former presiding bishops of cogic

Patterson appointed Dr. Edward Lee Battles President of the Department of Evangelism. Bishop Sheard was first elected to the General Board in 2012 and re-elected in 2016. [21], In 1907, there were ten COGIC churches, but by the time of Bishop Mason's death in 1961, COGIC had spread to every state in the United States and to many foreign countries. In Chicago, Ford organized voter registration initiatives. However, the Church believes that in some extreme or rare cases, medical and operational abortion may be the safest way to help the mother if the pregnancy is jeopardizing the mother's life and health. The ordinances of the church are water baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper and foot washing. We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling a Christian is enabled to live a holy and separated life in the present world. A. Jeter was selected as Overseer of Arkansas. He called for an annual gathering of COGIC members, known as the "International Holy Convocation", to be held in Memphis. [35], In 2016, the Church had 5.5 million members in 60 countries around the world. According to the press release, The COGIC General Assembly, the legislat Nevertheless, as time progressed in the 1950s and 60s, and as COGIC began to grow and became increasingly institutionalized as a denomination, several other churches and denominations began partnering up with COGIC's leaders to help advance the cause of Civil Rights for African Americans, most notably such as the National Baptist Convention, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, and many other similar predominantly Black denominations as well. G iving to the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) fell by nearly 50 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 1990's and early 2000's, Blake also penned articles for Ebony and Christianity Today noting the importance of the Black Church's influence on presidential elections and American politics and society in general. . [10] After testifying to being sanctified, members of the church referred to themselves as "Saints", believing that they were set apart to live a daily life of Christian Holiness in words and deeds.[11]. For a brief period of time, the YPWW Congress was combined with the Sunday School Congress in a joint convention until 1951. [42], COGIC teaches that angels are messengers sent from God who served during the creation, throughout the Old Testament, the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the establishment of the church and the ministry of the apostles, and continue to be at work in the Kingdom of God. B. McEwen, came to a head and was addressed at the 57th Holy Convocation. Drew Sheard. He is credited with systematically restructuring church departments and ministries, expanding the church in Asia, primarily India and the Philippines, and placing the COGIC on a solid financial status. She formed her daughters into a singing group who became known as the legendary "Clark Sisters" who helped introduce and became leaders of the contemporary gospel music era. The Church of God in Christ will host the installation service of Rev. The three-year-initiative with The Human Coalition was also supposed to encourage local COGIC clergy leaders across the United States, both male and female, to partner up with other anti-abortion advocacy groups and Christian ministries to lobby for more anti-abortion restrictions throughout local states.[51]. After the death of Mother Coffey in 1964, Dr. Annie L. Bailey (19641975), became the third General Supervisor. His sons Reverend Charles Blake, Jr. and Reverend Lawrence Blake were officially appointed as the senior pastor and assistant pastor of the church in October of 2022.[13]. Mother Willie Mae Rivers served faithfully for 20 years as General Mother until 2017 and the age of 91. [43], COGIC teaches that man was created perfect and sinless in the image of God as a tripartite being having a body, soul, and spirit. Bishop Blake has several academic and honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Divinity from California Graduate School of Theology, a Doctor of Law degree from Oral Roberts University and an honorary doctorate from California State University, Los Angeles. This seasonal period was selected because most of the COGIC members were farmers and were finished harvesting their crops around this time. Assistant Financial Secretary Bishop David A. Sanders. Pentecostals have been criticized because of their noticeable absence from the official record of activism that has been largely overshadowed by black ministers of other denominations such as Baptists and Methodists; however, there is evidence to verify and document the role and response of COGIC ministers and other Pentecostal denominations to the cause and struggle for Civil Rights in the United States during the 20th Century. Bishop Owens led the COGIC in its centennial celebration in 1997 with the theme, "Holiness, a Proven Foundation for a Promising Future!" "[90] This excerpt of Elder Carter's sermon went viral throughout social media and was picked up by major television news broadcasts. The pair modeled the pastor and wife ministry team in COGIC. In 1927, the call was made for workers to go to serve the Lord in foreign lands. Herndon and her twin sister Leatha were pioneers of the evangelistic work of the Church of God in Christ. Jones Sr. was elected Senior Bishop by the General Assembly. This endorsement allows female chaplains who are serving in the military, working in an institution or jails to perform religious services including funerals