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Some of the
general responsibilities of all boards
are:
Teamwork: Meet together for
prayer and discussion, as well as communicate regularly via mail, e-mail or
phone.
Initiatives: Pray about
and discuss ways to help the Homes in regards to their pillar, and how to
promote policies, initiatives and decisions made by their board and/or pillar,
in the national area.
Goals: Pray
about, discuss and outline pillar-specific goals and needs in their region and
present these to the Homes.
Ideas and
suggestions: Generate and pass on ideas (including prophecies received) for
pubs, materials, and resources related to their pillar that, God willing, WS
would produce for the Family
worldwide.
Field questions:
Answer questions from the Homes relating to their
pillar.
Comments and suggestions:
The chairperson of the regional board (or in the case of the VS board, the
national board) will r eceive comments and suggestions (C&Ss) from the TRFs
relating to his or her pillar and is responsible to hear from the Lord, respond
to the Homes and answer their questions (counseling as needed with the national
board chairperson of the national area that that Home is included in), or at his
or her discretion pass the comments, suggestions and/or questions on to the
national board chairperson to pray about and
answer.
Report: Report on the
happenings and activities of their board. Send minute s of board meetings and
decisions made to the upper board and council on their level.
Some of
the specific responsibilities of the boards:
A.
Children and Parenting
board
(CP
board)
The focus of this board is to
assist parents, teachers and Homes with counsel and prayer in regards to the
care of their children, from birth through age 11, and offer training and
counsel for the parents and
teachers.
Counseling: Assist
(through counsel, prayer and training) the parents and Homes in t he spiritual
and physical training of their
children.
Parental support: Offer
counsel to the parents regarding the needs of their children and how best to
meet those needs.
Childcare
standard: Offer counsel to the Homes in how to maintain the Charter standard
in childcare.
Missionary and
witnessing training: Assist the parents and Homes in the missionary and
witnessing training of the children with ideas, tips, how-tos,
etc.
Projects and activities:
Work with the Homes in organizing acti vities or programs for the parents and
children in their country/national
area.
Training: Work with the
Homes in organizing seminars, workshops, or other get-togethers for training, as
well as inspiration of parents and
teachers.
Materials: Instruct and
inspire the Homes concerning the availability and use of Word and training
materials produced locally, internationally, or by WS.
B.
Family Education
Department
(FED
board)
The FED board would focus on
the education of the children a nd
teenagers.
The responsibility to educate
their children rests with the parents and the Home, but the FED boards will
do all they can to provide counsel, assistance, information, and when available,
resources to help the parents, teachers, and Homes with this
task.
Counseling: Assist
(through counsel, prayer, and training) the parents and Homes in the education
of their children and teenagers.
Training: Work with the Homes in organizing seminars, workshops,
or other get-togethers in volving teachers, parents, and
students.
Local language
materials: Research and recommend to the Homes materials for the education
of the children in the local
language.
FED materials: Instruct
and inspire the Homes concerning the availability and use of FED materials
produced locally, internationally, or by
WS.
Scholastic resources: Assist
the Homes in obtaining scholastic resources by providing them with information
on local materials available or how to order such materials as CLE, A B
EKA, ACE, etc.
CVC: Work with the
JETT/Teen board to promote and encourage the use of the CVC in the national
area.
Resource Center: Maintain a
FED Resource Center, which would be responsible to make available educational
materials and resources that they have to the national boards and Homes in their
region.
Educational support for young
people leaving the Family: The regional FED board is responsible, to the
best of their ability, to make available educational information and counsel to
the parents of young people who choose to leave the Family, and/or to the young
people themselves.
C. JETT/Teen board (JT board)
The
JETT/Teen board will do what they can to assist the parents and Homes in: (1)
the shepherding of their teenagers, ages 12 to 17; (2) providing inspiring
activities and programs for them; (3) discipleship, missionary and vocational
training.
Counseling: Tune
into the spiritual and physical needs of the JETTs and teens and help to
shepherd, counsel, train and inspire them when
possible.
Parental support: Offer
counsel to the parents regarding the needs of their JETTs and teens and how best
to meet those needs.
Fellowship and
activities: Work with the Homes to help organize fellowships, activities,
and programs for the JETTs and teens in their country or national
area.
Missionary and discipleship
training: Help the Homes, in conjunction with the Church Growth and Outreach
board, to organize and coordinate outreach initiatives involving the J ETTs and
teens, helping them find fulfillment as missionaries and
disciples.
Vocational training:
Generate ideas and/or programs for the JETTs and teens to get training in
ministries they feel called to. Work with the FED to promote the CVC and its
vocational courses to help the young people get vocational
training.
Leadership training:
Work with the Homes in organizing seminars, camps, training centers, and other
activities, to give Christian leadership training to the JETTs and
teens.
Se x education: Advise and
counsel parents in their efforts to give age-appropriate sex education to
their JETTs and teens.
D. Church
Growth and Outreach board
(CGO
board)
The CGO board focuses on all
aspects of the Family's witnessing, including disciple winning and training,
church growth, follow-up, provisioning contacts, local CTPs, tool distribution,
promotion of the Activated program, and reaching the world with the
Gospel.
