COGWA Elects Jim Franks President

In COGWA’s latest letter (9/01/11), its Board stated the following (bolding mine):

The officers selected were Jim Franks as president, David Johnson as secretary and Jason Lovelady as treasurer…

This meeting, held in Orlando, Florida, began on Monday morning…In the afternoon Jason Ranew, the Church’s legal counsel, assisted the MBOD in a review of the governing documents recently approved by the elders…On Tuesday we reviewed, edited and approved by resolution the criteria and process outline for selection, then recessed for a time for personal prayer before selecting the officers…

After determining that a small office is indeed necessary to function effectively, a task force of Clyde Kilough (chair), Dave Johnson, Dave Evans and Jason Lovelady was appointed to conduct a location study and report back to the president and board prior to the MBOD’s annual meeting set for Dec. 5-8…

On Wednesday the group discussed, in general, what is needed for areas of operation, primarily in Ministerial Services and Media, and what qualities will be needed for managers to oversee those areas. We then moved to suggestions for men who could serve on the Doctrine Committee and the MEAC…

The next focus of discussion centered on going forward with fulfilling the Church’s mission…The ideas put forward were not designed to lead to decisions, but to begin considering issues that are important to our future work.

In the afternoon we reviewed the latest financial report to be aware of income and spending trends…Finally, brethren, we are very well aware that you have been concerned and praying fervently about the success of these meetings.

COGWA was formed out of a split from the United Church of God in 2010 (the overwhelming majority of the Latin American ministers and slightly more than 1/2 of the paid US ministry in UCG went with COGWA).

Thus far, COGWA’s primary focus has appeared to be to pay its ministry, come up with a governance system that is similar to UCG, and to take other steps to support the ministry. It does, of course, hold services for its members and has had a variety of internal talks about someday doing public proclamation of the gospel.

To put this into historical perspective, the old Global Church of God was on radio in about 2 months after its formation, and when the faithful reformed as the Living Church of God, LCG was on television across the USA in less than two months of its formation. COGWA, like UCG before it, simply has demonstrated that it has different priorities than I believe that Jesus set for the Church (Matthew 28:19-20; 24:14). Since declaring it in 1995, I have believed that the governance structure of UCG, and now COGWA, would result in that type of difference.

Some articles of possibly related interest may include:

Attending the Church of Choice This article discusses whose choice is important to worship God; should you attend the church of your choice or the church of God’s choice?
Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government What form of governance did the early church have? Was it hierarchical? Which form of governance would one expect to have in the Philadelphia remnant? The people decide and/or committee forms, odd dictatorships, or the same type that the Philadelphia era itself had?
Should a Christian Vote? This article gives some of the Biblical rationale on this subject. Would Jesus vote for president/prime minister? Is voting in the Bible? This is a subject Christians need to understand.
Unity: Which COG for You? Why so many groups? Why is there lack of unity in the Churches of God? Has it always been this way? What can/should be done about it?
Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.
There are Many COGs: Why Support the Living Church of God? This is an article for those who wish to more easily sort out the different COGs. It really should be a MUST READ for current and former WCG/GCI members or any interested in supporting the faithful church. It also explains a lot of what the COGs are all about.
Concerns about Church of God, a Worldwide Association This seems to be the largest group that came out of the United Church of God. Here is some history and concerns about it.
Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?
The Laodicean Church Era has been predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. These are non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.