Love just flows from the folks in Cincinnati, Ohio. Never has a Church of God had such brotherly love.
Mr. Elliott greeted the Council. He went on to mention that the home office works as a family; they encourage and help each other out. Anyone can go to anyone else at the home office for assistance, and all are pleased to assist one another.
If only that "love" extended outwards to the church members. It is not all rosy out in the land of the sheep.
He emphasized that Jesus is leading this Church to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19- 20). The home office has a responsibility to serve the Church’s needs here at the home office, in the United States, and throughout the world. He expressed that being at the home office has given him a new perspective on how much is done by the home office staff. The staff is giving their all to the advancement of God’s work and they look to God daily for direction and help.
No other COG group is doing a "work" better than UCG. Woo Hoo! But, don't Woo Hoo too much... Elliott goes on to say that the church is not performing well when it comes to younger members. Did anyone know they had any?
Mr. Elliott expressed a renewed focus on young families in the Church who may feel underserved. He mentioned that the Council approved some extra focus on that demographic, which will be reflected in the upcoming Strategic Plan.
Again, we are 30 years down the road and the strategic plan still hasn't been figured out. Never mind that, though; it is important to go and visit other COG groups and strive for agape love.
One thing he did say—and this will set Samuel Kitchen's detectors off—is that when visiting other COG groups, "...the 'children' of God wish for the 'parents' to get back together." Maybe Samuel is the one to do it! But again, do not get too excited because he goes on to say it won't be happening, even after all their repenting and striving.
Mr. Elliott said he recently visited Mr. Gerald Weston and his staff at the Living Church of God offices in North Carolina. He has also recently spoken with Mr. Jim Franks at the COGWA offices. He mentioned that most of what we all do is done in triplicate, such as with offices, hall rentals, travel, and Feast sites, etc. Mr. Elliott assured everyone that while there is no desire to combine, it seems most members wish we were together. He then compared what has happened in some cases to a divorce in a family. He said such splits are painful, messy and are typically private interactions among a few leaders without members being fully aware or participating. He also mentioned that currently, the “children” of God wish for the “parents” to get back together. He said that, “it does not seem realistic at this point, so we all need to move forward, repenting and striving with agape love and respect for one another and the work we are performing for Jesus Christ.”
Then Elliott goes on to say this:
He explained that Jesus desires that God’s children all be one (John 17:20-21), and he explained that while we are not all in a single corporation, at least we all need to be one in God and Jesus Christ by having an agape mindset. Let’s all help each other in striving to do just that, please.
Really? How can they when they all believe things that are at odds with each other's groups? It's not a big COG ecumenical love fest as he thinks.
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