The Great COGIC What If? What if this really hapened? Here’s a Scenario That Prayerfully Won’t Happen But Could!
2007-Presiding Bishop G. E. Patterson goes home to be with the Lord.
2007-Bishop Charles E. Blake becomes Presiding Bishop
November 2007-Presiding Bishop Charles Blake is upset in the Election by One of His Opponents on The General Board.
November 2008-The New Presiding Bishop elected in 2007 is upset in 2008 by another opponent on The General Board.
2009-New Presiding Bishop elected in 2008 goes home to be with the Lord because by this time everyone that runs and has a chance of winning is well advanced in age! New 1st Asst. ascends to the Office of Presiding Bishop and is then forced to run again at the next November Meeting where he is defeated!
We have the distinct possibility of having 5+ Presiding Bishops in less than 3 years! What is wrong with this picture? We had better get a grip on this! We need to unify around 1 leader, everyone can not be Presiding Bishop even if they are popular and politically savvy enough to catch the office! Are we campaigning when we should be praying? We need to get rid of all of these opposing camps for the good of the denomination! This is scary and could actually happen!
Pastor Stephen Smith
Filed under: advanced in age, denomination, New 1st Asst., New Presiding Bishop, of the denomination, Office of Presiding Bishop, politically savvy, Presiding Bishop, the denomination, The General Board, The Great Church of God in Christ What If, The Great COGIC What If |
Preach Stephen.Com-Pastor Stephen F. Smith 
As a product of the COGIC, one thing I know assuredly is that we like continuity in leadership. During the 2000 election that elected Bishop GE Patterson over the incumbent Bishop Chandler Owens, there was a spirit of discontent over the heavy-handed leadership of Bishop Owens and as a result he was defeated. This was a political anomaly (something that does not normally happen). Although the political strength of the COGIC General Assembly rests among the bishops and pastors of the Southern and Mid-South areas. The real strength and influence lies in the four members of the General Board who reside in California. More specifically, the bishops and pastors in the South may not like Bishop Blake or his perceived liberal stances; they will accept him because of the order of succession. I do not think that the scenario that you have drawn will come about because of the age issue and the weight of the bishops and pastors in other areas of the country who vote in the COGIC general assembly
What strikes me as odd is that this election is totally unnecessary and sets a very bad precedent. It is also striking that none of the General Board seats are up for election. I may be wrong, but when Bishop Ford passed and Bishop Owens succeeded to the office of P.B., I cannot recall a “special election” being held nor can I recall such for any other succession. If other organisations can establish effective order of succession in the interests of their organisations, why can’t we saints establish such for ourselves without putting a few individuals’ interests above those of the Church. If one is willing to subvert the constitution of an organisation for self aggrandisement, can such a one be entrusted to hold to that constitution in the highest office in that organisation?
This is definately an issue that must be addressed by the General Assembly if the COGIC is to endure without a major rift for the next century.
I just read over Bishop Blakes programme ( Person to Person ) and am impressed at the issues it seeks to address. Regardless of who wins or loses this election I believe these resolutions should be adopted by the G.A. Perhaps if the Church had adopted such measures earlier many of the issues we are in now could have been stemmed.