Council of Elders Meeting Report - February 25 - 27, 2019

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United Church of God, an International Association

Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report

Big Sandy, Texas

Monday, February 25, 2019

Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Central, and the meeting was opened with prayer. Eleven Council of Elders (Council) members were present. Scott Ashley joined about 30 minutes later by videoconference from the home office because he was teaching at ABC.

Chairman Ward welcomed everyone and commented on the very sobering times we are living in. The news and condition of this world will hopefully continue to sharpen our focus in preaching the gospel message that God has given us. We must be seeking God’s will in all things and looking to preach the gospel message more effectively.

The last Council meeting minutes and agenda for the week were discussed and approved.

President’s Report—Victor Kubik [video done]

President Victor Kubik greeted everyone and commented on some of the following major activities since the last meetings in December from his perspective as the President:

  • Recent personnel updates include:
    • Mark Welch – operation manager of Ministerial and Member Services (MMS).
    • Chris Rowland – Human Resource Manager as well as continuing as Administrator for MMS.
    • Lisa Fenchel – personal assistant to the President.
    • Justin Palm – new proofreader.
    • Steve Myers and Darris McNeely – ministerial education and training.
  • Ambassador Bible College (ABC) is one-third of the way through the second semester with 33 students. The media department is producing a new promotional video for ABC. The annual charity auction for ABC this year will be for a LifeNets program for the United Church of God in Haiti to help teach English and computer skills.
  • International areas:
    • Angola is an area rich in history in God’s church going back to 1983. A brief history of Angola was shared going from 1983 to the present. Jorge de Campos serves the Portuguese speaking areas and translates our publications into Portuguese, which is the fifth most spoken language in the world.
    • The Russian-speaking editorial worker at the home office is Natasha Teague. She is working with our Russian website and translating our literature.
    • The Caribbean area is organized by Chuck Smith.
    • South Central Africa has about 900 brethren in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 600 of those brethren are in Zambia with 12 congregations.
    • Chipata in Zambia on January 29, 2019 had their church property burglarized and vandalized. Good Works and LifeNets raised $25,000 to help restore what was stolen and to help protect it from happening again.
    • Lena VanAusdle continues to do a fabulous job with Good Works.
    • Lilongwe, Malawi now has Nick and Megan Lamoureux serving in the area.
  • The media department has been busy recording, and has produced nine programs in the new studio. The first two aired on WGN and the response has been double the previous programs.
  • There are as many non-members as members now getting the United News. There is an interest in the Church and what we are doing.
  • The Compass Check continues to be a very fine magazine for our teenagers.
  • Organizational stewardship is focusing the administration to be more outcomes based. It is helping with planning strategically for the future to look at what is being produced by various programs.
  • A recent employee survey has been helpful to see where growth is needed, and communication is an area for improvement that will be worked on.

President Kubik concluded his remarks agreeing with Dr. Ward that we are living in troubling times in the world. We see a world that doesn’t want to hear the gospel message, but it still must be preached. The book of Jeremiah is a good example that even when it isn’t popular, we must continue to give the message that God has for us to preach to this world. The time of Jacob’s trouble is approaching and we must be spiritually ready to face those days. We must be doing the work God has called us to do. We have so much to accomplish and it should excite us.

Operation Manager Reports:

Ministerial and Member Services (MMS)—Mark Welch [video done]

Mark Welch summarized some manpower changes since the last meetings in December:

  • Craig Clark was appointed pastor of the Gaylord, MI congregation, replacing Steve Shafer who has retired.
  • John Elliott was appointed interim pastor of the Sedro-Wooley, WA congregation.
  • Monte Knudson was named assistant pastor for Phoenix, AZ.
  • Scott McKeon was hired part-time as assistant pastor for Phoenix, AZ.
  • Stan Martin was transferred as pastor for Dallas/Ft. Worth and Sherman, TX, as well as Lawton, Oklahoma.
  • Braden Veller was appointed pastor for Ocala and Vero Beach, FL.
  • Doug Wendt was hired as pastor for Tampa and St. Petersburg, FL.
  • Mike Phelps is now pastor for the Ann Arbor, Detroit and Flint, MI congregations, replacing Steve Shafer who has retired.
  • Mark Welch was transferred to the home office as operation manager for MMS.
  • New ordinations:
    • Warren Poffenroth was ordained into the ministry on Dec. 8, 2018. He and his wife, Heidi, serve the Calgary, Alberta, Canada congregation.
    • Jonathan Hill was ordained into the ministry on Dec. 29, 2018. He and his wife, Carol, serve in the San Jose, CA congregation.
    • James Malizia was ordained into the ministry on Jan. 5, 2019. He and his wife, Stacey, serve in the San Francisco Bay area.
    • Tom Meece was ordained into the ministry on Jan. 5, 2019. He and his wife, Terry, serve the Petaluma, California congregation.
  • Since our last meetings one elder’s wife has died, Sheena Payne, of the Isle of Man congregation, wife of David Payne. She died on Dec. 2, 2018.
  • Three elders have died since the December meetings:
    • Clyde Hubbard, an elder and retired pastor of the Coleman, TX congregation, died on Dec. 15, 2018. He is survived by his wife, Bobbie.
    • Roger Korthuis, pastor of the Sedro-Wooley, WA congregation, died on Jan. 15, 2019. Roger is survived by his wife, Diane.
    • Dan Salcedo, elder in Garden Grove, CA, died on Jan. 19, 2019.
  • The following changes were made in these congregations (193 churches and Bible Study groups in the U.S.):
    • Added Northwest Phoenix, AZ, congregation.
    • Removed Bible Study group in Dubois, WY.
    • Removed Bible Study group in Idaho Falls, ID.
    • Bozeman, MT, now merged with Helena, MT.
    • Bible Study group in Durant, OK, has moved to Sherman, TX.
    • The group in The Dalles, Oregon, changed from a Bible study group to a congregation.
  • Completed events:
    • Leadership workshop in Temecula, CA on Dec. 9 was attended by approx. 150 church members.
    • Southwest Regional conference in Temecula, CA on Dec. 10-11 finished the 2017-2018 cycle of regional conferences.
    • Southeast Regional conference near Atlanta, GA on Jan. 20-22 started the 2019-2020 cycle of regional conferences.
    • The annual Feast coordinator’s conference convened on Feb. 4-5 by videoconference. 32 people were involved, including Feast coordinators from the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, home office staff and volunteer support. All 2019 Feast sites will be announced on the UCG Feast website on April 1. The Festival planning brochure goes to print on March 20 and members will begin receiving them in early April.
  • Church visits by Mr. Welch:
    • Gulf Coast region from Feb. 14-19 with pastor Skeets Mez. Met with the Mobile, AL and the DeFuniak Springs, FL brethren on the Sabbath of Feb. 16 and the Laurel, MS brethren on Sunday, Feb. 17.
    • San Antonio, TX from Feb. 21-23 with pastor Rod Foster. Met with the brethren in San Antonio and in Austin on the Sabbath of Feb. 23.

Current statistics include:

  • U.S. Sabbath attendance over the past four months has averaged between 6,900 and 7,000.
  • 389 elders in the United Church of God
    • 106 are outside the U.S.
    • 283 are in the U.S.
      • 75 are church pastors
      • 13 are associate or assistant pastors
  • 3 ministerial trainees
  • 195 churches and Bible study groups in the U.S.
  • 123 reported baptisms in 2018, 2 baptisms so far in 2019 and 10 baptisms since our last meetings.

Media and Communications Services—Peter Eddington [video done]

Peter Eddington went through some of the following statistics as of January 31 this year:

  • The coworker count is at 6,347 (the same as a year ago, 5% higher than two years ago).
  • The donor list now includes 8,075 people. That’s a 1% increase over the same time last year, and a 9% decrease over two years ago. This decrease is due to our new U.S. magazine subscribers now holding steady at around 250,000 for the past two years.
  • U.S. Beyond Today (BT)magazine subscribers are at 247,871. That’s a 3% decrease over last March. Worldwide circulation stands at 299,520, a 7% decrease over a year ago.
  • Our 2018 Strategic Plan objective for the Beyond Today magazine was to have 250,000 U.S. subscribers by December 31 of this fiscal year, and 300,000 globally. As you can see above, we hit that target almost exactly.
  • The November-December 2018 subscriber development letter from Victor Kubik was sent to 209,313 subscribers. It offered the booklet, “The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy.” More than 6,560 responses have been received, along with $48,000 in donations to help further the work of the Church.
  • The number of people listed on our U.S. database as members and those who consider themselves associated with the United Church of God stands at 12,365. This is almost identical to the same time last year, and a 2% increase over two years ago.
  • United News circulation stands at 16,867—which is the highest it’s ever been and an increase of 4% over last January, and an 8% increase over two years ago. The increases are mostly due to our coworkers requesting a subscription.
  • The Church’s Beyond Today YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/BeyondTodayTV has had 10.08 million video views (a 43% increase over last year), has 44,788 subscribers (a 69% increase over last year), and hosts more than 1,891 videos (a 5% increase over last year).
  • The Church’s Sermon YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/UCGsermons has had 297,948 video views, has 2,717 subscribers, and hosts 368 videos.

