Let Us Be Reminded – Part 1

By Donalhue Grimes – Georgia State Overseer

Theme Scripture

Thou Hast Given a Banner To Them That Fear Thee, That It May Be Displayed Because Of The Truth. Selah. (Psa 60:4)

We Will Rejoice In Thy Salvation, And In The Name Of Our God We Will Set Up Our Banners: The Lord Fulfil All Thy Petitions. (Psa 20:5)

And It Shall Come To Pass In That Day, That The Lord Shall Set His Hand Again The Second Time To Recover The Remnant Of His People…And He Shall Set Up An Ensign For The Nations… (Isa 11:11-12)

Article

In  His  Annual Address To The 28Th  Gen Assembly, Gen. Overseer. Bro. A J Tomlinson Dwelt At Length On The Subject Of A Church Flag. The Following Paragraphs Explain In His Own Words How It Came About: “For More Than Ten Years I Have Been Contemplating Suggesting A Flag Specially Designed And Prepared For The Church Of God. (TCOG) The Idea Has Kept Growing In My Mind Without Saying Much About It To Anyone.

In One Of The Conventions This Year, Brother O. S. Carter Made Mention Of A Flag For The Church In One Of His Discourses. As I Learned That I Was Not Alone In It, I Thought Of Calling On Our People To Submit Samples Of Their Ideas So We Could Take Up The Matter At The Assembly And Decide About It And If It Was Passed Upon Favorably At The Assembly, Steps Could Be Taken To Decide Upon The Design. While I Was In The Office One  Day  Between  Conventions,  Bro.  Evans Made Mention Of The Flag As Mentioned By Bro. Carter. I Suggested That We Prepare A Design And Submit It To The Assembly. He Made A Little Suggestion And I Added To It Until I Told Him To Try To Get A Drawing Developed. It Suited Me Fine, But Studying Over The Scriptures As They Came Before Me, I Finally Decided It Would Need A Scepter And A Crown To Make It Complete. This Was Finally Produced And The Drawing We Already Had Was Taken To An Artist To Have The Scepter And Crown Added Thereto. The Next Thing Was To Get A Flag Made As A Sample To Display At The Assembly. And Here Is The Results Of Our Efforts. (A Picture Was Shown) If A Better And More Appropriate Design Can Be Found, It Will Be Satisfactory To Me, But I Think The Time Has Come For The Church To Have A Flag With A Design Of Its Own, And Which Cannot Be Duplicated By Any Other Institution Or Government.”

In His Annual Address To The 96Th Gen. Assembly. Gen. Overseer Bro. Robert J. Pruitt Made This Statement: “This Afternoon The Q&S Committee Will Give Its Report. One Item, And Possibly The Only One, Will Be The Presentation Of A Flag Design To Be Accepted Or Rejected By This Assembly, As The Official Flag Of TCOG. It Is The Responsibility Of The Committee To Make The Presentation For Your Consideration. Many Hours Of Prayer And Work Have Been Spent By Both This Committee And The Flag Committee Who Agree On The Presentation Of This Design. I Want To Admonish Us, Even Warn Us, To  Allow The Holy Ghost To Be In Charge

And Not Ourselves. This Is A Serious Matter And I Believe God Has Exercised Patience With Us This Year Without A Banner, But I Believe It’s Time To Be All Of God And None Of Self To Settle This Matter.”

The Following Is From The Q&S Committees Report That Same Afternoon: “We Now Wish To Quote From Section 2 Page 36 Of The Q&S Report To The 95Th Assembly: We Recommend That TCOG Have A Flag That Is Unique To And For TCOG. A Flag That Is Solely The Property Of TCOG And Exclusively Belongs To TCOG. A Church Flag That May Be Hoisted In All Nations Where TCOG Is Organized. A Church Flag That Is Truly An All Nations Flag.

A Church Flag That Is Honored And Revered From God’s Holy Word And Is Displayed Because Of The Truth. Recommendation: It Is With This Assembly Decision In View, That We Humbly Recommend This Flag Design For This Gen Assembly’s Consideration And The Approval From The Holy Ghost. (Picture Shown) With The Moderator’s Permission May We All Stand And Ask God’s Guidance And Direction Concerning This Recommendation.” ThisHoly  Ghost  Message  And

Interpretation Was Given During The Discussion: “Yea, I Say Unto My People. Listen To My Voice. I Speak Clearly To Thee. I Say, Take This, Take This Design That I Have Given You, And Present It Unto This General Assembly, For General Acceptance.

I Say, I Say Take This, I, The Holy Ghost, Give It Unto Thee.”

The Q&S Com Report Was Read And In Proper Order Was Accepted And Approved By The General Assembly, And Became A Part Of The Official Record Of Business. Bro. Pruitt Stated, “Let It Be A Part Of The Record That This Assembly Has Submitted To The Holy Ghost And Accepted The Design Presented By The Q&S Committee.”

In His Annual Address To The 96Th Gen. Assembly. Gen. Overseer Bro. Robert J. Pruitt Made This Statement: “This Afternoon The Q&S Committee Will Give Its Report. One Item, And Possibly The Only One, Will Be The Presentation Of A Flag Design To Be Accepted Or Rejected By This Assembly, As The Official Flag Of TCOG. It Is The Responsibility Of The Committee To Make The Presentation For Your Consideration.

To be Continued…