Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

Hey, you are ordained out of Cleveland, TN too! :thumbsup

I'm ordained with another Pentecostal organization headquartered in Cleveland, TN.
What's the history of the COJC? I think I've driven past there.

I noticed the Global Network has Apostolic Bible Church in St Paul, MN.
I wonder if that's the same as the UPC church by that name that was connected to Apostolic Bible Institute?

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

Sam, I think you're the coolest! :nod

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

What organization out of Cleveland are you ordained in? One of the several groups who use "The Church of God" in their names?

The Church of Jesus Christ was chartered in 1927 by Bishop Mark Lawson. It has had several splits, mergers, etc and several groups use "Church of Jesus Christ" in their names. The group I am with is chaired by Mark Lawson's son, Boyd. I don't know if I have ever personally met Boyd or not. If I did, it would have been in Charleston, WV in 1959. When I got my first license with the CoJC, Boyd was a young man in his twenties pastoring a storefront church in Louisville, KY.

I think the Apostolic Bible Church in St. Paul, MN was pastored by Bro. Sabin and he left the UPC after the affirmation statement fiasco in 1992. I guess since he was pastor, the church was no longer considered UPC when he left. I think it was pastored by Bro. Mickey Friend at one time and may be part of the Global Network.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

The CoJC goes back to 1927 when Bishop Mark Lawson chartered it under charter 3146.

In 1959 I went with Bro. Eugene Shafer (he had been previously married to my wife's aunt) to a convention in Charleston, WV and I took out license with The Church of Jesus Christ. Bishop Mark Lawson was still alive and that was before the headquarters were moved to Oxford, Pennsylvania.

Then after I returned to Cincinnati I returned my license to Bishop Lawson because I was going to a UPC church and doing some teaching and preaching there and thought it might cause trouble being in a different organization than my pastor who was also District Supt. of the Ohio District of the UPC.

After the death of Bishop Mark Lawson in 1960, his son Boyd was made a Bishop and took over as chairman of the organization. Bishop Mark Lawson had expressed that as what he wanted before he died. Boyd was not a Bishop and felt like he was too young to take the office of Presiding Bishop but some of the elders prevailed upon him and he agreed. He was ordained a Bishop and took over. Some of the younger Bishops were unhappy. In 1961 Boyd resigned as Chairman and Bishop G. Calvin Brown of Oxford, PA was chosen as Presiding Bishop per Boyd Lawson's request.

During the 1960's some left the organization and formed other organizations. I was licensed for a while in one of those groups, The Church of Jesus Christ, Pentecostal Faith with headquarters in Niles, MI. Bishop G.R. Brock was Presiding Bishop. I let my license lapse with that group in 1963 or 1964 when we left the UPC church to attend an ALJC church. Then in 1971 that group, the CoJCPF merged with the original group. Others that left during the 1960's were a group with headquarters in Portage, IN; a group with headquarters in Ranger, GA; and a group chaired by Bishop Honea with headquarters in Tullahoma, TN. I had met Bishop Honea in Niles, MI in 1959 when he was just a skinny kid and did not have a title like Bishop. He formed a new organization because the old Bishop Brock organization was going to merge with the CoJC. Bishop Honea is dead and I don’t know how that organization is going now.

One night in late 1968, God spoke to Bishop Boyd Lawson in a dream and told him to go to check the charter office in Tennessee and in Washington, DC about the status of the 3146 charter. He discovered that the Tennessee charter would have expired within 24 hours. He paid the renewal fee and went to D.C. where it was the same story. He paid the renewal fee and received a copy of the original charter. He contacted ministers who had withdrawn over the years and built the organization back up. There was a court battle and he was awarded the charter with headquarters at 800 Benton Pike in Cleveland, TN. The group led by Bishop Calvin Brown changed their name to The Church of Jesus Christ Apostolic.

