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The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres) | |
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Classification | Protestant |
Orientation | Holiness Pentecostal |
Polity | Theocratic Government |
General Overseer | Lavell Craig |
Region | Worldwide |
The Church of God is a holiness Pentecostal body that descends from the Christian Union movement of Richard Spurling, A. J. Tomlinson and others. They consider themselves officially The Church of God, but also designate themselves as The Church of God (1957 Reformation) and The Church of God (Jerusalem Acres), which is the name of their headquarters.
The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres shares its early history with the Church of God of Prophecy. After A. J. Tomlinson formed the Church of Prophecy Markers Association in 1941, he appointed Grady R. Kent head over it in 1943. After Tomlinson's death, his son Milton was appointed General Overseer, but Kent remained a forceful preacher and influential leader. In 1948, the Church of God of Prophecy adopted a resolution making the General Assembly the highest authority in the church. This helped set the stage for division. Some members within the church accepted the practice of Theocratic Government, with the Bishop or General Overseer ruling the church.
In 1957 Grady R. Kent went out of the Church of God of Prophecy and formed The Church of God, which adopted its name in 1958. The church was "reorganized" in Cherokee, North Carolina, on February 17, 1957. On August 1, 1958, a seven-acre (28,000 m2) tract of land was purchased in Cleveland, Tennessee, and the church undertook a project similar to the Fields of the Wood, which is owned by the Church of God of Prophecy. Great authority was placed in "Theocratic Government" and the Chief Bishop, who was responsible for ruling the church. Bishop Kent died on March 31, 1964, of cancer of the nose. He refused medical treatment for the cancer until just before death, preferring to rely on a prayer vigil conducted by a rotating team of his 12 Apostles. Several other Bishops have presided over the church since then, and in 1996, another split happened with Bishop John A Looper leaving the church after disagreements over doctrinal issues. Bishop Lavell Craig, as of March 2017, is the Presiding Bishop (they no longer use the term "Chief Bishop"). Under former Presiding Bishop Samuel Kramer's leadership, the church has fully returned to a Sabbath-keeping service schedule which had largely been abandoned under Looper's administration. The church has expanded and continues to grow in Haiti, Liberia, Zambia, Mexico, Argentina, Tanzania, India, and the Philippines.
The faith and practice of The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres is similar to the related Church of God bodies, but with more of a "Jewish" flavor, which they call "New Testament Judaism". Because the church believes that Judaism is God's plan of worship, "New Testament Judaism" reflects the fact that Jesus came to reform Judaism, not to destroy it. In fact this body is often identified, and occasionally self-identified, as The Church of God (New Testament Judaism). This body teaches Theocratic Government and teaches that the whole Bible is the inspired word of God; salvation by accepting Jesus as Saviour; the seventh-day Sabbath; the nine gifts of the Spirit and five gifts of ministry; and the post-tribulational premillennial return of Jesus Christ. While the group accepts prophecy as ongoing today, they believe that modern prophets are fallible, and therefore modern prophecies are not considered equal with the Bible.
The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres does not celebrate traditional holidays which were introduced by the Roman Catholic Church, such as Christmas, Easter, and All Saints Day. Their church calendar is based on the Hebrew calendar. They observe or celebrate a number of days, some of which are peculiar to their denomination. For example:
The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres observes the seventh-day (Saturday) Sabbath, citing that the Bible states that this was the custom of both Jesus [1] and Paul. [2]
Theocratic government is the system of governance used by The Church of God. In this system, the Church is led by an Anointed Leader, often referred to as the Presiding Bishop (Presently Bishop Lavell Craig), who is considered to be the "good steward" who is commanded to give the church their "meat (or revelation) in due season". [3] In addition to the Presiding Bishop, Church government consists of twelve modern Apostles, Seven Businessmen and Seventy-Two Prophets, who oversee the works of the other bishops and deacons of the Church. Ministers are all welcome to participate in the discussion and any voting during the annual Minister's Council, but only ministers who have attained the level of Deacon or Bishop are allowed to present papers or subjects for discussion which may lead to a change in doctrine or procedure.
The Church of God considers all of the business of the church to fall under one of seven categories for each of which they have a corresponding business auxiliary. These categories are considered to be the seven distinct workings of the Holy Spirit (or the Seven Spirits of God), which they give the names "Love, Preservation, Marking, Teaching, Perfection, Publishing and Evangelism". The corresponding auxiliaries, in the same order, are "World Missions Auxiliary, Church Preservation Endeavor, Church Marking Association, Bible Teaching Auxiliary, Church Perfection Auxiliary, Church Publishing Company and Church Evangelistic Auxiliary".
As of 2013, The Church of God at Jerusalem Acres had 18 churches in the United States with many churches throughout Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, South America, Africa, India and the Philippines. They have an estimated membership of 35,000 worldwide, and developing contacts in Russia, Ukraine, and Canada. Headquarters are at Jerusalem Acres in Cleveland, Tennessee.
Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. The word eschatology derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" (ἔσχατος) and "study" (-λογία) – involves the study of "end things", whether of the end of an individual life, of the end of the age, of the end of the world, or of the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology focuses on the ultimate destiny of individual souls and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments. Christian eschatology looks to study and discuss matters such as death and the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the Second Coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, the rapture, the tribulation, millennialism, the end of the world, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth in the world to come.