The Activated
program: Promotion of the Activated magazi ne to the Homes and
public.
Work with the Homes in
organizing workshops and seminars in order to promote the Activated
program.
Help to encourage the Homes to
get Activated, collecting subscriptions, feeding their sheep,
etc.
Work with the Homes to encourage
the follow-up of Activated readers and other
sheep.
Church growth: Assist the
Homes in building a local church of believers and offer counsel in matters
relating to Active members.
Work
with the Homes in organizing meetings and seminars on follow-up and caring for
Active members.
Look for ways to improve
the care of Active members by helping and encouraging the Homes to create
programs, organize seminars and host other activities for the Active
members.
Tool distribution:
Promote the distribution and marketing of outreach
tools.
Tune into and cultivate the ideas
and needs of the local distributors, generate ideas for new outreach products
that are needed.
Local CTPs:
Assist (through counsel, prayer and informa tion) the Homes in the organization
and coordination of local CTPs.
Address
questions relating to local CTP work. (Questions regarding the legal aspects of
setting up a humanitarian or NGO project may be directed to the PR
board.)
Encourage the Homes to send in
their testimonies and photos of their local CTP work so that they can be passed
on to the PR board and WS GP department and WEB
team.
Products, marketing, and
distribution: Counsel and work with the production centers (SCs/PPCs) reg
arding products needed for distribution in the region.
E.
Public Relations board (PR
board)
The PR board deals with
public relations, relations with the media, religious freedom issues,
persecution, and promoting the Family's good name and good works. The PR
board will also be available to give advice on legal matters when asked by
foundations, NGOs and other organizations that are connected to or run by
Family members.
Communication:
Communicate and share information with the PR boa rds of other
regions.
Media: One or more
members of the PR board will focus their efforts on media-related issues. (In
most cases this RB member will work with, or be a part of, the media
team.)
Legal and humanitarian
matters: One or more members of the PR board should be knowledgeable and
available to give advice to the Homes on legal matters relating to
associations, NGOs, for-profit and non-profit companies or
foundations.
Questions regarding local
CTPs not involving a legal entity wou ld be directed to the CGO
board.
Public relations: Pray and
discuss plans, projects and ways to promote the Family's good name in their
region, and encourage input on this from the
Homes.
Receive from the Homes photos,
testimonies and copies of recommendation letters as a means of
documenting the Family's humanitarian
work.
Proactive work: Invest time
in proactive work and meeting with people who can make a difference in helping
to promote and protect religious freedom, such as academics , government
officials, lawyers, community and religious leaders, and
others.
Persecution
response: Assist the Homes in whatever way they can in the event of
persecution.
F. Visitation and
Shepherding
(VS
board)
The job of the VS board would
be to uphold the Charter as well as provide shepherding and visitation
(spiritual shepherding of the Homes and Family members). Those on the VS
board will be Area or Continental
Officers.
Area Office
responsibility: Fulfill the responsibi lities of Area Officers as
stated in the Charter.
Spiritual
oversight of the Homes: Visitation of the Homes, shepherding and offering
counsel and prayer to Home members, helping to resolve with prayer and hearing
from the Lord inter-Home disputes, and checking on the financial state of the
Homes.
Charter enforcement:
Enforce the Charter and discipline Homes or members who fail to live up to the
Charter standard.
Disciplinary
Committee: Investigate reported Charter infractions and excommun icable
offenses, and discipline accordingly.
The national board, along with the chairperson of the regional board, make up
the Disciplinary Committee for that national area. The Disciplinary Committee
handles, in conjunction with the Continental Reporting Center (CRC),
Probationary Notice and Partial
Excommunication.
Clearance
Committee: Grant or deny clearance to their national
area.
The national board, along with the
chairperson of the regional board, make up the Clearance Committee for that
national area. The Clearance Committee handles, in conjunction with the CRC,
clearance requests to their national
area.
New disciples: Ensure that
new CM disciples are receiving training, Word, and spiritual input by the Homes
in which they reside. (The national Church Growth and Outreach board would also
be involved with this.)
Young
adults: Tune into the needs of young adults from 18 through 20, and help
provide them with focus in their ministries and callings.
Public Relations
Boa rd:
Regional and International
3.As mentioned in the first GN in this series, the Public Relations
board is a bit different than the others. We feel, for the time being, that
rather than having Public Relations boards at the national board level, they
should begin at the regional and international levels. Our hope is that the
Public Relations board, which will take care of the Family's media and
legal-related matters, will also be able to do proactive work in helping to
promote the Family a nd the good works that we
do.
4.This is a specialized
ministry which requires a fair bit of training, and at present there aren't many
people qualified to take on this job. Because of this, we feel that if we
begin with Public Relations boards at the international and regional
levels, we can work toward training others who can, in time, take care of
these matters at the national level. So for the time being, there will be
no national Public Relations board; the Public Relations board will be gin at
the regional level and go upward. Individuals who are gifted and have experience
in these matters, or who may have the burden to receive further training in
order to help in this area, will be appointed to sit on the regional Public
Relations boards. In time we hope that enough people will be involved so that we
can have this board operating in national
areas.
