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The Church of God (Restoration) is a Christian denomination that was founded in the 1980's by Daniel (Danny) Layne, an ex-heroin addict who spent years dealing drugs and living a life of crime and sexual immorality on the streets of San Francisco. Layne was raised in the Church of God (Anderson, IN). Layne began preaching within the Church of God (Guthrie, OK) after his conversion. His relatively different message concerning the "7th Trumpet" and promoting "stricter outward standards" was not well accepted within that group, and he subsequently left, taking a number of followers with him. In the 1980's, Daniel Layne split the Faith and Victory movement when he became disgruntled with what he deemed to be compromise and lukewarmness. So he started the Church of God (Restoration). His group claims to be restoring to the church in general. This group however is covert in all of its more radical teachings, like Divorce and Remarriage. Unlike D.S. Warner and the original Reformation Ministry, they do not publish on this teaching for fear that they will not obtain new adherents. Although he does not give credit, Daniel Laynes "Revelation" beliefs originated from Ministers who had left the Anderson Movement thirty or so years earlier. He is now held to be an Apostle within the Church of God (Restoration). There is also a sizable General Ministerial Body, consisting of male and female ministers, who call themselves the "The Seventh Trumpet Angel Ministry". Everyone who has not been in a second marriage can be a Minister, so almost everyone is a minister, thus the sizable General Ministerial Body. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ...
REDIRECT Church of God (Anderson) This is a redirect from a title with a U.S. postal abbreviation. ...
REDIRECT Church of God (Guthrie, Oklahoma) This is a redirect from a title with a U.S. postal abbreviation. ...
The group considers itself to be "anti-denominational", with roots in the holiness movement and Evening Light Reformation of whom D.S. Warner was one of the leading ministers in the late 1800's. Warner had been associated with the Church of God (Winebrennarian), and was greatly influenced by the "anti-denominational" teaching of that denomination. Holiness is the state of being holy, that is, set apart for the worship or service of God or gods. ...
Daniel Sidney Warner (June 25, 1842 – December 12, 1895) is known by the world as the primary founder of the Church of God (Anderson). ...
One of the central beliefs of the Church of God (Restoration) is that God is now restoring the true church to its former glory. This teaching is upheld by the official eschatology, which is a form of church historicism. Layne was also heavily influenced by the 7th Seal teachings of such ministers as F. Hampton, Emerson Wilson and others. The book of Revelation is extensively studied, with claims of thoroughly understanding it. Look up eschatology in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Historicism is a term which applies to a number of theories of culture or historical development which place the greatest weight on two factors: that there is an organic succession of developments, that local conditions and peculiarities influence the results in a decisive way It can be contrasted with reductionist...
The church claims to closely follow all the teachings of the Bible, and practices a relatively strong form of excommunication to those members deemed to be errant. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
This group has been alleged to be a cult, as some feel that it meets all of the eight criteria discussed by Robert J. Lifton, to qualify it as a thought reform/mind control cult. The Rick A. Ross Institute (led by Rick Ross, a nationally recognized cult expert)[1] lists the Church of God (Restoration) in its directory and contains a collection of articles[2] outlining some of the legal issues that the movement has encountered due to its teachings. This article is becoming very long. ...
Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is a prominent American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of war and political violence. ...
Rick Alan Ross (born November 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio) is a private consultant and lecturer in the area of so-called cults, who maintains a website with an extensive listing of articles about allegedly destructive cults, controversial groups and movements, and related research about mind control theories. ...
For a number of years, they did not not believe in accessing any medical help, nor using medicine. There have been a number of deaths within the group, of newborns, children, and adults, which normal medical procedures may have prevented. However, due to political and judicial pressure in 2001, a resolution[3] was approved by the General Ministerial Body that now recommends that all under-age children be provided with appropriate medical care. Adults are free to choose for themselves.
The Church of God (Restoration) has a growing number of congregations worldwide and promotes outreach and mission work in various countries. They heavily proselytize from other Christian churches. Established congregations are located in:
- Canada
- Germany
- Kenya
- Mexico
- Philippines
- USA
Although the group draws most of its members from various Anabaptist and Church of God churches, its adherents represent a broad diversity of backgrounds, both religious and cultural. One method of outreach has been to have a large group of adherents attend conventions or services of other churches (often churches from which members have been previously gleaned) with the apparent goal of gaining new members. Anabaptists (Greek ανα (again) +βαπτιζω (baptize), thus, re-baptizers [1], German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the Radical Reformation. ...
The Gospel Trumpet is a semi-monthly publication of this church. Some of its clip-art and writings are copied from the original century-old Gospel Trumpet, with which it has no other continuity. The current publishers claim to follow in the steps of the original Gospel Trumpet by publishing strongly against denominationalism and sin. Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule or the state of having committed such a violation. ...
Main doctrines and practices The doctrines of the Church of God (Restoration) are similar to the original doctrines of the Church of God (Anderson, IN), although the "Anderson" churches have now modernized a large proportion of them. The following is a list of some of the emphasized doctrines and practices: The Church of God (Anderson) is a non-denominational, Holiness movement believing group of Christians with roots in Wesleyan pietism and also in the restorationist and (arguably) anabaptist traditions. ...
- The Church of God (Restoration) is the church that Jesus built and dates back to the early Apostles in the New Testament
- Salvation from sin. As with most Holiness Churches, they believe that one willful sin causes a person to lose their salvation.
