Actscelerate.com

COG wisdom

Acts-celerater Posts: 975 **7/18/18 2:06 pm**

A new COG pastor was told by an elder COG pastor never to resign his church without someplace else to go.

A few years later, this same pastor was told by an AB, "Don't resign your church. If you resign your church, I cannot help you."

Why would this be the case?

Hon. Dr. in Acts-celeratology Posts: 5161 **7/18/18 2:19 pm**

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Because...

Friendly Face Posts: 174 **7/19/18 4:40 am**

When I was a young evangelist, many moons ago, a certain church wanted me for their pastor and I wanted to be their pastor. The state overseer told me, "A spoke must come out of the wheel in order for me to put a spoke in the wheel."

Not to highjack this thread, but.... I have often said that if you ever get to be a pastor in the COG you have the golden ticket. You are set for life. Remaining a pastor in the COG has nothing to do with performance or productivity. The system will just move you along from one appointment to another.

BTW: I was appointed to that church.

A golden ticket for the golden, perhaps...

[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 12817 **7/19/18 8:00 am**

I think the idea that you should never quit a church until you have another is like the general rule that it is best not to quit a job until you have another. It definitely seems to hold true in the CoG, that to be considered for a church, you kind of need to have a church, or at the very least, have a strong past history of successful pastoring, numbers wise. I also think this dynamic is a vestige of the old CoG, where most pastors moved every year or two.

From my experience and observations, it is usually very difficult to get appointed to anything bigger than a small struggling church when starting out as a lead pastor. Being on staff at a large church can help you get appointed to a decent sized church, if your lead pastor is willing to help you.

Once you get appointed to a church, if you do well, you may or may not be considered for a move to a larger church. My observation has been that the squeaky wheel gets dipped in the grease, as they say. I know of guys who have moved up often, like every year or so. In talking to them, they told me they basically called the AB or ED every week. Others have tried to become the ABâ€™s golfing buddy, and in some cases, that seems to help them.

As far as a golden ticket, I guess I got in the wrong line for that. Still waiting on mine. ðŸ¤“

I will say that oneâ€™s â€˜career trackâ€™ in ministry very much depends on the individual pastor and his perceived calling, and on his personality and relational type. There are plenty of CoG pastors who work outside the ministry in order to keep their churches financially afloat, and do so for many years, without ever getting a chance to move to a more financially stable church. Even after one â€˜gets in the systemâ€™, so to speak, by getting appointed to their first church, unless they do something to really get the overseerâ€™s attention (like, grow your church like crazy, call him every week, take him golfing a lot, etc.), a pastor is not likely to get a move anywhere. If his church grows substantially, the church is not too problematic, and he likes the area, there would be no reason to move, anyway.

I have also known of some CoG pastors who couldnâ€™t seem to get a move when they felt they really needed one, and ended up dropping out of the ministry.

Re: A golden ticket for the golden, perhaps...

01000001 01100011 01110100 01110011 Posts: 24285 **7/19/18 9:44 am**

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1055 **7/19/18 10:18 am**

In North Georgia, starting out in a small pastorate and "working your way up" is not as common as it used to be. We have very little movement here, to my knowledge. So if you do receive an appointment, you better be prepared to stay for a bit. When you want to move, there is usually nowhere to go.

Pastors are staying longer, and that certainly can be a good thing for the local church. On the other hand, long term pastorates can create "log-jams", preventing opportunities for both entry level, and experienced ministers.
_________________
Eddie Wiggins

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1055 **7/19/18 10:29 am**

Here is a look at the longevity of some the pastors on my district.

Pastor #1: 6 months
Pastor #2: 7 years
Pastor #3: 8 years (He served 23 years at another church on our district)
Pastor #4 9 years
Pastor #5: 11 years
Pastor #6: 14 years
Pastor #7: 20 years
Pastor #8: 21 years and just announced his retirement

There are 4 other churches on our district. I'm not exactly sure of the tenure of each of those. Two have least 10 years. The other two have between five and seven years.
_________________
Eddie Wiggins

[Insert Acts Pun Here] Posts: 12817 **7/19/18 11:32 am**

I believe the majority of CoG pastors in my state (NM/EP) are what I would consider fairly long term, with many having 10+ year tenures, and several who have been at their present appointment for 20 years or more. If only we could get long-term ABs and YDs.

Sons of Thunder

Acts Enthusiast Posts: 1865 **7/19/18 11:48 am**

Many COG pastors seem to have the mentality of an immature James and John. Instead of focusing on the mission, theyâ€™re concerned with who is going to sit on the right or the left of the throne. This is the dark side of centralized government. It breeds selfish ambition. I personally know a few of my friends who spend most of the time planning for their next appointment. Iâ€™m not saying the thought never crossed my mind years ago, but God taught me to bloom where He plants me.