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

Wednesday, August 25, 1999 — Seattle, Washington

The Council of Elders plunged into the current round of meetings in Seattle, Washington, today, as Chairman Bob Dick called attention to its progressive movement toward true governing function, and away from a managerial role prevalent in the start-up phase of the church. Business is increasingly placed on the agenda by the administration, including todayâs material encompassing the ministerial services report, treasurerâs report, strategic planning, and the presidentâs bold proposal for a visionary new educational thrust in the church. The Council concluded the first dayâs meeting at 5:30 p.m. after previewing this yearâs Festival video production.

Dick Thompson

Administration Reports

After the Council approved minutes from previous meetings, Les McCullough gave the presidentâs report, relating recent contacts in international areas. In Italy,  Carmelo Anastasi has been contacted by individuals from another Church of God fellowship who are interested in joining the United Church of God for the Feast of Tabernacles observance this year. Feast plans also figure prominently in another area of contact in Jordan. There, Cory Erickson, elder responsible for the 1999 Feast, has renewed contact in the Jordanian government with an advisor to King Abdullah who is familiar with earlier work by the Ambassador Foundation.

Richard Pinelli, manager of Ministerial Services, brought the group up to date on a number of items:

á       U.S. congregations number 234, with over 11,000 signed up to attend the â99 Feast.

á       United Church of God congregations around the world are now served by 404 ordained elders.

á       Festival speaking plans for 1999 are complete, including special studies at most sites.

á       A highly successful summer camp program has concluded for this year, with the close of the program at Camp Heritage, Pennsylvania on August 22.

Mr. Pinelli then moved to address current needs of the church, citing findings from Richard Thompsonâs report from the August regional pastorsâ meetings. These include congregationalist tendencies still in evidence in some circles, the aging of the ministry and the church, identifying the unique identity of the United Church of God, relationships with other groups and outside speakers at church functions. Misunderstanding of tithing continues to be a concern in some areas; a packet of material including several articles and two sermon tapes is currently in the mail to all U.S. pastors addressing the doctrinal issues involved.

Treasurer Tom Kirkpatrick presented the churchâs financial situation, which is graphically different from just one year ago. Complicated by large amounts of accrued employee vacation time still ãon the books,ä fund balances stood at greater than $700,000 ãin the redä on March 31, 1998. One year later, fund balances stood at $1.67 million ãin the blackä ö a considerable turn-around due, stated Mr. Kirkpatrick, to Godâs blessing and the willingness of employees to deal with the accumulated vacation liability. The current fund balance reflects a reserve of 5.7 weeksâ operating expense for the church. Further information showed the income vs. expense position of the church to be virtually ãspot onä projections made earlier in the year.

One last item of note in the financial picture dealt with a lease vehicle pilot program soon to be tested by ten of the pastors with the greatest mileage requirements ö all have driven over 30,000 miles on church business in the past year. In addition to providing more dependable vehicles for these men, it is anticipated that over a three-year span the church will actually save around $235 per minister by leasing a vehicle, instead of paying mileage reimbursement. 

Strategic Planning

Roy Holladay introduced the dayâs discussion on strategic planning. The operational plan took first place on the docket. Mr. Kirkpatrick detailed projects affecting the operations plan in areas of finance and accounting, human resources, information systems, legal services, and one key non-financial area ö the spectacular growth of the Good News print run (which will reach the fiscal year target of 250,000 copies with the next issue).

Don and Wanda Ward

Mr. Holladay brought the focus back to the ãinternal scanä of church concerns. With many of the wives of Council members and a handful of northwest-area ministers and wives present, lively discussion followed on two key topics: the continuing tendency toward apathy and complacency among some members, and the perception some seem to have that the church lacks clear vision and purpose.

Several individuals pointed out the connection between member involvement in some aspect of the work and the disappearance of apathy. ãHands onä seems to be the best solution.

Regarding the churchâs vision, Roy Holladay asked if any on Council were unclear on the churchâs vision and purpose. Since the answer was no, why, he asked, is there still this perception on the part of some church members? Victor Kubik identified a misunderstanding of the way Matthew 24 (ãpreach the gospel as a witnessä) and Matthew 28 (make disciples in all nations) complement each other as guideposts for the church in its mission. Donald Ward strongly urged the Council to start clearly identifying specific ways to move forward in these areas, voicing his belief that the brethren already clearly understand the mission. John Jewell appealed to Council members to raise their own level of excitement for the work, inspiring the rest of the ministry and the church membership as a whole.

