Two More Apostles Ordained By Chief Bishop

When we think of perfection our mind is carried to a thought of being without fault.  Most people want to think of it as reaching a place that no one can have anything to say against us, but the perfection that God is looking for is one described in the 5th chapter of Ephesians, v26 and v27, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church,  not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that at it should be hold and without blemish."  In accordance to this Scripture, our perfection is in request of the Word of God and not what some people think.  Our 7th Council made a great move toward this high mark and in view of the Scriptures, we have come a long way toward perfection since February 13, 1957.  Not many of us in number, but a mighty move in quality.  We now have 10 of our ordained Apostles and by the coming General Assembly we expect the Lord to give us the other two.  We have 5 of the 7 and we are expecting the other 2 by the General Assembly; also more than half of our 70 Elders have been appointed.  This is a great move toward the perfection of the pattern of the ministry.

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MORE PERFECT MINISTRY...

In the 7th Council a move was made to purge our ministry.  It is necessary to have a perfect ministry in order to have a perfect church, for the ministry is for the church as Paul described it to the Ephesus Church in the 4th Chapter of Ephesians, v11 and v12, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."  In order to reach the state of perfection in the ministry, first it is necessary to have all 5 of these gifts working in the ministry.  In order to get some of the spots out of the ministry, it was necessary for the Council of the Apostles and Elders to dismiss several from the ministry until they can qualify themselves worthy to be an example.  Unless a minister can be a practice of that which is required of the Scriptures, then, he is unable to edify the body.  There were other important moves in the Council and matters which also needed to be better organized.  The plan for pastor calling was solved in the Council.  Pastor calling is deemed at any time of the year that would make it necessary to change pastors.  Pastors are not to be changed very year, but as long as a church is doing well with its pastor, it is not necessary to change him.  Since we have gone back to the original system of pastor calling, the 7th Council has selected one of the Bible ways of calling pastors that is outlined in the Bible.  The Scriptures verify that when a group cannot agree on which minister should pastor, then the Scripture says that casting lots causes contention to cease-- Proverbs 18:18, "The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty."  Now then to perfectly do this, at any time it comes necessary to do so, The General Overseer of Church Pastoral Aid, Brother Tom Gibson, will be glad to assist any local church and the State Bishop to work this new Bible plan.

JERUSALEM ADVANCE...

It was marvelous the way God blessed us during the sessions of the 7th Council of the Apostles and Elders with finance and property.  Through Brother and Sister Joe Latham of Norfolk, Virginia, (pictured below) we were able to purchase another plot of ground and house on the Dalton Highway joining our present property.  This we had been praying that God would help us to do and we truly appreciate Brother and Sister Latham.  I am certain that God will bless them for this.

Also, $900.00 was raised and pledged in the Council to pay off the present indebtedness of the block work on our new building.  Then material was purchased to build the 2nd floor and at this present time, it is up with the top on it.  Petitions are being built inside and the concrete floor has just been completed in the basement.  Brother D. E. Garr, State Bishop from North Carolina spent two days and a night here working out the finish of the cement.

New Assistants:  The Council selected a new General Treasurer, as we feel at this time the work required this and also reached a place that its work practically needed a full time worker.  The Council also accepted and moved that Headquarters should have a Business Manager to assist the Chief Bishop in business matters, as his office has grown to the place it was necessary for him to have some help.  The General Overseer of The Church Publishing Company and Assistant Editor of The Vision Speaks, Clarence D. Kent, was selected by the Council as Business Manager to help the Chief Bishop.  It is hoped that the General Overseer of Publishing will have our new Publishing House opened on the Dalton Pike in the newly purchased property by June the 13th.

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NEW CHURCH EMBLEM...

One may notice the new emblem presented in this issue of The Vision Speaks which was passed upon and accepted according to the Scriptures of the Bible to be the Church Emblem wherever it appears and it will also be appearing in the new flags, in the center bearing a white Cross as it appears in picture.  It is an emblem that can be put over your Church door; however, it also does not take the place of the flag, the ensign, but appears on the ensign.  The emblem was designed by Clarence D. Kent, brought to the Chief Bishop and presented and accepted by the memorial 7th Council.  There are many other glorious things that happened in the Council of which space is not available to write in this article, but are truly worthy of note.  Things were confirmed by the Holy Ghost and there seemed not to be a doubt among us.

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* Article Written By:  The Late Grady R. Kent, St. John II, Chief Bishop of The Church of God, 1957-1964. This sermon was taken from The Vision Speaks, Volume 2 : Number 12 : May 1960.

[i] All grammatical and typographical errors have been corrected except for direct quotations from the Author.  Thought content of said article has not been change