and weddings. Male as well as female evangelists were instrumental in spreading COGIC throughout the United States as well as around the world. COGIC teaches that the Holy Spirit is alive and active in the world. Macklin was selected as the first chairman. As has been stated, COGIC does not ordain women as elder or bishop, however, COGIC would not have become the largest predominately African-American Pentecostal church in the world, nor have the largest Women's convention of any major denomination without the contributions of women. Founder 1907-1961* Senior Bishop & Chief Apostle Charles Harrison Mason: . In his first year as Presiding Bishop in 2021, in order to combat debt that the church had accrued from previous years, Bishop Sheard helped to launch the "I Love My Church" Initiative, which was a massive fundraising campaign that helped the COGIC denomination to pay off much of its debts, renovate and refurbish its headquarters church, Mason Temple, establish housing complexes for low-income families throughout Shelby County, Tennessee near the church's headquarters, and purchased a former Catholic nunnery convent in Memphis to provide housing for single mothers affected by health challenges, disabilities, teen pregnancies, and domestic violence. He consecrated and appointed more than 100 bishops during his twenty-one years of leadership. Bishop Sheard is married to Evangelist Karen Clark Sheard. Christ is the Head of the church, and He is the only mediator between God and humanity, and there is no salvation in any other. General Secretary Bishop Joel H. Lyles Jr.. Chairman of the General Assembly Bishop Lemuel F. Thuston. Organized in the South and having a predominately African-American membership, COGIC has had a long history in advancing civil rights. Secretary of the National Judiciary Board Attorney Peter Davis. Mamie Till-Mobley was a member of St. Paul COGIC led by then Elder Louis Henry Ford (who would later become the presiding bishop of the denomination) officiated the service. Superintendent, International Sunday School Department Superintendent Mark Ellis. Bishop O. T. Jones Sr, however, did not leave the COGIC. The most active women's auxiliaries include: Missionary Circle, Hospitality, Executive Hospitality, Hulda Club, Wide Awake Band, Minister's Wives Circle, Deaconess, Deacon's Wives Circle, Prayer Warriors, Young Women's Christian Council, Usher Board, Educational Committee, Boy's League, Big Brothers, Cradle Roll, Women's Chorus, Board of Examiners, Public Relations, News Reporters and the Burners Home and Foreign Mission Bands. Women in COGIC have been influential in the leadership and organization of the church since its inception. Gilbert. Charles Blake was born on August 5, 1940 in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the late Bishop Junious Augustus (J. [36], In 2022, it was present in 112 countries in 2022. Patterson Sr. in 1989. Bishop Charles H. McClelland Board member (2021present). (RNS) A Detroit bishop of the Church of God in Christ has been named the new presiding bishop of the nation's largest historically Black Pentecostal . She organized the sewing circle and after meeting Elder Searcy, she encouraged the women to support mission work through the Home and Foreign Mission bands. COGIC teaches that because God uses conception through and after sexual reproduction and intercourse to create human life, that willfully aborting a human fetus is contrary to God's Word and Christian ethics, and it is considered to be a sin against God and the Bible within the denomination. Today however, many church mothers have been reserved to titular positions as many pastor's wives have assumed the role of leader of women's ministries in local congregations. The Youth Congress eventually become one of the largest conventions in COGIC. On February 21, 1965, when Malcolm X was assassinated and the family needed a place for his funeral, no major black church or facility would open their doors for the service. Green. Military chaplains have also been instrumental in spreading COGIC through military installations. This came on the heels of former Presiding Bishop Charles Edward Blake Sr.'s October 2020 announcement that he would not seek reelection. In 2015, after more than 40 years of faithful service, Bishop Carlis L. Moody was emeritized as Bishop of Missions. Mason was given authority to lead the new denomination. Charles Edward Blake Sr. (born August 5, 1940) is an American minister and pastor who served as the Presiding Bishop and leader of the Church of God in Christ, a 6 million-member Holiness Pentecostal denomination, that has now grown to become one of the largest predominantly African American Pentecostal denominations in the United States, from 2007 to 2021. From the very beginning of gospel music, COGIC members have influenced its rise. Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 2, 1931, Bishop Owens started preaching as a young child. F or the first time, the nation's largest Pentecostal and African-American denomination, the 5.5 million-member Church of God in Christ (COGIC), has voted out its presiding bishop. Elect Lady, International Department of Missions Mother Maddaline Norfleet. [27], Bishop James Oglethorpe Patterson Sr. was elected in November 1968 as the first presiding bishop of the church by the General Assembly at the Sixty-First Holy Convocation of the church. Chairman of the Board of Bishops Bishop Albert Galbraith. During the tenure of Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. as Presiding Bishop in the 1970s and 80s, Bishop Patterson established several interdenominational Christian schools and seminaries, and helped to establish the World Fellowship of Black Pentecostal Churches and gained COGIC membership in the Congress of National Black Churches as well, a national caucus of Black church denominations that represent different denominations and organizations of the Black Church in America. He served on the trustee board for 12 years and has served on the general board for eight years. It is a separate and distinct work of grace that occurs in the lives of believers after conversion. Desiring to learn more about the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, C. H. Mason, J. ", Elder Carter said that such public rebuke and condemnation were unwarranted, as he was not given a chance to say why he had made such statements. On May 19, 1952, he added Bishop J. O. Patterson Sr. Also in 1952, Mason revised the constitution to determine the leadership and succession of the church after his death. [47] COGIC regards homosexuality, infidelity, and any other forms of sexual immorality that does not agree with Biblical scripture as sinful. In the 1920s, Arizona Dranes, a blind Evangelist Missionary became one of the first gospel artists to bring the musical styles of COGIC to the public in her records for Okeh and performances. Bishop Jones was the only living bishop of the five original bishops consecrated by Bishop Mason. In 1988, after a thirteen-year exodus from COGIC, Bishop G. E. Patterson returned as the founding Prelate of the newly formed Tennessee Fourth Jurisdiction. He announced that he met with the ministry leaders and church council and trustee board members and consulted with them to approve of Reverend Charles Blake, Jr and Reverend Lawrence Blake, taking over much of his duties as the de facto pastor and assistant pastor of the church. The following 4 pages are in this category, out of 4 total. As a Pentecostal church, COGIC teaches that when one is baptized in the Holy Spirit, the believer will experience an initial evidence of speaking in tongues (glossolalia) by the will of God. Carter currently posts material on YouTube and Facebook reporting alleged misconduct and impropriety within current leadership of COGIC and other Christian (mainly African-American) denominations. COGIC policies and bylaws have also been established regarding sexual misconduct of COGIC clergy and laymembers for disciplinary purposes. Lizzie Woods Robinson (19111945) was the first "General Mother" of the church. There seemed no prospect of an integrated Pentecostal movement under the leadership of an African-American such as C. H. The legislative authority of the church is vested in a general assembly, composed of the members of the general board, jurisdictional/auxiliary bishops, jurisdictional supervisors, chaplains, pastors, ordained elders, four district missionaries and six lay members from each jurisdiction. In 1982 he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in . Protestant doctrinal debates about Calvinism and Wesleyan Perfectionism affected how even local African-American Baptist pastors responded to new Christian movements at the time. Factions developed within the organization as both the senior bishop and Bishop A. Drew Sheard was born on January 1, 1959, in Detroit, Michigan, to Bishop and Mrs. John Henry Sheard. He also instituted the Annual Prayer Breakfast, conducted Evangelistic Crusades across the country and developed the Church of God in Christ National Evangelist Registry. [96][97][98][99], This article is about the Holiness Pentecostal denomination. The general assembly meets biannually each year in April and November while the presidium acts as the executive branch of the church, overseeing the day-to-day operation when the general assembly is not in session. Owens and became known as AIM (Auxiliaries in Ministry). Co Directors of the Men's Department Bishop Michael B. More:J. Page in 1927. [50], In July 2016 during their annual Auxiliaries in Ministries convention, COGIC announced their Urban Initiative Outreach ministries and Missions and Charity departments would be partnering up with The Human Coalition, an anti-abortion advocacy group, from 2016 to 2019 for a three-year initiative to encourage COGIC pastors and ministers to encourage anti-abortion advocacy in their local churches. In 2014, at the COGIC International Holy Convocation held in St. Louis, Missouri, COGIC minister Elder Earl Carter was selected by the General Board to be the keynote speaker for Saturday night. Historically, women in ministry in COGIC are known as "Missionaries" and are designated in two categories: Deaconess Missionary, and Evangelist Missionary. He was a speaker at the Democratic National Conventions first Ecumenical Service where he eloquently, challenged all to protect the unborn by advocating pro-life. There is one God eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In 1997, Bishop Chandler D. Owens appointed Evangelist Richard "Mr. Clean" White as president of the Department of Evangelism. Young, James Brewer, Daniel Spearman, and J. H. Boone. In 1964 however, disagreement between the authority of the Senior Bishop and the executive board, led by Bishop A. COGIC believes in divine healing, however, it does not advocate the exclusion of medical supervision. He self-identifies as Bishop/CEO of his newly organized fellowship called the 7000 Club (not to be confused with The 700 Club from Pat Robertson). Adjutant General Bishop Dickerson L. S. Wells Sr.. General Supervisor, Department of Women Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis. As African Americans migrated north and west to industrial cities during the Great