United Church of God, an International Association

Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report

Milford, Ohio

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Chairman Robin Webber called the morning session to order at approximately 9:10 a.m., and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (CoE) members were present.

Review of the Bylaws

Roc Corbett, chairman of the Roles and Rules Committee, lead a discussion going through the review and edits to the Bylaws. Mr. Corbett reminded everyone of the importance of reviewing the Bylaws and making them more readable and flowing. Bill Eddington, chairman of the Governing Documents Review Team, was unable to connect electronically because of technical difficulties, but some of his comments were read as a history and reminder of this service of going through the Bylaws.

At its February 2010 meeting, the Council of Elders approved and delegated to the Roles and Rules Committee the task of reviewing the three principal governing documents of the Church. In making this decision, the Council took into account the time period of 15 years that had elapsed since the documents were created, and that over that time, circumstances and practical application of the documents had shown that a review would be beneficial.

The foundation of each was still sound, but some of the original provisions had been based on expectations that did not eventuate.

The documents to be reviewed were:

• Constitution of United Church of God, an International Association;
• Bylaws of United Church of God, an International Association;
• Rules of Association of United Church of God, an International Association.

The purpose of the review was, and remains, to identify articles and clauses in the documents that could be:

• ambiguous;
• obscure or poorly constructed;
• unnecessarily complex; impractical;
• inconsistent with the provisions of another governing document;
• inconsistent with operational and administrative practices that had developed over the 15 years.

The desired outcome was to produce updated versions of the three documents and submit them to the General Conference of Elders (GCE) for adoption via the formal amendment process.

A review team consisting of Gary Antion, Roc Corbett, Larry Darden, Bob Dick, Mark Rorem, Rainer Salomaa and Gerald Seelig was appointed. The then-chairman of the Roles and Rules Committee, Bill Eddington, was to coordinate the project.

So far the Constitution has been concluded and was approved by the GCE last May (2014). The team has completed its review of the Bylaws and has submitted two documents to the Council for discussion at this meeting.  Work on the Rules of Association has not yet started.

The immediate goal is to obtain the Council’s comments on the Review Team’s recommendations as far as the Bylaws are concerned and then submit an updated version for the Council’s endorsement. It will then be distributed to the GCE for comment and a final version presented to the Council before it is listed for ballot at the 2015 meeting of the GCE.

Mr. Corbett also mentioned as a reminder and emphasis that the Council wants to include the GCE before the ballot stage, and by going through these Bylaws we are not changing doctrines or beliefs, but simply correcting any errors and making it easier to read.

For the rest of the morning the Council then began going through the Bylaws line by line.

Executive Session

Following lunch there was the scheduled executive session for about two hours.

The Council came out of executive session to bring two resolutions into open session:

• The Last Great Day Study Paper

Bill Bradford moves, John Elliott seconds and the Council of Elders adopts, by a ballot of eleven (11) for and one (1) against (Rex Sexton), the following:

Whereas, the Doctrine Committee recommends that the current document, “The Last Great Day Study Paper,” be renamed “The Last Great Day/Eighth Day Study Paper,”

Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that, the title “The Last Great Day Study Paper” is changed to “The Last Great Day/Eighth Day Study Paper.”

[Rex Sexton explanation: “I voted against this proposal because I would prefer that the paper be completely withdrawn.”]

• Beyond Today Program of “Easter Exposed”

John Elliott moves, Rex Sexton seconds and the Council of Elders, by a ballot of eleven (11) for and one (1) against (Robin Webber), adopts the following:

Whereas, the issue of a statement made in the Beyond Today program on “Easter Exposed” was remanded to the Doctrine Committee, and a statement was brought forward by the Doctrine Committee and edited by the Council,

Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that, the statement below is issued by the Council with regard to a statement made on a Beyond Today program entitled “Easter Exposed”:

In a Beyond Today program “Easter Exposed” the ab lib comment, “to commemorate His resurrection,” was not intended to solely refer to commemorating the event of the resurrection, but rather to acknowledge the reality and importance of the resurrected Christ. The program’s next statement explained the intent regarding the Feast of Unleavened Bread, “It is actually a seven day festival on which a Christian focuses his life and his mind on the resurrected Christ and His life in us as changed Christians.”