Following a break for lunch, the discussion continued, with emphasis on how to increase member involvement.

á       Dr. Ward illustrated examples of using as many members as possible in staffing local church functions.

á       Gary Antion spoke out on forcefully calling attention to what the church is accomplishing, recalling Herbert Armstrongâs strength in that area. ãItâs motivational, itâs not vanity,ä he stressed.

á       Beverly Kubik urged more appreciation for what is being accomplished.

á       Mr. Dick exhorted more willingness to be clear on why weâre in the United Church of God ö that itâs the place we saw the work of God going out once again.

á       Reba Walker echoed Mrs. Kubikâs call for encouragement, and pointed out that management personnel need it too!

á       Mr. McCullough solicited Councilâs help in being more willing to make bold statements in ãsellingä the work the church needs to do, noting that the mission of the church hasnât changed.

á       Burk McNair acknowledged that some will always find fault, but stated simply ãweâve got to move on and do it [the work] while theyâre talking!ä

á       Mr. Holladay agreed ö ãIf people see us involved in doing a work, the apathy will disappear.ä

á       Dr. Ward asked for sharper focus in our writing, putting Matthew 28 side by side with Matthew 24.

á       Mr. Dick reminded Council that since the beginning of the United Church of God, one challenge after another has required careful handling. ãWe forestalled decisions so as not to collapse things economically. Did we enjoy it? No. If we had to go back and do it over again, I would do it the same way. When youâre in the middle of all the Îalligatorsâ youâre not really all that involved in draining the swamp. Our alligators, one by one, have rolled over and died, or theyâve migrated to other swamps·ä Now, he stressed, we are poised to act. ãI think we ought not beat ourselves up over where we have had to be during â95, â96, â97, â98.  There were no real options.ä

á       Aaron Dean called for encouraging members that what theyâre doing is part of the bigger picture of the work.

á       Visitor Stuart Segall appealed to the Council for specifics in areas such as addressing the state of the eldersâ forum, and morale of the employed ministry.

á       Mr. Holladay concluded the session with the observation that we are now at a point in our history where we can begin to move forward. That, he said, will ignite the membership.

ãABCä Project

Mr. McCullough introduced the dayâs last discussion topic with a quote from one of the Boy Scout workers at Camp Heritage ö ãthe only failure is not trying.ä

With that, he introduced discussion on what is tentatively labeled the ãAmbassador Bible Courseä ö a proposal for a nine-month long course of study, aimed at church youth over age 20. The course would be taught at the Home Office in Cincinnati (4700 additional square feet of space adjacent to our office is currently available to us), requiring two fulltime instructors aided by field ministers and other staff who could teach shorter ãmodulesä of instruction. While not limited to college-age youth, the proposal could serve as a year-long insert into a typical college program, giving those who attended an intense level of biblical instruction weâve not been able to offer yet. Enrollment would be open, not restricted to United Church of God membership. A certificate of completion would be given, but no formal college program is envisioned at this time.

A lively discussion followed, with one Council member after another expressing enthusiasm for the general concept. Questions dealt with topics such as whether this would in effect be a ministerial training program (no, just an attempt to ensure the passing on of the truth of God to the next generation in the church), whether interest would be sufficient (desire has already been expressed by many young people), and how this might affect other financial areas of concern such as restoring full salaries to all the field ministers (the task force on this topic still needs to make its recommendations, and education of  our youth is a paramount need too). ãThose of us whoâve been working on this· feel like itâs a downpayment on the future of the church,ä declared Mr. McCullough. ãWeâre asking you, the Council, to gamble a little bit!ä Mr. Jewell recalled the concept from the movie ãField of Dreamsä ö ãif you build it, they will come.ä Dr. Ward stressed the need for quality of course material and quality of instruction, noting that preaching and teaching are two different skills. Peter Eddington, connected by phone from Cincinnati, agreed with earlier comments by Mr. Kirkpatrick about the concept of the ãpearl of great priceä ö stressing that those who take advantage of the program will simply have to view it that way in order to participate, since there will be certain costs to them (housing and other living expenses).

Mr. McCullough asked that the Council members ãsleep on itä and follow up with discussion on Thursday before officially considering the proposal.

The day concluded with a preview of the 1999 Feast video, with many expressing their satisfaction with the finished product.

-Doug Johnson

© 1999 United Church of God, an International Association

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