Some other items Mr. Eddington talked about were:

  • UCG Annual, Unique Website Visitors: The number of Unique Visitors to ucg.org during the 2018 calendar year (measured quarterly) was 10.5 million—the highest yet and a 5% increase over 2017 and a 38% increase over 2016.
  • Beyond Today TV App: The new BT TV app is now available on Google Play for Android devices. This is what we currently have available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Samsung smart TVs and Apple iOS devices (Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch).
  • UCG.org Website Index: If you go to bing.com and type site:www.ucg.org in the search box, you will see that Microsoft/Bing has indexed 325,000 pages from UCG.org. This is a 51% increase over a year ago. For comparison, just 10 years ago in 2008, Google had indexed 6,180 pages. If you type site:ucg.org (this will show all the subdomains of UCG.org) Bing has indexed 357,000 pages.
  • Roku App Advertising Results: We are running advertising campaigns on Roku devices. A variety of designs and program graphics appear. After 27 months of advertising that began on November 26, 2016, here are some of the results through February 9, 2019:
    • 23.88 million advertising impressions (81% increase since last February).
    • 241,647 advertising clicks (87% increase since last February).
    • 190,853 channel installs (56% increase since last February).
    • 577,554 videos watched (74% increase since last February).
    • 24.54 average minutes on channel (0.5% decrease since last February).

So, we are continuing to do well—an average of 29,413 ads running per day and 711 videos being watched per day. Please note, these views and channel installs are only for Roku. We are also running BT television programming on Apple iOS devices, Android devices, Amazon Fire TV and Samsung TVs. The channel installs for these are as follows: Samsung TVs – 4,633 (26% increase since last February), Amazon Fire TV – 3,557 (53% increase since last February), iOS devices – 773 (800% increase since last February), Android devices (too soon to measure).

Treasurer and Financial Services Report—Rick Shabi [video done]

Rick Shabi updated the Council on the financial condition of the Church and the results of operations since the December Council meetings. As he handed out several financial reports and schedules for the seven months of the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2019, he reminded the Council of income “trends” that were noted in the December meetings.

Mr. Shabi reported that income for the last two months had met budget, then led the Council through an income projection for the rest of this fiscal year. He stressed that cash balances and the overall financial condition of the Church is strong, and that no services or programs have been cut back or curtailed.

An update on the Video Recording Studio construction was provided. The cost of the Studio and equipment slightly exceeded $1 million. To date, $922,000 has been contributed to the Video Recording Studio Restricted Fund.

After presenting additional pertinent financial information and statistics, Mr. Shabi concluded his presentation. He thanked God for His continual blessing upon the Church, and the members and other donors who support the Work through their tithes and offerings.

Chairman Ward thanked Mr. Shabi for the great reporting and for all the work on the financial statements.

Committee Chairman Reports: [video done]

Strategic Planning and Finance Committee—Bob Dick

The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee (SPFC) has been pleased with the cooperation and the interaction with the administration over the past year and a half as the transition has been made for a sharper focus on outcomes-based strategic planning. In the previous December meetings the Council gave input for areas to improve. The administration will present to the Council their input for the strategic plan later today.

Members on the SPFC: Aaron Dean, Bob Dick (chair), Dan Dowd, Len Martin and Rex Sexton.

