United Church of God, an International Association

Council of Elders Meeting Report

May 5, 2009 – Milford, Ohio

            Chairman Robert Dick opened the May meetings by seeking final input and approval of the agenda according to the procedures that were adopted during the February meetings. After two hours of discussion, the agenda was set for today only.

            The president’s report, a resolution offered by the chairman of the Media Committee, and most of the secretary’s agenda items were presented in open session. The Council then agreed that for the remainder of the day, an executive session should be held to discuss part one of the president’s assessment, the customary legal update and a preliminary discussion regarding the selection of the next chairman.

Agenda Discussion

            In seeking to follow the new agenda procedures, Mr. Dick noted that certain items mandated by our Bylaws needed to be addressed during the May meetings. Those items were pointed out and approved. It was also determined that the president’s report, though not mandated, sets the talking points for further Council discussion and therefore that report should always be included on the first day.

            After the remaining items of the preliminary agenda were reviewed for inclusion and/or possible changes, the following two items generated a lot of discussion:

1. Preliminary Discussion on the Selection of the Chairman

            The last item of mandated business during the May meetings is the selection of the new Council chairman. Clyde Kilough had asked that prior to the ballot, the Council could devote some time to just talk about the role of the chairman. To that end, Mr. Kilough had sent the Council documentation of the reasons for this agenda item.

            Mr. Kilough, who had once served as Council chairman, said the Council needs to take some time to discuss this very important appointment. He said that the chairman sets the tone of the meetings, and so it is important to ask questions and perspectives of any who would be the nominees. Mr. Dick noted that prior to his selection he was able to put forward ideas as to what he could do as chairman.

            In the past, the secretary basically presented a ballot for the next chairman, and there wasn’t a lot of prior discussion. Mr. Kilough said that we ought to have a process to do this better. Mr. Dick also said that the chairman’s job is a five-day-a-week responsibility. He said there is always Council business, and it involves a communications role that never goes away. One has to ask, Am I willing to commit this much time? He said that in troubled times, the amount of work can take full days; and in peaceful times, the amount of work will still take a partial amount of time during each day.

            Roy Holladay, who also served as chairman, said that many on the Council have known each other for many years and that we all know the character and approach of the various individuals, and so he asked whether nominees need to present a series of answers to questions about how one could best fulfill the role of chairman.

            Mr. Kilough responded that, in his documentation, he wrote that the Council should be able to narrow the list of nominees for chairman and discuss various issues with them. He said that it didn’t have to be too formal, but it should not be too informal either. Mr. Holladay did note that it would be good to have a job description of the chairman and to ask who would be willing to put their names forward for consideration.

            In determining when this agenda item would take place, the Council decided to discuss these matters today in an executive session, which would give the Council a few days to consider the nominees prior to the ballot on the last day of the meetings.

2. The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee’s Report on “Where Do We Go From Here?”

            Mr. Kilough said that although he is most desirous to see this subject discussed, he said that this particular agenda item is out of order. The reasons he gave go back to a decision the Council approved in the February meetings. The following quote is from the Feb. 26 Council report:

            “Mr. Holladay thanked the administration for all the work they had done in presenting the ‘where do we go from here?’ proposals. He said the Council would like to have more time reviewing the three options from what had been proposed earlier, and the recent presentation of the premise for immersion education. He asked that this topic be remanded to the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee for further review. He said that something could be brought forward in May for Council review.

            “Mr. Kilough asked that the president, treasurer and operation managers be included in the discussions of the committee. Mr. Kieffer agreed that we need to have an inclusive approach in the committee meeting.

            “A motion to remand the related matters of ‘where do we go from here?’ and the premise for immersion education to the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee with the president, treasurer and operation managers was approved with 11 in favor; Richard Pinelli abstained” (Feb. 26, 2009).

            Mr. Kilough pointed out that the administration was not included in the discussions that the committee had held. He said that if this documentation is presented to the whole Council at this time, the scrutiny of the proposal will require that it will need to be remanded back to the committee for further review. He asked that this agenda item be dropped from the schedule until the committee and administration could discuss this proposal together as was approved by the Council.

            Richard Thompson said that if the administration wasn’t solicited for input, then this document by the committee would not give the Council the complete picture. He said this item should not be submitted for the agenda.

            Mr. Holladay said that he took a different perspective on this item. Between February and May the committee had discussed a number of ideas. While at the home office during the “Good Works” discussion, he said that he was able to informally discuss some of those ideas with Clyde Kilough. The Strategic Planning and Finance Committee took those proposals that had been presented by the administration, analyzed them and had questions. The committee knew that eventually it would be interfacing with the administration. Since the Council now has “ownership” of this issue, the committee wanted to show the Council the various questions it still has, and then come back in August with ideas for proceeding.

            Mr. Kilough says he has no problem with questions coming to the administration, but that he does have a problem bringing this documentation to the Council without the administration’s input being presented as well. Mr. Holladay said he understood what Mr. Kilough was saying and then asked for other opinions of the committee members.

            Robin Webber, Aaron Dean, Bob Berendt and Paul Kieffer noted that this discussion on “where do we go from here?” has already been occurring, and we should continue to proceed with it in the Council meetings. Mr. Holladay also mentioned that he believed the informal discussion he had with the president did fulfill the Council resolution.

            Mr. Kilough said that the administration was told in good faith that it would be included in the discussions. He said that the administration was not presented with the documentation that is now going to be presented to the Council. He asked once again that input from the administration be discussed with the committee prior to this issue coming before the entire Council, otherwise the presentation would be incomplete. He again reminded the Council that they adopted a procedure in February that the committee and administration would work together on this first.

            Mr. Thompson also noted that the intent of the February decision was that that the administration would be involved in the committee discussions.

