wfn.org | Disciples leaders consider new Asian ministry

["Communication Ministries" <wshuffit@cm.disciples.org>]

arrangement, celebrate regional merger plan
Date: February 1, 2002
Disciples News Service
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Contact: Curt Miller
E-mail: cmiller@cm.disciples.org
on the Web: http://www.disciples.org

02a-8

	INDIANAPOLIS (DNS) -- The Administrative Committee of the
General Board of the Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ), meeting here Jan. 26-29, considered a new mission
funding allocation proposal, re-established a board for the
Church Finance Council, expressed its approval of the
merger later this year of three Disciples regions and
recommended a new commission for ministry among North
American Pacific/Asian Disciples. 

	The new allocation proposal emerged from a December
meeting of the Team Leadership Conference, a group composed
of Disciples regional ministers, presidents of general
ministry units and representatives of Disciples-related
seminaries and colleges and universities. The TLC partners
recommend that starting in 2003, regions receive 45 percent
of regular Basic Mission Finance (BMF) receipts; that
general ministries  receive 45 percent; and that seminaries
and higher education institutions receive 10 percent. 
After the first year of that allocation formula, the
regions' share would increase one percent a year for five
years after which there will be an evaluation.  In 2001,
under the present system, regions received an allocation of
just under 40 percent of regular BMF gifts. General
ministries were allocated just under 48 percent. The
allocation to seminaries, colleges and universities was
just under 10 percent.  

	The proposal would assign Special Day Offering gifts as
follows: the Easter offering would go to general ministries
for implementation of the 2020 Vision; the Pentecost
offering would be applied to general and regional
evangelism and new church establishment ministries; the
Thanksgiving offering would go to higher education for
clergy and lay leader development; and the Christmas
offering would go to regional ministries for congregational
vitality efforts. (For further details, see DNS release
#01a-62, Dec. 12, 2001
www.disciples.org/dns/DNSindexes/DNS2001.htm)

	The Team Leadership Conference is to meet in April to
refine the allocation proposal for submission to the
General Board this summer.

	In other business, Administrative Committee established a
16-member Board of Directors for the Church Finance
Council.  In 1995, the CFC Board voted to dissolve itself,
and the Administrative Committee became the CFC Board.  In
its 2002 action to re-establish a separate CFC board, 
Administrative Committee noted that "the heavy business
docket that must be handled by the Administrative Committee
and time constraints do not allow the Administrative
Committee to function effectively as a board for the Church
Finance Council. It seemed like a good idea at the time ...
but the end result has not met the needs of the Church
Finance Council."   

	The board will comprise nine members elected by the
General Board and seven ex officio members. In addition to
exercising governance responsibilities, the new board will
serve as a "think tank" for the Church Finance Council and
will advise the president. The nine elected members will
represent, but not be limited to, expertise in financial
management, fund raising, stewardship education, marketing
and communication.  

	Administrative Committee stood and applauded the planned
August merger of the Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana
regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). 
Arkansas Regional Minister Barbara Jones will be the
executive regional pastor of the new Great River Region of
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). The Rev.
William McKnight, Mississippi regional minister, will
become co-executive regional pastor at the merger and will
serve until his retirement in Jan. 2004.  The Rev. Zena
McAdams will complete her transitional regional ministry in
Louisiana when the merger is complete. Eventually the Great
River Region will have four executive staff positions:
Executive Regional Pastor, and three Regional Pastors
assigned to northern, central and southern districts. 

	The merger report says the new configuration would
"provide more effective ministries for and with
congregations in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana."  The
greatest benefit for congregations "would be the pastoral
synergy, human resources, more effective delivery of
service and opportunities to network."

	Regional assemblies and meetings would rotate among cities
in the three states.  Basic Mission Finance funds would be
distributed to the new region as one entity. Over the next
seven months, approval for the merger proposal will be
sought in the three regions' boards and assemblies and at
the July meeting of the General Board. Pending approval,
the merger would be effective August 30. 

	The Administrative Committee completely overhauled a
proposal concerning North American Pacific/Asian ministries
in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and
recommended that the General Board create an Asian American
Ministries Commission.

