| Church Of God (charleston, Tennessee) |
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History In August of 1886 , Elder Richard Spurling (1810-1891), an ordained Baptist minister, became dissatisfied with what he believed were overly creedal approaches to New Testament Christianity. Spurling collaborated with seven members from Missionary Baptist churches in Monroe County, Tennessee and Cherokee County, North Carolina. These small fellowships organized the "Christian Union", with the stated intent to unite on the principles of the New Testament without reference to restatements of the faith in creedal form. The Church of God (Charleston) descends from this movement. Ultimately, the "Christian Union", under leadership of Spurling's son and others, including a former Quaker and Bible salesman named A.J. Tomlinson, experienced remarkable growth in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Appalachian foothills. By 1907 , Tomlinson had become the acknowledged leader of these Christian believers whose faith was driven by Wesleyan notions of personal holiness and reported Pentecostal experiences of being Filled With The Holy Spirit and Glossolalia . Many small congregations were planted and thrived, and organized under the common name ''Church of God'' adopted in 1907 . In 1909 Tomlinson was elected General Overseer of the now-fledgling denomination. He held that position until 1923, and continued in a similar position in a derivative organization until his death in 1943 . Contrary to its desire to be free from creedal restatements of faith, this body was soon disrupted by competing restatements of Biblical teachings from within its own ranks. An ensuing division in 1923 resulted in two primary splinter groups, called respectively, ''Church Of God'' (Cleveland, Tennessee) and the "Church of God over which A.J. Tomlinson is General Overseer". The latter, lead by Tomlinson, would be court-ordered its still-used denominational moniker in 1951 -- Church Of God Of Prophecy . A. J. Tomlinson's son, Milton Ambrose (M.A.) Tomlinson, succeeded him as General Overseer in 1943, and served until age-related disability prompted his retirement in 1990 . Upon the election of M. A. Tomlinson's retirement that year, yet another splintering occurred. One group of members of the Church of God of Prophecy declared that the selection process of Tomlinson's successor was a departure from what had historically been perceived as "theocratic government" within the body's governing structure and procedure. This group indepdently organized in 1993 called for a "solemn assembly", borrowing an Old Testament term for corporate devotion to prayer to rhetorically emphasize its earnestness. Coincidentally, the "solemn assembly" produced yet another splinter denomination formally called Church Of God (Charleston, Tennessee) and "The Church of God", (TCOG) with a particular emphasis upon the word "The" in its title as a statement that this newly formed splinter, alone, was the singular embodiment of the New Testament Christian church. TCOG elected Robert J. Pruitt to be the new overseer, and he remains so until the present date. TCOG presently claims membership in over 45 countries. Recent division A split occurred on September 1 , 1997 with the official acceptance of a "Declaration of Independence" after many attempts at reconciliation failed. It is believed by this new group that both The Church of God/Pruitt Division and the Church of God of Prophecy have left "Theocratic Government" upon which the original group led by the late Bishop A. J. Tomlinson stood as the Bible Church. The name of this group is The Church Of God Of North Carolina . This group believes and practices the teachings as they were taught by the Church of God of Prophecy up through 1989. Beliefs Beliefs of this body include:
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