not share the
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement
Daniel Sidney Warner
Daniel Sidney Warner (June 25, 1842 – December 12, 1895) was an American church reformer and one of the founders of the Church of God (Anderson) and other similar church groups in the holiness movement. He called for evangelism, the preac ...
and several others. Warner had been a member of
John Winebrenner John Winebrenner (March 25, 1797September 12, 1860), founded the Churches of God General Conference.
Life
Winebrenner was born in Walkersville, Maryland. He studied at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was ordained in the German Ref ...
sanctification
Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...
, which he held to be a second definite work of grace, and on the nature of the church. The desire of Warner and the others was to forsake denominationalism and
creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
s. To this end, they determined to trust in the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
as their guide and the Bible as their creed. Warner's vision was that the Church of God would "extend our hand in fellowship to every blood-washed one", rather than align themselves with a movement.
From its beginnings, the Church of God had a commitment to
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...
and
antiracism
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
. The Church of God held that "interracial worship was a sign of the true Church", with both whites and blacks ministering regularly in Church of God congregations, which invited people of all races to worship there. Those who were entirely sanctified testified that they were "saved, sanctified, and prejudice removed." When Church of God ministers, such as Lena Shoffner, visited the
camp meeting
The camp meeting is a form of Protestant Christian religious service originating in England and Scotland as an evangelical event in association with the communion season. It was held for worship, preaching and communion on the American frontier ...
s of other denominations, the rope in the congregation that separated whites and blacks was untied "and worshipers of both races approached the altar to pray". Though outsiders would sometimes attack Church of God services and camp meetings for their stand for racial equality, Church of God members were "undeterred even by violence" and "maintained their strong interracial position as the core of their message of the unity of all believers". In the late 19th century, the Church of God used their journal, the ''Gospel Trumpet'', to disseminate pacifist view. In April 1898, the ''Gospel Trumpet'' responded to a question about the Church of God's stance on a Christian going to war. The answer printed was "We answer no. Emphatically no. There is no place in the New Testament wherein Christ gave instruction to his followers to take the life of a fellow-man". As time went on the Church of God maintained their stance on pacifism, but as
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
was erupting across
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
, the church's stance began to soften. When German Church of God congregants were drafted into the army, the ''Gospel Trumpet'' began running letters submitted about the conditions of training camps and on the battlefields. While encouraging their readers to pray for the German soldiers, the ''Gospel Trumpet'' made no reference to the apparent contrast between supporting the war effort and encouraging pacifism.
As the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
entered World War I, the ''Gospel Trumpet'' restated the church's official stance of pacifism but also reminded their congregants that they supported the authority of the
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
and should comply with local laws concerning the
draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vesse ...
. There were articles published to help a pacifist request non-combat duty if they were drafted. For those who decided to volunteer, the church reported that the volunteer would not lose their salvation but would have to answer to God concerning their actions during the war. Strege writes that as the war waged on, "there occurs in print no condemnation of those who entered the army—whether German or American—and there is no questioning of their religious commitment".
The Church of God pacifist stance reached a high point in the late 1930s. The Church regarded World War II as a just war because America was attacked. Sentiment against Communism (which advocated for
state atheism
State atheism is the incorporation of positive atheism or non-theism into political regimes. It may also refer to large-scale secularization attempts by governments. It is a form of religion-state relationship that is usually ideologically l ...
in the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
) has since kept strong pacifism from developing in the Church of God.
Developments in holiness standards
The Church of God continues to see itself as a direct outgrowth of the original teachings of D.S. Warner's ministry that began the movement in the 1880s. Warner believed that every group of organized churches who had an earthly headquarters and an earthly creed, other than the Bible, was a part of
. He and his later followers taught that God had restored the light of Christian unity in 1880. The Evening Light ministry became known as " come outers" because they traveled from town to town preaching that all of the saved needed to "come out of Babylon" and worship together in one place rather than being separated by creeds, dogmas and doctrines of men. The Reformation Ministry (another name for their ministry) believed that false Christianity was the harlot woman in the
book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
. The ministry further believed that the harlot woman was a symbol of
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and that her daughters were a symbol of
Protestantism
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
.
As an example of their emphasis on the nature of the true Church, the slogan of the Church of God paper, "One Voice", almost became "On Becoming the Church". The Evening Light Ministry of 1880-1915 believed that they taught the whole truth of Scripture and that they were setting the example for the true Church. In the process, they had placed a strong emphasis on what was seen as "holiness living." This led to a sense that certain cultural practices then common in late nineteenth and early twentieth America were out of bounds for the "sanctified Christian." Adherents saw it as non-conformity to the world, that is, that Christ had called them out of the "worldliness" around them, both internally and externally.
Some re-thinking began in 1912 when men were permitted to wear long neck ties. By the 1950s, the movement no longer forcefully taught against the immodesty of mixed bathing (swimming) among the sexes or the addition of a television to the home. These twentieth century changes focused on the idea that the internal transformations of holiness deserved far more emphasis than debates over its proper outward manifestation, such as styles of dress and some forms of worship. In his 1978 work for the Church, ''Receive the Holy Spirit'', Arlo Newell addressed his view of the nature of holiness for Christian living, emphasizing its internal requirements. Expressing the still dominant view in the Church of God, Newell stated that "holiness centers in completeness. Christ was and is the perfect sacrifice, none other need ever be made. Every believer in Christ has entered into the 'everlasting covenant,' and the extent of the work of redemption is limitless." Emphasizing the point, Newell went on to give a definition of the man who is holy. He noted that "the holy man is the whole man, integrated, harmonized within by his supreme, inclusive purpose to realize in himself and others the moral image of God revealed in Christ, God incarnate."
