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Round of
Commendation
2.Recently when speaking about you, the Family at large, the Lord had
the following encouraging words to
say:
3.(Jesus
speaking:) My dear Family, My worldwide brides and called-out ones, are
doing a marvelous job! They live to serve Me. They give their hearts and
souls to Me, and seek Me daily to receiv e My leading and guidance, to find out
what I want them to do. They are truly the called-out ones of the End who hunger
and thirst after My righteousness, My Words, My new truths, and My commands.
They long to hear My voice telling them which way to walk. They set aside their
own desires, plans, opinions, and preferences, and do My bidding
gladly.
4.I have such great
love, such joy, such admiration for these who have given their lives to My
service! Nowhere else in the world have I found a gr oup of followers so
dedicated and so committed to staying close to Me and following Me step by step,
trusting that I will lead them along, even if the future still seems a little
hazy or unclear. Because of this great faith that My beloved Family has
manifested, I will greatly reward them!
5.I'm bringing My Family into a time of great fruitfulness,
excitement, and change! There will be changes and moves of the Spirit which
will propel the Family forward. The Family will begin to see more tang ible
proof of all they've given up for Me, all their obedience, all the love they've
shown, and all the sowing of seed and watering that they've done day after day,
month after month, year after year.
6.Though many Family members look back on the years they've spent in
My service, laboring on the fields, and think they've had few results, that is
not the case. So they should not be discouraged or feel that their lives
have availed little. Each Family member has made a tremendous difference i n the
world. Each one, no matter how small or how infrequently they feel they have the
opportunity to witness, to win a soul, to change someone's life, to do something
big that will really affect the history of mankind and the world as they see it,
has made a lasting difference. I promise you this. I see it. I know it. And I
will reward you for it.
7.When I gather all of you, My Endtime Family, to My arms in Heaven, then I
will bring you all to a specially prepared auditorium, and I will show you then
and there how your presence on Earth--individually and collectively as a
Family--has changed the world. Then you will see all the little things that
escape your eyes now. The discouragement will vanish. The tears will be wiped
away, never to return. You'll see tangible proof of how your labors went before
you, changing hearts and lives and giving others a chance to receive or to
reject. You'll see that you have done the job, that you've been faithful, and
that I'm so pleased with you.
8.I see the future and I know that you will complete the job to the end.
I'm counting on you. And to help you achieve the most you can achieve, I'm
stirring up the pot and putting changes in your path--the most notable change
being the Activated vision, which is your future. A change that goes hand
in hand with Activated is the structure that will enable you to properly
care for all the souls, new Family members, and disciples that you'll win. They
will come, and you'll need a solid and reli able mechanism with which to
care for them. Part of this mechanism is the board vision, as it will strengthen
the Family overall and distribute the
load.
9.So look forward to
these changes with excitement and anticipation, because this is the start of a
great and mighty reaping! All the labors and love which you have so
willingly given and poured out until this time will hardly compare with what I
will be able to do through you in the future--the future which is soon to be
upon you! So take heart! Rejoice! Don't let the Enemy in with discouragement and
lies. Don't believe for one moment that your life hasn't counted, that the hours
you've spent witnessing, taking care of children, living communally, and obeying
what I've asked of you day by day, hasn't counted. It has--more than you
know!
10.I'm so proud of you,
My wonderful Family! It thrills My heart to see you continuing to follow Me,
serve Me, love Me, and obey Me. The best is just around the corner, and the best
of all bes ts is not too far away either--in My Heavenly Kingdom, in My
arms--where you'll finally receive all the rewards, satisfaction, credit,
fulfillment, joy, love and glory that's coming to you, each and every Family
member! (End of message from
Jesus.)
11.(Peter:) Doesn't that make you feel good? Doesn't that make you
feel that you've given your life to a worthy cause--the cause of Jesus, our
wonderful Husband? Isn't it wonderful to see how He sees your many labors of
love, and how though we're a relatively small group, we've had such a tremendous
impact on the world for good? We've personally preached the Gospel to over 135
million people and have won almost 25 million souls to the Lord. We may not have
a big following, we may not be a big church, but we have big
results--results that are
eternal!
12.We're so proud of
you and are so thankful for each one of you, and for the wonderful job that
you do to help reach the world and make the Family what it is today. And that's
what we w ant to talk about in this GN--your part in helping the Family to be
what it needs to be in the future.
13.Over the past eight months, we've been keeping you updated on the
upcoming changes which are in the works, specifically the setting up of
boards throughout the Family. In "That Banana There" (ML #3313, GN 917,
published in November 2000), we presented the general idea and vision for the
board structure. Since that time we've held further meetings with the CROs and
others, during which we discussed, debated, prayed about and finalized much of
the board structure plan. Since that time, our WS administration team has been
working on finalizing the board structure and putting it on paper so that when
it goes into effect, all the necessary procedures will be outlined and in place.
We are now ready to present this plan to you in detail, beginning in this GN and
continuing in the next one. (If you come across something in this GN you don't
understand, it may be explained later in this GN, or in the next
one.)
Why Boards,
Anyway?
14.Perhaps the first question is: "Why do we need to change
things? Can't things just carry on as they
are?"
15.The answer to that
is quite simply, "No." Things cannot carry on the way that they
are--not if we're going to make progress and move forward in the way the Lord
wants us to. The Lord wants change. He wants us to grow. He wants
us to expand, but we have basically reached our limits in our present
methods and modes of operation. If we try to keep our present leadership
structure, any future growth will be hampered; therefore it must
change.
16. The sooner our leadership
structure changes, the sooner the Lord will be able to help us grow and expand
in the way He wishes. The Lord knows that adding too much more at this time
might cause our leadership structure to collapse entirely, as in the leadership
realm of the Family there are too few trying to do too much, and
adding any more on would just make the situation worse. Our leadership structure
needs to be remodeled to fit the needs of
today.
17.In looking for
the leadership structure that will meet today's needs, the Lord led us to the
principles of the past, namely those of the first disciples in the Book of
Acts. When Jesus' twelve disciples were faced with the growing demand of
leadership, the Lord showed them to seek out "men of honest report, full of the
Holy Ghost and wisdom" who they could appoint over the business (Acts
6:3).
18.The Acts plan of s
preading the load on more shoulders allowed the shepherds to focus on the job
the Lord had called them to do, giving themselves continually to prayer
and the ministry of the Word. It made it possible for the Lord to raise up "men
of honest report" to do the jobs that they were qualified to
do.
