United Church of God, an International Association
Council of Elders Quarterly Meeting Report
Milford, Ohio
Monday, August 20, 2018
Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present.
Chairman Ward welcomed everyone. The last Council meeting minutes were approved. The agenda for the week was discussed and approved.
John Elliott, as the ethics committee chairman, was asked to read the Council code of ethics, which is customarily done in the August meetings.
President’s Report—Victor Kubik [video done]
President Victor Kubik greeted everyone. Thanks were expressed to all who contribute to the work of the Church, from the ministry to the employees at the home office. He discussed some of the areas of interest since the May meetings:
Operation Manager Reports:
Ministerial and Member Services (MMS)—Chris Rowland [video done]
Chris Rowland summarized some manpower changes since the last meetings in May:
Current statistics include:
Media and Communications Services—Peter Eddington [video done]
Peter Eddington went through some of the following statistics as of July 31 this year:
Some other items Mr. Eddington talked about were:
Committee Chairman Reports: [video done]
Education Committee—Aaron Dean
The Education Committee has not been assigned any new duties. However, our education programs are still progressing. The summer has completed another successful set of teen and preteen camps. ABC is to begin next week with a possible 33 students.
Once again we plan three-day education seminars in December to be held in our own buildings in Zambia and Malawi. A seminar will also be held in South Africa at a venue to be announced. Our goal is still to make all countries as close to self-sufficient as possible in manpower and finances.
We do all we can with the limited resources we have, and ask God and Jesus Christ to make up the difference. We are growing and expanding. It shows us it is His work and not ours.
Ethics Committee—John Elliott
The Ethics Committee (EC) serves as directed by the Council. There is nothing before the EC.
Strategic Planning and Finance Committee—Bob Dick
The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee has been busy in previous months assisting the administration in evaluating measurable outcomes in strategic planning. August has been a brief rest before beginning the cycle of preparing the next fiscal year’s budget, strategic plan and operation plan.
Roles and Rules Committee—Rainer Salomaa
The Roles and Rules Committee will assist the Council in the annual assessment of the treasurer in this week’s meetings. Also there will be discussion on the timing of the president’s assessment to clarify if it is in February or May or 2019.
Doctrine Committee—Mario Seiglie
The process for submitting doctrinal papers was described with the first step of going through the local pastors and then to the doctrine committee. Since May the Doctrine Committee has completed four projects and 16 remain at this point.
Media and Communications Committee—Scott Ashley
The Media Committee (MC) is mandated to preview the media report by Mr. Eddington. This was done. The MC is working on no other Council mandates at this time.
Chairman Ward thanked all the committees for their work.
The Council went into scheduled executive session at 11:22 a.m. to discuss ordinations, credentialing and personnel review.
The Council came into open session at 4:30 p.m.
Date and Theme for 2019 General Conference of Elders (GCE)—Charles Melear [video done]
Charles Melear, as head of the GCE task force committee, led the discussion of going through feedback from the 2018 GCE, and input for the 2019 GCE’s theme. Themes were discussed but the majority decided to have no theme for the upcoming 2019 GCE, in order to give more flexibility with seminars and presentations.
The Council also finalized the dates for the 2021 GCE. The upcoming dates for the GCE are:
2019: May 4-6
2020: May 2-4
2021: May 1-3
The Council adjourned at 5:28 p.m.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present.
Update on Personal Correspondence Department (PCD) Letters—Dan Dowd [video done]
Chairman Ward asked for the explanation of how the PCD letters are sent out and who writes them.
Peter Eddington said the PCD letters go back over 20 years. They are used as form letters to answer questions that come in. There is a team of a dozen ministers who work on those replies. There is a review process before they are mailed back out. The reviewers are: Peter Eddington, Chris Rowland, Don Hooser, and Gerald Seelig.
Dan Dowd then led the discussion on the current review of the frequently asked PCD letters. A four-man committee was established of: Bob Dick, Dan Dowd (chair), Mario Seiglie and Rex Sexton to review the current frequently asked PCD letters for doctrinal accuracy. They have gone through the 309 PCD letters and presented them to the Council. The majority just needed grammatical edits. Any with doctrinal questions or updates were sent to the Doctrine Committee (DC). Only three have risen to that level.