This is an index page of Wikipedia articles related to the topic of religion.
The Church of God 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 is added to distinguish it from similar-sounding organizations. The Church of God was organized in 1993 after a schism in the Church of God of Prophecy. Its headquarters is in Cleveland, Tennessee but its postal address is in Charleston, Tennessee. As of 2007, The Church of God operates in 48 countries and territories.
The Church of God of Prophecy (COGOP) is a Holiness Pentecostal Christian Church. It is one of six Church of God bodies headquartered in Cleveland, Tennessee that arose from a small meeting of believers who gathered at the Holiness Church at Camp Creek near the Tennessee/North Carolina border on Saturday, June 13, 1903. The Church of God of Prophecy has congregations and missions in over 135 countries, with a membership of over 1,500,000. Membership in the United States as of 2010 was 98,407 in 1,743 churches. Ministries of the Church include homes for children, bible training institutes, youth camps, ministerial aid, and Spirit and Life Seminary. The Church operates Fields of the Wood, a Bible theme park and popular tourist attraction, near Murphy, North Carolina.
The Church of God for All Nations is a Holiness Pentecostal body of Christians.
The Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith (COOLJC)is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination with headquarters in Manhattan. It was founded in 1919 by Robert C. Lawson. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives in 2020, the denomination had 85,938 members in 527 churches.
The Bible Way Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ World-Wide was an African-American Oneness Pentecostal denomination started in 1927 in Washington, DC. In 1997, a division over who was the rightful successor to Presiding Bishop and founder Smallwood Edmond Williams occurred. This dispute ultimately led to the splitting of the church into two separate organizations: a church of the same name led by Huie L. Rogers and the International Bible Way Church Of Jesus Christ led by Cornelius Showell. The church's chief officer was the Presiding Bishop. Both successor bodies conduct a general conference annually in July and operate a publishing house in Washington, DC.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has several unique teachings about Judaism and the House of Israel. The largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement, the LDS Church teaches the belief that the Jewish people are God's chosen people and it also teaches the belief that its members share a common and literal Israelite ancestry with the Jewish people.
In Christian eschatology, historicism is a method of interpretation of biblical prophecies which associates symbols with historical persons, nations or events. The main primary texts of interest to Christian historicists include apocalyptic literature, such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. It sees the prophecies of Daniel as being fulfilled throughout history, extending from the past through the present to the future. It is sometimes called the continuous historical view. Commentators have also applied historicist methods to ancient Jewish history, to the Roman Empire, to Islam, to the Papacy, to the Modern era, and to the end time.
Dual-covenant or two-covenant theology is a school of thought in Christian theology regarding the relevance of the Hebrew Bible, which Christians call the Old Testament.
The doctrine of the Trinity, considered the core of Christian theology by Trinitarians, is the result of continuous exploration by the church of the biblical data, thrashed out in debate and treatises, eventually formulated at the First Council of Nicaea in AD 325 in a way they believe is consistent with the biblical witness, and further refined in later councils and writings. The most widely recognized Biblical foundations for the doctrine's formulation are in the Gospel of John, which possess ideas reflected in Platonism and Greek philosophy.
This is a glossary of terms used in Christianity.
The Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Observation and remembrance of Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments considered to be the fourth in Judaism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and most Protestant traditions, and the third in Roman Catholic and Lutheran traditions. The Sabbath was possibly influenced by Babylonian mid-month rest days and lunar cycles, though its origins remain debated.
Christianity in the 1st century covers the formative history of Christianity from the start of the ministry of Jesus to the death of the last of the Twelve Apostles and is thus also known as the Apostolic Age. Early Christianity developed out of the eschatological ministry of Jesus. Subsequent to Jesus' death, his earliest followers formed an apocalyptic messianic Jewish sect during the late Second Temple period of the 1st century. Initially believing that Jesus' resurrection was the start of the end time, their beliefs soon changed in the expected Second Coming of Jesus and the start of God's Kingdom at a later point in time.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Christianity:
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" is one of the Ten Commandments found in the Torah.
Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish diaspora throughout the Eastern Mediterranean. The first followers of Christianity were Jews who had converted to the faith, i.e. Jewish Christians, as well as Phoenicians, i.e. Lebanese Christians. Early Christianity contains the Apostolic Age and is followed by, and substantially overlaps with, the Patristic era.
Grady R. Kent, was an American theologian and preacher who worked closely with A.J. Tomlinson in the early years of Church of God of Prophecy, and later went on to establish The Church of God. His life included the formation of numerous material programs like the Fields of the Wood and the Joel's Horsemen Christian motorcycle group, which he used to spread the message of the church.
Theocratic Government is a form of Ecclesiastical polity that has been historically associated with the teachings of A.J. Tomlinson and Grady R. Kent. It was previously employed in Church of God and Church of God of Prophecy and now only remains in use with The Church of God and a few smaller organizations. It was designed to be patterned after the same form of government used in the Bible by Moses and Jesus. It consists of an Anointed Leader at the head, Twelve Apostles, Seven Business Overseers, and Seventy-Two Prophets, in addition to having various bishops, deacons and ministers serving under them.