19.This accomplished two
major things. For one, it relieved those with the ministry of spiritually
leading the church from having to get involved in ministries which weren't meant
to be their responsi bility. They could then focus on the
responsibilities that their ministry required without all the distractions
of the day-to-day running of the church. At the same time, and perhaps more
importantly, it raised up other qualified people into positions where their
gifts and callings and abilities could be used, thus strengthening the overall
leadership structure of the church. These are two very important goals that we,
as the Family, need to reach as well.
20.As explained in "That Banana The re," our CROs and VSs are
extremely overloaded. They have huge workloads and bear a tremendous amount
of pressure. As the Family continues to grow, not only in numbers but in
diversity and complexity, it's becoming increasingly difficult for the CROs and
VSs to keep up with the workload, do a good job, and minister to you, the
Family, as they should. It's too much to expect from them, and they need to be
relieved from a great deal of their all-encompassing work so that they can focus
on the mini stries that they are particularly gifted in. They need to give up a
good deal of their work, their responsibilities, and their authority, so that
they can be freed to focus on the main ministries the Lord has called them to
perform, which for some will be spiritually shepherding the Family, and for
others it will be focusing on one or two specific aspects of Family life, like
young people, FED, etc.
21. At the
same time, we desperately need to tap into the tremendous pool of talented
Family me mbers to help in the various ministries of the Family. Every
Family member has experience, talent, gifts, and wisdom in their particular area
of expertise, and we need to restructure ourselves so that this talent can be
tapped into in order to benefit the local area and the overall Family.
Basically, we need to follow the Lord's admonition to "Look ye out among you men
[and women] of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may
appoint over this business"--those who are gifted i n certain ministries--and
encourage them to participate more in helping the Family to grow within those
ministries.
22.Folks, there
is so much to do that we can't continue the way we have been. We have
to change. We have to accommodate the new vision of expanding our church, the
Activated ministry, following up on people, doing what we do best in
teaching discipleship and building a solid foundation of believers and members
who will help us to reach the world with the
Gospel.
23.In order t o
achieve this, we have to broaden the leadership and ministry roles to many more
people, as those who presently carry them are too few for the job. We need
you to participate more. We need those who have specific gifts and
talents to use those talents--not just for their own Home or their own
children or their own young people or their own sheep, but for other
Homes and others' children, and other young people and
others' sheep. We need to seek out those of honest report--you who have
specific gifts and talents that can benefit others--and find a way that
those talents can be used to be a blessing to the Homes in your area, to the
Homes in your continent, to the Homes throughout the
world.
24.You, our Family
members--each of you--are the most valuable assets the Family has. We need
to tap into those assets. We need to give you the means by which you can use
your gifts to benefit others. And that is what the board structure--the
revamping of our overall leadership structure--is me ant to
accomplish.
25.The goal is to
lessen the load on the few and to share that load amongst the many. The goal
is to help find solutions to the longstanding problems that we face. The goal is
to take proactive measures to move us forward as a Family. The goal is to
strengthen the Family backbone so that it will be able to support the added
weight of our overall expanding body, and the resultant increased
workload.
26.We need more
people who are concerned and focusing on the different as pects of our Family
life, who are praying and asking the Lord's guidance and instructions to
help us make progress, and who are involved in the decision-making at all
levels. We need people who are willing to take responsibility and
accountability. We need people who are willing to give more of themselves to
serve others. We need people who are willing to help find and implement
solutions to the problems we face.
27.If we can share the load, if we can include many more of you in
helping the F amily move forward, then we'll be in a position to take in
more sheep, more followers, more believers, and more members, who can in turn
reach multitudes more than we presently can. If we don't make these changes, we
won't be able to expand or move into the future the Lord has for us. We have to
make these changes now.
These GNs
and
The Family Board
Handbook
28.Explaining how the board structure is going to work so that
everyone can clearly understand it is going to be quite an undertakin g. In
these GNs, we want to give you the overall vision of how the boards are going to
work--the makeup of the boards, what they do, and generally how they
operate.
29.In explaining
this structure to you, we will have to explain it piece by piece so that you
will understand the complete makeup of the new structure. Imagine that
you're building a house. First you have to lay the foundation, then you put up
various uprights for the support structure, lay the beams, then the walls go up,
and the roof is put on at the end. That's similar to how we'll explain our new
board structure. We will explain it piece by piece, starting with the main
pillars, then the various crossbeams, etc. Hopefully when we're finished with
the explanation, and as we even outline it for you visually, you'll understand
the structure itself and why all the pieces are
needed.
30.You will have
questions as you read along. Hopefully by the time you're finished reading
this series of GNs, your questions will be an swered and you'll have a clear
understanding of the board structure--what it's for and how it works. Some of
these details might be a bit technical and perhaps even boring. However, in
order for you to have a good grasp of these changes that are being enacted, it's
important that you carefully read these GNs so that you have this understanding
and you can know what to expect from those who are on the boards, or what will
be expected of you if you are on a
board.
31.Along with these
GNs, we'r e sending you a copy of the FamilyBoard Handbook,
which outlines the rules and procedures that those on the boards will need
to follow. This handbook will be primarily technical, with all the rules and
regulations for board members spelled out clearly, such as the responsibilities
and realm of authority of the different boards and board members, procedures for
voting, procedures for a higher board vetoing a decision made by a lower board,
procedures for moving someone off a board if they're not doing a good job or for
disciplinary reasons, how many times a year they have to meet,
etc.
32.The Family Board
Handbook is the manual that those on the boards will use. This handbook
will govern the boards, similar to how the Charter governs the Family members'
rights and responsibilities. We're making this available for all to read so that
you can have a more clear and in-depth understanding of the boards. However, the
ones who will sit on the various boards are those who will need to full y
understand all that is contained in the
handbook.
33.Before getting
into this explanation, Mama and I would like to thank those in WS and the CROs,
who over the last 15 months have put a great deal of work, time, prayer and
counsel into bringing the board vision to reality. This monumental change could
not have happened without their help, and we're very grateful to each and every
one who participated and who will continue to participate in the
implementation stage. God bless you all for a job well
done!
34.We also want to
point out that the implementation of the board structure does not
replace the Charter. The Charter, with all of its rights and
responsibilities, remains intact. The board structure has been designed to
work alongside the Charter, not to replace it. The Charter is
still the governing document of the Family. The Family Board Handbook is
the document that outlines the rules, procedures and authority of the
boards.
