We met in our home today, something I realized doesn't happen enough. The experience was sweet.
The gathering was truly historic. It was our first since the ERC, CGGC separated us from it--since it expelled us!
Give some thought to how extraordinary that act of the ERC is:
The Conference initiated this expulsion. We were willing to maintain our membership in the Conference. We proudly and fully, and without any reservation or exception, support and proclaim the doctrines of the Churches of God, General Conference and we not only agree with the CGGC Mission Statement, we intentionally practice it!
Yet, we were expelled.
You might wonder how it felt for us to gather in the Name of Jesus having been so completely rejected.
It didn't come up.
I'll admit to thinking about it beforehand and afterward but Drew wasn't there and Evie didn't say anything about it and it didn't seem to be on her mind.
And, as far as I know, only Drew and his wife and Evie and me even know about the actions of the ERC against our gathering.
For some peripherally connected to Faith, being in the Churches of God matters but most of us either don't understand or care about denominational affiliation.
We don't take an offering, so the issue of the Conference tithe is irrelevant.
My guess is that many of our people will never know how profoundly and historically we have been cast aside.
When exactly was the last time a congregation which teaches and practices church doctrine was removed from the Conference? I don't know that it has ever happened.
Interestingly, without my guidance, today's Word time focused on teachings of Jesus on the Kingdom of Heaven, not on church or denominational concerns.
And, we were fine.
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The saying goes that ignorance is bliss and it must be.
Today's gathering was blissful.
Even the sometimes cranky among us were in a pleasant place.
The time in the Word was glorious. It led into the taking of the Bread and Cup which was a call to embrace the Kingdom of God with our whole heart.
This was one of the most upbeat and edifying of all of our gatherings.
The meal was the bomb!
And, as we have done recently, after the meal, we sat down together to a relaxed chat about the week ahead and future gatherings.
THIS WAS A WONDERFUL DAY.
I feel spurred on to love and good works, as we are instructed to be by the Word.
God is good. His blessings endure.
It's not as surprising as you think, Bill. Corporations often dissolve their departments that buck company policies. We were never handed the full and supposedly Divinely Inspired Bible with which to worship. The Council of Nicaea saw to that. To my mind, if the Bible IS the very Word of God, then just who did the Council of Nicaea think they were editing out all those chapters? It didn't fit their "corporate model", so they deleted everything that would have inspired people to pray to God on their own, instead of attending a set church service and tithing every Sunday. It was a wonderful day for you and the Gathering because you were worshiping the people SHOULD worship...not by rote or by edict, but from their hearts, and your Communion, therefore, was much more genuine. Keep up the good work, Bill. Don't ever let CGGC Co Inc mess up the good thing you have there.
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