United Church of God - 2010 Schism

2010 Schism

UCG has experienced a number of minor schisms in its history. But early 2010 saw UCG's largest division and departure of members.

A decision to move UCG's home office to Texas was rescinded in 2008, causing considerable tension within and between the Council of Elders and the General Conference of Elders.

In 2009, two members of the Council of Elders resigned — then-president Clyde Kilough, whose resignation was effective July 28, 2009; and Richard Thompson, effective July 27, 2009. A letter sent out by the Council of Elders said that the resignations were for "personal reasons."

In 2010, earlier tensions rooted in the rescinded Texas move and governance disputes continued to mount and led to the Council of Elders requesting (and accepting) the resignation of Clyde Kilough as President of UCG. Resignations were also accepted for Jim Franks (Ministerial Services) and Larry Salyer (Media Operations). The call for Kilough's resignation was prompted by a resolution that Kilough had jointly crafted with other administrative staff, which had proposed that UCG's governance structure be reviewed. The resolution was submitted directly to the General Conference of Elders, therefore bypassing review by the Council of Elders, prompting the Council of Elders to remove Kilough and to reinstate Roy Holladay as acting President until the new President was appointed.

Dennis Luker was appointed president on June 24, 2010. But tensions with a group of ministers continued to build, ending with dozens of pastors and local elders resigning from UCG in December 2010. In early 2011, those ministers met in Louisville, Kentucky to form a new group, the Church of God, a Worldwide Association with Kilough as president. The resignations were the result of increasing conflict between UCG's Council of Elders and personnel that had formerly been in administrative or council roles.