On Wednesday, August 13, 1975 Boyd Lawson resigned as Presiding Bishop and Bishop E.H. Marshall of Kingsport, TN was chosen to replace him. The original charter is still held by this group as far as I know. Bishop Anthony Adinolfi was Chairman some time later until he resigned last year. I don’t know who the current chairman is. Boyd Lawson is currently Chairman of another group with The Church of Jesus Christ as its name. I am ordained in the group chaired by Boyd Lawson. He is past 80 years old and has some health problems so I don't know how much longer he will be around and what will happen to the organization after his death.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

Thanks for the info! I'm kind of a denomination buff. I love knowing about different churches and what they believe, but especially anything in the Holiness, Pentecostal, Charismatic, or Apostolic branches!

When I was last in Cleveland about 8 years ago I think, I ran across the COJC, either by an ad, or driving by a building with a sign, or finding them in the phone book, can't remember which. I tried to call their number but would only get a recording. Sounds like they have been around a long time, but have been through a lot of splits. According to their faith statement they sound like 3 steppers.

Could you tell me just what UPC had to sign in the 90s? I first visited a UPC church in 1978 and was baptized in Jesus Name. Their written doctrine has always seemed to be 3 step to me. I remember you could never seem to get a yes or no answer to the question "is speaking in tongues necessary for salvation?"

Yes, I'm ordained with the Church of God of Cleveland, TN.
www.churchofgod.org

That's the original one, the largest one. Then you have the Church of God of Prophecy which years ago was totally exclusive and claimed to be the One True Fold. They have made huge strides in recent years and have abandoned all that.
All of the other ones are splits and factions off of COGOP. Some of them are borderline cultic, but usually extremely tiny. All, except for COGOP claim to be the tiny exclusive Bride, the Body of Christ, the One True Church founded by Jesus. It's downright dorky lol.

There is now good fellowship between COG and COGOP on many levels with cooperative efforts and rumors of merger heard from time to time.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

The same thing has happened to the Church of Jesus Christ over the years. The original charter is held by a group with headquarters in Kingsport, TN. I don't know who their Overseer is right now. They retained the charter when Bishop Boyd Lawson resigned (under pressure) from the group in 1975. There are still several groups which use "Church of Jesus Christ" in their names. I don't know large they are. I don't think any of them are very big.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

The Churches of Jesus Christ International was founded by and is currently headed by Boyd Lawson. That's the group I am ordained in but I have no actual fellowship with any of their ministers or churches. I still send them a tenth of my tithe and an offering each month and my renewal fee once a year. Over the past couple years I have signed the application forms for a couple of ministers who wanted to be licensed/ordained through them but I don't see either of their names in the latest list of ministers.

Boyd Lawson pastors a church located at 800 Benton Pike, N.E. Cleveland, TN 37311. I have never been there. I used to think I'd drive down some weekend and visit. It's about 6 hours from here. But with recent health problems I don't know if I'll ever get there or not.

According to their statement of faith they are 3 steppers. I am a one-stepper. i would imagine that among their ministers there are 3 steppers and 1 steppers like there are in the UPC.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

When the UPC was formed in 1945 it was a mixture of one-steppers and three-steppers. It is my understanding that one-steppers were in the minority but nobody seems to know that for sure.

Over the years some of the three-steppers have tried to get rid of the one-steppers. A couple ways this has been done is by revising the fundamental doctrine statement in 1973 and by adopting the Affirmation Statement in 1992. Another way is by revising their history and presenting the UPC as always having been three-step in theology.

A good book on this is Christianity Without the Cross written by Thomas Fudge with a copyright of 2003. I have a copy of this book in pdf format and can send it to anyone who wants it as an attachment to an email. I got my copy of the pdf file from Dan Alicea who used to be pretty active here. I have passed on copies to several others over the past few years.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

.


I'll send you a message with my email.

Re: When You Got Saved in a Baptist Church ...
 

Sam, I always meant to ask your take on Ezekiel 13:18-20 v rapture doctrine. I was saved in a Baptist church, and I remember this being the reason given for why I needed to get saved.