Voice of Hope

I hope all of us recognize the hard work and dedication demonstrated by Londa Richardson and he r entire staff for the success of the Missions Clothes Closet during the General Assembly recently conducted in Nashville. Thanks for a job well done.

I am posting the BDP report for your convenience. PLEASE NOTE THIS IS NOT THE OFFICIAL COPY THAT WILL BE PLACED IN THE ASSEMBLY MINUTES, HOWEVER, IT WILL GIVE YOU THE OVERALL PICTURE OF THE REPORT THAT WAS PASSED. You can get the pdf download by CLICKING HERE. AGAIN, ANOTHER DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT THE EXACT WORDING THAT WILL APPEAR IN THE ASSEMBLY MINUTES...IT ONLY GIVES YOU THE OVERVIEW OF WHAT WAS ACCEPTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

I am posting this for Pastor Milton Gordon. Brother McKinley: Bishop Ntizemana, Overseer of Uganda/Sudan, is visiting with us for a few days. He catches his flight back to Uganda, Africa on September 7. He is scheduled to minister here on the 30th of Aug. and Sunday Morning the 3rd and at Camden on the night. He is scheduled for Paris on the 6th that evening. He is available on any other night to come. That would be the 31st, 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th. Would you send out an email to the pastors. I will transport him anywhere within 2 hours drive. Nashville or Memphis and anywhere in between here and there is fine. God bless. mlg

As I write today, it is just a few minutes after 11:00 p.m., on the concluding day of the General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy. There was a good attendance, and the worship services were great. Each of the sermons delivered were right on target, and on Saturday night, I believe they reached a crescendo when Bishop Adrian Varlack spoke with what I consider to be a prophetic voice. All of the reports to the General Assembly were accepted, with only slight adjustments. There was a one accord agreement reached on the final portions of the marriage document on Sunday morning. The church received a lot of good press coverage from the local and even nationally known publications. There was a fair article in the Tennessean newspaper, and also a report on Channel Two news in Nashville. The New York Times carried an article that treated us fairly as well. Thank God for what I believe to be favorable coverage for the General Assembly and our debates. A special thanks to all of...

I had really hoped to post to the blog more than what has been possible for the last few days. I have been covered over with all of the work of the assembly that has been assigned to me. The General Assembly has been great! The Lord has been speaking to us in a special way through anointed messages. Bishop Fisher has been doing an excellent job of moderating, and especially during the business session, he has showed an excellent, patient spirit. Let's please pray for him this week as he continues to lead us. The program has been changed around some, but for the most part is still on schedule. As time frees up, I will be posting again. God bless you. p.s. You can watch the assembly by going to the general website and clicking on the links. Click HERE to go there.

Just a few-minutes-ago, the International Presbyter of the Church of God of Prophecy unanimously agreed to present Bishop Randy Howard, International Missions Director to serve as the next General Overseer of the Church of God of Prophecy. He will be presented on Wednesday for the General Assemblies recommendation.

Our pastor at the Dickson, Tennessee church, Pastor Glen O'Kain has undergone surgery for a broken hip. He is in Vanderbilt Hospital. Please pray for him and for his family as well.

I am saddened to inform you of the passing of Sister Bennett, the MOTHER of our pastor James Bennett at the Michie, Tennessee church. I spoke with Brother Bennett this morning by telephone and learned that he is traveling to be with his extended family today. I do not have any information on arrangments as of this post. Will you please keep him in your prayers. God bless you.

Today, most of the State and National Overseers of the Church of God of Prophecy arrived in Nashville to begin the International Presbytery meetings. Debra, Lindsey and I tried to greet each of them as they arrived at the hotel. Pastor Terry Lowery and some of his folks did an excellent job of picking up the overseers and taking them to Walmart and other stores to get needed supplies for the week. Special Thanks! Beginning tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. we begin our deliberations to select the individual that we will present to the General Assembly as who we feel the Lord has anointed to serve as General Overseer. PLEASE...help us pray for God's will to be done. God bless.

Please CLICK HERE for special information on handicapped parking

This morning, I am in a meeting of the pre-assembly staff. This meeting is including the Task force chairpersons, the staff of the downtown hotels, the convention center and Gaylord staff, as well as city representatives. It appears that everything is running smoothly and we are off to a good start. Please continue to help us pray for a successful meeting. God bless.

