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

Friday, December 13, 2002‚ Cincinnati, Ohio

 

On Friday the Council dealt with doctrinal material and gave feedback on a presentation given Monday to the Council of Elders, U.S. regional pastors, and home office employees on the subject of Christ-centered servant leadership.

Doctrine

            Before moving to doctrinal material for the day, Jim Franks, chairman of the Doctrine Committee, briefly revisited the matter of applause at the Feast of Tabernacles. He suggested that the Music Doctrine Committee be allowed to complete its work, including making any accompanying comments it felt appropriate on the issue, before the Council releases a statement on it. Chairman Clyde Kilough asked the Council for consent without resolution for this approach, which it gave unanimously. 

            Mr. Franks then updated the Council on the twelve doctrinal projects currently under review. In addition to a policy for publishing prophecy papers, Sabbath issues, and the “born again” study paper (detailed later in this report), topics include study papers on the 70 weeks prophecy, the man of sin, the resurrections, and input on Genesis:6:9These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.. Some papers are complete and ready for publication, representing no change in understanding. Others are in the process of evaluation. 

            One area of research and presentation that presents unique challenges is that of prophecy. By its very nature, some details of Bible prophecy may not be completely understood until their time of fulfillment. The Council unanimously balloted in favor of a process for submitting prophecy papers that will allow for maximum opportunity for serious consideration and review. Papers will first go to the seven-man Prophecy Advisory Committee. If a majority of its members agree that the paper has merit, it will be forwarded to the Doctrine Committee of the Council. If the Prophecy Advisory Committee believes the paper’s tenets to be incorrect and does not forward it, the writer may appeal to the Doctrine Committee to review his or her work. If a majority of the five-man Doctrine Committee finds the paper to have merit, it will be forwarded to the entire Council for its review (if not, the decision of the Doctrine Committee is final). If a 2/3 majority of the Council concurs, the paper will be submitted to the entire General Conference of Elders for its input and suggestions.  

            Sabbath concerns next occupied center stage. The Council approved three form letters to be used by the Personal Correspondence Department on the following topics:

·        Should members own businesses that operate on the Sabbath? (Messrs. Dick, Franks, Horchak, Jewell, Kilough, Kubik, McCullough, Seiglie, Thompson and Walker balloted in favor of the specific letter proposed. Mr. Antion and Mr. Dean abstained, Mr. Antion stating that his abstention was due to his belief the letter needed more biblical support in its wording as well as discussion of situations of ownership without control.)

·        How should Church members who work in the medical field handle some of the Sabbath challenges in their professions? (Messrs. Dick, Franks, Horchak, Jewell, Kilough, Kubik, McCullough, Seiglie, Thompson and Walker in favor of the specific letter proposed, Mr. Antion and Mr. Dean abstaining.)

·        How should Church members who are farmers and ranchers deal with Sabbath-observance challenges in their livelihoods? (Approval for the letter proposed was unanimous.) 

Leon Walker led discussion on a study paper about the subject of “born again” and its accompanying cover letter for the ministry. The paper confirms our traditional understanding of salvation, and the accuracy of the analogy that entrance into the Family of God is comparable to a birth. It upholds our longstanding belief that the traditional Christian concept of “once saved, always saved” is not biblical. And it expands on the  meaning of the Greek terms commonly associated with the doctrine. After some comment on the paper itself, and some editing of the cover letter, the Council balloted ten in favor (Messrs. Antion, Dick, Franks, Horchak, Jewell, Kubik, McCullough, Seiglie, Thompson and Walker in favor of the packet as worded), two abstaining (Mr. Dean and Mr. Kilough. Mr. Kilough stated that his abstention was not based on doctrinal content, but on reservations about the cover letter).  

Christ-centered Servant Leadership 

            Mark Winner, chairman of the Christ-centered Servant Leadership Task Force, joined the Council for its afternoon session.  

            Mr. Kilough rehearsed the meeting the task force held with the U.S. regional pastors earlier in the week, following the presentation the it gave to the Council, regional pastors, and home office staff on Monday. As he pointed out, the program is at a critically important juncture if it is to go out as the type of education tool the task force envisioned and the Council approved. Further input, and dealing with any questions from the Council are very important at this stage, after the Monday presentation (which served as a demonstration of how a typical workshop could be presented to the ministry – one stage in the strategies for implementation). The regional pastors had given their input earlier, and now it was the Council’s turn, as the task force continues working its way through the Council-approved strategies.  