Roles and Rules Committee—Rainer Salomaa

The Roles and Rules Committee (RRC) has been working on the following items since our last meetings:

  • Annual assessment of the president and possible reaffirmation to be completed during this round of meetings.
  • Updated “Scopes and Responsibilities of the Committees of the Council of Elders and the General Conference of Elders.” The work of Roc Corbett, our GCE/COE online librarian, is much appreciated. He does a great job.
  • Worked on Draft 8, Manner of Approving Official Relationships with Other Religious Organizations, to be reviewed by the Council during this round of meetings.

Members on the RRC: Jorge de Campos, Dan Dowd, Len Martin and Rainer Salomaa (chair).

Ethics Committee—John Elliott

The Ethics Committee (EC) is a standing committee of the Council. The scope of the EC’s work is directed by the Council of Elders and extends to all matters of ethics and ethical conduct within the church organization as described by official documentation. Last December the Council remanded a matter to the Ethics Committee for its review. That matter is now concluded, and the EC is prepared to report the conclusion to the Council this week.

Members on the EC: Bob Dick, John Elliott (chair), Mario Seiglie and Tony Wasilkoff.

Doctrine Committee—Mario Seiglie

Since the December Council meetings, the Doctrine Committee (DC) has completed the following tasks:

  • It has forwarded to the secretary the two proposed amendments to the Fundamental Beliefs 2.1.6 & 2.1.7, which were sent to the GCE for balloting and neither received the needed ballots to go forward.
  • The DC will present four doctrinal projects, some of the PCD letters, as well as other items of business to the Council on Wednesday.

Mr. Seiglie also mentioned that the DC is reviewing a number of papers as part of its ongoing duties. The Project on reviewing the PCD letters is also continuing.

Members on the DC: Scott Ashley, Jorge de Campos, Len Martin, Mario Seiglie (chair) and Rex Sexton.

Media and Communications Committee—Scott Ashley

The Media and Communications Committee (MCC) met last Thursday, Feb. 21 to review the president’s and media operation manager reports. The meeting also included several discussions on topics such as the current social and media environment, which is increasingly hostile to God’s truth. Major media companies are censoring conservative messages. Also discussed were ways to get more international perspective and participation in the BT magazine and the possibility of doing shorter 10-15 minute video topics. The MCC also went over the media budget for the next fiscal year.

Members on the MCC: Scott Ashley (chair), Jorge de Campos, John Elliott, Rex Sexton and Tony Wasilkoff.

Education Committee—Aaron Dean

The Education Committee (EC) has not been assigned any new duties. A new set of regional ministerial conferences has started, and each of the members of the EC will eventually attend the regional conference in their areas. The EC was sent the agenda and schedule for this next round of regional conferences for input.

We are continuing our education in foreign areas. The goal is self-sufficiency, both in manpower and finances.

We thank God for the opportunity to help educate those who are teaching and will teach God’s way of life in the future.

Members on the EC: Aaron Dean (chair), Dan Dowd, Rainer Salomaa and Tony Wasilkoff.

Chairman Ward thanked everyone for their reports. The Council broke for lunch.

The Council went into scheduled executive session at 1 p.m. for an administration question by President Kubik.

The Council came into open session at 1:38 p.m.

Review of Strategic Plan and Operation Plan—Peter Eddington

Peter Eddington led the discussion to review the updated Strategic Plan and Operation Plan. The Council reviewed all areas of the strategic plan and operation plan. There were various edits that were suggested throughout the document.

Approved church formats were brought up in the discussion. There are six approved formats that may be used. Chairman Ward mentioned that we have to be careful to not try to change our church format to try and keep people in the church. Some church areas have tried other formats besides those approved. It was suggested that the current formats would be reviewed and pastors would be reminded of those approved formats by MMS.

Rex Sexton said there may be an occasional different format, but agreed with Dr. Ward and read Galatians:1:10, warning that we are not to be seeking to please men. We are to be seeking to please God in our services and that should be our focus.

Len Martin mentioned the unity through the years of going to other congregations and knowing the same format is done wherever you go. The importance of substance over form should be considered.

The Council then went into scheduled executive session at 4:08 p.m. to discuss the proposed budget.

The Council adjourned at 5:26 p.m.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Central, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present. Scott Ashley joined by videoconference from the home office.

Finalize GCE Agenda—Charles Melear

Charles Melear, as the chair of the GCE planning task force, led the discussion of the agenda for the upcoming May GCE meetings. The Council had discussed most of the plans in the December meetings. Mr. Melear presented those plans and received input to finalize the schedule. Sabbath services on May 4 will be at 2 p.m. Eastern with Mark Welch giving the first split sermon and Len Martin giving the second split sermon. The rest of the schedule was discussed and finalized.

