In a paper presentation at the 2023 UCA Conference, Pastor Sean Finnegan addresses the deity of Christ within a Greco-Roman worldview. When early Christian authors called Jesus “god” (or “God”) what did they mean? Did early Christians think Jesus was God because he represented Yahweh? Did they think he was God because he shared the same eternal being as the Father? Did they think he was a god because that’s just what they would call any immortalized human who lived in heaven? In this presentation Finnegan focuses on the question from the perspective of Greco-Roman theologies. Drawing on the work of David Litwa, Andrew Perriman, Barry Blackburn, and tons of ancient sources he shows how Mediterranean converts to Christianity would have perceived Jesus based on their cultural and religious assumptions.
Unitarianism had been very popular in the United States of America. In fact, a number of presidents were themselves unitarian Christians. What happened? How did Unitarianism implode? As the UCA continues grow in numbers and influence, Unitarianism is once again on the rise. How can we avoid making the same mistakes our American forbearers made? Join Dr. Dale Tuggy, as he warns of ten ways to kill unitarian Christianity.
Christian Centered Counseling (CCC) is a team of online counselors who believe that the Bible offers the guidance we need for our lives, including the solutions to our problems. Life is hard and there are times when we all need a little help. Counselors come alongside those struggling to help them through the difficulties of life. CCC believes those seeking counseling can find freedom and healing so that they can grow in sanctification.
Counseling is bible-based, spirit-led, 100% online, and confidential. Furthermore, CCC is a biblical unitarian organization, which means their counselors understand and sympathize with the exclusion and persecution unique to those who believe the Father alone is God and Jesus is his human Messiah.
The UCA is delighted to again have the Williamsburg Christadelphian Foundation as a Conference Partner. They state that their mission is to help “individuals and families grow their faith in God and His Son. . . We help nurture trust in God and Jesus that endures through all the ups and downs of life. WCF sponsors programs and special initiatives around the world that:
Root faith in the word of God, learning from the faith lessons of faithful people in the Bible
Nurture faith by supplying tools that spur a whole faith to develop – one of head, heart and hands.
Inspire stronger growth by connecting people of faith, fostering a spirit that edifies all.
Show faith to others by enabling generous service for Christ.”
Be sure to stop by the WCF table at the conference to find out more about how this amazing organization is serving as salt and light in this broken world.
There’s more in store than just the workshops, meals, and excellent presentations!
Pre-party at “The Abbey”
Arrive early and drop in at “The Abbey” for the UCA Pre-party, Oct. 19, noon to 5pm. It’s just up the road, so stop in for refreshments, and visiting. Alan Cain shows you around in the video below!
Evening Visits
Gather with others after the evening meeting (ending around 8:30). There are restaurants, a brewery downtown, and plenty of space to just hang out and get to know others. If you are a young adult, hang out after the evening session on Thursday and Friday nights for a dedicated time together of encouragement and new friendships.
Baptistry
There is also a baptistry available Saturday lunch for any who want to use it.
Allegiance to the King (A2K) is once again a UCA Conference Partner. A2K continues their work to connect and fellowship with people far and wide, building faithful followers of our King.
A2K has two missions:
To promote faithfulness and allegiance to our Lord Jesus and our Father God.
To grow the number of unitarian churches worldwide.
To serve isolated unitarian Christians, A2K has built an online unitarian church called Christian Virtual Fellowship (CVF) which has proven to be a significant blessing to many. Connecting over the internet can be difficult, but A2K has worked diligently to learn and grow through the process, achieving a successful model with members from all over the world. When Christians come to a unitarian view of God through online resources such as the UCA, they often find that there are no local unitarian churches for them to connect to. Christian Virtual Fellowship provides a church home for these isolated brothers and sisters.
A2K also works to both plant and grow local churches including actively supporting the planting and growth of other unitarian ministries’ churches.
With a host of great teachers, A2K produces many teaching resources and makes them available online. Check out their website (https://allegiancetotheking.org/) to peruse the hundreds of videos they have published on topics from Christian living, teachings on our God and his Messiah, and on the Kingdom of God.
