United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report
Tuesday , December 9, 2003 – Cincinnati, Ohio

Today's meeting was taken up by reports from two task forces. In the morning, Ken Giese presented the results and recommendations of the Christ-centered Servant Leadership (CSL) Review Task Force. In the afternoon, Britt Taylor provided the Council with an overview of the work of the Retirement Task Force.

CSL Review Task Force Report

The CSL Review Task Force was commissioned to clarify the issues confronting the CSL program, respond to the concerns raised about the CSL program and propose specific strategies to eliminate the current impasse so that it can move forward. Mr. Giese, chairman of the task force, presented the results and recommendations to the Council. Other members of the review task force are John Miller, Dave Myers, Dave Register and Mark Winner. The task force unanimously endorsed recommendations made in the report.

The review task force spent months surveying the body of work completed by the original Christ-centered Servant Leadership Task Force, which Mr. Giese commended as valuable information for the benefit of the Church.

Mr. Giese summarized the conclusion of the review task force by stating that the original task force should be given the opportunity to more fully develop the information it has already compiled and present it in a way that will be a benefit to the ministry and membership alike.

The review task force recommends that as material is produced in the future, the Church administration should review it and determine how to put it to use. For example, it may have application in the Ministerial Candidate Program, Ambassador Bible Center classes, and for local congregation leadership development. Mr. Giese found that the information is particularly appealing to younger members of the Church, since it emphasizes the practical application of godly principles in everyday life.

The Council, as you will note in the following resolution, agreed to change the name from "Christ-centered Servant Leadership" to "Godly Leadership." The review task force concluded that the term "servant leadership" carries baggage due to its misuse by other organizations. However, even though the term is no longer in the title, the concept of servant leadership is fundamental and will be maintained and emphasized. The term "Godly leadership," while obviously more general, also implies the Father as the ultimate source of the leadership qualities that we should strive to learn and apply.

The recommendations of the Review Task Force are summarized in the following resolution, which the Council adopted unanimously:

Whereas, the Task Force for Review of Christ-centered Servant Leadership (CSL) has identified the questions and concerns regarding CSL, and

Whereas, the Task Force has submitted its final report to the Education/Ministerial Services Committee and the Council of Elders, and

Whereas, the Task Force has made certain recommendations in the "CSL Review Taskforce Report",

Now therefore, it is hereby resolved, that the recommendations of the Task Force for Review of Christ-centered Servant Leadership (CSL) are accepted for implementation as follows:

1. The Council of Elders approves the proposed timeline as defined in the document, "CSL Review Taskforce Report".

2. The name of the Christ-centered Servant Leadership Task Force is changed to Godly Leadership Task Force and that this name be reflected in the body of material created by the Task Force.

3. The Council of Elders charges the Godly Leadership Task Force to develop a clear and concise definition of Godly leadership including the aspects of servanthood, leadership, humility and developing people, and to prepare a proposal, to be approved by the Council of Elders, to continue the development of Godly leadership material for the Church.

4. The Council of Elders allocates the funds necessary for the Godly Leadership Task Force to prepare the proposal.

5. The Council of Elders approves adding three (3) elders to the Godly Leadership Task Force (totaling seven (7)) to add additional depth, insight and experience to the team and its work.

6. The implementations of the recommendations of the Godly Leadership Task Force are to be the responsibility of the administration.

The Council also established the following timeline for the work of the Godly Leadership Task Force:

• December, 2003: At the current meetings, the Council by resolution charges the Godly Leadership Task Force to develop a comprehensive proposal to introduce material on Godly Leadership, with special emphasis on developing a clear and concise definition of Godly leadership including the aspects of servanthood, leadership, humility and developing people.
• February, 2004: Godly Leadership Task Force makes progress report to the Council, including proposed definitions of terms.
• May, 2004: Mr. Kilough makes progress report on the work of the task force at the annual General Conference of Elders.
• August, 2004: The task force presents its completed proposal to the Council.

As recommended by the Review Task Force, the four members of the original task force (Clyde Kilough, Todd Carey, Dave Myers and Mark Winner) will continue. The Council met in executive session to select the three additional members that will be added to the task force.

Retirement Task Force Report

Church President, Roy Holladay introduced Britt Taylor, chairman of the Retirement Task Force.

Mr. Taylor introduced the members of the task force: Larry Darden, Aaron Dean, Matt Fenchel (all of whom were present at the meeting) as well as Ken Treybig, Chris Anderson, Bob Fahey and Rex Sexton.

Shortly after this year's Feast of Tabernacles, Mr. Taylor presented the findings of the task force to Mr. Holladay and the home office operation managers. Prior to the Council meetings, each member had received a 70-plus page document from Mr. Taylor, which detailed the findings and recommendations of the Retirement Task Force.

Mr. Taylor explained that the task force was commissioned by the President about a year ago. Faced with the challenge of an aging ministry and no formal retirement program, the administration asked the task force to recommend a strategy.

The purpose of today's discussion was not to seek Council action or approval on any level, but rather to provide an overview of the report and afford Council members the opportunity to ask questions of Mr. Taylor.

Mr. Taylor expressed that the ministry is made up of men who have dedicated their lives to serving God's people. Due to the climate of the Church in previous decades, most did not adequately prepare for retirement. But now that need is real. The task force shares the view of the administration that the Church has a responsibility to help both the ministry and non-ministry employees as they prepare for and go into retirement, while at the same time employees have a responsibility to prepare themselves as much as possible.

The three main issues addressed by the task force are:
1. The need for the Church to establish a formal retirement program.
2. How to accomplish a fair and equitable transition from the use of discretionary Church assistance for retirement to reliance on the employee's 403(b) account.
3. The need for the ministry to qualify for social security and Medicare benefits.

Mr. Taylor acknowledged that the matching 403(b) thrift plan, allocation of estate donations for retirement needs and freezing the amount of Church budget to be used for retirement purposes are all important and valuable steps. However, he stated that task force firmly recommends that the Church take action as quickly as possible to implement the recommendations they have presented. One of the primary recommendations is that the Council, by resolution, establish a structured, formal retirement program.

The task force's report thoroughly analyzes the current situation and proposes steps that can be taken to structure a retirement program for U.S. ministerial and non-ministerial employees. Mr. Holladay urged Council members to read and study the report and direct questions to himself or directly to Mr. Taylor. At the February, 2004 meetings the Council will discuss the retirement issues and at that time Mr. Holladay will seek a proposal so the administration will be able to begin to move forward with some of the elements of the report.

The Council recessed for the day at 4:45 p.m.

-Don Henson

-end-

© 2003 United Church of God, an International Association