Continental, Regional,
And National
Areas
35.Our worldwide work is divided into five separate continental (CRO)
areas. These five separate continental areas will remain intact. However, in
order to better service the Homes, have more people involved in the structure
and spread the load out, each one will be subdivided further into
regional areas and national areas. It is necessary to make these
divisions in order to make the board structure work, which you will understand
as we continue to explain.
36.Each continental area will b e divided into regions, as
follows:
NACRO
* United States
and Canada, including Puerto Rico and
Jamaica
* Mexico and Central
America
SACRO
*
Brazil
* All the Spanish-speaking
countries in South America, including the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the
Caribbean
EURCRO
* Western
Europe
* Eastern Europe, Russia and
CIS
*
Africa
ASCRO
* Mideast, Turkey,
Pakistan, Egypt and Tunisia
* India,
Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
*
Southeast Asia, Indonesia and
Philippines
PACRO
* J apan and
Korea
* Taiwan, China, Australia, New
Zealand, Tahiti and other countries of
Oceania
37.Each regional
area will then be divided into national areas. Although we're calling these
"national" areas, they are not necessarily divided along national lines. While
some are, most national areas are based upon the number of Homes in a certain
area within a region.
38.For
example, the region of Western Europe may be divided into two national
areas--Northern Europe and Southern Europe--but there may be five or six or
more actual countries within each of those national areas. The region of Brazil,
on the other hand, may also be divided into several national areas, even
though it's just one country. Each regional area will be made up of at
least two national areas. Every Home in the world will belong to a
national area, and your national area, combined with one or more other national
areas, will constitute a regional area. Two or more regional areas will
be combined to form a cont inental area.
The Six Main
Pillars of Family Life
39.In building the board structure, we first set out to define the
major aspects of the overall Family, the areas that affect every single
Family Home. We defined six of these areas, which
are:
* The spiritual care and
upbringing of our children, ages 0-11.
*
The care and shepherding of our JETTs and teens, ages
12-17.
* The education of our children
and teens.
* Witnessing, outreach and
follow-up (covering all of our witnessing, dis ciple winning and training,
follow-up, tool distribution, church growth, CTPs, the Activated program,
and reaching the world with the
Gospel).
* Shepherding and visitation
(spiritual shepherding of the Homes and Family
members).
* Public relations (media
matters, relations with the press, legal matters involving foundations, NGOs or
organizations that represent Family Homes, persecution response, exploring ways
to promote the Family's good name and good
works).
40.There are, of
course, o ther aspects of the Family and other important ministries, but we
felt that these six points were the main pillars that need to be focused
on for the Family to prosper and grow, while at the same time caring for the
needs of all ages within the Family.
41.These are the main pillars within the board structure, and we've
officially titled these pillars as follows:
(CP) Children and
Parenting
(JT) JETT/Teen
(FED) Family Education
Department
(CGO) Church Growth and Outreach
(VS) Visitation
and Shepherding
(PR) Public
Relations
42.These
pillars cover the main aspects of Family life, and are the vertical pillars
within the structure. The bottom section of these pillars will be the
national boards. The middle section of these pillars will be the regional
boards, and the top section of each pillar will be the international
boards.
43.As explained
above, we have divided our five continental (CRO) areas into 12 regions, and we
have divided our regions into national areas. We h ave taken the six basic
aspects of the Family and have called these the pillars, and each of these
pillars contains national boards, regional boards, and international
boards.
44.Now let's take a
look at how these boards will be represented on a national level. (The
Public Relations pillar is a bit different than the others in that it will only
be represented by regional and international boards, not national boards. More
on this later.)
Your Area's
National Boards
45.Under this structu re, each national area will have its own
national Children and Parenting board, a national JETT/Teen board, a
national FED board, a national Church Growth and Outreach board, and a national
Visitation and Shepherding board.
46.Family members from Homes in that national area will sit on these
national boards. Some of you in the national area who are gifted in
childcare and in parenting might sit on the Children and Parenting board. Some
of you who are gifted in working with young people would sit on the JETT/Teen
board. Some of you who are gifted in teaching and education might sit on the
national FED board. Those particularly gifted in outreach, follow-up, winning
and teaching disciples, etc., might sit on the Church Growth and Outreach board.
The local visiting servants (VSs) would sit on the VS
board.
47.Board members will
come from every sphere of Family life. There will be moms and dads,
teachers, outreachers, Home shepherds, JETT and teen shepherds, and those gifted
in these particular ministries. Board members will come from both generations,
with the minimum age being 18.
48.Each national board will have a minimum of three people. In
many cases, it will be more than three people, but three will be the minimum.
This means that each national area will have the five boards outlined above, and
each of those boards will have a minimum of three people sitting on it, who are
focusing and thinking about the responsibilities of their board and the needs of
their nation al area.
49.One
member of each national board will be the chairperson of that board, appointed
by the Continental Council. He or she will be responsible for handling the
day-to-day business and communications of that board. More on the Continental
Council and the responsibilities of the chairperson later.
Makeup of the
Regional Boards
50.A regional board would be made up of the chairpersons of each of
the national boards below it. In addition, the Continental Council will
appoint anothe r member to each regional board who would be the chairperson of
that board. In most, but not all cases, the regional board chairperson will be a
Continental Officer (one of the present-day CROs) who is gifted in that
particular ministry or aspect of the Family. The Continental Council has the
option of appointing other members to the regional board as well. (More on this
point later in the series.)
51.For example, if there are three people on the national Children and Parenting
board, one of them would be the chairperson. That chairperson would
automatically be a member of the regional Children and Parenting board.
Thus, the members of the regional Children and Parenting board consist of the
chairpersons of the national Children and Parenting boards within that region,
plus the chairperson of the regional board who is appointed by the Continental
Council.
52.Let's look at a
region that is divided into three national areas. National area #1 would
have five national boards: Child ren and Parenting, FED, JETT/Teen, Church
Growth and Outreach, and VS. National area #2 would also have national boards
for each of those same pillars, as would national area
#3.
53.The chairpersons of
the national Children and Parenting boards from national areas 1, 2 and 3
would sit together on the regional Children and Parenting board, along with
a chairperson appointed by the Continental Council (in many cases, but not all,
a Continental Officer). Likewise, the chairpersons of the natio nal JETT/Teen
boards from national areas 1, 2 and 3 would sit together on the regional
JETT/Teen board along with a regional board chairperson. The same with the other
boards.
54.So at the regional
level, each of the pillars has a regional board, made up of the
chairpersons of the national boards of that pillar, plus a chairperson (and in
some cases additional members appointed by the Continental
Council).