Well folks, its here. People have began their travels that will bring them to Nashville for the Bi-Annual General Assembly of the Church of God of Prophecy. Later today (Tuesday) I am to have dinner with an overseer and his family as they travel through to make pre-move arrangements to their new field of labor, and the scheduled arrival of others at the airport is quickly filling up. Tomorrow, I will participate in a leadership meeting of the task force and the vendors in Nashville for last-minute arrangements and on Thursday morning we begin our deliberations to find the individual we believe God has chosen to be the next General Overseer. That individual is to be presented to the General Assembly next week. The General Assembly will either accept or reject this individual. From here on, I will not be in the office until after the General Assembly. As a task force member, I will be working early to late each day to help the General Assembly happen. I covet your prayers, as I wan...

This morning, Debra and I were blessed to visit with the church at Lavergne. Pastor Jimmy Jernigan, Tammy and Austin along with the rest of the church gave us a great welcome. As always, the music and worship was great and the Lord blessed us during the worship service in a special way. Special thanks to all the saints of LaVergne. Remember the General Assembly is just around the corner, please continue to pray for a move of God in our midst. God bless.

One of the many calls that I receive deals with the schedule for the assembly business sessions. If you would like to see the items of business ahead of time, you can go to the website for the Biblical Doctrine and Polity Committee, and download the items to be presented. You can go there by CLICKING HERE. Remember, on Monday, beginning at 9:00 a.m., August 21, 2006 an open discussion of the reports will begin. While this is primarily geared toward ministers, it is open to anyone to attend. The actual business sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, August 22, 2006 in the morning and evening sessions and on Wednesday, August 23, 2006. You are invited to attend. Will you please join me in prayer for this special General Assembly? May the Lord bless and keep each of you.

Tennessee will host the “Mission Clothes Closet” at the upcoming International Assembly. Located in the East Exhibit Hall (back section), this ministry provides a valuable service to visiting missionaries from around the world. Through generous donations, ministers are able to build or provide their wardrobe for the week plus have the advantage to take items home to their family and area ministers. Personal care items as well as baby clothing are welcomed. Donations of new or slightly used items may be brought through Wednesday of the Assembly. Clothing should be clean and on hangers. You are asked to come through the White Wing exhibit area to the BACK of the mission closet area (preferably between 9:00 a.m. – noon) Hours of operation for distribution are: Monday (August 21) 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Tuesday – Thursday 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The closet will CLOSE at 4:00 p.m. Thursday and will not be open through the remainder of the week. The first part o...

The Church of God of Prophecy Chaplaincy Ministries has scheduled a 12- hour Community Service Chaplaincy Training Seminar August 19-21, 2006 as an add-on to the General Assembly. It will be held in the Fisk Room, Renaissance Hotel, Nashville, Tennessee beginning at 4:00 P. M. on Saturday, August 19th. It will end at noon on Monday, August 21st. Dr. Stephenson is faced with the possibility of canceling the event unless he can confirm a minimum number of registrations. The past two training events we had numerous walk-ins. If you have not registered yet, and are planning to attend this event, please email him immediately: drstep@aol.com or call his cell phone at 678-521-1081. Doug Stephenson Senior Pastor Christ Worship Center Marietta Church of God of Prophecy 3393 Canton Road, NE Marietta, GA 30066 770-427-5923 (Church) 770-427-7732 (FAX) 678-521-1081 (Cell) 678-445-9316 (Parsonage) Website: http://www.mariettacwc.org

Today, I have spent most of the day in pre-assembly task force meetings. We had a final walk through of the Gaylord Convention Center and the Nashville Convention Center in preparation for the crowd that will be here for our Bi-annual meeting. I learned today that we are way above the previous years on hotel room rental, which means we are expecting a larger than usual crowd for the Assembly. I'm sure that this is the result of several things. 1. The selection of a General Overseer 2. Business sessions. 3. The fact that we are in Nashville for the meeting. An interesting note is that I have been receiving a lot of inquiries on several subjects, such as accomodations and parking. Amazingly enough, we have been receiving a lot of inquiries about where the closest Cracker Barrel is! We are getting excited about the assembly being here and we are hoping you are making plans to be here. Please continue to help us pray for the blessings of the Lord on our gathering. God bless yo...