- Sanctification or Baptism of the Holy Ghost, as a second work of grace after justification by faith
- Unification of the children of God in one body. They teach that God's will is to unite His people one more time in one visible Church, before He returns to take them home. Every person that is a true Christian will become a part of the movement, once they hear the sound of the 7th Trumpet, which is interpreted to be their preaching and teaching.
- Divine, physical healing and anointing with oil by the Elders, taking the following as its scriptural mandate: Jer 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
- Holy kiss when greeting each other, in a non-sexual way so it is said.
- Separation from the world by dress and actions, including:
- Men wear primarily black dress clothes with white shirts to worship services, but casual dress is worn during the week, although jeans and similar casual clothes are considered worldly, i.e. "sweats"
- Neck-ties, wedding rings, and jewelry are forbidden, as are other superfluous articles of dress
- Bright colors, such as red, orange, yellow, bright green and bright blue are not worn, as the Church believes that they portray a potentially worldly spirit and draw unnecessary attention
- Women and girls wear thick stockings, skirts with wide pleats to the ankles, and long vests to cover their waistline and hide their female shape. They are expected to wear at least three layers of clothing over their torso.
- Sandals and bare feet are forbidden(although the Jesus and the Dicisiples wore sandels and had bare feet)
- Many adherents wear beards, but this is not a requirement
- Women and girls do not cut their hair, and wear it tied back at all times in a plain bun (women) or braids (girls). In contrast to most conservative Anabaptist churches, they do not use a cloth veil.
- Public worship is acapella
- Ministers are allowed to exercise their calling to preach within the Church, unless the General Ministerial Body decides otherwise
- Outreach and missionary endeavors
- No discrimination based on race, language, culture, or social status
- Strong teaching against sexual immorality, including homosexuality
- Pacifism, precluding all military involvement, although suing at law has been used
- No remarriage following divorce, although reunification with a first spouse is permitted, if that relationship was not adulterous for both spouses,( much stricter than the Message of D.S. Warner)
- If one spouse follows the teachings of the group while the other does not, the ministry will not recommend that the "believing" spouse separate from the "unbelieving" one, unless that spouse tries to influence their children away from the groups teachings. Close contact with "unbelieving" relatives should be avoided so that the children will not be tainted by the "unbelievers" worldly conduct,( i.e. allowing the children to watch TV or taking them to worldly amusements)
- Excommunication of those that leave the Church and actively attempt to help others leave the Church
- If in a marriage that the Ministerial Body considers to be adulterous, adherents will be required to leave their spouse because they are considered living in adultery
- The group is officially presbyterian in polity, with the General Ministerial Body having the greatest authority in doctrine and practice.[3] However, many ex-members claim that it is actually episcopalian, with Daniel Layne acting as de facto arch-bishop. While there is no official "headquarters", individual congregations are expected to be more than a loose association, and submit to the decisions of the Ministerial Body. There is no formal membership, but those who attend regularly are expected to strictly adhere to the standards taught by leaders in the movement.
This group teaches that the 7th trumpet in Revelation began to sound around the year 1980 when Daniel Layne was saved, alleging that there was a general discontent among many of its current adherents that were in "scattered Churches of God" at that time. A variation of this "7th Seal message" had been taught in other Churches of God for approximately 50 years prior to this point. In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process...
Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule or the state of having committed such a violation. ...
Sanctification or in its verb form, sanctify, literally means to set apart for special use or purpose, that is to make holy or sacred (compare Latin sanctus holy). Therefore sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i. ...
Christian Perfection is a Christian doctrine which maintains that after conversion but before death a Christians soul may be cleansed from the stain of original sin. ...
A cappella music is vocal music or singing without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. ...
A missionary is traditionally defined as a propagator of religion who works to convert those outside that community; someone who proselytizes. ...
Homosexuality refers to sexual interaction and / or romantic attraction between individuals of the same sex. ...
Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes. ...
Presbyterian governance of a church is typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. ...
It has been suggested that episcopal be merged into this article or section. ...
Although some people believe that a minister, Ray Tinsman, taught that Daniel Layne was the Rainbow Angel, that was incorrectly understood as it is widely and openly taught that Daniel Layne is not one particular angel in the Book of Revelation, but rather the end-time ministry of the Church of God (Restoration)as a whole is the voice of the 7th Trumpet time, restoring the church to its Biblical mandates. It is believed by some that Ray Tinsman is to lead the group following the death of Daniel Layne, but at this point that claim is unsubstantiated.
References - Birth of a Reformation - Life and Labors of D. S. Warner, by A. L. Byers
External links - The Church of God (Restoration) Official Home Page
- The Gospel Trumpet Home Page
Similar denominations and congregations: Historical and doctrinal viewpoints: - The Church of God LibraryRead the original teachings of D.S. Warner, H.M Riggle, C.E. Orr, F.G.Smith and 100's of other books. Read and compare the Restoration, what they are acheiving in comparision to the Church of God in 1880-1910. Read the difference in the attitude towards Divorce and Remarriage, Dress Standards and other extreme teachings of the Restoration.Read books like: How I Got Faith by Willis M Brown, Read of the Miracles, Signs & Wonders that were produced by the true teachings of the Apostolic Church, not an imitation.
- Example of legal problems for non-medical stance
- A Look at the COG Restoration
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