55.As mentioned
earlier, the Public Relations pillar will not initially be represe nted at the
national level; when there is no national PR representation, the PR board
will consist of a regional board with members appointed by the Continental
Council, going up to the international board.
What About
Continental Boards?
56.You might have noticed that we talked about national and regional
boards, but no continental boards. Originally the plan called for national
boards, continental boards, and international boards. However, after prayer and
discussion with the CROs, the Lo rd showed us that having boards at the
continental level would give each board too vast an area to try to properly
oversee or assist the Homes.
57.For example, if we had continental boards instead of regional boards,
then a continental Church Growth and Outreach board for the whole EURCRO area
would be responsible for overseeing and assisting outreach and witnessing
efforts in Western Europe, Russia, the EE, and Africa. Not only does that
encompass over 200 CM Homes, but it also spans a wide range of situations,
cultures and language areas that are completely different one from another.
The needs, methods, problems and solutions for Africa might be completely
different than those of Russia, yet the same team would have to be thinking of
both. Whereas if a Church Growth and Outreach board only had to concentrate on
Africa, it would be able to service the Homes in Africa much better. The board
members themselves would all live in Africa and be more in tune with the needs
of Africa, w hereas they might not have much to contribute if they had to help
the Homes in Russia as well.
58.One of the goals of the board vision is to spread the load onto more
shoulders. Having more regional boards, each responsible for a smaller area,
rather than fewer continental boards, helps to accomplish
this.
59.Since we have
regional boards, there was no need to have continental boards, as that would
make too many levels (national, regional, continental, international). So
instead we opted f or just three levels--national, regional, and
international.
60.As
mentioned, we will still retain the current CRO offices and CRO areas. The
current CRO teamworks will act as a Continental Council, and their role is
explained later. The CROs themselves will be chairpersons of many of the
regional boards, which means each CRO will be more focused on a certain region
and therefore better able to give the Homes in that region their attention,
rather than having to try to care for the whole cont inent.
Who Sits on the
International
Boards?
61.As explained earlier, each regional area will have a regional
board for each of the six pillars. If all of the regional chairpersons sat
on the international board for that pillar, with about 12 regions that would
make the international board fairly unwieldy. It would also make it very
expensive for that board to meet with all its members. So within each
continental area, only one of the chairpersons of the regional boards
will be chosen as a member of the international board of that particular
pillar.
62.For example,
EURCRO will be divided into three regions. That means that within the EURCRO
continental area there are three regional Children and Parenting boards, one for
Western Europe, another for Russia/EE, and another for Africa. Each of those
three regional boards has a chairperson. Only one of those regional
Children and Parenting board chairpersons will be appointed to the international
Children and Parenting board. That person will be responsible to not only
represent their own region but also the other regions by getting input from
their fellow regional chairpersons.
63.The international board's responsibility will be to focus on their
ministry on a Family-wide basis. They will pray about how to move their
ministry forward on an international level, by requesting WS to produce
publications which will target topics that need to be addressed, and by
formulating and recommending Family policy in regards to t heir ministry.
This is quite different than the job of those on the national and regional
boards, who will be more involved in their ministries at the Home or area level.
Because of this difference, we feel that having one regional board chairperson
represent the continental area is
sufficient.
64.Let's imagine
that the chairperson of the regional Children and Parenting board for Russia/EE
is the one appointed to sit on the international Children and Parenting
board. That person would represe nt not only Russia and Eastern Europe at
the international level, but also Western Europe and Africa. He or she would be
responsible for getting input from the regional chairpersons for the Children
and Parenting boards of Western Europe and Africa in order to be able to
properly represent them on the international Children and Parenting
board.
65.This means that the
international Children and Parenting board will consist of one regional
chairperson from each of the five continental areas. Th us, the
international Children and Parenting board will have five members, plus an
appointed international board chairperson who will in most but not all cases be
a member of World Services, as well as perhaps some other WS
members.
66.So the general
way that it works is that every national area will have one board for each
pillar, each board consisting of people from that national area who are
gifted in that particular ministry. The chairpersons of those national boards
will sit on the regio nal board, along with an appointed regional chairperson.
Each continental area will send one of their regional board chairpersons to the
international board of that particular
ministry.
67.All of this
ensures that each of the pillars is represented at the national level, the
regional level, and the international level. These are the vertical pillars
within the board structure. Each pillar starts at the national level, goes up to
the regional level, and then rises to the international level. T hese are the
vertical pillars holding up the Family structure. There are also some horizontal
crossbeams within this structure, but before we talk about those, let's talk
more about the boards themselves.
What Will These
Boards Do?
68.Hearing all about the actual structure without understanding
what the members of these boards are supposed to do could be rather
disconcerting. So let's explore in general terms the functions of
the boards; the specifics will come later within this series.
69.The basic idea behind the
boards is to find those who are gifted within each of these particular
pillars/ministries, and use their expertise, or the talents and anointing
the Lord has given them, to serve the Family. You probably know someone(s) in
your country or area who is particularly gifted in childcare, education, working
with young people, follow-up or outreach. These folks may or may not be very
good people-handlers or shepherding types, but one thing is certain: they're
gifted in their particular ministry. Today, their gifts are most likely limited
to their particular Home, or if their city has a functioning and active City
Council, maybe they are able to benefit the small circle of Homes around
them.
70.Under the board
structure, such a person could sit on the national board for the pillar that
they're best suited for. That person would be in phone and e-mail
communication with, as well as meet on a regular basis (at least once every few
months), together with other board members from their national area who are also
gifted in that particular ministry.
71.If this person, for example, sits on the Children and Parenting
board, when he or she communicates with or meets with the other members of
the national Children and Parenting board, they would discuss the needs of the
children and parents in their national area. They may discover that there are a
number of young mothers in their national area who need help and counsel
regarding baby care, and they may agree that that is a topic that needs to be
addressed.
72.As the national
board, they might pray about and discuss the possibility of holding a seminar
for new mothers. They could put together a two-day seminar and invite the
new moms from their area to come together and give them classes on baby care,
etc. Or they might invite other experienced mothers to come help give some
classes or workshops. By discussing the needs of their area and praying
about ideas and ways to help meet the needs, the national Children and Parenting
board would be directly benefiting their area, within their particular
ministry.
73.As another
example, the members of the national JETT/Teen board might realize that a number
of the young people in their area have a common problem of being bored.
