Chapter 16: every tradition · Christianity

Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)

A congregation of the Church of God, with its international offices in Cleveland, Tennessee: a holiness Pentecostal body that teaches salvation, sanctification after the new birth, and the baptism in the Holy Spirit after a clean heart, evidenced by speaking in tongues. Its services are Pentecostal praise and preaching with an altar service, on Sunday morning and evening and Wednesday night. It keeps three ordinances: believers' baptism by immersion, the Lord's Supper with grape juice, and the washing of the saints' feet, usually in the same service. The state's Administrative Bishop appoints the pastor, traditionally after consulting the church, and the Church and Pastor's Council advises the pastor; property is held for the general use of the Church of God, so a congregation that leaves loses its building. Women are licensed and ordained, and pastor churches, but since a 2010 vote they cannot become Ordained Bishops, the rank nearly every office requires. The Practical Commitments ask total abstinence, no gambling, no oath-bound societies, and modest appearance.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Christianity
Its words	church, church, sanctuary; the pastor leads the service; the sermon; Sunday; the Bible
Worship	word focus, charismatic, low formality (0.33 of 1); seated on pews
Music	piano expected; chant discouraged
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	western; pentecostal observance; fasts none
Leans	conservative on moral questions, conservative on economic ones
Polity	episcopal; leaders come by appointment; property trust
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by course of study; marriage any
Belonging	high commitment, formal discipline, admitted by clergy
Giving	tithing expected; collected by plate, online
Way of life	alcohol abstinence, dress modest, sabbath relaxed

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Sunday	10:30 am	Praise and worship	the pastor	expected
Sunday	6:00 pm	Praise and worship	the pastor	optional
Wednesday	7:00 pm	Prayer meeting and Bible study	the pastor	optional

Leader: a pastor. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the services are still held, but each costs everyone at it 0.10; on sabbatical a supply pastor stands in ($800 a month) for a little less.
Communion (quarterly), passed among the people: nothing needs to be placed to serve it. People receive from age 7; anyone younger who comes forward is blessed instead.
Baptism: needs a baptistry or an immersion font, built and installed; until there is one, those wanting baptism wait.
Foot Washing needs foot-washing basins: without it the rite is missed, and its regulars mind.

Rites

Foot Washing (with communion, +0.025 to those there): Following Jesus at the Last Supper, members wash one another's feet in pairs, usually men with men and women with women, as a sign of humility and service before they share communion.
Child Dedication (per birth, +0.02 to those there): Parents bring their baby to the front, promise to raise the child in the faith, and the pastor prays a blessing over the family while the congregation promises to support them.
Anointing of the Sick (on request, +0.02 to those there, asked for 0.03 times a year by a household, 20 minutes): A priest or the elders pray over someone who is seriously ill, lay hands on them, and anoint them with oil, following James 5. It is usually done at home or in the hospital, sometimes at a communal service.
Healing Service (monthly, +0.02 to those there): A service of prayer for healing and wholeness: those who wish come forward for the laying on of hands and anointing with oil, and the congregation prays for the sick.
Tarrying Service (weekly, +0.02 to those there): Seekers wait at the altar praying aloud, often repeating "Jesus" or "Thank you, Jesus," while the saints gather round to pray with them until they receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Testimony Meeting (monthly, +0.02 to those there): A meeting with no set speakers: after hymns and readings, members rise to share how God has helped or healed them. Christian Scientists hold one on Wednesday evenings; Latter-day Saints bear testimony on fast Sunday.
Revival (yearly, +0.03 to those there): A week of nightly meetings with a guest evangelist, rousing music and an invitation every night, held to renew the church and win new converts.
Camp Meeting (yearly, +0.03 to those there): Families from churches across the district gather for days of preaching, singing and prayer at a campground, with altar services each night.

Baptism, confirmation, and joining

Baptized elsewhere: it recognizes a believer's baptism in the name of the Trinity (not one given as a baby). Someone so baptized is received at a service after about 4 weeks (a week from another of its churches).
Not baptized (or baptized where it doesn't recognize it): a candidate who prepares for 1 months (only months its class can meet count), then is baptized and received at the same service.
Joining age: 16.
The church's children are baptized as believers at about 10, most within a year or two of it.
Kinds of belonging: members (votes, may hold office); received by the pastor.
What it means: being baptized, confirmed, or received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home each Christmas Eve and Easter for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the tithes and offerings, by a plate passed at each main service, and giving online. A visiting household puts $5 to $25 in the plate. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing is expected: people give 15% more.
Fundraisers: only the modest ones (below).
Owed above: Tithe to the International Offices, 10% of its tithes, to the International Offices; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
Owed above: State office share, 4% of its tithes, to the State Office; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.
Owed above: Ministers' tithe, 10% of its tithes, paid by its clergy, to the International Offices; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.

The pastor, the staff, and who decides

How the pastor comes: sent by the District, which moves them on; you can't advertise for or dismiss one, but can ask for a move.
Paid: full time; housed or given an allowance, as you set.
Who they are: trained by a course of study (less skilled; they ask 90%); women among them (about a third); most married; about one married candidate in seven comes as a couple, caring for 75 more.
Tenure: reviewed by the wider body each July.
Ranks: Exhorter, Ordained minister, Ordained Bishop; a candidate holds one by skill, and rises with the years.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational pastor ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Pastor ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate pastor ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Church secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
Its boards: the Church and Pastor's Council (advising, over everything); the trustees (deciding, over the building).
Renovations: The pastor decides.
New construction: The pastor decides, advised by the trustees, then the District must consent.
Who votes: members, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Choir.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Soup supper.
Shared fundraisers it may hold (only the modest ones): Bake sale, Car wash, Rummage sale.
Tenants it can take: A scout troop, Another congregation, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums.
Auxiliaries: Women's Discipleship.
Outreach: invitation Sunday, a revival, planting a new church (Community → Evangelism).
Places beyond the congregation: the state campground.
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A petition for cushions, The bells, again.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A Masonic funeral, A matter of discipline, A raffle for the roof, A recruiter asks for the hall, Champagne at the reception.