            After the morning break, Mr. Holladay provided a compromise that Mr. Kilough agreed would be appropriate. Instead of providing a full report of ideas and thoughts about the topic, Mr. Holladay would provide information to the Council as to progress of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee on this issue, and the direction the committee will take. This revised agenda item will be discussed later this week.

President’s Report

            As in past May Council meetings, the president’s report is rather brief since most updated information had recently been presented at the GCE meeting. However, Mr. Kilough did focus on the following highlights:

            In the area of public proclamation, Mr. Kilough noted that we have seen a 60-percent growth rate from the first quarter in first contacts to the Web. A lot of this growth can be attributable to the social networking that is occurring. What’s also interesting is that subscriptions to The Good News are coming in at a higher rate through our Web advertising. This is something that will bear watching as we may have to cut back on our advertising so as to not get ahead of the planned subscriptions for this year.

            Mr. Kilough also mentioned that our newest employee, Tom Disher, is working on a standardized template for local church area Web sites. This will give the Church some standardization, as well as allow for some individual looks to the Web pages. We are also in the process of interviewing some video editors.   

            In the goal of congregational care, Mr. Kilough said that we are in the process of placing our new ministerial hires in the field. The proposed training program for new ministers has been revised to a two-year program and will be brought to the Strategic Planning Committee for further input and review.

            Mr. Kilough also mentioned that in the area of organization, we continue to focus on improving internal communications. The Human Resources team is working to formalize an employee performance appraisal (June 30, 2009), review the retirement policy (Aug. 1, 2009), study salary and compensation ranges (Aug. 1, 2009), and revise the HR Policy and Procedure Manual/Employee Handbook.

            Jason Lovelady noted that the year-to-date budget review was sent to the Council, and Mr. Kilough said that more information about the legacy costs, which were discussed at the GCE, would be further presented during these meetings.  

Media Committee Resolution

            Darris McNeely, chairman of the Media Committee, proposed a resolution for Council consideration. He noted that in April he met with the president, media operations manager and treasurer for eight hours. He said that they had identified four areas of media importance:

• The topic of “branding.”
• Internet capabilities.
• Beyond Today 30-minute program.
• Print media.

            Mr. McNeely pointed out that strategy number eight, “Communicate who we are and what we do to increase audience awareness of the benefits of God’s way,” needs to be looked at more fully. This discussion of “branding” actually began in 1998. It is about who we are and what we say. It will help to identify us in terms of “trust, reliability and credibility.” Once this issue is settled, then that would drive everything we do in media. 

            Mr. McNeely said that since we don’t have qualified internal personnel to work on this issue, we need to hire someone to give us guidance in how we can package all of our media into who we are and what we do. The same process that was used to find a facilitator for strategic planning will be used to find an agency to help with this purpose.

            Mr. Dean asked about the costs, as advertising agencies can charge a lot of money for this type of work. Mr. McNeely responded that the costs will be discussed at the time of the interviews and that we will most likely be facing current market rates. Mr. Lovelady also mentioned that the costs will likely come out of next fiscal year’s budget.

            Bill Eddington asked if Phil Cooke, the author of Branding Faith, would be a possible choice, since his book had been recommended to the Council. Mr. McNeely said that the committee hadn’t looked at that possibility, but it could. In asking about the timeline, Mr. Thompson said that he hoped a company could be chosen sooner rather than later and hoped it could be finished by the August meetings.

            Mr. Holladay asked who the others might be that the president recommends as being part of the search committee. Mr. McNeely replied that there could be six or eight people, including professionals with expertise in branding, who also would have to be approved by the chair of the Media Committee as well as the chair of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee.

             The following resolution was then unanimously adopted:

Resolution to Create Branding Search Committee

            “Whereas the United Church of God, AIA, needs to establish a long-term brand that represents the identity and message of the Church in order to more effectively present the Gospel to the world, and

            “Whereas the Council of Elders acknowledges this need and recognizes that establishing such a brand is beyond the expertise of the ministry and administration, and

            “Whereas the Council of Elders desires to enter into a contract with a company to assist the Church in establishing a brand,

            “Now therefore, it is resolved that the search committee, composed of the president, the chairman of the Strategic Planning and Finance Committee, the chairman of the Media Committee and certain others appointed by the president, is authorized to interview prospective branding companies and make recommendations to the Council, which will make the final selection and enter into a contract.”

Secretary’s Agenda Items

            The 2009-2010 Amendment Schedule and the 2009-2010 Fundamental Beliefs Amendment Schedule were both unanimously adopted by the Council. These documents will be sent to the GCE soon.

            Secretary David Johnson also noted that some dates of completion fall during the Feast of Tabernacles. Mr. Dick noted that the Council has to decide what to do when the dates fall as they do. Mr. Eddington asked if this issue could be remanded to the Roles and Rules Committee for study. The Council unanimously agreed to the request.  

            Mr. Johnson then led the Council in a discussion to approve the following dates of the regularly-scheduled meetings for the next fiscal year:

August 2009:

Committee meetings begin on Sunday, Aug. 9.

Council meetings take place Aug. 10-13. 

December 2009:

Committee meetings begin on Sunday, Dec. 6.

Council meetings take place Dec. 7-10.

February 2010:

Committee meetings begin on Sunday, Feb. 21.

Council meetings take place Feb. 22-25.

May 2010:

GCE Annual Conference is on May 2-3.

Council meetings take place on May 4-6.

Other Business

            Mr. Dick welcomed the newly selected Council members, Scott Ashley and Melvin Rhodes, to the meetings. Their terms of service begin on July 1, 2009.

John Foster

Council Reporter

Ó 2009 United Church of God, an International Association