Clardy Elected to International Executive Council
Cleveland, Tenn.–During the first day in session of the Church of God International Executive Council, the body elected Rev. Barry A. Clardy to serve as the 18th member of the Council of Eighteen.
Barry Clardy
Clardy’s selection comes due to the vacancy created by the appointment of Dr. Michael L. Baker as president of the Pentecostal Theological Seminary and Chancellor of the Division of Education for the Church of God last month. Baker was initially elected to the Council at the International General Assembly in July.
The International Executive Council membership is composed of the five leaders on the International Executive Committee, the Council of Eighteen and one representative each from Indonesia and South Africa.
The Church of God Book of Discipline, Church Order, and Governance states that
“members (of the Council of Eighteen) shall be elected from the ordained bishops and no chief executive officer, or his assistant, of any church agency which presents a budget to a divisional leader, shall be eligible to serve on the International Executive Council.”
Due to Baker’s appointment and subsequent ineligibility, on Tuesday the Executive Council followed procedure from the same document which states, “Should any one of the 18 positions on the Council of Eighteen be vacated because of death, disability, advancement, resignation, or the member in any wise being disqualified, the General Overseer shall submit to the International Executive Council, in session, the names of the next two men receiving the highest votes on previous ballots who are eligible at the time of this special election, and whose election would retain the required minimum numbers of pastors and/or foreign nationals as required by the International General Assembly Minutes. The one receiving the majority vote of the International Executive Council shall be declared elected to fill the unexpired term.”
Clardy is pastor of the Princeton Pike Church of God in Hamilton, Ohio, where he and his wife, Kimberly, have served for the past 12 years. He also serves on the Ohio Church of God State Council. According to Clardy, his commitment as a husband and father to Graylin and Cameron are among his greatest joys.
“I am honored and humbled to be elected to serve on the Church of God International Council of Eighteen,” Clardy said. “I am prayerfully committed to this Kingdom effort and pledge to serve the vision of Dr. Tim Hill, the Executive Committee, and the ministries of the Church of God as together we fulfill and finish the work of the Great Commission.”
Clardy’s election is effective immediately, but he will not formally join the Council until their next scheduled session, set for January 2017.