Therefore they would pray about the situation and seek the Lord for something
that they could do to help alleviate the problem. Perhaps the Lord would show
them that organizing weekend get-togethers once a month with as many of the
young people as can attend from the area for united inspiration and a witnessing
excursion would help to alleviate some of the teens' boredom. They could plan it
out and confer with the Homes; if there is agreement from the Homes in the area,
the plan could be instituted on the national level. In some cases, where a
national area consists of a number of countries and it is not possible for the
young people of the area to go out together, the board might recommend that each
ci ty which has a substantial number of young people try to hold a monthly
witnessing excursion for their youth.
74.The idea is to get the people together who are gifted in a
particular ministry and give them the responsibility to think about,
discuss, and pray about the needs of that particular ministry within their
national area. As it stands today, the CROs and VSs are only able to focus their
attention on the most pressing matters at hand--the daily emergencies. We've
lacked people in positi ons of responsibility who could focus their time and
energy on just one aspect of our Family life, and we hope that this board
structure will allow for this focus.
75.Presently if the young people in an area are bored, it's basically
up to the Home itself to figure out what to do about it, or a few Homes in
an area which band together to tackle the problem. For the most part there is
very little help provided from outside their Home. If a VS happens to visit
and is attuned to young people, h e may have some good counsel to give the Home.
But in most cases, the VSs only come around once in a great while, and the rest
of the time that Home is faced with trying to solve that problem more or less on
their own. If there's nobody in the Home who is particularly gifted in working
with or inspiring young people, then the young people will most likely continue
to be bored. The VSs and CROs do try to organize things for the young people in
their areas, but with their time being divided betwee n so many facets of Family
life, they are very limited in what they can
do.
76.The Home may want to
change the situation and may be seeking the Lord for solutions to their young
people's boredom. They may even write their CROs to ask for help and
counsel. The problem is that the CROs aren't in a position to focus so much on
an individual Home and its needs. The CROs have to be concerned not only with
the young people, but with the education of our children, the childcare set-up,
the overall o utreach and Activated progress, the NPC, the Office, the
SC, a myriad of business details, and all the rest! So under our present system,
it's very difficult for that Home seeking solutions for their young people to
get the help that it needs.
77.It is our hope that with the board structure in place,when a problem
like this arises, those on the national board will be able to tune into it,
pray about it, communicate with the Homes about it, make suggestions to the
Homes for possible solutions and assist in any way they
can.
78.Naturally, the boards
will be limited in what they can do, as being a board member will not be
their full-time job, finances for the boards will be extremely limited, and
logistically it won't be possible to give each Home in a national area the exact
same services. The services the boards are able to provide may vary from area to
area or city to city. If the national area consists of a large number of Homes
that are geographically close together and one or two which are a great distance
away, then the Homes that are far away might receive less services than the
nearby Homes, since, for example, they won't be able to afford to send their
young people a long distance each month to attend a witnessing excursion. On the
other hand, the national board might give the distant Homes a different service
such as writing them much more often than they would the Homes which are close
by.
79.It's important to
realize right from the start that the boards ar e not going to solve every
individual Home's problems, nor are they responsible to solve the problems;
they're just responsible to be of service to the Homes in that particular sphere
of Family life. However, in this case, the national JETT/Teen board, when
discussing and praying about their area, might be able to find a solution that
not only helps one individual Home to alleviate the problem with their young
people being bored, but other Homes as
well.
80.National board
members are meant t o be people who are gifted in that specific ministry.
These people should be thinking and praying about that ministry in relation to
the specific Homes in their national area. These national board members live in
that national area and they're in a better position than the CROs to offer some
sort of service or counsel to the Homes in regards to that ministry, and to
pioneer local initiatives within that
ministry.
81.What we're
hoping and praying for with the implementation of the board vision is that
there will be people in your national area who will be praying and thinking
about the young people in your national area. Other Family members within your
national area will be thinking, praying, and seeking the Lord for solutions and
ideas concerning the education of the children in your national area. Similarly,
there will be people who are focused on the national area's outreach programs,
who are thinking about it and discussing it with other like-minded people, and
who are trying to find ways to help the Homes advance in Activated and
outreach.
82.Of course, these
board members will have other responsibilities as Home members, and the board
won't be their full-time job. However, between them they will be thinking
and praying and trying to do what they can to help the Family in their
respective spheres of responsibility.
83.National board members will meet every few months for
discussion and prayer. They will most likely communicate with each other in
between their m eetings, but they will only officially be required to meet every
three months or so. It is during these meetings that they will pray about and
discuss their ministry, and make decisions as to what they feel they can do to
help the Homes in their national area. In some instances this will be the extent
of their involvement; in other cases they will get more involved and will put
more time into it. For example, if a national board meeting is held at the
beginning of the winter months, they may pr ay about and discuss problems,
solutions and ideas. However, during the course of their meeting they may decide
that no new programs or initiatives will be undertaken for the next three months
because it's difficult to do so in the winter. So for the next three months the
board members might not have many board duties. Whereas if they meet right
before summer, they may suggest holding a seminar during the summer months,
which would necessitate their putting more time into their duties, preparin g
and planning for the seminar.
84.The chairperson of the national board will have more work than the
other members of the board, as he or she will be the one
communicating with the other board members and will be responsible for more of
the business of the board. The chairperson will probably play a larger role in
helping to implement the decisions of the
board.
85.We are looking for
people who are gifted in any one of these pillars, who have a burden for that
particular ministry or age g roup, who can help to offer related services to the
Homes in their national area. We need people who will be thinking, praying,
discussing, and seeking the Lord for answers to the problems, for ways to move
forward. We need people who have the faith and vision to act and be part of the
solution, rather than waiting for solutions to come from WS or from the CROs. We
need people who are willing to sacrifice their own time to help bear the
responsibility for these vital pillars of Family life and help move the
Family forward.
86.Are
you willing?
How the National,
Regional, and
International Boards Interact
87.Let's look at the JETT/Teen board in a regional area that is
divided into three national areas. The chairpersons of the three national
JETT/Teen boards will sit together on the regional JETT/Teen board, along with
the chairperson of the regional board (and in some cases other members appointed
by the Continental Council). This gives the regional JETT/Teen board a chance to
discuss and pray about the collective needs of the young people in their entire
region.
88.When the regional
JETT/Teen board meeting is held, each member is not focusing solely on their
national area, but is also looking at the collective needs of the region.
