Council of Bishops Meeting
By Dr. Doug Beacham
In its first meeting since the 29th General Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, July 26-29, the IPHC Council of Bishops (COB) met by Zoom on Tuesday, August 23. The primary purpose of this meeting was to begin the process of implementing changes to the Council of Bishops that were adopted at General Conference. The delegates called for these changes to be implemented within a forty-five-day window.
The current Council of Bishops Executive Committee, composed of Presiding Bishop Doug Beacham, Bishops Talmadge Gardner, Tommy McGhee, and Garry Bryant, were tasked by the By-Laws Report with starting this process by naming the initial Nominations Committee for the COB. Besides the four resident executives, Bishops Randell Drake (New Horizons Ministries, East Oklahoma), Tim Lamb (LifePoint Ministries, Georgia), and Danny Nelson (North Carolina) were presented to and accepted by the COB.
All the COB will present three sets of names to the Nominations Committee by September 5: three conference superintendents (current COB members), three USA pastors, and three USA laity. The Nominations Committee will screen the names to make sure the pastors and laity are in good standing in their respective conference or local church. On September 13, via Zoom, the COB will select from those names the individuals who will compose the new COB, the new COB Executive Committee, and the new Strategic Advisory Council.
The Council of Bishops is asking the IPHC family to be in prayer for divine direction and wisdom in this selection process. The COB will meet in person in Oklahoma City on October 26 and 27, 2022.
Members of the Council of Bishops meet together for a time of prayer at a COB meeting (Bishop Dale Adams, Bishop Scott Hampton, Bishop Preston Mathena, Bishop Mike Ainsworth, Rev. Terry Fowler)
COB member Bishop Rick Mootoo during a time of prayer at a COB meeting
Conference superintendents waiting to add soil from new areas to the Soil of the Nations (Bishop Scott Hampton, Bishop Stan Reynolds, Bishop Ray Boggs, Bishop Greg Amos, Bishop David Salazar)