Migration, he began to establish COGIC churches in the north and, especially after 1940, in the west. Here are the other 11 members elected to COGIC's general board, its highest executive board: Bishop Prince Bryant Sr., pastor of The Island of Hope Church of God in Christ and Buck Street Memorial . Nevertheless, women are licensed in COGIC to proclaim the gospel as evangelists. During her leadership, several new buildings were constructed on the 350-acre campus to serve this expansion. From 1997-2001 Bishop Sheard served COGIC as President of the International Youth Department; and he served as Chairman of the AIM Convention from 2004 to 2012. B. McEwen, Bishop J. S. Bailey, and Bishop O. M. Kelly as his assistants. Carter was found in contempt of court for failing to obey the court order and was jailed until he removed all videos and agreed to comply. They are fallen angels who joined Satan in his failed attempt to usurp power in Heaven. Blake has also formerly served as an Advisory Committee Member of the Pentecostal World Conference, and as the founder and Co-chair of the Los Angeles Ecumenical Congress (LAEC), an interdenominational coalition of religious leaders and pastors for the city of Los Angeles. Mother Lillian Coffey appointed Mother Reatha Herndon as president of the National Women's Evangelist Board in 1951. The church believes that women are gifted and called to ministry; it does not, however, officially ordain women to the office of elder, pastor, or bishop. She is the longest serving president of the International Music Department and her influence and legacy have been indelible and are recognized around the world. Of special note is Evangelist Reatha Herndon who served as the International Elect Lady of the Department of Evangelism from 1951 to 2001. Pentecostals have been known and continue to be known for their lively worship, exuberant expressions of praise and worship, and musical compilations, mostly relying on congregational singing of hymns and chants. After graduating from high school, he matriculated to Wayne State. [8][9] In 1984, after the death of his father, he was ordained and consecrated as a jurisdictional bishop of the First Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of Southern California for the COGIC denomination, and remained in that position until 2009 when he stepped down from the position to dedicate himself fully to the duties of the Office of the Presiding Bishop. She developed the International Women's Convention into a training institute for women in the ministry. "[91] Bishop Blake apologized to a young man (Andrew C. Caldwell) who, following Superintendent Carter's message, came forward to proclaim that he had been delivered from homosexuality. His testimony "literally went viral, and brought upon him criticism and sardonicism. [58], Her successor, Lillian Brooks Coffey (19451964) was the organizer of the Women's International Convention to support the work of foreign missionaries. The constitutional convention drafted and approved a new constitution which dissolved both the office of the Senior Bishop and the executive board; it also established the General Assembly, which meets biannually, as the supreme authority over the church to decide matters of faith and practice. In 1895, C.P. Jones and C.H. Mason were licensed Baptist ministers in Mississippi who began teaching and preaching a Wesleyan doctrine of Christian perfection or entire sanctification as a second work of grace to their Baptist congregations. Jurisdictions are set up similar to the national church in terms of composition, polity, and procedure. [1] [2] Early life [ edit] Youth on a Mission (YOAM) a ministry of young people visiting the mission field to serve each summer. The COGIC emphasized the use of the choir as an integral part of the worship experience. [44], COGIC teaches that salvation is the work of redemption to the sinner and his restoration to divine favor and communion with God. Later, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, ironically known as the "godmother of Rock and Roll," expanded and highlighted the COGIC sound to the greater American public in the 1930s and 1940s. National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America, Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of the Apostolic Faith, Church of Universal Triumph, Dominion of God, Fire Baptized Holiness Church of God of the Americas, Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ, United Pentecostal Council of the Assemblies of God, Incorporated, Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America, Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation, Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, Original Church of God or Sanctified Church, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Edward_Blake_Sr.&oldid=1138808010, People from Los Angeles County, California, Presiding Bishops of the Church of God in Christ, African-American television personalities, Interdenominational Theological Center alumni, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, April, 2007, November 2008, November 2012, November 2016, This page was last edited on 11 February 2023, at 19:00. On June 5, 1951, he selected Bishop A. President, International Youth Department Superintendent Nathaniel Green. During the 1930s and 40s, a white COGIC elder named James L. Delk who remained in the church after many whites had left, was very active in politics in Missouri and worked to promote civil rights by writing legislatures and petitioning the federal government on the behalf of COGIC.

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