United Church of God

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The United Church of God, an International Association (UCGIA)[1] is a Christian denomination[2] based in the United States with members in various countries around the world. The UCGIA calls itself "The United Church of God, an International Association", with the last three words italicized[3] in order to differentiate the UCGIA from local congregations and denominations which also bear the name of the United Church of God.[1][4]

The UCGIA states the following as a commission: "We trace our origins to the Church that Jesus founded in the early first century. We follow the same teachings, doctrines and practices established then. Our commission is to proclaim the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to all the world as a witness and teach all nations to observe what Christ commanded (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20)."[3]

UCG is an offshoot of the Worldwide Church of God, which was originally incorporated in the 1940's as the Radio Church of God by its founder, Herbert W. Armstrong. After Armstrong's death, the subsequent WCG leadership introduced a series of major doctrinal changes which substantially altered the fundamental beliefs and goals of the original Worldwide Church of God.[5] A segment of the membership wished to retain Herbert Armstrong's theology and teachings (which is known by non-adherents as "Armstrongism") and left WCG to start their own organizations.[6] The United Church of God was established in May of 1995 and is the largest of these offshoot organizations.[7][8]

Contents

[edit] Government

The UCGIA is governed by a 12-man Council of Elders. Those serving on the Council of Elders are elected by the General Conference of Elders. The General Conference of Elders meets once a year in May to perform tasks that include approving a budget, operation planning, strategic planning, electing members of the Council of Elders, and participation in seminars designed to strengthen the abilities and enthusiasm of the ministry for the work of the United Church of God. The Council of Elders acts as the governing body for the international association and is responsible for forming policy and doctrine for the Church. The Council meets four times a year.

The international headquarters of the UCGIA is referred to as the "Home Office" and is located in Milford, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati). The Home Office is headed by the UCGia President, who is charged with administrative responsibility over the day-to-day functions of the work of the United Church of God and acts as the official spokesman for the Church. The president leads a team of Operations Managers which includes Financial Services, Ministerial Services and Media and Communication Services.

[edit] Ambassador Bible Center

The Home Office also houses the Ambassador Bible Center (ABC). ABC is a nine-month program of classes in Biblical and theological studies. The ABC program is designed to give young adults and all interested people a foundation in the teachings of UCG, and is modeled on the now defunct Ambassador College.[9]

[edit] Mission and Media

UCGIA states that: "The mission of the Church of God is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God in all the world, make disciples in all nations and care for those disciples." Emphasis is consequently placed on the proclamation of "The Kingdom of God" to the general public, which is accomplished through the use of various media, ranging from Twitter and Youtube to more traditional forms such as radio, print and television. UCG's prolific use of new media is based on an approach used by Herbert W. Armstrong, who was known as an early pioneer in radio and television evangelism.[10]

UCGIA publishes and produces the following:

  • The Good News magazine is the flagship publication of the United Church of God. It is a free magazine and is published bi-monthly. The magazine contains articles that discuss Bible prophecy, world news and trends, social issues, Biblical doctrine and Christian living.
  • The Beyond Today Television Program. The Beyond Today program is shown on over 100 public access stations and is accompanied by a multimedia website and a presence on Youtube.
  • The World News and Prophecy newsletter is published monthly and contains articles focused on world news as they relate to Bible prophecy. The World News and Prophecy alleges the rise of the European Union, the decline of U.S. and British power, and the moral decay of Western culture. Within this context, the newsletter presents issues and editorial opinion from the point of view of Armstrong's teachings on British Israelism and biblical prophecy.[11][12]
  • Vertical Thought is a quarterly publication published for youth. The publication contains articles from both church ministers and youth, and aims to strengthen the Christian faith of its youthful readership.
  • The United News is a newsletter which focuses on news and events of the United Church of God. The newsletter contains articles on UCG missions, church activities, reports on church governance, doctrinal and Christian living articles, and birth and death announcements of church members.

In addition to the above publications, the UCG has produced 33 booklets on various Biblical and prophetic topics, a 12-lesson Bible study course, a monthly systematic Bible reading program with commentary, various article reprints, a national radio program, local access television programs, and a website.

[edit] Doctrine

The Fundamental Beliefs of the United Church of God are listed on their website.

The UCG follows and believes in many basic doctrinal principles shared by other Christian churches. However, some of its teachings are different from orthodox Christian doctrinal consensus in a number of key areas. These beliefs are based on the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong[13] and are known by non-adherents as 'Armstrongism'.