They have the benefit of hearing what the other chairpersons are experiencing,
the problems and difficulties that they're coming up against, and the solutions
that they've found. They can and should put their heads together to pray abou t
what they can do on a regional level to help, for example, the young people. In
some situations, it may be difficult for the national area to solve a problem,
but by counseling together at the regional level, some sort of program or
initiative could be more easily offered that would benefit the regional area. Or
another national area might be able to assist in some way; for example, by
providing personnel for a camp for the young people,
etc.
89.The regional board is
responsible to discuss their board's ministries from a regional point of view.
The national chairpersons then return to their national boards and share
with the other board members what's happening on a regional level, and what's
going on in the other national areas. The national boards can then pray and
discuss the points that were put forth at the regional level, to see what can be
implemented in their national area, or in certain parts of their national
area.
90.The point is that
you'll have national board membe rs praying about and discussing the ministry;
some of those will go up to the regional board, where the regional board
members will be thinking and praying about that same ministry; and one regional
board chairperson from each continental area will go up to the international
board, where there will be representatives from each of the five continental
areas. They will sit together with someone(s) in WS and collectively they will
all be thinking and praying about and discussing that particular min
istry.
91. So all over the world, at
each national level, regional level, and the international level, you have
groups of people discussing and praying about their particular pillar. Every
national, regional, and international board will be discussing, praying, and
counseling, and the Lord will be showing them solutions related to their pillar.
The national boards will be seeking the Lord for national needs and problems.
The regional boards will look for ways to benefit the region. The interna tional
boards will be garnering ideas, counsel, tips and pub ideas for the Homes
worldwide, in each respective pillar. Each level will be doing what they can to
help solve problems, to offer services, to make recommendations, to make policy
or publications recommendations, and to help in any way they can.
Boards Working
Together
92.While the board pillars will operate independently from
each other, in the sense that the Church Growth and Outreach board won't be
meddling in the affairs of the Children and Parenting board, and vice
versa, they'll also need to work together. In order for one pillar to make
progress, they may need assistance from another pillar. For example, let's say
that the JETT/Teen board has determined that in order to help the teens in their
national area get on fire for the Lord, they need more hands-on witnessing. So
the JETT/Teen board might approach the Church Growth and Outreach board and
request that they work together to create a regular youth outreac h ministry in
their national area, which the young people can be largely involved
in.
93.As each of the boards
begin to determine the most immediate needs of their areas, establish their
priorities, and come up with plans and programs, there will no doubt be a fair
bit of involvement from the other pillars. Daily Family life is a grand
mixture of all of these pillars, and those on the boards will need to work
together to not only advance their own programs and goals, but to give
assistance to the other boards as well. Since each board will be focusing on
their own pillar, it will take some effort on their part to remember that each
pillar is important and that each pillar will need to work together with
the others for the good of the whole. The goal is to strengthen the Family
collectively by focusing more attention on each of these pillars, but at
the same time, we must remain one Family and one body, fitly joined together and
advancing together on all fronts.
International Boa rds
Meet with
WS
94.Another key to the board structure is that it will provide an
avenue which good ideas, solutions to problems, and programs that could
potentially benefit other areas can pass through. It also will provide WS
with a clearer understanding of what issues each pillar feels needs to
be addressed for the whole Family. I'll
explain.
95.Each pillar goes
from the national level to the regional level and finally to the international
level; this is the juncture where the boards meet with WS. The international
boards, each of which will have some WS members sitting on them, will be able to
ask WS to publish certain publications to help target various needs within their
pillar. Those members of WS who sit on the international boards will then carry
these recommendations back to WS and, in many cases, will be the ones who will
help do the work on these publications. Their being part of the international
board will give them firsthand knowledge of the needs of that partic ular
pillar, which will help them when composing and designing the needed pubs for
the Family.
96.Let's look at
the Children and Parenting board for a minute. At the national level,
the Children and Parenting board may pass up to the regional level their
suggestion for a certain topic to be addressed in a pub for both children and
parents. At the regional level, the members of the board could discuss this
suggestion, and would be able to see whether the other national areas feel
this reques t would benefit the parents and children in their areas too, as well
as pray about and discuss any modifications or additions to the suggestion. If
it is deemed worthwhile, then the recommendation would be passed to the
international Children and Parenting
board.
97.The international
Children and Parenting board has the benefit of each continental area being
represented. As those members meet or communicate together, they'll
bring all the input and recommendations for pubs on certain top ics,
and together they can discuss and prayerfully consider which topics are
most needed all around the world. The international Children and Parenting board
would then tell WS, "This is what we need. We need pubs that address these main
topics." WS can then prepare pubs which will meet the problems and needs of the
whole Family more specifically--in this case, in regards to childcare and
parenting.
98.Looking at the
Church Growth and Outreach board, there will be gifted follow-up and outrea ch
people at the national level sitting on the board, discussing and praying
about outreach in their area, and exploring what they can do to make it more
fruitful. They'll be asking themselves, "How can we reach more people? How can
we win more souls? How can we encourage more follow-up? How can we get more
people activated?" They will be thinking about these things. They will be
praying about them. They will be suggesting ideas to the local Homes. Perhaps
they will be hosting or putting togethe r witnessing workshops or local Church
of Love meetings, or any other idea the Lord shows
them.
99.These things will be
taking place at the national level--enacted by those who live in the national
area, without having to wait for an initiative to come from the CROs or VSs,
or from WS. People on the national level will be responsible to pray about these
matters, think about these matters, and work together with others at the
national level to solve these problems, or to make progress within t heir
particular pillar.
100.This
is then carried on up the line, because the chairpersons of the national
boards will go to the regional boards, and you'll have regional outreach
people thinking about outreach for their particular region, and what they can do
to make it more effective, etc. They'll be asking themselves, "How can
Activated become more fruitful in our area? How can the Homes get more
subscriptions? What is hindering our Homes from pushing the Activated
ministry? What classes c an be given? What workshops or activities can be held?
What counsel can be given to make our region's outreach and Activated
vision progress? What new tools can we suggest be produced for our area? How can
we better distribute the tools? How can we better train new disciples so they
are well grounded in the Word?"
101.From that meeting, one member representing the regions'
Church Growth and Outreach boards will go to the international Church Growth and
Outreach board, where the international board will be praying about and
discussing the same things: "How can we perform better outreach throughout the
world? How can Activated be better promoted? What pubs need to be put out
to encourage the Family to do more? What instruction can be given from WS to
Family Homes worldwide concerning church growth and outreach? What new tools can
the GP Production board produce?"
