Lloyd L. Naten was admittedly taken by surprise after his election as General Bishop of the Pentecostal Church of God during the denomination's annual general convention in Arlington, Texas, last Friday.
Naten had been General Secretary for the last four years, according to Charisma News. He had served in a series of denominational, district, and pastoral positions since he first joined the church in 1961.
Naten was elected General Bishop replacing Charles Scott, who had been leading the church for eight years.
During the convention, Scott presented a transformational plan for the church, which would centralise more power in the office of the General Bishop. However, reports said his plan created a division in the church leadership.
In the election that followed, Scott reportedly withdrew from the position when he was not re-elected in the first four ballots.
According to church rules, a two-thirds vote is needed to elect any official. If that does not happen in the first three balloting, then only the top two vote-getters—in this case Scott and Naten—are then voted on. Since Scott lagged behind Naten during the fourth ballot, Scott decided to withdraw his name. Naten then received the required two-thirds vote during the fifth balloting.
When sought for comment, Scott declined to give one, saying he would rather put the situation behind him and move forward to the next part of the ministry.
For his part, Naten said he has no plans yet for his next two-year term. "I wasn't anticipating this. I am giving it thought. We need to reconnect with the ministers and especially reach out to younger ministers," he shared.
"We'll move forward from here," he added.
