Church of God a cult?

[Waiting...]

Thanks to all who gave input. I am visiting a local C of G tomorrow and will let you know how it goes.

[Semachiah]

Shalom Waiting,

Like you I used to attend AG's, I have also been apart of the CoG and basically they are the same. In fact they have come into agreement along with the CoG of Prophecy to work very closely together and to share as many resources as possible. You will have no problems with them at all! Just like with the AG you may find great differences within each congregation though. The one you walk into today may put a much greater emphasis on this area verses that one. I'm sure you understand without me listing specific doctrines? If not ask!

If you ever get a chance to go to Cleveland stop into the Ministry to the Military offices and say hi to Bob and Pat Moore. They were our Pastors when we lived in Europe and now head up the ministry from Cleveland worldwide.

[ftwspursfan]

Waiting, I'm praying that you find the place God wants you to be. I was in an AG church when I went into the Army and God gave me an amazing CoG chaplan for Basic Training. It was exactly what I needed! CoG can be a little more conservative than AG but it depends on the church. You might see more women w/hairbuns and denim skirts. CoG is solid and you should be fine based on your AG background!

[heybales219]

You might see more women w/hairbuns and denim skirts.
On a side note, we used to joke that some women were under "bundage" :heh

[nannyto3]

I do not speak in tongues, I have heard it at conferences. I have to admit it makes me nervous, but yet I have never been around it. I think we have to remember that speaking in tongues has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is from what Jesus did on the cross for us and our accepting his free gift. I am filled with God's Holy Spirit and I do not doubt that and I do not speak in tongues.

[wife]

On a side note, we used to joke that some women were under "bundage" :heh

:tsk:preach....LOL I am going to have to remember that....:pound

[Kliska]

My eldest brother's wife of 35 years has always been a member of the Church of God. She insists you must be "slain in the spirit" and have had the experience of speaking in tongues or you aren't saved. This was a great concern to my brother for many years since he had neither of those experiences. He attended the Church of God with her and even acted as one of the attendants who caught the members as they fell (slain in the spirit). My brother was raised Baptist as we all were and my folks tried to tell him he was saved since he had accepted Christ as a teenager. They tried not to get too controversial with my brother and his wife since they didn't want hard feelings to develop. Then one day, my brother came over all excited; he said he'd finally spoken in tongues and everything was okay. What I want to know is: are all the members in a congregation supposed to have the exact same gift?? Tongues was supposed to be the most minor of all gifts according to the apostle Paul. I have never read in the Bible it was a salvation requisite to speak in tongues. So any church which preaches the need to speak in tongues as evidence of salvation in my opinion is not preaching the true gospel of salvation by grace alone~~totally free gift apart from anything we can do or add to it. Ephesians 2:8.

and

I do not speak in tongues, I have heard it at conferences. I have to admit it makes me nervous, but yet I have never been around it. I think we have to remember that speaking in tongues has nothing to do with salvation. Salvation is from what Jesus did on the cross for us and our accepting his free gift. I am filled with God's Holy Spirit and I do not doubt that and I do not speak in tongues.

I'm in agreement with both the posts above. One has to be careful when adding in "signs" for salvation that are not actually listed as signs in the Bible. Not everyone indwelt with the Spirit has the gift of tongues, that is pretty clear in Paul's letters I believe.

Also, no one should be any level of "legalistic." I realize different people define that differently, but no one should ever put themselves or others back under the law. To do that is to deny Christ's sufficiency and to stop living by Faith. Also, living by faith isn't doing whatever you want, it's actually the opposite; it is doing what you are instructed to do, what you are guided to do by God. Walking in faith may be a bit different from believer to believer; to use the music example, I listen to secular music all the time, it has no impact on my salvation, I've never been "told" or guided into not listening to "secular" music; however, I fully acknowledge that other believers may have been steared away from it by the Spirit, so they should indeed stay away from it.

[Waiting...]

Thanks everyone. I visited the church last night. I LOVED it. It was a Wednesday night Bible study. The pastor was great. I was fed! Thanks for your prayers. Now the difficult part is moving the children from one church to another. Please pray that this process is smooth for the little ones.

[ftwspursfan]

still :praying, give me their ages and gender, please. Does the church have a strong children's/youth ministry? If so, you should be good on that. Is the church near your home? That will help also b/c they can find friends that live nearby.

My DW and I are struggling w/possibly changing churches when we move into our new house. Our church is a 15-20 min drive now and will be further once we move, plus the kids do not have many friends that live close. Just something else we have to pray about b/c we love our church.

[Waiting...]

still :praying, give me their ages and gender, please. Does the church have a strong children's/youth ministry? If so, you should be good on that. Is the church near your home? That will help also b/c they can find friends that live nearby.

My DW and I are struggling w/possibly changing churches when we move into our new house. Our church is a 15-20 min drive now and will be further once we move, plus the kids do not have many friends that live close. Just something else we have to pray about b/c we love our church.

It has a strong children's ministry, but it does not have all the "bells and whistles" they are used to. The word is more important than the "bells and whistles" though.