The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Church of God.

The Church of God is a body of Christians with roots in the holiness movement among Baptists in the late 19th century. The Church is often designated The Church of God (Charleston, Tennessee) to distinguish it from the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee), of which it is a remnant. The headquarters is in Cleveland, Tennessee, but its postal address is in Charleston, Tennessee. The official title of the body is The Church of God.

[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. The organization was formed in 1903. 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 church. 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, led by Tomlinson, was court-ordered in 1951 to assume the name Church of God of Prophecy, which is still in use. 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, independently 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 a remnant group who held to the doctrine of the bible called "The Church of God", (TCOG) (commonly referred to as The Church of God (Charleston,TN)) with a particular emphasis upon the word "The" in its title as a statement of this reorganization, was the singular embodiment of the New Testament Christian church. Robert J. Pruitt was chosen 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 interim general overseer, to replace Robert J. Pruitt. In the TCOG General Assembly of 2006, Stephen Smith was confirmed as the general overseer for The Church of God. Currently (as of 2007), The Church of God operates in 48 countries/territories.

[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 into apostasy in A.D. 325
    • The church was restored in North Carolina on June 13, 1903
    • The church experienced disruptions in 1923, 1993, and 2006 but this body is the continuance of the true church of God
  • The new birth as a result of repentance, justification and regeneration(born again)
  • Sanctification 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
    • 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
  • It is possible to lose salvation, or fall from divine grace, if one goes back into sin.
  • 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.

[edit] External links