By Carl Stagner Thank God for the rich history of Christian higher education in the Church of God! While alumni of the four respective universities of the Movement are often found in separate rooms for separate receptions at conventions and conferences, there’s unquestionably an underlying camaraderie in the Church of God that exists across the boundaries of school spirit and loyalties to one particular alma mater. After all, when good things happen at one of our Church of God schools, it’s a win for all of us. With commencement season upon us, it’s time to celebrate the accomplishments of gra ..read more

By Carl Stagner This year’s Church of God Regional Conference scheduled to take place at Center of Hope LA isn’t the first attempt to convene a major gathering of the Movement in southern California. Few can forget the unprecedented upheaval facing the church and society in April 2020 when Pastor Geremy Dixon and his congregation had originally expected to open their hearts and doors to sisters and brothers from across the country and around the world. Though a variety of virtual visits provided some degree of consolation in those difficult days, devices and screens ultimately proved unable to ..read more

By Carl Stagner It’s very easy to keep doing what you’ve always done simply because you’ve always done it. Such natural proclivity isn’t unique to popular culture; it’s rampant in the church, too. Until glorification, the sanctified self still suffers from blind spots here and there in the pursuit of Christlikeness. In recent decades, disproportionate numbers of youth and young adults have seemingly disappeared from the local church on Sunday mornings across the United States and Canada. Part of this disturbing trend has been traced to doing things the way we’ve always done it, inadvertently r ..read more

By Carl Stagner “If you want more happy than your heart will hold, if you want to stand taller—if the truth were told—take whatever you have, and give it away! If you want less lonely and a lot more fun, and deep satisfaction when the day is done, then throw your heart wide open and give it away!” An excerpt of the gospel music hit made popular by the Gaither Vocal Band in 2006 leaves the reader a lot to consider about generosity. Of course, not only does the recipient experience a blessing through practical generosity, but so does the giver. But, when it’s radical generosity—the kind that loo ..read more

By Carl Stagner A little competition doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, for Boma First Church of God near Baxter, Tennessee, a little competition comes with the territory—especially if it’s Bible Trivia Night! Given the special occasion comes around only once a month, Bible Trivia Night is typically met with great anticipation. And, given the special occasion comes around once a month, the congregants young, old, and in between routinely sharpen their spiritual swords for a little friendly battle-of-the-brains. In so doing, they not only accumulate useful knowledge of God’s Word, but als ..read more

By Carl Stagner What should be the rainy season across southern Africa this time of year has instead proved to be anything but wet. Persistent drought has left Zambia and Zimbabwe reeling from a disaster rendering food supply critically low and the economy severely strained. The largely agrarian culture leaves residents at the mercy of their own crop production; prolonged dry spells have only added insult to injury on the heels of deadly floods from too much rain last year. In response to the drought disaster, the Church of God in the United States and Canada are linking arms with the Church o ..read more

By Carl Stagner The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1 NIV). For those keeping their eyes on the sky across much of the Western hemisphere on Monday, April 8, the truth of this passage of Scripture was demonstrated in an unusually magnificent manner. Whether fascinated by galactic phenomena or not, the societal impact was certainly of some significance. After all, schools canceled, business closed early, traffic patterns were disrupted, philosophical and theological conversations started, and millions of people did stare at the sky at the ..read more

By Carl Stagner Rest didn’t last long after Easter for Transformation Church, a Church of God congregation in Hickory, North Carolina. Only a few days passed before they were hitting the streets with tangible expressions of the gospel; after all, Jesus is risen, and his people have been given the most noble of assignments. In their case, the methodology involved in living out the implications of the Great Commission meant distributing loaves of bread, offering prayer with anyone and everyone who would accept it, and cordially inviting the community to a block party of epic proportions. Thus, t ..read more

By Carl Stagner Arising on the last day of March this year, Easter snuck up on many a layperson. For lead pastors and worship leaders, however, the pinnacle Christian observance came as no surprise—these ministers of the gospel were preparing for Passion Week events and activities ever since the Christmas rush subsided! And while church staff everywhere crashed on the couch Sunday afternoon (with many opting not to clock in at all on Monday morning), any break quickly faded in view of a busy spring and summer—at the local level, throughout district and state, and across regional and national n ..read more

By Carl Stagner In December 2010, five Christmas carols penned by pioneers of the Church of God movement were procured from several archived songbooks and reintroduced to readers in a CHOGnews article titled “Carols of a Reformation.” Generations removed from the first, and in some cases one-time, publication of these Church of God heritage Christmas songs, many were unfamiliar with D. Otis Teasley’s “Star of Bethlehem” and J. C. Fisher’s “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks,” for instance—especially those who’d grown up with “newer” hymnals in backs of their church pews. Interest in the stor ..read more