Thanks to A2K for participating and supporting this conference. We are blessed to work alongside you.
Founded in 1921, the Church of God General Conference (COGGC) is a denomination of churches active in North America, Central America, South America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. Their largest concentrations of churches are in Mozambique (400), Malawi (100), and the United States (80). COGGC provides resources and support to pastors, churches, youth, missions, and the Atlanta Bible College. For more than a century now, they have provided a stable and experienced platform to help individuals and churches spread the truth about the kingdom gospel and the name of Jesus Christ.
Pastors
The Church of God (COG) provides pastoral education and training through the Atlanta Bible College. Once prospective ministers graduate, they participate in a hands-on internship program, serving at a local church. Next they apply for licensing, which involves a comprehensive process that takes into account the applicant’s personal history, doctrinal beliefs, references, and the recommendation of their mentor. Once getting a license and finding a church to serve in, pastors are encouraged to join the annual ministers’ conference, the monthly prayer group via Zoom, and the Facebook group for mutual encouragement. Lastly, the ministerial leadership team provides a “pastor’s pastor” to provide individual confidential counseling.
Churches
Over more than a century of ministry, the COG has always and continues to provide a wide range of resources to member churches. These include low-interest loans, funding for building projects, church health surveys, and free background checks for volunteers. Churches also benefit from literary resources, including biblical articles (Restitution Herald), ministry updates (Progress Journal), Sunday school lessons (Adult Quarterly), evangelism tracts, as well as several in-house published books. Additionally, churches can participate in a wide range of events, including Christian Workers’ Seminar, FUEL, and General Conference. Also, the COG keeps track of the history of their churches and noteworthy individuals over the years through maintaining archives, holding the annual Heritage Conference, and publishing a biographical encyclopedia.
Youth
The most exciting week of the year for youth in the COG is FUEL. Held at Manchester University in Indiana, FUEL is a high-energy event with 200 teens and youth workers. Campers participate in sermons, classes, worship, sports, and lots of other activities. Counselors meet with the youth a couple of times each day to develop relationships and mentor them. In the fall and winter, youth can attend reFUEL and the Young Adult Getaway. Additionally, the Atlanta Bible College invites high-school students to stay on campus and attended classes during their annual invitational.
Missions
The missionary agency of the COGGC is called Lord’s Harvest International (LHI). The organization supports churches and individuals in ten countries around the world. Some of these are war-torn, others are afflicted with chronic governmental corruption, and still others have oppressive policies towards biblical Christianity. LHI sends missionaries on short-term trips, provides resources to build churches, helps with humanitarian support, and supplies translated literary resources, including Bibles, books, and tracts. For more information about LHI, visit lhicog.com.
Atlanta Bible College
Currently there are two campuses in Georgia: (1) at McDonough the main building serves as the hub for English-speaking in-person and online instruction, (2) at Johns Creek the Korean extension provides classes in the Korean language. The goal is both to train future pastors as well as educate anyone who wants to know more about the Bible and Christianity. Students can earn a one year foundation certificate, an Associate’s degree, and/or a Bachelor’s degree with focuses in Bible, theology, or missions. Apply online or check out the fall semester schedule.
If you would like to learn more about the Church of God General Conference, visit them at COGGC.org. You can sign up to receive the Restitution Herald either digitally or in the mail for free. If you would like to donate to the work they are doing, you can that here.
Personal Note
I would be remiss if I didn’t include a note about how much the COG has benefited me personally. Although I’m part of an independent ministry, I have benefited immensely from attending COG events, graduating from their Bible college, and associating with their pastors. The organization strikes the balance between providing support to those both inside and outside the denomination without controlling individuals or groups. The executive director, Seth Ross, is a competent leader who genuinely seeks to serve God courageously and authentically. I’m excited to see what the Church of God does now that they have begun their second century of ministry!