	The proposal that came to Administrative Committee was the
fruit of nearly two years of discussion of how Asian
Ministries would grow toward self-determination, authority
and visibility from its present position in church
structure as an office in the Division of Homeland
Ministries.  

	Discussions in a variety of settings resulted in the
Standing Committee on Renewal and Structural Reform
recommending the creation of an office of Asian/Pacific
Disciples within the Office of General Minister and
President, with the current executive pastor for North
American Pacific/Asian Ministries and support staff moving
into the OGMP.  The plan advocated that the Division of
Homeland Ministries would continue to fund an Asian
Ministries program staff person and it said that the
establishment of the new office in the OGMP would require
the allocation of new funds through Basic Mission Finance. 

	Section 1 of the Administrative Committee was the setting
for detailed consideration of the Standing Committee's
recommendation.  Section Secretary Charisse Gillett,
Lexington, Ky., reported that her group struggled with the
recommendation. "We were stymied with the request for [new]
funding," she said. "We could not leave the very practical
question of where will the funding come from? We could not
recommend this proposal as it stands."  

	So the section proposed, and the Administrative Committee
approved instead, a recommendation that the General Board
create an American Asian Ministries Commission "for the
fulfillment of our united mission."  It also calls on the
Standing Committee to offer amendments to The Design for
the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to assure that
the American Asian Ministries executive pastor will be an
ex-officio member of the General Board and the
Administrative Committee; and amendments to the Standing
Rules for the Administrative Committee of the General
board, naming the American Asian Ministries Commission as a
commission listed in the Standing Rules.

	The measure says that existing funding for the Asian
Ministries Office of the Division of Homeland Ministries
should be dedicated to the new commission. 

	Cisa Payuyo, first vice moderator and a North American
Pacific/Asian Disciples leader, responded, "I really have
to stress that it's about empowerment. We need to empower
NAPAD to be able to function and the money will come," said
the vice moderator. 

	The Rev. Geunhee Yu, executive pastor for North American
Asian Ministries, Homeland Ministries, expressed
dissatisfaction with the outcome.  He and the Task Force
for Structual Reform of the  North American Pacific/ Asian
Disciples will thoroughly discuss the revised
recommendation. He expects the task force will offer yet
another proposal in time to reach the General Board in
July. "I'm pretty sure they will come up with a new idea. 
It's not clear yet. It's not over," said the executive
pastor. 

	In the course of worship during its meetings,
Administrative Committee heard from Moderator Alvin O.
Jackson, senior pastor, National City Christian Church,
Washington, D.C. "Don't look now, but we're being
followed," he preached.  As the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ) struggles with difficult issues "We are not in
this by ourselves. We are surrounded by a great cloud of
witnesses," said Jackson. 

	Those who have gone before are "standing on the balcony of
eternity. They are praying for us.  They are pulling for
us. God is following us ... giving direction to our
dreams," Jackson declared. 

	In an address titled, "Where do we go from here?" General
Minister and President Richard L. Hamm assured, "I believe
we have together rightly discerned our mission: to be and
to share the good news of Jesus Christ, witnessing, loving
and serving from our doorsteps to the ends of the earth.'

	I believe that we have together rightly discerned the
vision that God would have this church follow to the year
2020. It is right in concept: to be a faithful, growing
church, that demonstrates true community, deep Christian
spirituality, and a passion for justice.' It is right in
particularity: 1000 new congregations, 1000 transformed
congregations, the leadership development necessary to
realize these new and renewed congregations, all within a
context of being an anti-racist/pro-reconciling church. A
thousand new congregations and a thousand renewed
congregations being and sharing the good news of Jesus
Christ. We have the right vision! So, where do we go from
here? We follow the vision!" said the GMP. 

	The GMP said that anxiety is the enemy of vision.
Acknowledging that anxiety exists in the Christian Church
(Disciples of Christ) he advised, "If we can keep our heart
in the Mission and our eye on the Vision, thus remembering
where we are headed, we will be much more likely to arrive
on time and in line with the Vision." 

	Building relationships based on trust, sharing,
networking, communication and mutual accountability also
will diminish anxiety, said the GMP. "In our heart of
hearts we know that this is the face of the new church, the
faithful church: true community for the sake of the
mission, for the sake of being and doing the good news of
Jesus Christ."

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