Where Is the Evidence?

Mr. Dennis Luker has replied in Inside United Realtime blog to the open letter submitted to him December 4. Here is a link to that post:
http://realtimeunited.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/reply-to-the-open-letter/

Here is a link to the open letter he is replying to:
http://ucgcurrentcrisis.webs.com/apps/blog/show/5551307-an-open-letter-to-the-president-of-the-united-church-of-god

In Mr. Luker's reply, he calls on the signers of the open letter to bring back their loyalty to the governing structure that Christ has built in United since 1995.

I would like to ask a simple question of Mr. Luker, or of those who support UCG governance structure.

What evidence is there that Christ built the governing structure of United Church of God?

I think the evidence is that Christ did NOT build the governing structure of UCG, but that the governance of UCG was built by men, and Christ allowed it to teach us hard lessons.

"For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints" (1 Corinthians 14:33).

"For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit" (Luke 6:43-44).

There is a direct relationship between setting UCG up to be governed by a voting process and the current division within UCG. It is voting and the struggle for voting that is fueling and driving this division.

Ballot-box governance is a bad tree that is bearing bad fruit.

The Church of God should be learning its lessons from this.


More to come...


Here are links to related sections in Preaching the Gospel:

Government in the Church, Chapter 5

Following the Bible -- Pattern of Government, Chapter 6

Church Government, Chapter 7

How Is the Church Organized?, Chapter 7