Presiding Bishop Chandler David Owens Era
(1996 - 2000)
Below, He Is Receiving An Award From
The Religious Workers Guild
Historic Reflections
Bishop L. H. Ford suffered an unexpected and untimely death in April of 1995.
Since Bishop Chandler David Owens was the Frst Administrative Assistant to
Bishop Ford, he became the next Presiding Bishop of the
Church of God in Christ.
Bishop Chandler Owens was always a venerable fountain of knowledge and
wisdom, and quite gifted at exciting his audiences with his deep, strong, voice
and his electrifying oratory.
Below Two Dear Friends:  Bishop Chandler David Owens
&
Bishop Christopher Columbus Owens
Bishop Chandler David Owens
Born in Birmingham, Alabama on October 2, 1931, Bishop Chandler Owens
started preaching as a young child of about four or five years old, according to his
testimony.  His ministry spanned more than seven decades;
Bishop Owens, with dedication and loyalty, served the Church of God in Christ
in various leadership roles, including International President of the 
Youth Congress, Chairman of the Constitution Committee Second Assistant,
Presiding Bishop and First Assistant Presiding Bishop, Preacher, Teacher,
Pastor of the Greater Community Church in Marietta, GA, and
Prelate of the Central Georgia Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction.
His heart for missions led him through financial and through various other
means to establish churches, schools, and transportation for ministries
in the Phillippines, India, Malawi, and Central Africa.
In November 1996, the General Assembly selected Bishop Chandler David Owens,
Bishop Ford's First Assistant Presiding Bishop, as the fifth leader of the denomination.
Bishop Owens brought to the office of Presiding Bishop a more collegial 
leadership style.
Bishop Ford's leadership style was characterized as authoritarian and agressive,
and thought by some to have been operated behind the scenes, involving
more heavy political action than diplomatic public governance.
Bishop Chandler Owens and the new generation leaders in his cabinet,
faced the awesome challenge of bringing the Church into ministry in the
21st Century.
Click On  Bishop Ted Thomas And Presiding Bishop Charles Blake To Surf
To The To Or Continue To Scroll Down.
In July 1995, Bishop Chandler Owens called the leadership to dialogue with
him regarding the vision, mission, and priorities of the Church of God in 
Christ as it was approaching the year 2000.  The General Board had been 
primarily focused on Bishop Ford's vision of restoration and priorties until
his untimely death.  In January 1996, Bishop Chandler Owens, together with
the Board, launched Vision 2000 and Beyond.
The General Board and the Board of Bishops who led some 150
jurisdictions were composed of strong, successful leaders.  They were builders
and these leaders were conscious of the fact that this Church was
not summoned to be an echo of the culture, nor to admire its economics,
nor to embrace its psycology, nor to certify its morality.  To become a faithful Church,
we were not called to replicate the things of another generation, but
to confront the things peculiar to this generation.
As Presiding Bishop of the Church of God in Christ, in 1998, Bishop 
Chandler David Owens launched a new department within the COGIC
Denomination:   Bishop Chandler Owens instituted the C. H. Mason 
Historical Society as a new department (CHMHS).
Elder Norvell V. Woolfolk was the founder of this organization (1996) and was
appointed the International President of the foundation (1998).
Bishop Chandler Owens, along with his dear friend, Bishop Christopher C. Owens,
shared many ideas and good times together.  They both shared the sentiments
that COGIC's presence has been well established throughout this nation
as well as in foreign territories, but in spite of this impressive record of 
steadfastness in our  faith, much of our history and heritage has remained dormant
and ignored by the body of Christ;  It is imperative that we realize that much of our youth,
as well as many adults, still know very little about our glorious past.
As seen below Center:  Bishop Chandler David Owens and Bishop Christopher
C. Owens, both with contagious smiles, celebrating the 21st Anniversary
and the 14th Annual Awards Banquet of the Religious Workers Guild in 
Downtown Memphis, Tennessee at the Ramada Inn. 
A portion of the proceeds from this event, as with each of the Religious
Workers Guild Celebrations, was donated to "Saints Center".
 
We are conscious of the dialectic " of being in the world, but not of the world".
This means that while we are a faith community that continues to seek order,
security, and prosperity, at the same time, we face harder more demanding
human issues of justice and humaneness.  We want to be a Church that continues to
seek growth, influence and respectability, but we also seek the more
demanding, evangelical questions of faithfulness, renewal and information.
Among the projects set into motion under Vision 2000 and Beyond,
the one that really caught fire was the Regonal Pastors' Church Growth Conferences.
Black Pentecostals are now able to concentrate on  techniques of growth,
rather than on issues of survival.