Doctrinal distinctives include:

  • Belief in a non-Trinitarian view of God. Specifically, the belief that the Holy Spirit is the spirit/power of God and of Christ Jesus rather than a separate person in the Godhead. God 'the Father' and Jesus Christ are viewed as distinct 'God beings' in a 'God family'.[1] [2][3] [4]
  • Belief that Christians are part of the family of God and will at their resurrection be "spirit-born divine beings who are part of Elohim, the universe-ruling family of God." [5]
  • Belief that the core of Jesus Christ's message was the coming of a literal earthly Kingdom [6][7] and that people who are saved will not go to heaven but will live and rule eternally with Jesus Christ after his second coming. [8]
  • Belief that the final destination of the wicked is not everlasting torture but annihilation or permanent destruction. [9]
  • Belief in British Israelism, which is the theory that those of Western European descent, primarily the United States and the United Kingdom, are direct physical descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of ancient Israel.[10]
  • Belief that Old Covenant laws (excluding ancient civil laws and temple laws) are applicable to Christians today.[11] Examples include seventh-day Sabbath,[12] dietary laws,[13] and Holy Days.[14]
  • Belief that mainstream Christianity is corrupted and surreptitiously teaches various pagan teachings under the guise of Christianity. Members consequently believe that the 'Church of God' is the only 'true church', and that only people who believe and practice 'Church of God' doctrines and were baptized according to the practice of the church, may receive the Holy Spirit and be eligible for eternal salvation. [15][16][17] [18] All people that do not believe and practice the teachings of the 'Church of God' during their lifetime will be given a chance to learn these teachings after the 'second resurrection'. Baptized members of the 'Church of God' that have rejected these teachings will be destroyed forever in the 'Lake of Fire' at the 'Third Resurrection'. [19]
  • Belief that the pagan origins of traditional Christian celebrations (e.g. Christmas, Easter) render them inappropriate as Christian celebrations.[20]

[edit] History

The United Church of God has its roots in the Worldwide Church of God (WCG), founded by the late Herbert W. Armstrong. After Armstrong died in 1986, the succeeding church administration, led by Joseph W. Tkach (1986–1995) and then his son, Joseph Tkach Jr. (1995–present) significantly transformed the church's main beliefs. Thousands of members and hundreds of ministers proceeded to leave WCG when core doctrines such as the observance of seventh-day Sabbath, 1st,2nd and 3rd tithes,Holy Days, and dietary laws were changed as part of what became known in WCG as 'New Covenant theology'.

The United Church of God was founded at a conference organized in Indianapolis, Indiana in the spring of 1995 and attended by WCG and former WCG ministers concerned by the doctrinal changes introduced by the WCG.[14] The first president of the United Church of God was David Hulme, who left the United Church of God after he was voted out of the office of president in 1998.[15] Following Hulme, elders selected to serve as president have been Les McCullough in 1998, Roy Holladay in 2002, and Clyde Kilough in 2005.

A decision to move the Church's home office to Texas was rescinded in 2008, causing considerable tension within and between the Council of Elders and the General Conference of Elders. [16] In 2009, two members of the Council of Elders resigned. This included then-president Clyde Kilough, whose resignation was effective July 28th, 2009; and Richard Thompson, effective July 27th, 2009. Personal reasons were cited as the reason for resigning by both members.[17]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Website of the United Church of God, Tucson, Arizona. Accessed 12 August 2006
  2. ^ "United Church of God headquarters suspends pastor Jim O'Brien from speaking". The Journal: News of the Churches of God. http://www.thejournal.org/issues/issue87/obrien.html. Retrieved 2009-09-18. "Although some on the administrative team at church headquarters see Mr. O'Brien as having serious philosophical differences with the church denomination, Mr. O'Brien claims he supports the "founding documents" of the United Church of God." 
  3. ^ a b About the United Church of God, from the UCG official website.
  4. ^ Website of the United Church of God, Portland, Oregon. Accessed 12 August 2006
  5. ^ "Transformed by Christ: A brief history of the Worldwide Church of God". http://www.wcg.org/lit/aboutus/history.htm. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
  6. ^ "Brief History of the United Church of God". http://www.ucg.org/about/history.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  7. ^ "The Most Frequently Asked Question: What Is The Origin of United". United News (United Church of God) (Vol.9, No.1): 3. January 2003. http://www.ucg.org/un/un0301/un0301.pdf. 
  8. ^ Tucker, Ruth. "From the Fringe to the Fold, Part 2: The Tumultous Year". http://www.ctlibrary.com/ct/1996/july15/6t826b.html. Retrieved 2009-01-08. 
  9. ^ de Campos, Jorge. "Living the Truth: ABC Motto Is a Reminder to All". http://www.ucg.org/un/un0509/. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  10. ^ "President Holladay Outlines Goals for New Year". http://www.ucg.org/un/un0307/. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  11. ^ Schroeder, John (March 2002). "The Last Battle for the British Empire". World News and Prophecy. http://www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0203/lastbattle.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  12. ^ "Response to "A New Look at Prophecy"". February 2003. pp. 2. http://www.ucg.org/papers/prophecyresponse.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-05. 
  13. ^ Maranville, Cecil (November 2005). "Be Ready to Give an Answer: Didn't You Follow a False Prophet?". United News: 18. http://www.ucg.org/un/un0511/treasuredigest.htm#3. 
  14. ^ "The Uniteds", Ambassador Report, Issue 59, June, 1995
  15. ^ "United Dethrones Hulme", Ambassador Report, Issue 68, April, 1998
  16. ^ "Ambassador Watch: Meeker Requiem". http://ambassadorwatch.blogspot.com/2008/05/meeker-requiem.html. 
  17. ^ "Ambassador Watch: They're gone - but what does it mean?". http://ambassadorwatch.blogspot.com/2009/08/theyre-gone-but-what-does-it-mean.html. Retrieved 2009-08-02. 

[edit] External links

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