            Mr. Kilough stated that the regional pastors gave both positive and negative feedback, constructive critiques and asked good questions. It’s clear aspects of the program as still subjective – most of the regional pastors felt there were workable and practical aspects they could immediately take home and work on. Others were not as clear on implementation. Richard Thompson stated that one or two of the regional pastors asked him in what way this program was different from what we’d been taught in the past. His answer was “In some cases, it is a focus on serving.” He cited Dave Myers’ presentation on delegation as a case in point, showing that combining known techniques of delegation with the motivation of a servant would yield a different approach to people, as well as a different motivation for the individual doing the delegating. He asked: “Is this not, then, a deeper understanding of the mind of Christ?” Yet the actual techniques of delegation used might change but little.

            In working through the feedback the regional pastors gave, two areas, major and minor, were identified for discussion. The major one: is the program’s content and overall direction biblically sound? And the minor one: how do we use this as an education tool? 

            The answer from the regional pastors to the major question – yes, it is biblically sound. That means the minor question can be answered with suggestions as to what, where, when, how – the approach. One issue that apparently remains a stumbling block to some is the title of the program. In their discussion Tuesday, Mr. Kilough polled the regional pastors and wives in attendance, asking if changing the name would remove some of the resistance that exists in places. Most believed it would.  

            But as for the content, Mr. Franks stated it this way: “We have to teach these principles. It’s not a question of whether we should or should not. We have to teach these principles. It’s the idea that maybe we’re going to focus on something we haven’t focused on. When the Council made the statement in Birmingham some years ago that ‘we haven’t always treated each other in a godly way,’ we didn’t decide we didn’t know how to do it. It was that we hadn’t done it. And I think that now, it’s not that we didn’t know how to do this… That’s the focus and the direction that at least for me, came across. It’s ‘Look, we’ve got to do better… how do we apply principles we’ve known before?” 

            Mr. Winner reiterated the intent to fine-tune the program. He asked if there were specific reservations and if anything the task force was doing struck any Council member as being misplaced spiritually. If so, what could be done? How to improve the effort? 

            Doug Horchak observed that almost invariably, when some program or other is started in the Church, it is “needs driven.” As a result, the impression may have been created in the minds of some that the intended message was that the ministry wasn’t serving, which is not the case. He had noted some of the reservations expressed in the earlier meeting with the U.S. regional pastors, including questions such as, Is this a new paradigm? Is it just another way of saying “develop the mind of Christ?” What if some voice concerns – would they be perceived as being against the concepts of humility or service?            

Robert Dick stated three separate observations:

·        Move from description to prescription.

·        Four different “generations” of ministers make up the UCG ministry, in relation to the timing and circumstances of their training. Has the task force asked whether all need the same elements of instruction? What does each group need? How much? To wax idiomatic, “What’s not broke don’t need to be fixed!”

·        The first time he heard the term it was in a negative context. Focusing on the term on our seal, “preparing a people,” could give a sharper focus. 

            Gary Antion asked the task force to give examples of how this particular approach to what all agree is a familiar set of principles has helped or made a change in the ministry of individual elders. He said, “I felt that it was a very effective presentation. I thought it could be ‘tweaked’… I thought that the concept of putting people before work was an excellent one. I found that you were trying to tell how to develop people… But how do you define ‘love’ that defines every gamut? You can’t. You can’t put a prescription on love. That’s why Christ, in the two great commandments, didn’t put a lot of ‘how to’s’ on it; He just told you to do it…. But what you were trying to bring about, which I found very helpful, was the aspect of valuing people…”  

            Mr. Kilough stated that he believed it best to slow down at this point and digest the input received to date. Mr. McCullough agreed, suggesting collecting thoughts, staying in touch with the regional pastors and other individual pastors. Giving ownership by involvement can be a goal. 

            Mr. Thompson stated that he just wanted to see the program have the right impact – that of Philippians 2:5, to develop the mind of Christ. “Teach it, encourage it, inspire it… you’ll hit every level [of people in the Church] in some way. It gives a focus. Yes, it’s simple. But there is a ‘simplicity in Christ’ – and a depth of character no one will ever plumb completely. How would Jesus Christ treat another person?” 

            Mr. Kilough asked Mr. Winner to have the task force work with Mr. Thompson (chairman of the Education/Ministerial Services Committee of the Council) on where to go from here with their work. He then brought the day’s session to a close by asking all to drive safely for their Sabbath assignments the following day and adjourned the meetings until 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning, December 15.

Doug Johnson

© 2002 United Church of God, an International Association