Today, I was privileged to minister at the Crossroads church in White Bluff, Tennessee. The local church is celebrating their one-year anniversary and the church was filled with eager worshippers. During the morning service, Eddie Rainey was ordained as a deacon in the Church of God of Prophecy. We were privileged to have our North American Presbyter, Bishop Sam Clements to assist in the ceremony, along with the pastor and another deacon in the local church. It was a special time of consecreation for Brother and Sister Rainey. After the service, a "huge" dinner was laid out for all of those in attendance, and as always, the fellowship was sweeter than the cakes and pies! Special thanks to Bishop Gary Riley and the congregation for giving me such warm welcome, God is doing something special there.

In the 93rd International Assembly, it was recommended that the Church of God of Prophecy pursue the development of The Tomlinson Center in cooperation with Lee University. The Tomlinson Center was launched in January 2006 as an on-line school. Through this initiative, The Tomlinson Center offers a student the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Arts, or Bachelor of Science in Christian Ministries. Courses are fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges (SACS). Each course will qualify for the requirements of the Tomlinson Center Certificate of Ministry Studies. Each course will also qualify for partial requirements toward a bachelor of arts/science degree in Christian Ministry from Lee University. Of the 130 hours required to complete the degree, only 36 hours must be completed at another college (general education courses like English, Math, etc.). Tomlinson Center is a fully accredited institution. The advantage of working with The Tomlinson Center: primary focus is given...

This morning, Karen Coley called from the Robert's Tabernacle church in Westmoreland requesting prayer for Dwayne Douglas, son of Cathleen Douglas. She stated that he has been diagnosed with cancer and is in need of a miraculous touch. Will you please help us to pray for him? Thank you so much.

Dear Bishop McKinley The 94th General Assembly is just around the corner! The week will be filled with wonderful opportunities for worship, fellowship and ministry. During the Saturday afternoon session Children's Ministries will be hosting a dynamic family event, the J-12 Encounter. At the age of 12, Jesus uttered seven words that became the passion of His future. Those same seven words can be the passion of our sons and daughters, because what happened to Jesus at 12 can happen again in their lives today. Through, video,, dance, interactive games and much more, J12 will help to equip parents and young people with the "must" spirit of Jesus. Please encourage the families of your church to be involved in this special event, Saturday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm in meeting rooms 205-206. Children's Ministries is in need of volunteers to help monitor and staff this event. This is great opportunity for anyone interested in serving at the General Assembly, while encounterin...

Good Evening, Many of you are aware that our daughter Lindsey was involved in a automobile accident last Friday (July 28, 2006) while enroute to visit a friend in Atlanta. Just to recap, in case you didn't hear about it, let me share the details again. She was traveling southbound on I-75 when she almost hit a part of a retreat tire on the interstate. She swerved to miss it and hit the guardrail at about 70-miles-per-hour. She lost control and went across three lanes and came to rest on the right shoulder of the road. She was driving my 2000 Ford Explorer, a vehicle that is known for rollovers, however, she remained upright. That in itself is proof that the Lord had His hand on her. Secondly, the fact that she was not hit by any of the heavy traffic. She called me right after the accident and I happened to be in Chattanooga at the time, so I was able to get to her within about 35 minutes (I won't mention how fast I was traveling, but I will say that the Lord kept His hand on me...

For those who might be interested in the dining opportunities during the General Assembly, I am including a link below with a printable map. CLICK HERE We look forward to seeing you there!

We will be honoring our deceased ministers who have passed away during the period of June 1, 2004, through May 31, 2006. One or two of the family members will be invited to stand on the stage in their memory during this program. If you need more information, please feel free to contact Liz Walters at the International Offices (423) 559-5109.

Stewardship Ministries will offer the following two workshops during the Assembly: Retirement Plan for USA Ministry Thursday 2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Presenter Kelly S. Miller, Financial Stategist/Resource Horizons, Marietta, GA. Kelly is the Agent of Record for the 403 (b) Retirement Plan. She will answer your questions specifically regarding how to be prepared financially for retirement. Pastor/Overseer's Compensation Package Thursday, 3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Presenter Jan Couch, Stewardship Ministries Director, Church of God of Prophecy. Pastors and overseers are able to utilize housing allowance, health insurance plans, retirement contributions, and accountable expense reimbursement plans to minimize taxes. Learn how to build a tax-advantageous compensation package for ministers.(1) (1) This information was taken from the White Wing Messenger August 2006 issue, page 23.