United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report
August 28 - 29, 2005 - Cincinnati, OH

Robert Dick called the Council to order at 9 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 28, and introduced Jim Franks, chairman of the Doctrine Committee. Mr. Franks provided an update on current projects and reviewed three study papers. The Council spent the afternoon in executive session.

As the Council convened Monday morning at 9 a.m., Mr. Dick presented Clyde Kilough for a brief discussion on the importance of determining a name for the television program. Mr. Dick later turned the meeting over to Mr. Franks, who led the Council in the completion of the work on the scheduled doctrine papers. Peter Eddington asked for the Council's help in determining which area of the world will be featured in the 2006 Feast of Tabernacles video so that film footage can be taken this year.

The Council spent late morning and early afternoon in executive session.

Doctrine Committee

On Sunday morning Mr. Franks started the Doctrine Committee report by providing an overview of four study papers currently in various stages of development:

• "The Nature of God and Christ," which was originally commissioned in 1996, is one of the original major projects undertaken by the Doctrine Committee. The first draft was submitted in December 2003. The paper is now complete, having been reviewed by the Doctrine Committee and having completed the mandated 30-day review by the General Conference of Elders (GCE).
• "Interracial Marriage" originated as a Focused Education module in 1998. The first draft of this paper was written by a task force that was established within the education module and presented to the Doctrine Committee in the spring of 2004. After being edited and approved by the Doctrine Committee, the paper has completed its mandated 30-day review by the GCE.
• "The Role of Women in the Bible" was written by a task force formed by Ministerial Services in 2002 and was originally submitted to the Doctrine Committee in the summer of 2004. After edits by both the Doctrine Committee and the task force, the paper is now ready for the Council to approve its release for the mandated 30-day review by the GCE.
• "Alternative Explanation of Galatians" is a study paper provided to the Doctrine Committee for consideration. It will be on the agenda for Doctrine Committee discussion in December 2005.

After providing this overview, Mr. Franks conducted a final review of the "Nature of God and Jesus Christ" study paper. Since the Council had already approved the paper, Mr. Franks reviewed only the edits that were suggested by the GCE during the 30-day review period. After discussion, the Council unanimously passed a resolution to adopt the study paper as edited. A copy of the completed study paper and a cover memo from Mr. Dick will be mailed to the ministry, and then the paper will be converted to PDF format and posted on the Church's Web site.

Mr. Franks then led the Council through a thorough, page-by-page edit of the "Interracial Marriage" study paper. After doing so, the Council passed a resolution to adopt the study paper as edited. The resolution passed by a vote of 11-0, with Aaron Dean abstaining. The paper will be proofread. When that is completed, a copy of the paper and a cover memo from Mr. Dick will be mailed to the ministry, and then the paper will be converted to PDF format and posted on the Church's Web site.

The third study paper considered on Sunday morning was the "Role of Women in the Bible." The paper was edited by the Doctrine Committee and put forward to the Council for approval for posting on the ministerial Web site for a mandated 30-day review. The decision was delayed until Monday in order to assure that the Council was working with the most recently edited version of the study paper. On Monday morning, the Council unanimously approved the posting of the paper on the ministerial Web site for a mandated 30-day review.

Also on Sunday morning, the Council unanimously approved the addition of five men as alternates to the Advisory Committee for Doctrine, in the event that any of those currently on the committee choose to step down or need to be replaced. The Council also approved the addition of one elder to the Prophecy Advisory Committee.

Name for TV Program

Mr. Kilough revisited, in light of feedback gathered since Friday's presentation on the media center, the topic of the name for the developing television program, and said that the personnel involved would continue their brainstorming efforts. He acknowledged the importance of having a name that Council members agree on and that captures their interest, and he also emphasized that this is a decision that needs to be made as quickly as is reasonable. The Council suggested that the help of outside consultants in addition to consideration of the names already suggested may help the home office team in their search. The Council agreed to further discussion by teleconference to expedite the process of name selection.

Mr. Eddington pointed out that not having a final name for the program could impact the completion of the set as well as the program and commercial production schedules. The Council acknowledged this reality, but felt that such issues as names and logos that identify the Church to the world are of highest importance.

At the conclusion of the discussion, Mr. Kilough said that he would be in touch with the Council to follow through on the name selection decision.

2006 Feast of Tabernacles Video

Mr. Eddington requested that the Council indicate a preference for a geographical area of the Church to be featured in the Feast of Tabernacles sermon video for 2006. He indicated that deciding on a theme at this time will make it possible for the production staff to tape activities at this year's Feast for use in next year's video. The Council agreed that the 2006 Feast video should focus on the work of the Church in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.

Concluding Business Items

After completing a couple of miscellaneous business items, Mr. Dick asked the president and Council committee chairmen to provide a preview of the items they expect to put forward for the December agenda as part of the ongoing process of streamlining Council business. For its August meeting the Council was able to cut 1½ days off its scheduled meeting time due to streamlining of Council business.

Mr. Dick thanked the Council members for their efforts to make the meetings more efficient and asked for their consent to continue operating in the same manner. The Council gave broad support to the process, which included getting all agenda items to the Council members at least two weeks in advance of meetings, exclusion of all late submissions that are not emergency in nature, a unified report from the home office given by the president and a focus on creating reports with measurable outcomes that the Council can discuss with the home office team.

He then reviewed the schedule for the December 2005 and February 2006 meetings. Dec. 7, 2005, will be a travel day for the Council; committee meetings will begin Thursday morning and continue until noon Friday (Dec. 8 and 9). Council meetings will begin at 1 p.m. Friday, and will conclude by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14. The February dates are tentative, pending confirmation at the December meetings. As currently scheduled, Feb. 22, 2006, will be a travel day with committee meetings beginning Thursday morning and continuing until noon Friday (Feb. 24). Meetings will begin at 1 p.m. on Friday, and will conclude by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1.

The Council adjourned at approximately 4:45 p.m.

Don Henson
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© 2005 United Church of God, an International Association