Category: General Reflections
Tuesday night, General Council opened with a time of praise and worship let by Kelvin Walker, the campus pastor of Nyack College. (The sound reminded me of the Hosanna CDs from a few years back with Ron Kenoli, sans the horns section). This year, the stage is set up "in the round" with the hope that everything seems more intimate. I am not sure the goal is reached, however, because the speakers/musicians always have their backs to several sections of seats. But, this way the back rows are not nearly as far back as usual.
Rev. John Stumbo gave the opening message. His main point was that in spite of the fact that pastoral ministry is a very taxing vocation, and that "the price tag keeps going up," it is an eternally significant calling. Church ministry matters. At the end, he asked all of the attending retired ministers to come to the stage, and then he invited any pastors who needed prayer and encouragement to come to the front and receive prayer from the retired pastors. It was a good start to Council. (If I had a complaint, it would be that the message was not grounded in any particulate biblical passage.)
Wednesday morning contained the president's report from Dr. Gary Benedict. His main point was that programs and methods are not the keys to success for completing the Great Commission, but that holy, mature Christians are. Basing his words on Colossians 1:25, Dr. Benedict emphasized the need to "present everyone complete in Christ." Since that is the very text and phraseology that we have chosen as our mission statement at FRAC, I was pleased to hear it.
The "current condition" of the C&MA was also reported, and there are some concerns about growth and finances. It seems that although new Alliance churches are appearing, the progress is mitigated by the number of church closings. All in all, the net gain is minimal, and giving trends are not favorable. The stated solution is two-fold: 1) Retaining the second and third generations, that is, keeping our kids and grandkids in the Alliance (many leave the C&MA for other church affiliations) and 2) increased church planting.
The afternoon business session (now called 'Ministry Strategy Sessions') saw the approval of some important decisions. Most impacting was the increased authority given to the president, in conjunction with the Board of Directors, to structure the national office staff in whatever way is most conducive to achieving his purposes. The positions that have formerly been delineated using the title 'Vice President' (ex. Vice President over National Church Ministries) which were elected by General Council will now be appointed positions (and may or may not retain their current titles). Now the president can enlist whatever leadership he deems appropriate (again, with the approval of the Board of Directors) for effective administration of Alliance objectives.
Also, the budget was passed for the next two years, and the Theological Issues Committee was commissioned to evaluate the C&MA Manual to determine how to simplify the governance of the Alliance. The real impact of this will come at the 2009 Council when their findings are brought as recommendations to Council delegates. It may result in much greater power being granted to the local church for polity and doctrinal decisions (and consequently a broadening of the C&MA umbrella).
The evening service included preaching by Jonathan Schaffer who delivered a good reminder that the Holy Spirit of Christ indwells every believer. We were encouraged to remember this sometimes neglected source of strength and to keep the temple of the Holy Spirit (i.e. our bodies) pure and holy. It was a very edifying sermon.
In addition to business and corporate worship, it is a joy to spend time with good friends and former ministry partners. That's it for now.