I know, I know, I know that I have been a little quite as of late on a number of topics about the Church Of God In Christ (COGIC), but no longer. I rushed back to Atlanta just in time for Bishop Blake’s message at the Leadership Convention last month. To be perfectly honest it was with great anticipation that we all wanted to hear the appointments for this new term. Now just leaving DC for the Inauguration of President Obama I was good and ready for the old fashion COGIC politics and boy was the tension thick.
Mr. Obnoxious had been made aware of a number of national leaders that had flown out to LA to beg the bishop to keep their positions. The secret is out now that Attorney John Daniels quit his post as the chairman of the COGIC Publishing House. Insiders say that Daniels was not going to take any mess off of James Smith, COO of the church, and got sick of going head to head with James on a number of progressive changes to the publishing house. Word is that Ron Owens was given the boot and everyone at the publishing house was given the boot. However, some felt it was necessary to invest in a trip to LA to plead their case.
Bishop Blake did not disappoint with the hitting the Saints with some major shock on that Wednesday night in January. Starting with ushering Mother Willie Mae Rivers to the door by making Mother Dr. Barbara McCoo-Lewis the Assistant Supervisor (basically Mother Rivers will keep her title while Mother Lewis will run the department and great on the job training to become the General Supervisor very soon). Everyone that knows Mr. Obnoxious knows that this was music to my ears. Actually I could have danced right then. One of the biggest disappointments of the night was that Carl Pierce was not made AIM Chairman. Nothing against Linwood Dillard, who seems to have done well as Youth President, but this was a huge leap in just four years and a huge oversight of Pierce. Only time will tell if it proves to workout or not. Rumor has it that all of the AIM staff quit and Baltimore might be a whole new crew. Judith Christie McAllister remains Music Department President, however she needs to seriously revamp her department staff. Seems a number of people with personal agendas have been given positions that are ill fit to the department as a whole.
Drum roll please, the big upset of the night finally came and all the gossip could finally stop! Willie James Campbell is no longer the president of Evangelism and will become and Auxiliary Bishop in the church. Rumor has it that it was a great deal of inner fighting within the department and something had to be done. The easiest thing to do was move Campbell and give him a gold chain to get him to agree to bow out gracefully. Rita Womack will remain the Elect Lady, but should have told the Presiding Bishop, who happens to be her pastor thanks, but no thanks. It is down right disrespectful how this woman that is gifted as she is consistently dogged out, disrespected, and down right just dissed by the national church. First of all she was given and assistant without having any say in who it would be, then she was over looked three years in a row to preach in the Holy Convocation and when she was finally given the floor it was on a Thursday Morning. Rita is one of the best COGIC has to offer.
Dorinda Clark-Cole and Bishop Alton Gatlin retained there positions, but Elder Ben Stephens was elevated to the Youth President which was a great move. He is a great brother and served as Bishop Blake’s Youth Pastor and Joyce Rodgers will remain the Chairlady (where she has been forever already hugh…) along with Bishop Moody remaining the head of Missions and Bishop Darrell Hines Men’s Conference Chair. A new name was Roderick Hennings as Director of Church Growth and Attorney Ulysses Henderson as General Counsel and Chairman of Publishing Board. Everyone was wondering, who is this no name guy that has two big positions in the church.
It is never a dull moment in the Church Of God In Christ!
What do you think of these leaders? Would you have made some different choices and/or who would they have been? Mr. Obnoxious wants to hear from you!