A brief discussion reviewed the PCD letters that will go to the DC for review.
Len Martin brought up the idea of having an audit trail for the documents to keep track of edits and changes in any PCD letter or other documents for the Council. Mr. Dowd agreed that it would be helpful to know when and what is edited, and mentioned they could look into it.
The Council then went into a planned executive session at 9:15 a.m.
The Council came into open session at 1:34 p.m.
Ambassador Bible College Awards—Aaron Dean [video done]
Aaron Dean led the discussion of updating a resolution regarding the awards given out at the end of each ABC academic year. Currently the resolution requires only one male and one female student to be recognized for outstanding service. A new resolution was discussed to give more flexibility to give awards to more than two students, if warranted. It was discussed and the former resolution was rescinded with 10 in favor and 2 abstaining (Jorge deCampos and Tony Wasilkoff).
After further discussion, the following resolution was passed with 10 in favor and 2 abstaining (Jorge deCampos and Tony Wasilkoff).
Whereas, the Council of Elders desires to encourage the development of character and service at Ambassador Bible Center (ABC),
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved, that the Council of Elders, on an annual basis, funds awards via the ABC budget for recognizing outstanding service to deserving ABC male and female students at a cost within the approved budget, and
It is further resolved, that the annual recipients of these awards will be selected by the staff of ABC, with the awards to be presented during the appropriate graduation week event.
Approval of Executive Committee Minutes and Action—Don Ward [video done]
The Executive Committee (EC) deals with time-sensitive items that have to be taken care of in a timely manner. The EC is comprised of Chairman Ward, Scott Ashley, Aaron Dean and John Elliott. On July 25, 2018, a resolution was passed by the EC for the Columbus, Ohio congregation to purchase a building. The minutes of the meeting were passed out and the resolution was discussed. The acquisition of the building is a wonderful blessing from God. The Council unanimously approved the decision of the EC to approve the resolution.
Treasurer and Financial Services Report—Rick Shabi [video done]
With the end of the Church’s fiscal year on June 30, Rick Shabi’s report included financial statements and other information for the fiscal year just ended and the new fiscal year that began seven weeks ago.
He reported that the fieldwork for the annual external audit is being conducted during the week of the Council meetings. Much work had been prepared in advance for the auditors, and after the conclusion of fieldwork this week, there will be additional reviews that will be done, as the audit is an extensive review of all the Church’s operations. The final audit report will be presented to the Council in the December meetings and published in the United News in early 2019.
Mr. Shabi summarized the fiscal year 2018 financial statements, commenting that income for the year (which does not include donations to the video recording studio restricted fund) far exceeded budget and topped $19.2 million. All the major “categories” of income—first tithe and offerings, assistance fund, festival fund, and interest income—surpassed budget and prior year levels by a significant percentage. Meanwhile, expenses, despite being slightly over budget, were mostly in line with projections. The excess of income over expenses for the fiscal year exceeded $800,000.
As fiscal 2018 was being reported on, Mr. Shabi also discussed the balance sheet and income for the six weeks of fiscal 2019, through mid-August. The increased income trends that marked 2018 continue into the new fiscal year. General and interest income continue to be above budgeted levels and the receipt of a sizable estate donation during the month of July was noted.
In July 2018, the Church completed a major transaction in the acquisition of a church building for the Columbus, Ohio, congregation. The effect of that acquisition on the balance sheet and income statement was presented.
Statistics, including the number of employees of the Church, details of the interest-bearing accounts and certificates of deposit held by the Church at August 15, and the cost per response for Beyond Today television on WGN America were presented.
As always, we thank God for providing the resources and blessings His Church has enjoyed. May we always seek and follow His will and guidance in the administration and use of those resources.
Director of Stewardship—Vic Kubik [video done]
President Kubik led the discussion of the need for a director of stewardship. This was a position approved in the Strategic Plan that was approved by the GCE in May. This position is to help find new donors and is a follow up to Tim Pebworth’s presentation on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. The Council discussed the proposed job description and job posting position. There were edits and corrections to the documents.