The Council went into scheduled executive session at 9:24 a.m.

The Council came into open session at 1:12 p.m.

Manner of Approving Official Relationships with Other Religious Organizations—Rainer Salomaa

As the chair of the Roles and Rules Committee (RRC), Rainer Salomaa presented a document titled “Manner of Approving Official Relationships with Other Religious Organizations.” Once this document is eventually approved by the General Conference of Elders, it will replace the “Provisional Manner of Approving Official Relationships with Other Religious Organizations,” which was approved by the GCE on May 6, 2001. The updated document has gone through eight drafts. The Council discussed it for about 90 minutes, suggesting a few more edits. They decided to present it to the GCE for their input and it will go out with the call and notice packet. In due course, once the input is received and discussed, the COE will ballot to send it to the GCE for their approval.

Roles and Rules Update—Rainer Salomaa

A task force consisting of Rainer Salomaa as chair with members Bob Dick, Gerald Seelig, Larry Darden and Chris Rowland had been asked by Dr. Ward to review the policy “Process and Procedure for Suspension or Expulsion from the General Conference of Elders.” The recommendation of the task force was to submit an amendment to Article 4.7 of the Constitution before the policy was edited. The proposed amendment was presented to the Council. It was discussed and will be submitted to the Amendment Committee for balloting by the GCE in 2020.

Review of the Sexual Misconduct Policy—Dan Dowd

In the December 2018 meetings, in one of the executive sessions, the Roles and Rules Committee (RRC) was asked by the chairman to review the “Sexual Misconduct Policy for the Ordained Ministry” to see if it needed to be updated and edited. The RRC recommended that the policy was sufficient and no updates were necessary.

The Council went into scheduled executive session at 3:53 p.m. to go through the legal update.

The Council adjourned at 4:29 p.m.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Central, and the meeting was opened with prayer. Eleven Council of Elders (Council) members were present. Scott Ashley joined about 30 minutes later by videoconference from the home office because he was teaching at ABC.

The Council began in scheduled executive session.

The Council came into open session at 1:03 p.m.

Doctrine Committee Update on Various Projects—Mario Seiglie

Mario Seiglie, chair of the Doctrine Committee (DC), presented four doctrinal projects to the Council. None of these projects received any support from the DC or their sub-committees. Presenting these projects follows the guidelines for the DC to inform the Council of their completion and the authors were informed there was no support. Those four projects were: #3 on Ochlos “multitude” in Rev:19:1, #55 on born again, #61 on leavening products, and #57 on foot washing.

Part of the ongoing review of the Personal Correspondence Department (PCD) letters included editing two more with four more remaining. The two completed were on the topics of the “Fate of the Unborn” and “John:19:14 and the meaning of the 6th hour.” Both were reviewed, edited and approved by the Council. They will be posted on the Ministerial Resource Site. When new PCD letters are written, they will now go to the DC for approval before being posted.

The Council went into executive session at 1:27 p.m.

The Council came into opens session at 2:15 p.m.

Approval of Strategic Plan

The Strategic Plan for 2019-20 was approved by the Council to go on to the GCE in May by a vote of 9 for; 2 against (Dan Dowd and Len Martin); 1 abstain (Bob Dick).

Approval of Operation Plan

The Operation Plan for 2019-20 was approved by the Council to go on to the GCE in May by a vote of 9 for; 3 against (Bob Dick, Dan Dowd and Len Martin).

Approval of Budget

The Budget for 2019-20 was approved by the Council to go on to the GCE in May by a vote of 7 for; 3 against (Bob Dick, Dan Dowd and Len Martin); 2 abstain (John Elliott and Don Ward).

The Council went into executive session at 2:22 p.m.

The Council had the assessment of the President. The Council reaffirmed President Kubik for three more years.

The Council adjourned the February meetings at 5:03 p.m.

-end-

Council Reporter

Shawn Cortelyou

[These are not the official minutes from the Council meeting. Elders can find those at the Home Office with the Council Secretary.] [Videos posted can be found at: http://coe.ucg.org/videos ]

© 2019 United Church of God, an International Association