United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report

Wednesday, May 12, 1999 — Cincinnati, Ohio

The Council of Elders met today to kick off its first series of face-to-face meetings since the beginning of the current fiscal year. Its two new members, John Jewell and Richard Thompson, were in attendance with the returning 10 Council members. This first day of meetings began with the President’s report, moved on to a Ministerial Services update from Richard Pinelli, covered discussion of two Council proposals, and concluded with discussions moderated by Chairman Robert Dick on committees of the Council and Council development.

President’s report

President McCullough
giving report

Reader’s Digest recently approached President Les McCullough and Treasurer Tom Kirkpatrick regarding ads in international editions of the magazine. The church’s greatest interest currently is in "remnant space" (leftover space in magazines) in Spanish-speaking areas. Sample costs quoted included $1,100 for Central America, $2,800 for Chile, $2,800 for Peru, $2,800 for Venezuela, $10,000 for Mexico. All of the above areas plus Colombia would cost $25,000. Rates for other areas, including spot placement of ads within the United States, are also open to discussion. Opportunities such as this serve to bring the goal of 250,000 Good News magazines by March 31, 2000 ever closer to fulfillment.

Mr. McCullough next reported on the development of a task force on the study of ministerial workload and remuneration, previously proposed by the Council. Mr. Thompson has been appointed as chairman, with names of several ministers being considered to fill out the committee. Questions which will be addressed include the following:

• What should constitute a congregation, numerically?
• Must it meet every week?
• Is there an approximate minimum number of members that is desirable? Number of elders? Of deacons? Deaconesses?
• Is an ordination for life, as with Levites? Is it dependent on other factors such as workload, health, needs?
• Should pastors be paid by UCGIA?
• What is a proper pastoral workload?
• Is it acceptable from a biblical perspective to have a part-time pastor?
• What biblical principles should be considered regarding the role of non-salaried elders?
• Is it acceptable for the pastor to accept financial help from the congregation directly?
• From a biblical standpoint, should a pastor’s wife be paid a stipend from the minister’s wage?
• What should be the base level of compensation?
• Should pay levels be established comparable to other professionals?
• Should there be an area wage adjustment for high-cost areas other than a housing subsidy?
• Should we consider a fleet program for those elders driving the highest amount of miles (over 30,000 per year) for church business?

The deadline for completing this study and submitting the results to the President is November 15, 1999.

Mr. McCullough continued by discussing a task force on human resource policies and procedures. This concerns Home Office personnel more directly than field ministers, although areas dealing with the field ministry will be coordinated with Ministerial Services. Deadline for task force chairman Kirkpatrick’s report back to the President is January 1, 2000.

Council Proposals

Dr. Kirkpatrick discussed a Council proposal regarding changing the fiscal year to July 1- June 30, from the current April 1 – March 31 cycle. If approved by the General Conference of Elders, this change would become fully effective July 1, 2000. In order to effect the change-over, the proposal includes one 15-month fiscal year from April 1, 1999 to June 30, 2000. Questions surfaced regarding what other circumstances would change—such as terms of Council of Elders members (this would have to be approved by the GCE) and timing of the annual General Conference (the GCE date is set by the Council). The fiscal year change would provide a much healthier and more realistic view of the church’s financial position (at June 30 each year) than is possible with the current system, since March 31 represents virtually the lowest cash balance point in the year. The proposal received unanimous approval from the Council (all twelve members present).

An amendment proposal from St. Louis, MO, pastor Greg Sargent regarding majorities required for passage (Bylaws, Sections 7.5.3 and 7.5.4) was not balloted at the last General Conference of Elders due to a technical difficulty not of Mr. Sargent’s doing. The Council, in advance of the GCE annual meeting, had agreed to deal with the proposal and put it to the GCE for ballot in time to allow the changes to take effect before the next General Conference, if approved. Some Council members voiced concern regarding specific wording and clarity of the presentation The Rules and Process committee was asked to evaluate the proposal and return it to the Council.

Ministerial Services

A presentation by Operations Manager Richard Pinelli included two areas: proposals for the Feast of Tabernacles and Sabbath services. Mr. Pinelli gleaned input for both areas largely from a series of pocket conferences held earlier this year, attended by over 80% of the U.S. ministry.

The service format at the Feast of Tabernacles will remain exactly as it is. Festival youth instruction will be continued, and three more specialized instruction opportunities during the Feast can be offered. These are focused Bible studies for young adults, teens, and a general study (in a specialized area of study by presenters in areas of expertise, such as Rick Sherrod, Ralph Levy, or Don Ward) at some sites. The first two types would have priority.

Mr. Pinelli next addressed Sabbath service format. Wide variations exist in congregational dynamics—sizes from six or eight to more than 300; 40% with no pianist; some congregations with no qualified songleader.