The Doctrine Committee had an opportunity to review the pertinent portions of the telecast with the presenter. When taken by itself, the comment was not accurate as the Church does not teach that the Feast of Unleavened Bread commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which teaches us to avoid sin and to live by the Bread of life as thoroughly explained in our published literature.

[Robin Webber explanation: First: I did not agree with the logic of evaluating one ad lib statement from the entire context of a program that clearly exposes the negative sources of Easter and the biblical truth regarding the Festival of Unleavened Bread. As stated to the Council, I may have elected to use a different term than “commemorate” if speaking on the subject, but I believe it still speaks to the reality of a risen Christ framed in biblical truth and fully separated from any taint of non-biblical influence. Secondly, I did not accept a logic that separates the divine event of the resurrection that occurred during this festival from the spiritual reality of the resurrected Christ now dwelling in us that this festival portrays regarding the new man in us made possible by the life, death and resurrection of the risen Christ. I find them both consistent with many facets of this festival, as all festivals have multiple lenses by which to view their deep meaning.]

The Council then went back into executive session.

At 3:30 p.m. the Council came into open session.

GCE Survey Review

Charles Melear, chairman of the GCE Planning Task Force, went through the 186 completed surveys sent in regarding the 2015 GCE meetings. Mr. Melear mentioned that with all surveys there is always a wide range of responses from positive to negative. He emphasized that over 85 percent of those who completed the survey were highly satisfied or satisfied with the meetings. The lowest percentage in this category was around 55 percent when it pertained to the Saturday night Q&A. Mr. Melear stated that there was a desire by many to have fewer meetings and more time for fellowship.

Mark Mickelson mentioned that there were several comments on the surveys about the Q&A and that it would be good to look at ideas to improve it. Mr. Melear agreed that they would look for ideas for that area.

The surveys were discussed, and the GCE Task Force will continue to review the findings of the survey in seeking how to improve the event. Mr. Webber, speaking as Chairman of the General Conference of Elders, acknowledged recent Elders’ Forum comments and stated a desire on behalf of the CoE and the GCE Task Force to continue to explore all avenues to create an effective conference. After viewing the measurable data of the surveys, the sense of the Council was to move forward with our general manner of meetings, events and activities while looking for areas of improvement.

Mr. Webber appreciated that the Council chose to have two non-salaried elders give the split sermons on the Sabbath during the GCE weekend. It was very well received in the congregations in Southern California.

Mr. Corbett said that there were some difficulties with congregations receiving the Sabbath services webcast. Peter Eddington mentioned that usually the problem is on the receiving end and that a good way to check the speed of receiving a signal is by going to speedtest.net to test the strength of the signal.

Mr. Corbett mentioned an interest and importance for the elders to understand our governing documents. He volunteered to help with that workshop if it were approved.

2015 General Conference Site Description

Mr. Melear pointed out that the May 2015 meeting of the GCE will be the 20th anniversary.

He also detailed the new location they are using this year for the GCE. It will be at the Marriott Cincinnati Airport Hotel. The hotel was described as a beautiful facility and he said that the quality will lend itself well for the 20th anniversary. There are area restaurants about 10 minutes from the hotel. This location is $6,500 less than last year.

Date for 2016 Meeting of the GCE

Charles Melear then began the discussion on looking at the dates for the 2016 meeting of the General Conference of Elders. In 2016 the annual Holy Days will be much later, so the first week in May will not work, especially for the international areas. The Council also desired that all families could be together at home for Mother’s Day. After discussion the dates of May 14-16 (international meetings on May 13) were decided for 2016. The 2016 location will be at the Holiday Inn Eastgate.

Robin Webber thanked Charles Melear and his task force for all that they do. He then reminded the Council of the annual potluck dinner with the home office employees that night. Everyone was in agreement to dismiss for the day a little earlier.

The Council adjourned around 4:10 p.m.

-end-

Interim Council Reporter

Shawn Cortelyou

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