As well as Les McCullough, Larry Neff (not to be confused with Leroy Neff, who earlier resigned), who pastors most of the Colorado churches, has resigned as well.
An unofficial estimate is that so far just shy of 60% of UCG ministers have resigned.
Technorati Tags: cog,church of god,ucg,ucgia,united church of god,les mccullough,larry neff,church splits,division,resignations
By "ministers" do you mean the paid ministry? I have heard the entire GCE numbered about 470 before all the resignations started occurring. The latest list on AC indicates about 130 elders have resigned (or been fired). If this is accurate then we are talking about between 1/4 and 1/3 have left. But you could be referring to just the paid elders.
@Anonymous: Yes, I mean the paid ministry. I tend to use "ministers" as those who are paid vs. "elders" which could be either paid or unpaid. Sorry if that was confusing.
I know personally of at least one unpaid elder who resigned earlier last week but desired no publicity. The numbers are likely at least somewhat higher than reported.
The official term is "Pastor" for those paid elders that "pastor" a church congregation(s). Paid elder is simply any minister/elder that is on the pay roll.
Minister/ministry is all elders, they are interchangeable. I got this from the horses mouth.
It's good to know the most accurate terms.
@Anonymous: Thanks. I've only rarely heard "minister" used for an unpaid elder, but that explains those occurrences. Seems they would have a better term than "unpaid elder" or "unpaid minister", though.
As a long time unpaid elder (who also served in UCG for 4 years) I would like to say that the distinction between those who have been AC trained and church paid and the rest of us is deeper and more strongly felt among the paid ministry than most members would like to believe. The changes in UCG's COE over the last 3 years or so are a direct result of the influence of the unpaid elders. FWIW, UCG's ministry looks like it will end up maybe around 15% paid (before any new hires) and the new org may be closer to 40%. These numbers will have a defining impact on both orgs.
@Brian: Is anyone on the current COE not an AC grad?
My pastor said last Sabbath about 2/3 of the church pastors remain in UCG — and the large list of departures is padded by a lot of local elders.
@ John- I believe that Bill Eddington did not go to AC, and he has never been employed by the church. I would suspect that, given the ratios I mentioned above, we will see more non-AC and non-church-employed men on UCG's COE as time goes on. I, for one, see this as a good thing, but then I am biased 🙂
@Richard: Well, "padded" isn't exactly an objective term. The list simply says, "Individuals who have resigned or been removed from their positions in the last year".
I suppose your pastor believes that the LA and NZ pastors are irrelevant.
@Brian: I think there's certainly a case to be made that paid ministers should have "real world" experience. AC was a good idea at the time, but back then, even the world believed that education would solve everything.
Speaking of AC, it seems that the days of it having any real practical meaning should be over. That was a long time ago, and in many ways a different world.
Numbers regarding elders leaving and staying are very close to this, by my figuring and estimations (based on signatures, current trends, etc)
About 67-70% of the Pastors are resigning or have(thus about 2/3). ~71/~100 from about the inception of this thing (including LA).
About 33% (1/3) of the total amount of elders (full time pastors, elders on staff but not pastoring, unpaid local elders, et al) are resigning or will (~160/~480).
"Padded" was my word, not the pastor's. My apologies for causing any confusion with that.
He did mention the New Zealand arm of UCG was "corrupted," with all the ministers moving on.
I'm sorry that you all and the UCG members are having to go through all this stuff again. History repeating itself. It's all over "I wanna be boss…no I wanna be boss". and He said…she said. stuff. God will heal the hearts of his sheep and gather them himself. You all have my sympathies in all this. May God win and Satan lose.
This is a sad day, for "United" I pray God will comfort his people, and bless the President and the Counsel of elders in this difficult time.
Dean May
Minister