Two goals were put forward: striving for a 60-minute sermon, and a maximum two-hour time limit for the whole service. Mr. Pinelli reported that the ministry at large strongly urged that no significant change is needed or should be made in our traditional format for Sabbath services. His presentation agreed with and reflected this widespread input. Certain circumstances, however, require some adjustments: for example, a service with split sermons instead of the usual sermonette/sermon format, an occasional biblical skit or music program presented by the Sabbath school classes instead of the sermonette, or eliminating the sermonette on a Sabbath when a potluck meal and Sabbath Bible study or Family Christian Club is planned later in the day. The Council discussed a policy statement incorporating these concepts. Dr. Ward voiced some concern about being so specific regarding the sermon length, noting that sermonettes frequently exceed the suggested 10-12 minute length, and announcements often run 20-25 minutes or more. Leon Walker suggested making a distinction between a policy and guidelines from Ministerial Services. Council members Gary Antion and Burk McNair urged flexibility for the local pastor to address local needs. All agreed that despite some variations they discussed, our services must continue to be easily recognizable as United Church of God services, wherever brethren may travel. Mr. Pinelli will revise the wording of the suggested policy to reflect these concerns.

Committees of the Council

The afternoon session moved to discussion of the committees of the Council. The Council formed the first committees January 10, 1996. Officially, there are presently 10 committees functioning—Executive, Rules and Process, Roles and Responsibilities, Doctrine, Education, Strategic Planning, Ethics, Finance, Media, and Communications. The Nomination committee no longer operates, and another, the Home Office Relocation committee, disbanded in 1998. "This Council owes a tremendous amount to its committees," stated Mr. Dick. "Those committees have driven the work that we have accomplished."

The discussion revolved around several issues: Are committees continuing to perform what they were intended to perform? Is it possible to reduce the number of committees? Is there duplication of effort? How many committee members are required for each committee? Do the committee names reflect their task? Can some existing committees be combined? A task force will address these questions and report back to the Council by August.

As required annually at the first meeting of each new Council, Mr. Antion, chairman of the Ethics committee, then read the Council’s Code of Ethics.

NCNB Video and Discussion

The Council then viewed a 28-minute video produced by the National Center for Nonprofit Boards, entitled "Who Does What: Balancing the Board and Staff." While the Council had covered some of this material before, it provided review for the continuing members of the Council, and helpful orientation for the two new members. A discussion followed, several comments sparked by points raised in the video, as Council members noted differences and similarities between the church’s experience and typical non-profit boards.

Better communication between Home Office staff and Council members has provided the backbone of progressively smoother operations. The church has progressed in understanding the different responsibilities of the Council and Home Office staff, but work yet remains to be done. Some misunderstanding still exists among ministry and membership as a whole, noted Dr. Ward, of just what the Council’s work is. Comments of "we need more leadership from the Council" have not totally disappeared. But the Council is not a sort of "12-man pastor general"—it operates in a different way from past church experience. Continued education in the "multitude of counsel" approach to church direction is still necessary. Cultural education is required, along with necessary leadership. Victor Kubik suggested running articles in the United News explaining some of these ideas. "An article written jointly by the chairman of the Council and the President on how the church operates would be helpful," recommended Mr. Thompson. Mr. Walker noted the difficulty in helping people see the difference between past and present procedures. Calling attention to the mentoring quality of leadership currently needed, Mr. Dick noted its similarity to Christ’s own teaching of the twelve apostles during His ministry. As Aaron Dean pointed out, the leadership qualities of Council members in the church are spiritual in nature, in contrast to typical non-profit boards in corporations, and that’s what church members seek when they make comments about leadership from the Council. Dr. Ward agreed, and pointed out some avenues open for that kind of spiritual leadership from Council members visible to the brethren, such as writing articles in World News and Prophecy or the Ministerial Quarterly.

 
New Council reporter
Doug Johnson

Perhaps some in the church see work they perceive to be administrative, such as the creation of the Constitution and Bylaws, as not being spiritual in nature, and make their comments accordingly. Mr. Walker observed the need for Council members, and all ministers, to understand the broad-ranging nature of Council members’ jobs; Council members in order to competently fulfill them, and other ministers in order to competently choose members of the Council. The existing job description for Council members needs to be consulted regularly to keep the focus fresh, pointed out Mr. Luker. Mr. Antion added the importance of the Council’s developing understanding of their personality as a group. All of this focus on continued growth in understanding the Council responsibility, as Mr. Dick noted, is because Council members, along with all the ministry and membership, want to be used as instruments in God’s Hands in what He is doing at this time.

One program that should prove helpful in making Council members "more visible" to the membership organizes Council member visits to various church areas as guest speakers. Some of our internal difficulties prevented earlier development and implementation of these important leadership issues. Council members themselves, on these church area visits and in their own local areas, can take the lead in the important task of conveying information about the work accomplished at Council meetings, Roy Holladay said.

Mr. Dick concluded the day’s meeting by thanking Council members for their input, noting the special value of the council development and introspective discussion which ended the day.

-Doug Johnson

© 1999 United Church of God, an International Association