United Church of God

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The United Church of God, an International Association (UCGIA)^[1] is a Christian denomination.^[2]^[3] The UCGIA calls itself "The United Church of God, an International Association", with the last three words italicized as shown here.^[4] This is done to differentiate the UCGIA from local congregations which also bear the name of the United Church of God.^[1]^[5]

The UCGIA is governed by a commission, which is as follows: "We trace our origins to the Church that Jesus founded in the early first century. We follow the same teachings, doctrines and practices established then. Our commission is to proclaim the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to all the world as a witness and teach all nations to observe what Christ commanded (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20)."^[4] UCG was formed after a series of major doctrinal changes that were introduced by the leadership of the Worldwide Church of God (WCG, originally incorporated as the Radio Church of God) in the 1990s. These changes altered many of the doctrines and the mission of the Worldwide Church of God under the leadership of Herbert W. Armstrong.

As an International Association, UCGIA has members worldwide. The first president of the United Church of God was David Hulme who was the former communication spokesman of the WCG. In early May of 2005, the United Church of God Council of Elders named Clyde Kilough as the current president.

1 Government
2 Ambassador Bible Center
3 Mission and media
4 Doctrine
5 History
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Government

The UCGIA is governed by a 12-man Council of Elders. Those serving on the Council of Elders are chosen by the General Conference of Elders. The General Conference of Elders meets once a year in May to perform tasks that include approving a budget, operation planning, strategic planning, choosing members of the Council of Elders, and to participate in seminars designed to strengthen the abilities and enthusiasm of the ministry for the work of the United Church of God.

The Council of Elders acts as the governing body for the international association and is responsible for forming policy and doctrine for the Church. The Council meets four times a year. The Council of Elders is currently made up of Robert Dick (Chairman), Jim Franks, Larry Salyer, Clyde Kilough, Victor Kubik, Les McCullough, Joel Meeker, Richard Pinelli, Richard Thompson, Leon Walker, and William Eddington.

The international headquarters of the UCGIA is referred to as the "Home Office" and is located in Milford, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati). The Home Office is headed by the President (Clyde Kilough). The president is charged with administrative responsibility over the day-to-day functions of the work of the United Church of God and acts as the official spokesman for the Church. The president leads a team of Operations Managers. The three operation managers are Dr. Thomas Kirkpatrick (Financial Services), Jim Franks (Ministerial Services), and Peter Eddington (Media and Communication Services).

[edit] Ambassador Bible Center

The Home Office also houses the Ambassador Bible Center (ABC). ABC is an eight-month program of classes in Biblical studies. The ABC program is designed to give young adults and all interested peoples a thorough foundation in the teachings of the Bible. The faculty of the Ambassador Bible Center is made up of David Register, Clyde Kilough, Gary Antion, Dr. Ralph Levy, David Johnson, and other adjunct faculty.

[edit] Mission and media

"The mission of the Church of God is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, make disciples in all nations and care for those disciples." There are a number of media that work toward this purpose:

The Good News Magazine is the flagship publication of the United Church of God. As of March, 2005, the Good News Magazine had a worldwide circulation of 412,000. Published bi-monthly, the magazine has no subscription price. The magazine contains articles on Bible prophecy, world news and trends, social issues, Biblical doctrine, science, and Christian living.
The Beyond Today Television Program is the United Church of God's new television program. The Beyond Today television program offers a unique perspective on the challenging issues of our day. From marriage to the Middle East, from evolution to the end times, from terrorism to the Ten Commandments, from government to God's existence, Beyond Today takes you on a Bible-based exploration of the major issues that shape your life and the lives of your family and loved ones. The Beyond Today program is shown on over 100 public access stations and has a growing multimedia website. The show uses a question and answer format between a host and two guests who serve as experts on a certain subject. The three hosts are Gary Petty, Darris McNeely, and Steve Myers.
The World News and Prophecy newsletter is published monthly and contains articles focused on world news as they relate to Bible prophecy. The World News and Prophecy alleges the rise of the European Union, the decline of U.S. and British power, and the moral decay of Western culture. Within this context, the newsletter presents issues and editorial opinion.
Vertical Thought is a quarterly publication published for youth. The publication contains articles from both church ministers and youth, and aims to strengthen the Christian faith of its youthful readership.
The United News is a newsletter which focuses on news and events of the United Church of God. The newsletter contains articles on UCG missions, church activities, reports on church governance, doctrinal and Christian living articles, and birth and death announcements of church members.
Anchor Magazine was a quarterly magazine published by the United Church of God whose aim was to reach out to individuals in the church of God struggling with homosexuality and edited by Melvin Rhodes.

