Council of Elders Meeting Report - May 28, 2014

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Council of Elders Videoconference

United Church of God, an International Association

Milford, Ohio

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Chairman Robin Webber took the roll and called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time and asked deputy chairman John Elliott to open with prayer. He then introduced the Church president for his report.

President’s Report—Victor Kubik

President Victor Kubik spoke about how well the ABC graduation went, as 35 graduates crossed the stage to receive their diplomas. He will be travelling soon to Toronto to participate in the Canadian ministerial conference. The income for May is running somewhat ahead of budget expectations. The next U.S. area conference will take place in Atlanta, Georgia, later this summer. The home office Labor Day weekend leadership training conference is in the active planning stages. The first Beyond Today public appearance campaign will take place in early September.

Council Committee Population—Robin Webber

Mr. Webber began the discussion of populating the standing committees of the Council. The first order of business was to confirm the chairmen of each of the committees as follows:

  • Doctrine CommitteeJohn Elliott
  • Education CommitteeRex Sexton
  • Ethics CommitteeMario Seiglie
  • Executive CommitteeRobin Webber
  • Media CommitteeScott Ashley
  • Role and Rules CommitteeRoc Corbett
  • Strategic Planning and Finance CommitteeBill Bradford

The chairman then moved that the Council Committee chairs and the current composition of the committees be made official as listed. Each Council member serves on two to three various committees. The chairman retains general oversight of all the committees. Secretary Gerald Seelig then took a roll call ballot that was unanimous in approval of the committee chairs as nominated.

Council Reporter Selection

Mr. Webber then began the discussion about selecting a new Council reporter to assume the duties of this reporter since he is being transferred to the field ministry. The Council entered executive session to discuss possible elders to fulfill the role with the plan in mind to make a final decision at a later meeting.

Elders Forum Moderator Selection

Next on the list was a discussion for a new moderator for the Elders Forum to replace Ed Dowd, who has made a request to that effect due to his increased pastoral workload. Mr. Webber suggested that Roc Corbett request of the General Conference of Elders Responsibilities Advisory Committee (GRAC) a list of possible elders to consider for the forum moderator. Mr. Corbett explained that the Council would need to empower the GRAC to make such suggestions since it is an “advisory” committee with specific terms of reference and focus in other areas. The chairman remanded the matter to Mario Seiglie, chair of the Ethics Committee (who currently maintains oversight of the Elder’s Forum) and Roc Corbett (who as chairman of the Roles and Rules Committee currently serves as the liaison  to the GRAC) to make initial inquiries into the process involving the GRAC in the selection of a forum moderator.

Local Church Building Purchase

Ministerial and Member Services operation manager Roy Holladay presented a proposal for the Wichita, Kansas, congregation to purchase a church hall that would reduce their monthly church costs.

Aaron Dean read the proposal for official Council action. Mr. Corbett suggested that, based on policy, the president and administration should make such decisions. Mr. Webber suggested that is but one interpretation and that there are other valid ones. Legal counsel Larry Darden pointed out that our consistent practice has been to seek Council approval for all such acquisitions. Mr. Kubik pointed out that this purchase makes a net reduction in the local church costs while serving the needs of the congregation very well. Secretary Seelig took a roll call ballot which was unanimous in favor of the purchase.

Bylaws Update Review Process

Roles and Rules Committee chairman Roc Corbett outlined the extensive planning for the systematic update on the Bylaws leading up to and during the August meeting. He asked that the Council pay particular attention to the details to make the August review by the Council run smoothly.

Edit to Sexual Misconduct Policy

Chris Rowland and Larry Darden presented a request to increase the Church’s insurance coverage. The upgraded insurance policy will require background checks of all employees as well as non-salaried elders as a matter of routine whether they work primarily with youth or not. The reason for the request is that a significant amount of liability insurance coverage is being required for the lease of increasing numbers of church halls as well as youth camps. The annual increase in our insurance policy costs for the Church in the U.S. is projected to be only a few thousand dollars. The Council then balloted on a resolution that changes the policy wording in our documents from “…reserves the right to require background checks…” to “…requires background checks…” Aaron Dean framed the formal proposal, and it passed unanimously.

Strategic Planning Survey Discussion

The United Church of God will be conducting a Church-wide survey, as is its standard practice when approaching a major strategic planning exercise every three years (slated for December 2014).

Bill Bradford and the rest of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee proposed some added questions and requests for suggestions on the part of the survey that seeks specific input in how to effectively preach the gospel. The questions are add-ons to the regular questions used from year to year for comparison purposes. Mr. Webber suggested that the questions proposed be sent to the Council members for their analysis and comment over the next couple of weeks, as the survey needs to be sent out in mid-June.

ABC Certification Update—Victor Kubik

Mr. Kubik explained the need to upgrade ABC’s status to certification with the State of Ohio to enable greater ease for international students to obtain student visas. One factor that appears important from initial research is the need to use an educational descriptor like “college” in conjunction with Ambassador Bible Center in our documentation to more clearly identify ourselves as an educational institution. Don Ward recommended that considerably more research is needed to know how to proceed seeking such certification that would allow easier access to student visas. Consensus was for the administration to continue their research.

The Council re-entered executive session for the last few minutes of the meeting. Upon exiting the executive session the Council adjourned at 6:20 p.m. after the closing prayer by Dr. Ward.

-end-

Randy Stiver

Council Reporter

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