102.This type of information will be making its way up each
respective pillar. It will culminate at the international l evel, which will
result in WS being more informed about the needs of each pillar. Since there are
six pillars, each of which will be requesting publications and material from WS
on their respective needs, WS probably won't be able to meet every single
request. But WS will do its best to provide each pillar with their priority
requests for pubs and other WS-related services. As your WS servants, we're
looking forward to receiving more input from all levels, as we feel it will keep
us better in to uch with the pulse of each field, and that we'll be hitting the
mark more squarely in the pubs we put out and the needs that we
address.
International
Boards Suggest
Worldwide Policy to WS
103.Another function of the international boards will be to suggest
worldwide policy to Mama and me. They will not only state the types of pubs
they feel that WS needs to produce to address the issues within their pillars,
but they will also be able to recommend worldwide policy and programs within
thei r ministry, when warranted. Mama and I and our counselors will then review
the recommendations, hear from the Lord for confirmations, and make the final
decisions.
Clear Pipeline for Communicating
Ideas,
Problems and Solutions
104.Once the boards are set up and functioning, your Home
will not only benefit from the initiatives, counsel, or ideas that your national
boards offer, but you will also know exactly who to get in touch with if you
have an idea or seek a solution to a problem in regards to any one of the
pillars.
105.If you have an
idea or question about your outreach or your local Church of Love--rather
than writing your CRO, who may never have the time to give you a comprehensive
answer, you could communicate directly with one of the members of your national
Church Growth and Outreach board. It would then be their responsibility to bring
up your question or idea at their next meeting, or to communicate about it via
e-mail with the other board members. And if your i dea has merit, it could be
carried to the regional board for discussion and prayer. If the regional board
feels it's a good idea, they might pass it on to the international board, who
could pass it on to WS, and it could eventually be presented to the entire
Family or even become Family policy. (If it's something that just concerns your
national area, it could be implemented locally if the national board agrees,
without having to go all the way up to the international
level.)
106.By creating these
upward pillars, from the national to the regional to the international
level, we are creating a conduit through which your ideas can have a direct
line from the national level to the international level. Ideas, comments,
suggestions, questions and problems from the Home level can all be looked at by
those who are gifted in that particular ministry--at the national level, the
regional level, and the international level.
National, Regional,
And Continental
Councils
107.Now we'll move on to the various crossbeams in our board
structure. Throughou
t the vertical structure there are three
crossbeams:
* The National
Coordinating Council (NCC)
* The Regional
Council (RC)
* The Continental Council
(CC)
The National Coordinating Council
(NCC)
108.The National
Coordinating Council consists of the chairperson of each of the national
boards. That means in every national area, the National Coordinating Council
would be made up of the chairpersons of the five pillars at the national
level.
109.The National
Coordinating Council is not an authoritative body. National Coordinating
Council members would not infringe on board matters or make any decisions that
are the boards to make. The main purpose of this council is to keep each of the
pillars informed of the other pillars' progress and plans, and to iron out any
potential conflicts that may come up between the various national boards. For
example, if the national FED board decides that throughout the months of Ju ly
and August they would like to hold a series of educational seminars for the
young people, and unbeknownst to them, the Church Growth and Outreach board is
trying to encourage all Homes to coordinate united witnessing activities for
their young people, majoring on witnessing and follow-up during this same time,
there's a schedule conflict. So the National Coordinating Council members might
agree to go back to their respective boards and discuss changing the dates or
perhaps combining their sem inars and
activities.
110.The
chairperson of every national board will need to keep the other national
chairpersons abreast of what their board has in the works as far as activities,
excursions, general meetings, etc. When there are these types of conflicts,
the National Coordinating Council will need to discuss, pray, and see how to
work things out so that confusing signals aren't being sent to the Homes. The
National Coordinating Council meetings would also be a forum for the national
board s in a national area to inform each other of what their board is doing,
and thus help inspire unity and cooperation among the
boards.
111.The national
boards have no authority over the Homes, but Homes could be confused if
they're getting one set of suggestions from one board and another set of
suggestions from another board.
112.The National Coordinating Council will have no authority other
than to sort out the conflicting schedules or associated problems amongst the
national boards in th eir areas. They will not have any say over the Homes,
or the decisions of any of the boards themselves. Their only mandate is to help
the different pillars keep in touch with each other, working together smoothly,
and to help resolve planning and scheduling conflicts.
The Regional
Council (RC)
113.At the
regional level there is the Regional Council, which is made up of the
chairpersons of all the regional boards. This Regional Council crossbeam
straddles a whole regional area, which consis ts of at least two national
areas. In the case of the Regional Council, some members, though not
necessarily all, will be Continental Officers, as some regional chairpersons
will be Continental Officers and some
won't.
114.Unlike the
National Coordinating Council, the Regional Council will have more
responsibility. Besides sorting out scheduling conflicts between the various
regional boards, the Regional Council will also be responsible for the overall
direction of the work within the region
.
115.When the Regional
Council meets, they will look at the overall work within the regional area
and discuss and pray about any and all aspects of the work that might need
direction or guidance. This is similar to what the CROs presently do throughout
their CRO area. When they meet in their CRO teamworks they look at the overall
work, analyze it, pray about the needs of the area, and determine whether there
are any aspects that need particular
help.
116.Until now, Mama and
I have held th e present-day CROs responsible for the overall progress of their
area. Under the new board structure, this responsibility will be pushed down
to the Regional Council (who, as mentioned above, will mainly be made up of CROs
along with newly appointed members). Since the Regional Councils will have
smaller areas to oversee than our current CRO teamworks, hopefully they'll be
able to give their regions more attention and care. Of course, the regions are
still under the umbrella of the Continental C ouncil, whose responsibility it is
to keep an eye on the overall continental area, as explained
below.
The Continental Council
(CC)
117.The next
crossbeam is the Continental Council. This crossbeam straddles all of the
regions within a continental area. A CRO's official title according to the
Charter is "Continental Officer." According to the Charter, the collective CROs
of an area are called "the Continental Office." All of those who sit on the
Continental Council will be Continental Offi cers (our present CROs). From this
point on we would like to start using the Continental Officer title for the
CROs, so in these GNs and all future publications we will use the term
Continental Officers, or COs (pronounced see-oh) when referring to the
CROs. We ask that you also please try to make the change in calling them COs
instead of CROs. Thanks.
