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| Monday, June 23, 2008 |
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A Diverse Unity
Church of God Ministries, Church of God - General
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Service demonstrates unity in visible diversity of ministry
By Kathleen D. Buehler
 The Monday night service carried a focus of diversity in unity. Diversity of generation was visible in the worship team made up of worship leaders and their children, as well as in the youth choir made up of singers from Michigan and Indiana, which performed and helped lead the singing.
Diversity in ministry was evident as seven military chaplains were introduced by David Erb, of Church of God Ministries, representing the twenty-one U.S. military chaplains of the Church of God now serving in various posts around the world.
The text for the evening, Ephesians 4:11, focused on the diversity of ministry, or of offices (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher), and the speaker for the hour, Dr Cynthia James, sought to uncover the “meat” behind this “bare bones” verse.
James talked of Christ’s anointing on the church to do the ministry of Christ. It’s not the church’s ministry; it is Christ’s ministry, and Christ has left his anointing through these gifts to do the ministry. She referred to this anointing as the “joint oil to prevent spiritual arthritis.”
 James invited listeners to examine their own offices. She asked, “What anointing are you willing to receive?” “If we submit to the anointing of God,” James concluded, “life will begin to spring up. Life is in the bones; joy is in the bones.”
A Christian psychologist and ordained minister, Cynthia James is the executive director/chair of the Leadership Council of the Church of God of Northern California, Northern Nevada, and Hawaii. She also pastors Landmark Ministries Church in Oakland, California.
A version of this article appears in the Tuesday, June 24, 2008, edition of the NAC roundup/08 newsletter. To view the newsletter in its entirety, click here (2.34 MB). The document is in PDF format and requires Adobe Acrobat in order to read and/or print it. If you do not have Acrobat installed on your computer, you can download a free copy of Acrobat Reader here.
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