A resolution was proposed and approved by the Council by a ballot of 11 for and 1 abstention (Dan Dowd) for the following:
Whereas, one of the strategies approved and ratified in the 2018-2019 Strategic Plan is to “Appoint a director of development tasked with enhancing the Church’s revenue streams”, and
Whereas, the Council desires to have a job description for a Director of Stewardship and Development and seek an appropriate individual to fulfill that position,
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that, the document, “JOB TITLE: Director of Stewardship and Development,” a copy of which is attached and made a part of this resolution is established and the announcement for a job opening for said director, a copy of which is attached and made a part of this resolution, is approved.
Change in Ministerial Code of Ethics—Vic Kubik [video done]
President Kubik led the discussion of the proposal to add a section to the ministerial code of ethics regarding financial propriety. The Council discussed several updates to the proposal.
A resolution was proposed and approved by the Council by a ballot of 11 for and 1 abstention (Donald Ward) for the following:
Whereas, the Council desires to amend the Ministerial Code of Ethics,
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that, the Ministerial Code of Ethics is amended, a copy of which is attached and made a part of this resolution.
The updated document can be found at the ministerial website and will be emailed out to the elders.
The Council then went into scheduled executive session at 3:45 p.m.
The Council adjourned at 5:15 p.m.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:03 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present.
Youth Card Project 2018—Dan Dowd [video done]
Dan Dowd led the discussion regarding some of our fundraising items at the Feast of Tabernacles. The current policy was handed out. The concern was not regarding fundraising, but whether it should be done at the Feast because of our current policy. Caution was suggested that this doesn’t go against the policy and not to take advantage of the brethren at the Feast when they have God’s festival tithe. The Council discussed this for about 50 minutes. There was no direct action requested, but just for the Council awareness.
The Council went into scheduled executive session at 9:27 a.m. for the legal update.
The Council came into to open session at 9:55 a.m.
Doctrine Review—John Elliott [video done]
John Elliott, as the former Doctrine Committee chair, led the discussion to finalize a project from the Doctrine Committee (DC) from the February meetings. The DC and its two sub-committees, the Doctrine Advisory Committee and the Prophecy Advisory Committee all agree that the Church should correct the statement, “Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament” to one that is biblically more complete. A handout was passed out sharing examples of current usage of this statement on the website, in our publications and in sermons.
Aaron Dean mentioned that Mr. Armstrong used this statement to address the world view at the time. But we have always taught that God the Father was always there. Mr. Dean mentioned that when Mr. Armstrong was addressing Jesus as the God of the Old Testament, he was really refuting people that stated “I love this Jesus of the New Testament, He is so nice, but it’s the harsh God of the Old Testament that was so bitter.” That’s what he was addressing. He was not addressing what God is.
Mr. Dean said that Jesus is the God that the Israelites dealt with. He was the One that was the Rock, He was the One that Moses saw, He was the Spokesman, when you hear the Voice that would have been Jesus. But God the Father was always involved and Mr. Armstrong would have acknowledged that too.
John Elliott mentioned that it is very important to bring out the context. He further referred to our booklets Who is God?, Is God a Trinity? and the booklet Jesus Christ: The Real Story, which really show Jesus Christ’s role at the forefront, throughout the Bible, and they obviously also refer to the Father’s role. Mr. Elliott added, this is not in any way discounting Jesus Christ. He is present throughout our literature. To be exclusive and say that the Father was not involved is not correct.
Aaron Dean agreed and added that we need to be more complete in what we are saying.
Dan Dowd said we need to be more careful with our wording and to be as clear as we can. We are not ignoring, denigrating, or diminishing the role of the Father.
Jorge de Campos added that there is no change to our doctrine or fundamental beliefs. They are correct. All we need is guidance from the Council to the ministry to be accurate according to the Bible and to our fundamental beliefs.
President Kubik agreed of the importance of separating God the Father and Jesus Christ. We are to continue to emphasize the separateness of them.
Chairman Ward emphasized the Scriptures that point to the separate roles that God the Father and Jesus Christ must fulfill to bring sons and daughters to glory in the family of God.
