COGWA Nominates Board Members

In COGWA’s latest letter (7/30/11), its secretary wrote:

I am pleased to inform you of the official results of the recent ballot to select nominees to serve on the Ministerial Board of Directors (MBOD). Here are the nominees, listed in alphabetical order:

David Lawrence Baker
Jim B. Franks
Arnold Jerome Hampton
Michael James Hanisko
Douglas Robert Horchak
Clyde L. Kilough
Leslie L. McCullough
Joel Christopher Meeker
Richard Robert Pinelli
David L. Register
Larry R. Salyer
Richard Conerly Thompson
Leon Walker
Lyle Eugene Welty

It is interesting, to me at least, that Leon Walker is on the above list. This is because he has not been listed on COGWA’s congregation’s page at all. Leon Walker claimed that when he was in UCG and paid by UCG, he actually was not part of UCG (for those unfamiliar, UCG is the United Church of God, and it suffered a major split last year–most who left became part of COGWA, which officially formed in December of 2010).

Clyde Kilough was president of UCG until April 2010. The leaders in both UCG and COGWA have taken stands against Herbert W. Armstrong’s teachings on governance and neither group has put the same priority on proclaiming Christ’s gospel of the kingdom to the world as a witness like HWA did, and the Living Church of God now does (though recently, UCG has made greater strides related to public proclamation than COGWA has accomplished).

Perhaps I should mention that both Larry Salyer and Leon Walker were directors, for a short while, of a temporary group in 2010 called COGA–a group that pretty much publicly stated that it did not stand for proclaiming the gospel (see COGA Rationalizes Away Most Public Gospel Proclamation). Despite that, “the title” that COGWA uses a lot on its webpages is “Preaching the Gospel”–we will all see what COGWA actually does. For more on Larry Salyer, please see News of Those Once Affiliated with GCG.

The elders of COGWA still may wish to read the article Polycarp, Herbert W. Armstrong, and Roderick C. Meredith on Church Government as well as the article 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?. And afterwards, perhaps reconsider why they are were they are. Others should do so as well.

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.