In addition to the above publications, the UCG has produced 31 booklets on various Biblical and prophetic topics, a 12-lesson Bible study course, a monthly systematic Bible reading program with commentary, various article reprints, a national radio program, local access television programs, and a website. (See External links, below.)

[edit] Doctrine

The Fundamental Beliefs of the United Church of God are listed at http://www.ucg.org/about/fundamentalbeliefs.htm/.

The UCG concurs with many beliefs held in common by the world's largest Christian groups and associations (e.g. Roman Catholics, Orthodox churches, Reformed churches, Evangelical protestants, etc).

However, it also diverges in a number of areas from points of orthodox Christian doctrinal consensus. - - These differences include:

Belief in a non-Trinitarian view of God. Specifically, the belief that the Holy Spirit is the spirit/power of God and of Christ Jesus and is a separate person in the Godhead. [1] [2][3]
Belief that Christians are part of the family of God and will eventually, at their resurrection, be "spirit-born divine beings who are part of Elohim, the universe-ruling family of God" [4]
Belief that the gospel that Jesus Christ taught was the promised future, visible Kingdom of God and that the gospel is more than just the life, death and sacrifice of Christ.[5]
Belief that the USA, United Kingdom and some other nations around the world are composed in large part of the physical descendants of the lost 10 tribes of ancient Israel.[6]
Belief that the moral laws and feasts of the Lord as listed in the Pentateuch of the Old Testament are still applicable to Christians today. [7] [8]
Belief that the pagan origins of traditional Christian celebrations (e.g. Christmas, Easter) render them inappropriate as Christian celebrations in the eyes of God.[9]

[edit] History

The United Church of God has its roots in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), founded by the late Herbert W. Armstrong. Herbert Armstrong died in 1986, and Joseph W. Tkach succeeded him as the head of the church. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Tkach approved the introduction of numerous changes in key areas of church doctrine. When teachings on such core Worldwide Church of God doctrines as the observance of the 7th day Sabbath, observance of the Holy Days as outlined in the Holy Bible, and health and dietary laws were changed as part of what became known as New Covenant theology in the WCG, thousands of members and hundreds of ministers left the organization.

The United Church of God was founded at a conference organized in Indianapolis, Indiana in the spring of 1995 and attended by WCG and former WCG ministers concerned by the doctrinal changes introduced by the WCG.^[6] The first president of the United Church of God was David Hulme, selected after considerable prayer by a "spiritual consensus". Hulme left the United Church of God after he was voted out of the office of president in 1998.^[7] He currently functions as an evangelist and president of the Church of God, an International Community which maintains the same controversial governmental structure of WCG.

Following Hulme, elders selected to serve as president have been Les McCullough in 1998, Roy Holladay in 2001, and Clyde Kilough in 2005.

The current president, Clyde Kilough, graduated from Ambassador College in 1974 and pastored in congregations in Canada, Arkansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and California. He served as a writer for Youth magazine (now defunct, but once published by the WCG), was a UCG regional pastor in California, served as council reporter, council member, and chairman of the Council of Elders until his selection as president. The Council of Elders has since selected Robert Dick to serve a second term as chairman.

[edit] See also

Herbert W. Armstrong - founder of Worldwide Church of God, an organization which many members of the Churches of God were formerly affiliated.
Worldwide Church of God - the complete history of the organization started by Herbert W. Armstrong.