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COG Education Chancellor Mike Baker Responds to Pew Research findings that most COG pastors don't have a college degree

Acts-pert Poster Posts: 15570 **11/15/16 10:13 pm**

On November 4, 2016, the Pew Research Center released an article entitled, “The Most and Least Educated U.S. Religious Groups.” The article articulates the percentage of adults in each religious group who completed the following: college degree; some college; high school degree; and less than high school. The report states, “These groups are among the top of a list of 30 U.S. religious groups ranked by educational attainment based on data from our 2014 Religious Landscape Study.”

Following the release of the article, a thorough review demonstrates the listing of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) as the 30th religious group with 11% completing a college degree, 25% some college, 47% high school degree and 17% less than high school. Comparatively, among the total list of religious groups, those completing a college degree ranged from 11% to 77% with an average of 34.1%. Additional comparisons of all groups reveal the following averages: some college 30.6% (COG 25%); high school degree 27.9% (COG 47%); and less than high school 7.9% (COG 17%).

The research was predicated on the 2014 Religious Landscape Study National Telephone Survey conducted June4-September 30, 2014. The sample size was 35,071 adults, including a minimum of 300 interviews in each state and the District of Columbia. Interviews were via telephone, cellphones and landlines in both English and Spanish. Survey topics included the following: religious identity, religious upbringing, religious intermarriage, religious beliefs and practices, social and political values, and demographics. Because of the unusually large national sample size of the survey, it was possible to estimate the religious composition of the U.S. with a high degree of precision demonstrating the margin of error for results at +/-0.6 percentage points. Anyone can review the entire study, results and methodology at www.pewresearch.org.

After a quick review of the presented chart, there may be questions from Church of God constituents asking what does this mean. This is an authentic question and should direct our attention to the value and importance of education in our denomination. First, be sure to place some variables in perspective. While the Church of God appears to be at the bottom of the list with 11% completing a college degree, the Church of God is on the list. The survey addressed many organizations and Pew reported their top thirty religious groups. Compared to the wide spectrum of surveyed religious groups including protestant, evangelicals, liturgical, non-Christian, and atheists, the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) is identified as a significant religious group in the U.S. Second, statistically, the Church of God is within five percentage points reporting some college.

One of the key Commitments of the Church of God is education, “We commit ourselves to education as a vital part of all phases of the Spirit-filled Christian life. Education is to be nurtured by the church: locally in rural areas, towns, and cities; regionally in counties, states, and geographical regions; internationally in every country with a Church of God presence; and globally in every continent of the world.” At the recent 76th Church of God International General Assembly convening in Nashville, TN, a significant comprehensive Contemporary Ministerial Development Committee Report was adopted. The report “focuses on the development of a culture of learning to prepare every minister for the challenges and opportunities of ministry by mobilizing every agency and all available resources to invest in perpetual ministerial training.”

Further, at the recent General Assembly, the Executive Committee took a historic step with the inauguration of the Global Education Initiative with the purpose to assimilate Church of God educational assets for an integrated, comprehensive, and cooperative global education system. The goal of the Initiative is networking educational institutions and leaders, leveraging our educational resources and creating a comprehensive global team of educational leaders. It will enhance our educational endeavors globally for the next generation of ministers, leaders and laity.
The Pew Research Center article simply affirms the need for greater educational opportunities in the Church of God and commitment to engage our own perpetual research component accentuating significant decision making to see the realization of the FINISH Commitment.

(Source: Michael L. Baker, Chancellor of Education, Church of God)

hmmmm

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1274 **11/16/16 3:29 pm**

..and yet, the CoG is one of the fastest growing denominations in the world.

I'm wondering if this was part of the polls used to tell the US that Donald Trump would not win. Rolling Eyes

Another effort to make the middle class feel less than the highly educated? Careful, this might backfire. Shocked

Biblical Morality Poll

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1994 **11/16/16 3:49 pm**

I wonder what a Biblical Morality Poll would reveal regarding Christian denominations?

Mat

Re: hmmmm

Acts-pert Poster Posts: 15570 **11/16/16 8:49 pm**

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **11/17/16 2:28 am**

It would be a bad idea is to add unbiblical requirements.

We probably have too many people getting college degrees in the US, at least of the not-too-helpful variety. What good is a women's studies or African American studies degree in getting a job? There are some majors that are only useful in that a college degree, instead of a high school diploma, is a threshold requirement for a lot of jobs in society that don't particularly require a high school diploma.

Statistically, though, they say non-college-grads tend to earn less. I wonder if CoG preachers earn less on average than those who work in those other churches. I wouldn't be surprised.

