One of the people who regularly responds to my blogs under the radar, i.e., in personal emails away from the gaze of CGGC leadership, repeatedly makes the claim that CGGC leaders--especially in Findlay--do what they do in order to justify the jobs they hold, the cushy offices they sit in and the juicy salaries they draw on the tithes and offerings of the CGGC faithful.
I have resisted reaching that conclusion--and I still resist it--because I know most of those people fairly well and it's hard for me to be that cynical about them.
However, there are times that it is difficult to defend the Findlay gang. This is one of those occasions.
Have you looked over the latest issue of The Church Advocate yet?
It's first article is a very clever piece of writing by Ed Rosenberry which begins, "This issue of The Church Advocate is devoted to celebrating what the Lord is doing in and through the Churches of God, General Conference (CGGC)."
The article concludes:
"So, while celebrating what the Lord is doing as revealed in these pages, be bold to ask Him what part you might play in the work. May next year reveal even greater forward progress in and through the CGGC because we all stepped up."
The article prepares the reader to see CGGC statistics for 2013, which appear near the end of the issue. In spite of Ed's tone, it seems to me that the numbers don't add up to the conclusion that we should be thanking the Lord for pouring out amazing blessing "in and through the Churches of God, General Conference."
Two statistics are suggestive of CGGC reality in 2013.
1. I recall that, during the 35,000 by 2000 campaign, that was taking place 20 years ago, there were just slightly more than 350 CGGC American congregations. in 2013, the total in the U. S. is 336.
And, that decline of about five percent includes a pretty substantial mountain of congregations added by the process of what the folks in Findlay dub "adoption," or the recruiting of already established churches or non-CGGC church planters who decide to join the CGGC and are adopted by a "judicatory" in the CGGC.
I don't know what the number of adopted congregations were as of 2013 but I do know that most of the boasting ERC church planting does is of what has been added to ERC numbers through adoption and not as a result of the Lord blessing existing ERC ministries.
2. As the title of this post suggests, Ed is celebrating an average worship attendance far below the goal we established in the 90s for the year 2000.
The reported worship attendance of CGGC churches in 2013 is 28,072.
Two of my characteristics of the CGGC brand are Cynicism and To Talk is to Walk-ism. Both characteristics are in play in the latest issue of The Church Advocate.
There are many hundreds in the CGGC today who are cynical about everything that comes out of Findlay. They are predisposed to see this invitation to celebrate "what the Lord is doing" as phony. And, based on this issue of The Church Advocate they seem to be justified. Issues of The Church Advocate such as this justify the widespread cynicism among our pastors and people. This attempt to declare what is going on in the CGGC as worthy of celebration is classic to talk is to walk-ism.
The reality that CGGC worship attendance will have to increase by 25% in order for our body to achieve what it hoped for when it began 35,000 by 2000 in the mid 90s.
I don't see the rosy picture that Ed attempts to convince us is present to be seen.
We must repent and begin to care about is true and what is false.
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