The Unitarian Torch is the internet’s best place to learn about Hungarian Unitarian Christianity, a group that has survived repeated persecutions since it was founded in 1568 by Ferenc Dávid. He founded it as a restoration of the pure Christianity of Jesus. Surviving mainly in Transylvania, Romania, these Christians have preserved a rich legacy of unitarian sermons and orders of services, hymns, and stories.
The Unitarian Torch website represents Dr. Robert Kokenyesi’s effort to bring this unique group of Christians to the English-speaking world.
The Unitarian Torch’s three main objectives
to serve the English-speaking Hungarian and Transylvanian diaspora by providing them with sermons translated into English
to serve the English-speaking unitarian community by providing them with inspiration by making available orders of services as well as children’s literature (stories)
to raise awareness about the uniqueness of the Transylvania Unitarian Church by explaining the organization of the church, holidays, and other hard-to-come-by aspects of the church
Dr. Kokenyesi is inspired by the example of Hungarian unitarianism’s survival amidst 450 years of enormous religious, economic, and political persecution. He hopes that by bringing this wealth of literature into the English language, many others will learn about this courageous group and likewise find inspiration and illumination.
The UCA is delighted to again have Spirit & Truth as a Conference Partner.
Spirit & Truth providesVirtual Fellowships on Zoom multiple days each week. If you’re not part of a local congregation, consider attending one of their online fellowships, where you will meet fellow believers who want to pray, hear the Bible taught, and follow Christ together.
One of their best resources is the Revised English Version (REV) Bible, a whole Bible translation that has been an ongoing project for over 20 years now. In addition to the translations, this project has produced an incredible amount of insightful commentary that particularly addresses difficult passages and traditionally misunderstood ones. The REV translation promotes important theological truths, such as belief in the Father as the one God, Jesus as God’s human Son and Messiah, the sleep of the dead, and the kingdom of God. Both the REV translation and the associated commentary can be viewed online or in the app. Check it out and try using the REV alongside other versions to further support your Bible study and enjoyment of the Scriptures.
I first encountered Spirit & Truth via their content-rich, long-running website biblicalunitarian.com. I returned to this site often as I wrestled with disentangling my understanding of Scripture from the distortions of later church traditions. They popularized the helpful term “biblical unitarian” to convey the understanding that God is the Father alone, and that his unique Son Jesus is a man who did not literally pre-exist as a spirit or a “divine Person” before being miraculous conceived and born.
They have recently launched Spirit & Truth Kids, whose goal is to provide children’s books, curricula for parents to teach the Bible to their kids, and Christian resources for children, including coloring books, recommended TV shows, and much more. The first volumes of two different book series have been released, with a third series to be released in early 2024. Each series will see new volumes regularly released over the next couple of years. The two available now are Faith Lessons for Little Ones: Volume 1 and Oliver’s Tales: Seeking Wisdom. Click on a link to check them out. If you know anyone who has kids and would enjoy reading a children’s book from a trusted source where they won’t have to avoid certain sections or re-word sentences that contain errors from church tradition, send them the link and let them know about the Spirit & Truth Kids initiative.
Be sure to stop by the Spirit & Truth table to get to know them and to find out more about what they’re doing.
We are thrilled to again have Compass Christian Church from Louisville, Kentucky, as a UCA Conference Partner. You may remember Pastor Will Barlow from his interview with Mark Cain on the UCA podcast (50. Church Plant) where he described how God had directed the formation of this new church. He described the process of faithful planning which took many months, coming to fruition in the Fall of 2022.
To connect with their group of husbands, wives, mothers, fathers, engineers, a nurse, soccer coaches, writers, programmers, Bible nerds (just to list a few), follow them on Facebook where they stream their services. And if you’re in the Louisville area, be sure to check out the Sunday morning service or another event at this dynamic, young church. I have been to a few services there, and I love Will’s preaching, the genuine worship, the welcoming believers, and the whole vision of the church.
We are overjoyed to have a local body of believers represented this year as a Conference Partner. May we return the blessing to them through our prayers and support. Be sure to stop by the table at the conference to meet them and find out how this church plant is going.
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