The Council discussed this for about 30 minutes. There was an article that used this phrase and it has been corrected. There are also several sermons that use this term, so the pastors need to be aware of the need to be more precise.
It was agreed that this phrase should not be used without qualification, but no resolution was proposed. There would be an article addressing this in an upcoming Pastoral Communique for the elders and pastors to be sure to not use this statement, “Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament.”
Chairman Ward asked that a first draft of the article be crafted before the December meetings and given to the DC for review and for the Council to give approval.
Camp Discussion—Rex Sexton [video done]
Rex Sexton presented to the Council the importance of our United Youth Camps program and the possibility of creating a search committee to look for a camp facility to purchase where three camps could be combined in the Midwest area.
There was discussion for about 15 minutes of this possibility and what has been done in the past to look for facilities.
The Council unanimously gave consent without resolution with regard to establishing a search committee.
The Council went into scheduled executive session at 11:13 a.m.
The Council adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Chairman Don Ward called the morning session to order at 9:00 a.m. Eastern, and the meeting was opened with prayer. All 12 Council of Elders (Council) members were present. There were no videos done today.
Term of the President—Rainer Salomaa
Rainer Salomaa, as the chair of the Roles and Rules Committee, led a brief discussion to clarify the upcoming yearly assessment of the President and what the policy states. The President’s second term concludes on May 8, 2019, so the discussion went through when the yearly assessment and possible reaffirmation of the President was to occur. Either it would take place on May 7th or the February meetings. After the Council discussed it they unanimously balloted that it should take place in the February meetings.
International Discussion—Jorge de Campos
Jorge de Campos led the discussion going through our current process for how newly emerging international organizations can be associated with the United Church of God, IA. Currently there is a provisional document for those entities. It was suggested that our current Rules of Association could imbed the existing provisional document. The Council discussed and agreed it would be wise to review this document with input from existing National Councils.
Chairman Ward remanded the Roles and Rules Committee to review a document entitled, “Provisional Manner of Approving Official Relationships With Other Religious Organizations” for any updates or clarifications.
Upcoming Council Meetings
The upcoming Council meetings were discussed and their locations. Tony Wasilkoff asked about the possibility of having the February meetings in another location. The Council discussed and eight Council members approved this idea. Chairman Ward abstained from the straw ballot.
December 3-6, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio
February 25-28, 2019 in Big Sandy, Texas
Director of Stewardship and Development Salary Range—Chris Rowland
The salary range for the job description of the Director of Stewardship and Development was discussed. There was no consensus, so it was agreed to wait for President Kubik to bring it back to the Council when he was there to give his input.
Miscellaneous Reimbursement Policies for Elders—Chris Rowland
The Miscellaneous Reimbursement Policies for Elders policy was presented to the Council with proposed changes. The current policy had not been changed since 2001, so it needed updating. The changes proposed to this policy removed references to a “tiered” mileage reimbursement model and bring it in line with the new mileage reimbursement policy approved by the Council the previous day in executive session. It will be emailed to the elders.
The following policy was unanimously approved by the quorum of the Council. Mario Seiglie was absent because of airline travel.
Whereas, the Council desires to amend Policy 5.10 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual to be in compliance with the mileage reimbursement policy approved yesterday, Aug. 22, 2018,
Now therefore, it is hereby resolved that, Policy 5.10 of the Human Resources Policies and Procedures Manual is amended, which amended policy is attached and made a part of this resolution.
Input Requested—Chris Rowland
Chris Rowland asked for feedback regarding updates to the telephone/Internet expense reimbursement policy for Ministerial and Members Services. The new policy gives pastors several additional options to offset those expenses. The Council appreciated the suggested changes and agreed it would be a good idea to move forward with.
Chairman Ward concluded the meetings thanking the Council for the week of meetings in how everything was handled. It was appreciated how well they worked together.
The Council adjourned at 10:23 a.m.
-end-
Council Reporter
Shawn Cortelyou
© 2018 United Church of God, an International Association
Links:
[1] http://www.youtube.com/user/BeyondTodayTV