I wonder if there are any employers exploiting the pay gap between the college educated and non-college educated, hiring high school graduates for positions other firms fill with college graduates, and paying a bit less. If they can't pay less, they may have an advantage in employee retention if employees without degrees are less mobile.

I'm all for education, btw. I definitely think there should be a wide variety of opportunities for ministers of the word of God to study and grow in their knowledge of the word. This does not have to take the form of expensive college degrees in every case.

I'm an educator in the field of business, and I have been thinking about whether it might be more practical to just have a two-year program for high school graduates to take the last two years of business course, with maybe a few introductory courses in business writing and mathematics. A lot of those liberal arts subjects do not contribute much to mastering the body of knowledge needed for a business student, IMO. Two years would probably be nearly as good as a bachelors for working as a small business owner or in a family business if having a bachelors to get a job is not a major concern.

College is expensive. It is necessary to have skills and knowledge, but we need to realize that there is more to it than just the piece of paper.
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People without college educations

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1274 **11/17/16 6:53 am**

Ted Turner, Ralph Lauren, Mark Zuckerburg, Michael Dell, Sheldon Adelson, Larry Ellison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs

also:
http://elitedaily.com/news/business/100-top-entrepreneurs-succeeded-college-degree/

Friendly Face Posts: 289 **12/19/16 7:28 pm**

ejucation is important

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **12/19/16 11:20 pm**

Acts-perienced Poster Posts: 11849 **12/21/16 5:10 am**

Someone was telling me a while back about a church planting movement in a certain country, a movement of rapidly multiplying churches in an under-evangelized part of the world, that met in homes. I wonder how many of the leaders in the movement have finished high school.

How many of the 12 apostles graduated from college or the cultural equivalent in their society?
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Re: Biblical Morality Poll

Golf Cart Mafia Capo Famiglia Posts: 4682 **12/21/16 8:13 pm**

AG Constitution educational requirements

Acts-celerater Posts: 935 **12/22/16 11:12 am**

Article X of the AG Constitution states the following regarding educational requirements necessary for credentials to wit: (see bold text below)
Section 4. Credentialing Authority
The district council shall have the authority to examine and present candidates who qualify as certified ministers, licensed ministers, or ordained ministers in accordance with Article VII of the Bylaws. The applications of such candidates shall be forwarded to the general secretary of The General Council of the Assemblies of God for presentation to the General Council Credentials Committee for final review and issuance of the ministerial
credential if the qualifications prescribed by Article VII of the Bylaws are satisfied. Any level of formal academic achievement (diploma or degree) shall not be a requirement for credentials, but it shall be required of applicants that they take such courses and pass examinations as shall be prescribed by the General Presbytery unless an exception is provided for in the Bylaws.

That has been the policy more or less for the last 100 years which has resulted in a lower proportion of college degreed ministers in our denomination and I'm sure the same applies to the COG. However, with all that said, our churches are demanding more degrees from the pastors they hire. If you want to be considered for a position at a major AG church today you will need a minimum of a Masters degree and most large churches want an EARNED Doctorate (OTCP) for their Lead pastors. This is not a bad thing but we still have a credentialing educational program called Berean School of the Bible. It does not give you a degree but it does fulfill the minimum knowledge requirements necessary to pass the credentialing process (11 courses including internship per level of credential - we have 3 levels). It is the same material taught at our universities but in a more compact version. We use this course material for our Masters Commission School of Ministry which has 25 students for a 3 year program (usually 12 freshmen, 8 2nd yr and 5-8 3rd year students). We avg about 7 students who become credentialed each year. They have a diploma but no degree. But they have more education especially hands on ministry work after 3 years than a college student. Our students have gained a great reputation over the last 14 years and are in demand as Youth pastors, children's pastors and worship pastors. We contribute to the low degree number of AG pastors but they are hardly ill educated.

Perhaps these should carry more weight

Acts-celerater Posts: 935 **12/22/16 12:21 pm**

Qualifications for Overseers
1Ti 3:1  This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
1Ti 3:2  A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;
1Ti 3:3  Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous;
1Ti 3:4  One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity;
1Ti 3:5  (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)
1Ti 3:6  Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1Ti 3:7  Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

These 16 qualifications are more important in my mind than any formal education. Ignorance is no virtue but education in and of itself is no qualifier.

Re: Perhaps these should carry more weight

Acts-celerater Posts: 586 **12/24/16 12:10 am**

Acts-dicted Posts: 9027 **12/26/16 6:59 am**

Where did these statistics specify the percentage of pastors in the COG or any other group without a college degree?
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