As we watch the shift from denominational affiliation to congregational governance in some churches, the question seems to be coming up more and more … what do denominations do? What should they do?
When the Church of God was smaller there was a desire to do more things together, to centralize efforts to evangelize our communities and the world, to care for orphans and provide for ministerial compensation. In fact, at one time within the church, all the tithe and offering receipts were sent to Cleveland and the General Overseer, then A.J. Tomlinson sent back to each pastor his salary and expenses for the church. It was a flawed system that ultimately created a fiasco within the church. That is not practiced any more, but many areas of corporate ministry are still shared through financial giving and participation.
At the present time, the Church of God is undergoing a significant realignment of resources in the denomination and as proposed, local churches will send 33% less funds to state and international offices than previously. This coming adjustment has generated a closer look at how ministry dollars are entrusted to leadership at both office levels. The evaluation is good and will help in being more effective in ministry productivity. The local church will retain more funds, assume more responsibilities and depend less on centralized funding for ministry ventures.
So, the question is – what should people want a denomination to do? How should ministry be funded on a denominational level and what areas are fundamental to the mission?
- WHO HAS GOD CALLED US TO BE?
- WHAT IS OUR SPECIFIC MISSION?
- HOW DO WE FUND THAT ASSIGNMENT?
What do you think?
[from forwardleadership.org by Bill Isaacs]
The latest Barna report is based on interviews conducted with a representative national sample of 1,871 adults who described themselves as Christians. The study examined people’s beliefs about spiritual beings, the influence of faith on their life, views of the Bible, and reactions to faiths other than their own.