118.The Continental Council will have the authority and the responsibility of the
Continental Office as outlined in the Charter. The Charter a ssigns 15 major
responsibilities and authority in 19 aspects of the work to the Continental
Office. Within the board structure, the Continental Office will retain these
same responsibilities and the same authority. In a general way they will be
responsible for the spiritual health and the overall work of the continental
area, and the services provided to the Family in that area that are administered
on a continental level. However, the Regional Council will be the body that, for
the most part, t unes into the direction of the work in the regional
area.
119.The Continental and
Regional Councils will also play a role in helping to solve conflicts
between a national and a regional board, and between a regional and
international board. We'll discuss that later in this GN series.
Limitations of
Authority
120.The Regional Council and the Continental Council do not
have specific authority over the boards themselves. The Regional Council
cannot dictate to the national or regional boar ds what decisions to make. The
national, regional, and international boards are the ones responsible to offer
services and help to the Homes within the realm of their pillar. The councils
can help coordinate matters between pillars as well as help them work together,
but the decision-making will remain with the
boards.
121.Our prayer is
that those who will be on the national, regional, and international boards will
be knowledgeable of these ministries and will be very prayerful in their delib
erations. They will make decisions and offer suggestions to the Homes. They
will start local initiatives. They will provide as much assistance as they're
able to. The decisions that they make, they, as a board, are responsible for.
They do not need to seek the permission of the councils before making a
decision.
122.So although the
Regional Council and the Continental Council are responsible for the overall
direction and spiritual health of either the region or the continent, they
themselves do not have the authority to arbitrarily dictate to the
boards how the boards should conduct themselves, what the board should
discuss, and what decisions the board should make. The Regional Council and the
Continental Council may make suggestions to the boards, but they would need to
be discussed, prayed about, and agreed to by the individual boards before they
can be enacted.
Vetoes and
Appeals
123.If a board makes a decision, and the board above it (within the
same pillar) does not agre e with the decision, then the higher board would
consult with the lower board. If they can't come to an agreement, then they
would need a third body to review the matter and cast the deciding
vote.
124.For example, if the
Children and Parenting national board for Thailand makes a decision that the
Children and Parenting regional board for Southeast Asia does not agree
with, the regional board would communicate with the national board as to why
they felt that particular decision was not wise. If the national board agrees,
then the national board would work to make the changes necessary to reverse or
modify their decision. If the national board says, "No, we still feel it's a
good decision, and we want to appeal your veto," then the matter would go to the
Regional Council for Southeast Asia to
decide.
125.If a regional
board makes a decision and the international board doesn't agree with it and
they can't work it out together, then the regional board can appeal to the
Continental C ouncil, who would cast the deciding
vote.
126.If the Regional
Council hears that one of their regional boards has made a decision that they
feel will be detrimental to the overall work, they can question the decision
and try to work it out with the regional board. If it can't be worked out, then
the Regional Council and the regional board would be in conflict, in which case
the Regional Council would appeal the decision to the international board of the
same pillar.
127.The Lord
showed us that it's necessary to have a system of checks and balances in
place to protect the Homes from decisions that a board might make which
might not be good decisions. On the other hand, we don't want to give the upper
boards the authority to say that a lower board made a bad decision and therefore
it can't be enacted. We felt the need to have a good appeal system whereby two
bodies out of three agree, and thus there are various checks and balances
throughout the board structure.
128.These deta ils are a bit complicated and technical and somewhat
difficult to explain. The procedures are clearly spelled out in
legalese in the Family Board Handbook, so if you want the
specifics and the details, please look there. It would be too tedious to try to
outline them in full within these GNs, and the little that we have already
explained borders on being tedious. So if you want to fully understand the check
and balance system, please read the Family Board
Handbook.
129.It is
important for y ou to understand, though, that we have put checks and balances
within this system to ensure that each board is a decision-making body that
cannot be dictated to by other boards, yet at the same time can have their
decisions questioned by a higher board if necessary. And if the two boards are
not in agreement, there is a procedure to solve the problem or
conflict.
The Boards
Can
Propel Us Forward
130.We believe that by having a large number of people throughout the
world thinking and prayi ng about each of these pillars, and having a
clearly defined line of where their ideas and suggestions should go--from the
national level, to the regional level, to the international level--that the Lord
will use it to help us to find the solutions that we need. Having this talent
pool of individuals focusing on each pillar will also create new initiatives
that are so necessary. It will also help WS to serve you better, because we'll
be hearing directly from you through the boards as to what you r specific needs
are, and what specific pubs or policies need to be
created.
131.But the best
part is that right at the ground level, right there where you live in your
national area, there will be people who are knowledgeable, gifted, and
skilled in those ministries who are communicating, meeting together, thinking,
discussing and praying about the needs of each pillar within your national
area.
132.It is our hope,
prayer, burden and belief that by having people focus on a single pillar a t the
national level, that many new ideas, initiatives and programs will blossom
to benefit the Homes and Family members in each national area. And those
programs and initiatives and ideas that are really good and that really work can
then be used throughout the whole region, and once they reach the international
boards, perhaps they can be spread throughout the whole
world.
133.It's time to
spread the load. We can't expect or hope that WS can come up with all the
ideas and the solutions to a ll the problems. It's unrealistic to think that the
COs and VSs are going to be able to solve all the problems, figure out all the
programs, and keep everyone moving forward within each of these pillars of our
Family. Counsel, prayer, decision-making and progress have to happen at the
local level.
134.To
make this happen we need people who are gifted, who are willing to go the extra
mile, do the extra work, get involved, sit on these national boards and
think, pray, and discuss together, and to take the initiative to offer various
services to the Homes within their pillars that will help and benefit their
national area, or to give advice and counsel to the Homes who request it, within
their realm of responsibility.
135.If we can fill this board structure with people who have the
needed gifts and the burden to work together, pray together, and to create
services or programs for their national area, then we will be miles ahead,
because the load and the burden of problem-solving an d raising the inspiration
level will no longer fall on the shoulders of just a few, but will be spread out
amongst the many. If we can achieve this, we will be in a much better position
to move forward, to take bold new steps, and to go to the places the Lord wants
to take us to. Our present leadership structure cannot carry this weight alone.
It has to be distributed throughout these pillars and be borne on the shoulders
of many. If we can do that, we believe the Lord will mightily anoint it an d
help us to move forward like never
before.
136.Do you have a
burden to help? Are you willing to give some of your time to helping on a board?
Will you, as a Home, allow someone or ones from your Home to participate as
board members? Do you have a talent in one of these pillar ministries which you
can contribute? Will you volunteer? Do you know someone else who might be good
on a board? If so, please write your COs
today.
137.Are you with us?
Let's get on Board!