What the building needs

required BaptistryBeliever's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
required Communion tableThe Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
required Foot-washing basinsBasins, towels and warm water for washing one another's feet.
required PulpitPreaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
expected Communion traysThe bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
expected Mercy seatEvery service ends with an invitation to come forward and kneel at the mercy seat, the mourner's bench, or the altar rail.
expected Upright pianoThe congregation expects singing led from a piano.
discouraged CrucifixThis tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
discouraged Flaming chaliceThe flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
discouraged IconIcons are not part of this tradition's worship.
discouraged StatueStatues are not part of this tradition's worship space.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.052; Modern synagogue +0.034; Gurdwara +0.028; Japanese temple +0.016; Islamic +0.01; Shinto shrine +0.01; Chinese temple +0.004; Dravidian temple -0.002; Nagara temple -0.002; Thai temple -0.002; Jain marble -0.008; Gothic -0.014.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: it keeps the church year: paraments and the season's decor are worth up to ±0.013.
The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the pastor's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.
Communion: each communion service runs longer; a slow one costs 0.05 for every 10 minutes the service runs over (0.2 at most).

How each sermon lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Fire & Brimstone+0.08
Marriage as God Designed+0.06
Sanctity of Life+0.06
The Last Days+0.06
Faith & Family+0.04
Faith of Our Fathers+0.04
Obedience & Discipline+0.04
Personal Holiness+0.04
Resisting Temptation+0.04
Spiritual Warfare+0.04
The Authority of Scripture+0.04
The Great Commission+0.04
Biblical Stories+0.015
Blessed Are the Peacemakers+0.015
Called by Name+0.015
Doubt & Faith+0.015
Eternal Life & Resurrection+0.015
Grace & Forgiveness+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Joy in All Things+0.015
Love One Another+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Saints & Witnesses+0.015
Servant Leadership+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
The Church Year+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Parables of Jesus+0.015
Care for Creation-0.05
Healing for All-0.05
Interfaith Understanding-0.05
Reading Scripture in Context-0.05
Swords into Ploughshares-0.05
The Prophets' Call-0.05
Wealth & Poverty-0.05
Welcome the Stranger-0.05
Women Who Led-0.05
Racial Justice & Reconciliation-0.075
Radical Inclusion-0.075
Social Justice Call-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	-0.333
Choir stalls	-0.167
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	+0.333
Liturgical furniture
Altar	-0.333
Baptismal font	-0.333
Baptistry	no fit	required Believer's baptism by immersion needs a baptistry: a tank large enough for an adult, with plumbing to fill and drain it.
Bishop's chair	-0.333
Brass eagle lectern	-0.333
Columbarium niches	-0.333
Communion rail	-0.333
Communion station	no fit
Communion table	no fit	required The Lord's Supper is served from a communion table, recalling the table of the Last Supper.
Communion trays	no fit	expected The bread and cup are carried to the pews in trays and passed along the rows.
Confessional screen	no fit
Coptic cross	0
Epitaphios	-1
Flaming chalice	-1	discouraged The flaming chalice is another tradition's symbol.
Foot-washing basins	no fit	required Basins, towels and warm water for washing one another's feet.
Haikal screen	-1
Iconostasis	-1
Immersion font	-0.333
Lectern	no fit
Litany desk	-0.333
Mercy seat	no fit	expected Every service ends with an invitation to come forward and kneel at the mercy seat, the mourner's bench, or the altar rail.
Octagonal stone font	-0.333
Paraments	no fit
Pulpit	no fit	required Preaching is the center of worship, so the pulpit stands at the center of the platform.
Readers' desks	no fit
Rood screen	-1
Sanctuary lamp	-0.333
Tabernacle	-0.333
Three-bar cross	0
Thurible and stand	no fit
Music
Brass band stands	0
Chanter's stand	-0.667
Drum kit	+0.167
Electronic organ	0
Grand piano	+1
Hammond organ	0
Handbell table	0
Pipe organ	-0.167
Sound system	+0.167
Upright piano	+1	expected The congregation expects singing led from a piano.
Decor
Advent wreath	no fit
Banner	0
Christmas Eve candles	no fit
Cross	0
Crucifix	-1	discouraged This tradition uses an empty cross, proclaiming the risen Christ, rather than a crucifix.
Easter lilies	no fit
Eternal flame	no fit
Flag of the church	0
Great dome	-0.333
Icon	-1	discouraged Icons are not part of this tradition's worship.
Memorial plaque	no fit
National flag	0
Painting of Christ	0
Paschal candle	no fit
Plain spire	no fit
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	-0.333
Statue	-1	discouraged Statues are not part of this tradition's worship space.
Steeple and bells	-0.333
Votive candle stand	no fit
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Pillar	-0.333
Prie-dieu	-0.333
Projection screen	+0.333
Vestment cabinet	-0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Lychgate	-0.333
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Standing cross	no fit

Sources

Church of God: Declaration of Faith (link)
Church of God: Doctrinal Commitments (link)
Church of God: Practical Commitments (link)
Church of God: Bylaws, and Mission and Vision (link)
Church of God: Resolutions (link)
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) (Wikipedia) (link)
Is it Full Partnership or Partial? The Church of God Struggles with the Role of Women (Pneuma Review) (link)
Virginia Church of God: Newly Appointed Administrative Bishop (link)
Pastor compensation form (unofficial template) (link)