United Church of God, an International Association

Council of Elders Videoconference Report

Monday, March 21, 2022

A special meeting of the Council of Elders (Council) was conducted via video conference. The meeting was called to order at 7:01 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and opened with prayer. All 12 Council members and the secretary were present.

Len Martin and Dan Dowd agreed to create this report, since the Council has not yet selected a replacement Council Reporter.

Timeline for Selection of President – Dan Dowd

Dan Dowd, chairman of the Roles and Rules Committee, led the Council through a discussion on the information the Council would like to see on resumes submitted by potential candidates for Church president, as indicated in the Process and Timeline for Selection of President document.

Every member was able to weigh in on various items they would like to see.

Mr. Seiglie says he would add something based on 1 Timothy 3, where it describes requirements for a pastor. It is important that a man not be a novice and has an amount of spiritual maturity.

Randy Stiver agrees and says having a pastor’s heart is critical to being a good president. Other technical skills can be hired. Pastoral skills are more important than technical skills.

John Elliot asks if an item could focus on the individual’s ability to teach. The leader of the Church must be very God-centric, focusing the home office staff and ministry on what Jesus Christ is doing.

Jorge de Campos says he appreciates the comments made regarding a pastoral heart. He says the resume should say how a man handles things in a loving way, and the experience he has in that. We should be asking how a person applies concepts on truth in love. He says a person can be knowledgeable on things in the Bible, but have pet ideas that are divisive.

John Miller says the qualifications from 1 Timothy need to be in the forefront, and the president needs to be somebody that can clearly articulate the Bible. If he also has business experience, that will be helpful too.

Dan Dowd says he not sure how 1 Timothy 3 can be quantified in a resume. It can show job history. He says a business background is important for a resume, and that can include projects worked on within the Church. He says we will have questions for candidates that cannot be quantified in a resume.

Paul Wasilkoff says that knowing these candidates are coming from the General Conference of Elders will be an advantage to us. We will generally know these individuals. He says that we do not want to exclude elders, and only consider pastors. He also encourages asking the candidates for background on their international experience. It will be important to learn if a candidate will be able to adapt to serving international areas.

Scott Ashley and John Elliott introduced documents from 2013 and earlier, that were used during previous selection processes. Len Martin suggest we don’t spend too much more time this evening and instead use the existing documents as the basis to proceed. He then asks if the Council is comfortable sending the documents that exist to the Roles and Rules Committee and then discussing any edits by e-mail. There is a general consensus to proceed in this manner. Scott Ashley forwarded the documents to the Council chairman and chairman of the Roles and Rules Committee.

General Conference of Elders Annual Meeting Agenda – Len Martin

Len Martin says that in the February meeting, the Council did not approve the General Conference of Elders (GCE) annual meeting agenda, and that is required. The GCE Planning Committee has put together a schedule of events for the weekend, which was distributed to the Council.

There was lengthy discussion about items on the schedule, but Len Martin reminded the Council that this is the annual meeting of the General Conference, not the Council or the administration. The Council is required to approve the items required in our Bylaws. The other events during the weekend are left to the GCE Planning Committee. This was clarified in the December 9, 2020, Council resolution establishing the GCE Planning Committee. In that resolution it says that after Council approves the business section of the meeting, the GCE Planning Committee will set the rest of the meeting agenda.

Len Martin further says that the GCE Planning Committee decided to have moderated discussion, with questions and an open forum.

Secretary Frank Dunkle forwarded to the Council the Call and Notice letter featuring the items on the agenda that must be approved. The items required by our Bylaws are on the schedule.

The Council approved the GCE Business Meeting Agenda.

The Council went into executive session at 8:17 p.m.

The Council came out of executive session at 9:39 p.m.

May Council Meeting

Len Martin informed the Council that the May meetings are only for 2-1/2 days, but this upcoming meeting will be exceptionally busy. He asked if Council members would be able to work a full day on Thursday, yet acknowledged the travel problems it creates for men getting home before the Sabbath. If not, we can work long days. He asks what the Council prefers. They prefer leaving at mid-day on Thursday. Mr. Martin says when preparing the agenda we should all be prepared to work longer on Tuesday and Wednesday, if necessary.

The Council adjourned at 9:45 p.m.

-end-

Len Martin / Dan Dowd

[These are not the official minutes from the Council meeting. Elders can find those at the Home Office with the Council Secretary. Video recordings are posted for the elders on the UCG Ministerial Resource Site.]

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