Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) is a Christian denomination with roots in the holiness movement.

This body attempts to closely follow the teachings of Daniel Sidney Warner. They believe that God began to restore the church through Warner and others in 1880. The "Guthrie" body is a minority of a division of the Church of God in 1910-1911. The majority is known as the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana). The minority felt that the majority were compromising the original teachings of Warner and the Church of God.

George Winn, an ex-slave, founded the local congregation at Guthrie in 1905. Its early work toward racial integration gained for it the pejorative title The Church of God (Holstein). The congregation at Guthrie hosts the state assembly meeting each December.

The doctrines of the church are similar to those of the Church of God (Anderson, Indiana), but with stronger emphasis on separation and holiness. Members are expected to maintain a modest dress standard which includes calf length dresses for women, and pants (not shorts) for the men. Sanctification is held as a second work of grace after justification by faith. Members are not allowed to participate in any type of warfare or military service, nor to use alcoholic beverages or tobacco. Using foul language and telling or listening to dirty jokes are forbidden. Some members do not own a TV. Seminary training, salaried ministers, and tithing are rejected. Practices of the church include baptism by immersion, the Lord's supper, feet washing, lifting up holy hands, the holy kiss, anointing with oil, divine healing, fasting and acappela singing. Eschatology is amillennial.

In 2003, the Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) had 43 congregations in 18 states of the United States (the largest concentrations being in Oklahoma and California). The church does not keep membership rolls. Faith and Victory (founded 1923) is a 16-page monthly (11 months per year) publication of the church. Through mission efforts the church has extended into about 7 countries around the world.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  • Birth of a Reformation - Life and Labors of D. S. Warner, by A. L. Byers
  • Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor
  • Profiles in Belief: the Religious Bodies of the United States and Canada (Vol. III), by Arthur Carl Piepkorn
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/h/u/Church_of_God_%28Guthrie%2C_Oklahoma%29_7806.html"