Thus, as the movement increasingly de-emphasized the importance of external manifestations of " holy living," teaching against the following list of practices, while still valued by some, is no longer emphasized by the Church of God:
* against outward adornment: wedding rings, ear rings, lipstick on women, or following "worldly fashions" (there is still an emphasis by some on "modesty", i.e. non-ostentatiousness in such things)
* women should always refrain from wearing clothing that pertains to men, e.g. pants
* women should not cut their hair but instead grow it long and men should keep their hair short
* ministers should not receive a set salary
The
Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma)
The Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma), also known as the Church of God Evening Light, is a Christian denomination in the Wesleyan-Arminian and Restorationist traditions, being aligned with the conservative holiness movement.
History
The origin ...
, a body in the
conservative holiness movement
The conservative holiness movement is a loosely defined group of theologically conservative Christian denominations with the majority being Methodists whose teachings are rooted in the theology of John Wesley, and a minority being Quakers (F ...
, was created in the 1910s as a result of
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
with the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) over wanting to maintain traditional standards of
outward holiness
Outward holiness, or external holiness, is a Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine emphasizing modest dress and sober speech. It is a testimony of a Christian believer's regeneration, done in obedience to God. The doctrine is prevalent among denominations ...
.
Statistics
According to a census of the denomination, in 2020, it had 7,800 churches, 887,000 members in 89 countries.
Beliefs
The denomination has
holiness movement
The Holiness movement is a Christian movement that emerged chiefly within 19th-century Methodism, and to a lesser extent other traditions such as Quakerism, Anabaptism, and Restorationism. The movement is historically distinguished by its emp ...
beliefs Church of God Our beliefs jesusisthesubject.org, USA, retrieved August 27, 2021 and is a member of the
Global Wesleyan Alliance
The Global Wesleyan Alliance (GWA) is an ecumenical organization of Christian denominations who adhere to Wesleyan-Arminian (Methodist) theology. It was formed in Anderson, Indiana, in 2011.
The initial December 2–3, 2011, organisational meetin ...
and the National Association of Evangelicals
The church observes
baptism
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
by
total immersion Terrence James Laughlin (25 March 1951 – 20 October 2017), was an American swimming coach and founder of Total Immersion, a popular swimming technique that emphasizes form before speed. He also became a best-selling author and the producer of swim ...
,
the Lord's Supper
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instituted ...
(commonly known as communion), and
feet washing
Maundy (from Old French ''mandé'', from Latin ''mandatum'' meaning "command"), or Washing of the Saints' Feet, Washing of the Feet, or Pedelavium or Pedilavium, is a religious rite observed by various Christian denominations. The Latin word ...
as symbolic acts, recognizing them as the ordinances of God.
Organization
Church polity
Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to e ...
is autonomous and
congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
, with various state and regional assemblies offering some basic support for pastors and congregations. In North America, cooperative work is coordinated through Church of God Ministries with offices in
Anderson, Indiana
Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson ...
. Currently, the general director is Jim Lyon.
There are 2,214 congregations in the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
which are affiliated with the Church of God with an average attendance of 251,429.2009 Yearbook of the Church of God, p. 353. Worldwide, adherents number more than 1,170,143 in 7,446 congregations spread over nearly ninety countries. In
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
, Church of God is the first denomination with 24% of the population and 111 congregations. Personal conversion and Christian conduct, coupled with attendance, are sufficient for participation in a local Church of God congregation.
In the United Kingdom, there are 2 congregations: Church of God, Egan Road (Birkenhead, Merseyside) under the leadership of Pastor Zach Langford and Community Church of God (Tottenham, London) under the leadership of Pastor Mickell Mascall.
In East Africa Bunyore is home to the national headquarters of the Church of God in Kenya, Bunyore Girls’ High School and Kima School of Theology all of which are located at Kima. A significant town in Bunyore is Luanda, Kenya located on the Kisumu-Busia Highway. Maseno University, in the neighboring Maseno town is less than 6 miles from Kima which was under Archbishop Rev Dr. Byrum A. Makokha until his death on 25/08/2020.
Affiliated schools
The church's
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...
is
Anderson School of Theology
Anderson University School of Theology is the graduate theological school affiliated with the Church of God (Anderson). It is a part of Anderson University and receives students from Azusa Pacific University, Bay Ridge Christian College, Gardn ...
in Anderson, Indiana. It is also affiliated with several colleges across North America, including Anderson University,
Mid-America Christian University
Mid-America Christian University (MACU) is a private Christian university in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. MACU is an endorsed agency of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana) and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. MACU was initially f ...
,
Warner Pacific University
Warner Pacific University is a private Christian university in Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1937, the university is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities and affiliated with the Church of God.
History
The school ...
,
Warner University
Warner University is a private Christian university in Lake Wales, Florida. It is affiliated with the Church of God.
History
Warner Southern College was founded in 1968 by the Southeastern Association of the Church of God in Anderson, Ind ...
and West Indies Theological College as well as Kima International School of Theology (KIST) in Maseno, Kenya, and IBAO (Institut Biblique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest) in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire.
The church also supports Triple C School, a primary and secondary school located in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.