Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee)
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The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee) is a pentecostal holiness body of Christians with roots in the holiness movement among Baptists in the late 19th century. Though the offices of the church are located in Cleveland, Tennessee, they are often designated The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee) to distinguish them from a similar body usually called the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). Their postal address is in Charleston, Tennessee. The official title of the body is The Church of God.
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[edit] History
In August of 1886, Elder Richard Spurling (1810-1891), an ordained Baptist minister, became dissatisfied with what he believed were overly creedal approaches to New Testament Christianity. Spurling collaborated with seven members from Missionary Baptist churches in Monroe County, Tennessee and Cherokee County, North Carolina. These small fellowships organized the "Christian Union", with the stated intent to unite on the principles of the New Testament without reference to restatements of the faith in creedal form. The Church of God (Charleston) descends from this movement. Ultimately, the "Christian Union", under leadership of Spurling's son and others, including a former Quaker and Bible salesman named A.J. Tomlinson, experienced remarkable growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Appalachian foothills. By 1907, Tomlinson had become the acknowledged leader of these Christian believers whose faith was driven by Wesleyan notions of personal holiness and reported Pentecostal experiences of being filled with the Holy Spirit and glossolalia. Many small congregations were planted and thrived, and organized under the common name Church of God adopted in 1907. In 1909 Tomlinson was elected General Overseer of the now-fledgling denomination. He held that position until 1923, and continued in a similar position in a derivative organization until his death in 1943.
Contrary to its desire to be free from creedal restatements of faith, this body was soon disrupted by competing restatements of Biblical teachings from within its own ranks. An ensuing division in 1923 resulted in two primary splinter groups, called respectively, [[Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)]] and the "Church of God over which A.J. Tomlinson is General Overseer". The latter, lead by Tomlinson, would be court-ordered its still-used denominational moniker in 1951 -- Church of God of Prophecy. A. J. Tomlinson's son, Milton Ambrose (M.A.) Tomlinson, succeeded him as General Overseer in 1943, and served until age-related disability prompted his retirement in 1990. Upon the election of M. A. Tomlinson's retirement that year, yet another splintering occurred. One group of members of the Church of God of Prophecy declared that the selection process of Tomlinson's successor was a departure from what had historically been perceived as "theocratic government" within the body's governing structure and procedure. This group indepdently organized in 1993 called for a "solemn assembly", borrowing an Old Testament term for corporate devotion to prayer to rhetorically emphasize its earnestness. Coincidentally, the "solemn assembly" produced yet another splinter called "The Church of God", (TCOG)(commonly referred to as Church of God(Charleston,TN)) with a particular emphasis upon the word "The" in its title as a statement that this newly formed splinter, alone, was the singular embodiment of the New Testament Christian church. TCOG elected Robert J. Pruitt to be the new overseer, and he remained so until 2006, when age-related disability prompted his retirement. A meeting of TCOG's leadership during the summer of 2006 ended with the selection of Stephen Smith as the new overseer, and this was later ratified by the general assembly of the denomination. TCOG presently claims membership in over 45 countries.
[edit] Divisions Continue
A split occurred on September 1, 1997 with the official acceptance of a "Declaration of Independence" after many attempts at reconciliation failed. It is believed that this new group left "Theocratic Government" upon which the original group led by the late Bishop A. J. Tomlinson stood as the Bible Church. The name of this group is The Church of God of North Carolina.
[edit] Beliefs
Beliefs of this body include:
- The Church of God (Charleston) is the true church
- The church was established before Pentecost around A.D. 28
- The church plunged in apostasy in A.D. 325
- The church was restored in North Carolina on June 13, 1903
- This is considered a fulfillment of the Isaiah 60:1-5 prophecy
- The church experienced disruptions in 1923 and 1990, but the Charleston body is the continuance of the true church of God
- The new birth as a result of repentance, justification and regeneration
- Sancification as a second work of grace, making holiness possible
- abstinence from use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs
- opposition to membership in secret societies
- opposition to wearing jewelry and other ornamentation
- against divorce and remarriage evil
- no swearing of oaths
- Baptism of the Holy Ghost, evidenced by speaking in tongues
- All gifts of the Spirit are in operation in the church (e.g., divine healing)
- Water baptism by immersion
- The Lord's Supper is a sacred ordinance reserved for sinless and consecrated Christians
- Feet washing is a New Testament ordinance
- Tithing
- The premillennial second coming of Jesus
- One can fall from grace, as stated in Romans 6:1
- The observance of the Sabbath was a requirement of Jewish law and as such was not carried over into the Grace Dispensation. Sunday is not the Sabbath but is merely a day set aside to give special attention to the worship of God. Instead of keeping only the Sabbath day holy, we are required in this dispensation to keep every day holy. The Jewish Sabbath is a type of Christ, who is our rest, rather than the day. See Hosea 2:11; Romans 14:5, 6; Colossians 2:16, 17.
