United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Meeting Report

Monday, January 18, 1999 - Tyler, Texas 

 
In today’s meeting the Council put the finishing touches on two major interconnected projects—the 1999-2000 operation plan and budget—in preparation for the Annual Meeting of the General Conference of Elders in early March.

Larry Darden has been present at our meetings

Chairman Bob Dick announced at the outset of the meeting that Robin Hulme had died on Friday evening after her battle with cancer and the Council arranged for cards and flowers to be sent to the family on its behalf.

Treasurer Tom Kirkpatrick, commenting on the first three-quarters of the 1998-99 fiscal year, reported an income of almost 12.5 million dollars between April 1 and December 31, 1998. Based on current trends, he forecasted ending the year March 31 with about a 15.1 million dollar income.

The Strategic Plan had basically been completed in previous meetings, so the Council did not take long to give it the final stamp of approval before moving on to the details of the operation plan.

The 35-page Operation Plan delineates the strategies for Ministerial Services, Media and Communications Services, Administrative Services (which includes Finance and Accounting, Human Resources, Information Services and Legal Services departments) and the Council of Elders. It briefly describes the duties of the personnel in each area, but most important, informs everyone on the status of current projects and the plans for the coming year. Outlining these specific operations is essential for helping the GCE understand and justify the proposed budget that will run these endeavors.

Analyzing these plans consumed almost the entire day as the Council examined line by line all the proposals, commenting, asking and answering questions, and sometimes changing certain aspects.

Dr. Kirkpatrick summarized what he believes are the major highlights of the next year’s budget:

• Increasing by 50% the circulation of the English language edition of the Good News magazine (on top of the 100% increase in the 1998-99 year), growing to around a 225,000-250,000 print run.
• Continuing development of our literature base that would include six new booklet titles (in addition to the 11 new titles during the 1998-99 year), and publishing the Bible Study Course as a stand-alone product, rather than as it is currently printed within the Good News. The new booklet subjects (not necessarily the titles) deal with the identity of modern Israel, the covenants and which laws Christians should observe, the seven laws of success, heaven and hell, the nature of God, and lasting values based on the biblical laws of living.
• Beginning centrally-produced television and radio programs, to be made available for local radio and public access television markets.
• Restoring the employee expense reimbursement policy (restoring the cuts made in that policy during the 1998-99 year).
• Providing some form of financial relief for the ministers placed on the "half salary" program earlier this year.

All of these areas, however, are simply plans—some will require more administrative details and, of course, the GCE must approve and ratify everything.

The Council approved it unanimously, and followed with the unusual step of applause for Dr. Kirkpatrick and Mr. McCullough for their hard work in preparing a very clear presentation. GCE members will receive this soon with the call and notice packet for the annual meeting.

It also unanimously adopted a new Ministerial Expense Policy based on the task force recommendations presented to the Council in November. The new housing subsidy formula takes effect in June, and the mileage subsidy in March. The details will be sent to the General Conference of Elders shortly.

Exploring educational opportunities

Ralph Levy, an elder in the Dallas, Texas church area, and a former Ambassador University professor, ended the day’s meetings by giving the Council a half-hour report on potential educational opportunities via the Internet.

Dr. Levy shared the Council’s long-held concern that developing educational programs is essential for the spiritual strength of the church, especially for the next generation. He stressed the difference between preaching and teaching; teaching is a systematic educational program, while preaching usually is not. While it is impossible to have at this time the same type of educational institution that was a hallmark of the church through the latter half of this century, technology is now making other avenues available. Not only are newer formats available, they make educational programs more accessible than ever to a much larger audience.

Chief among these are Web-based long-distance learning programs. Entire college programs, "virtual universities" with "virtual campuses" are now on the Internet at greatly reduced costs compared to classroom education. Even with reduced expenses, building such a program is still prohibitive under the current budget, but the trend in technology is for costs to come down over time. Therefore, Dr. Levy said his purpose was to encourage the Council to explore this possibility for the future, since it could provide the avenue for a variety of specialized programs educating the youth, the members and the ministry.

Correction: The January 15 Council report incorrectly stated $8,000 had been sent to Tonga for a radio program. Actually, $1,600 is in the proposed budget for radio in Tonga.

- Clyde Kilough

© 1999 United Church of God, an International Association

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