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

Wednesday, November 18, 1998 — Cincinnati, Ohio

A successful week of meetings ended today on what Chairman Bob Dick called a bittersweet note, with the announced resignation of Jim Franks from Council duties.

This conference marked the first time the Council was able to cover every proposed item on the original agenda, and in the order it appeared. "This speaks to the maturing of the working relationship of the Council," said Mr. Dick in his closing remarks. "More work is being done and its being done in a more constructive fashion. I’d like to thank you for all the work that is being done, especially in advance of these meetings as it helps us come in here and deliberate more effectively."

Mr. Franks’ resignation letter

At the end of the day Council members received from Mr. Franks the following letter of explanation, reprinted in its entirety:

"After almost four years of serving on the transitional board and later the Council, I feel that it is in the best interest of all concerned if I step down from this responsibility. During the almost four years of serving, I have seen the good times and the bad, but through it all, I have seen God’s hand in what has been accomplished. I am very thankful for the blessing of working so intimately with the development of the United Church of God, an International Association, since its inception in 1995.

Jim Franks

"My primary reasons for taking this action are my family and the congregation I pastor in Houston. During the past four years, some of the most important events in the lives of my children have taken place—one daughter graduated from college and was married, a second daughter graduated from high school and entered college, and our third daughter has now entered high school. While I have done my best to be a part of their lives during these key moments, the facts are that I have missed many events that will never be repeated. I have spent many nights in hotel rooms listening to my wife describe these memorable moments to me over the phone. My children still need me in their lives, and I simply must take advantage of these opportunities before it is too late.

"The local congregation in Houston North has been wonderful. I have essentially been an absentee pastor for four years. I probably miss being with them more than they miss being with me. They are a strong group of men and women who are deeply dedicated to God’s way of life. It is a privilege to be their pastor. I also know that the face of the ministry is changing. Decreased finances and smaller congregations have forced us to take steps that we had never contemplated before. We now have men on half-salary who are being asked to pastor Churches. All this weighs heavily on me.

"I deeply appreciate the friendship of all the Council members and I will do my best to help them succeed. I am asking that my resignation become effective next March after the meeting of the General Conference of Elders. My purpose in announcing this now is to give the GCE enough time to consider the individual who will be replacing me. By staying until next March, there will be no need to return to last year’s election to find a replacement for my final year on the Council. I believe this is in the best interest of the organization, although, for me personally, I would prefer to make this effective immediately.

"Thanks to everyone for all the support we have been given through these difficult years. We have much to be thankful for and I am convinced God is with us. Personally, I am just as committed to seeing United succeed today as I was in April of 1995 when we arrived in Indianapolis. Even though I will no longer be a member of the Council, I will work just as hard for our success.

Sincerely,

Jim Franks"

Mr. Dick stated, "Jim has carried the weight of two or three men during the whole time he has been on the Council, and I know that has not been lost on anyone in this room. The amount of work and the amount of wise counsel on issues has been profoundly appreciated. We will all miss having him here and I’m glad he is staying through the GCE [meeting]. The continuity factor is very noble."

Tom Kirkpatrick and Bob Dick

The future of teaching programs

"Do we let higher education die, or do we tap the skills of individuals and move forward in areas of education in the church?" asked Gary Antion, chairman of the Education Committee, opening discussions on potential programs for the United Church of God. The Council’s aim, of course, is to construct a multi-faceted instructional system available to all members of the Church. While it is impossible at this point to build an educational institution, numerous other opportunities abound, including seminars, tape programs, conferences and technological avenues offered through computer networks.

Don Ward rehearsed the enthusiastic response from participants in the adult education seminar at the Oakhurst, California, summer camp in June. That activity taught the subjects Nature of God, Principles of Prophecy, Marriage and Family, the General Epistles, The Dynamics of Spiritual Growth, Building and Maintaining Friendships, and Marriage Personality Profiles. Cost-wise, it was very efficient, with the only expense charged to the Home Office being for the tape program.

Even though this program came together on short notice, said Dr. Ward, the tremendous response shows it is possible to start providing Bible courses similar to those taught at Ambassador College, only to more members.

In addition, several church areas have hosted focused seminars. For example, Dr. Ward and Roger Foster conducted one on prophecy over the Feast of Trumpets weekend in Garden Grove, California.

He advocated developing a more systematized plan of not only providing seminars around the country, but highlighted by one, or possibly two, week-long summer school programs with several mini-courses. Victor Kubik added that a "virtual classroom" could be created on the Internet, where the taped classroom courses could be distributed through our Web site. "Universities are increasingly using this technology and format. It is cheap and fast and you don’t need people sitting in offices putting it together—it’s all done through the computer," he said.

A high level of interest clearly exists for such ventures. "The Oakhurst audience was like a college freshmen class," Gary Antion recalled. "They had their Bibles and notebooks out, were in a new environment and were ready to learn. ‘We want more!’ was the most frequent comment I heard."

The Council spent some time discussing how to handle the funding of various aspects of these ideas, especially some offers of special contributions that have already come in. It also dealt with how to coordinate the four branches of the education team to handle the burgeoning number of seminars being planned in different parts of the country. Developing an efficient tape production and distribution system, which would be a key part of expanding the reach of local seminars to include the church-wide audience, also needs attention.

These talks clarified for the Education Committee and Ministerial Services specific steps to take to start bringing ideas to fruition.

Council travel plans

Because of the financial crunch earlier this year, all Council trips to church areas were put on hold. After consulting with Treasurer Tom Kirkpatrick, Roy Holladay said it now appears feasible to resume limited traveling, but proposed first establishing a system for coordinating future trips.

The original need for their travel still remains: to have Council members be able to inform, encourage and stay in touch with the Church members, and to answer their questions. However, central planning would avoid either overlapping visits or neglecting to visit individual areas.

Ministerial Services, interacting with the Communications Committee, now has the primary duty of tracking past visits, ascertaining future needs, considering requests from the field, coordinating Council members’ schedules and generally serving as the "traffic manager."

Tying up the dangling ends

Up against a looming 3:00 PM deadline to complete its meeting, the Council raced after lunch to wrap up several unfinished items.

According to a requirement in a resolution passed yesterday ("The Council will select one of the three representatives to lead the group in its relationships with the international areas") it chose Leon Walker for that duty.

It scheduled the next Council meeting for Wednesday, Jan. 13, 1999, through Wednesday, Jan. 20, in Tyler, Texas.

It also unanimously passed two documents for the Media Committee: "Assessment of Locally Produced TV Program Effectiveness" and "Analysis and Guidelines for Locally Produced Television."

A survey to gauge the desire for resuming an electronic forum for the General Conference of Elders received approval and will be distributed shortly.

After cleaning up a few housekeeping items and receiving Mr. Franks letter, Chairman Dick adjourned the meetings and everyone finally headed for home.

- Clyde Kilough

© 1998 United Church of God, an International Association