This indicates that an economic and social class shift has occurred, which is 
both a cause to celebrate, and also a challenge to fulfill 
Vision 2000 and Beyond.
Below, Click On Bishop C. C. Owens To Surf To The Top or Continue To Scroll Down
Bishop Chandler David Owens Had A Great Sense Of Humor
Bishop Chandler Owens was a staunch defender of the Church of God in Christ.
He was always very outspoken, especially in situations when he
found it necessary to stand for holiness.
There were reports that Sun Myung Moon and his Unification offered 
Bishop Chandler Owens in excess of one million dollars for a pulpit address
to the saints of the Church of God in Christ in Memphis, Tennessee,
in an effort to  mainstream their heretical cult.
Upon hearing the proposal, it is said that Bishop Chandler Owens responded
by saying that "the Church of God in Christ was not a prostitute or whore, and
the pulpit of this church is not for sale."
On another occasion in Chicago, Illinois, Bishop Chandler Owens raised his
concerns openly and vocally that the Church of God in Christ had become open to the
homosexual agenda, but reminded the Church that the COGIC was neither
"Homosexual Central" nor a place where those in the sin of homosexuality 
should feel comfortable.  He affirmed that the Church should not be open to
nor affirm homosexuality in any manner.
Bishop Chandler Owens said that he had asked the Lord why he had left him
on this earth as long as he did?  The Lord responded "I left you here to... bring
the Church of God in Christ back to its original posture and roots, so that we will
become a separate and distinct people."  "God said that he called us out from
among other people - not because we're better than those people, but because 
we are different, and we're willing to uphold the rules and reglations of holiness;
and that I could not do this alone - I would need the help of all the true saints."
In 1996 Bishop Chandler Owens called on the COGIC to "Rebuild The Walls"
of orthodoxy to prevent the world's unclean spirits from invading the Church.
In many places those walls have fallen.  We have allowed the Church to be
too open, and we have been invaded by all kinds of people.  Bishop Owens stated
that the Church used to be a sanctuary, now its a zoo.  Everything from everywhere
has crept into the Church of God in Christ."  "He said the Church has strayed
too far from fundamentals."  He said, "we are against same sex
marriages.  I don't care what another church does.  In the Church of God in Christ,
a man - a real man - a "sho - nuf" man knows the difference between
Old Spice and Chanel No. 5.....The Church of God in Christ won't ordain sissies!"
Bishop Chandler Owens passed away on Sunday, March 10, 2011 at 79 years
of age in Atlanta, Georgia.  An Internationally known leader, Bishop Chandler
Owens, for more than 35 years, faithfully served as a member of the General Board,
and from 1995 to 2000 as the Presiding Bishop of the
Church of God in Christ.
 
Below, Two Dear Friends Extending Collaborative Support For Similar Causes
Below, Bishop Chandler David Owens Celebrating Among Clergical Colleagues
Celebrations Continuing With Bishop Chandler Owens And Clergy Colleagues
Below - Last Three On Far Right:  From Left To Right - Chandler Owens, 
J. O. Patterson, Sr., And Bishop Louis Henry Ford.
These prominent preachers came up through the ranks, giving faithful
and loyal service to the Church of God in Christ from very early years of their lives.
They proved themselves as humble servants, and as humble, prominant servants,
they became great, prominent and vanguard leaders within the
Church of God in Christ Arena
Check Out The Following Videos:
Go To You Tube:   Type In ~ Chandler Owens:  Jesus Vs Death....4 Round -Knock Out;
~ Bishop Chandler Owens; (Eulogy of Bishop L. H. Ford)
~ Bishop Chandler D. Owens; Eulogy of Nathan Simmons
~ Bishop Chandler D. Owens; 'Is Anything Too Hard For God"
~ Bishop Chandler D. Owens; I Believe God (Govenor)
~ Bishop Chandler Owens; '96 @ Temple of Deliverance COGIC
Fairwell Servant Of God,
Well Done!
Bishop Chandler D. Owens
October 2, 1931 ~ March 6, 2011
Below We See Friends Extending Support And
Back-Up For Heroes  Of Our Faith:  Mother Willie Mae Rivers, Who Is
The Current International Supervisor Of The Women's Department (2016)
Of The Church Of God In Christ, Is Receiving The Coveted Charles Harrison
Mason Award  From The Resligious Workers Guild, Inc.
Center ~ Bishop Chandler David Owens
Far Right ~ Bishop Christopher C. Owens,
Founder And International President Of
The Religious Workers Guild, Inc.
Above Forefront:  Elder Robert East, Left And Elder James Lenox
Greeting And Shaking Hands With Presiding
Bishop Chandler David Owens
Below, Click On Bishop Christopher C. Owens To Surf To The Top