5.Another exception in
regards to the Public Relations board is in regards to its chairperson. As
you will read later on in thi s GN, we explain that the Continental Officers are
only allowed to participate on two regional boards. However, in the case of the
Public Relations board, even if a CO is sitting on two other regional boards, he
can also sit on or be the chairperson of the Public Relations board. We are
making this exception due to the limited number of people who can chair this
board. In time we hope to withdraw this exception, but for the time being we
feel it is necessary.
Responsibility,
Authority and
Accountability
6.Each of the board pillars has specific responsibilities and
authority to carry out their duties. For example, the national JETT/Teen
board members have the authority to organize fellowships, suggest outreach
pushes, help the young people get training in ministries, etc. The fact that the
board members are on the JETT/Teen board gives them the authority to make these
types of decisions which will help to provide the services or avenues for
training and progress in their partic ular field. This is the case for all the
boards. However, they don't have authority over the Homes. For example, they
cannot require Homes to attend the fellowships or participate in certain
pushes, or require certain young people to get training, or discipline Homes for
not complying with their recommendations,
etc.
7.In order for the
boards to be effective, they have to have both the responsibility of the
job and the authority to do the job. Then, of course, they also have
the accountabili ty that goes with the job. If they don't do the job,
they will be held accountable, and individual members can lose their position on
the board, or the whole board could be dismissed and a new board
instituted.
8.While each
board has the authority to vote and make decisions regarding the ministry that
their board represents, they do not have authority over the Homes
themselves. The one exception to this is the VS board, whose
responsibility it is to visit the Homes and to shepherd them spiri tually, along
with making sure they're upholding the Charter standard. The VSs (Area
Officers) and Continental Officers will continue to have the authority over
the Homes and our Family members which is outlined in the
Charter.
9.Each board is
accountable to do its respective job the best it can, but they're not
accountable for the actions of the Homes. In other words, if the board is
doing its job by providing opportunities for the Homes to get the help they
need, and certain Homes don't w ant to participate or be involved or receive the
counsel or actions suggested to them, then that's not the board's
fault--they're still doing their job. If the Home's standard in the particular
area that a board is responsible for--say childcare--is not what it should
be, it's the Home that is held accountable under the Charter, not the
Children and Parenting board. Of course, if a board is not making any effort to
assist the Home, then they would be held accountable for not doing their part. B
ut the responsibility and accountability for the Home to keep the standard
according to the Charter requirements remains with the Home and its members,
along with the VS board and Continental Council, not with the other
boards.
10.It's important to
understand that while the boards exist to assist the Homes to the best of their
ability, the responsibility to meet the Charter requirements is still the
Home's responsibility. If, for example, a child in a Home isn't up to par
educationally accor ding to the Charter, the Home can't blame the FED board for
this problem. It's the Home's problem and they are at fault, as
the Charter clearly states that it's the parents' and the Home's responsibility
to supply the child with an adequate education. The FED board is there to
help make your job of educating your children easier, but they are not
responsible to provide that education; that remains the responsibility of the
Home and the child's parents.
11.
Some of you might get the impression that the boards are there to solve all of
your personal and Home problems, but that's not the case. Our hope is that
the boards will be able to help everyone move forward--to do new things, come up
with new solutions, without getting bogged down by individual Homes or personal
problems.
12. Our hope is that
each Home will endeavor to find solutions to its own problems by praying
about them, searching for the answers in the Word, hearing from the Lord in
prophecy, and then implementing what t he Lord shows them. That's the
first step you need to take when you're faced with challenges and needs
within your Home. The board vision doesn't change
that.
13. The national boards are
there to assist you in any way they can, but they aren't responsible to solve
your Home's problems. Their mandate is to focus and pray about the needs of
the national area, and to offer suggestions and help that will enable the
national area as a whole to progress. They will do what they can to help those
in n eed, but the first step to problem solving will still have to be taken at
the individual and Home level. (For some good guidelines on how to solve
problems, see "Problem-solving Steps" in GN 908, page 26-28.)
Role and
Responsibility
Of Board Members
14.When discussing and praying about the board structure, we
determined that it was best for each member of a board to focus strictly on the
responsibilities of their particular ministry and not get involved in matters
outside of their board p ortfolio when communicating or interacting with Homes.
We did not feel it wise to give board members the authority to come into Family
Homes and have the same type of authority that a VS or CO (Area or Continental
Officer) has.
15.The idea of
the boards is to offer services to the Homes to assist them in doing a better
job. Board members will not have the shepherding type of authority over your
Homes that an Area Officer or a CO has, except for those on the VS board. They
don't have the autho rity to spiritually shepherd Home members or step in to
resolve Home problems. They don't have the authority to step outside of their
particular pillar when offering advice and counsel, as their job is to offer
their services within their ministry to the Homes. They are there to assist the
Homes, to offer counsel relating to their pillar or ministry, and to make
suggestions that would be helpful to the
Homes.
16.If a board member
is invited to your Home, or comes for some reason, that person isn't there in a
shepherding capacity--unless he or she holds an Area Officer title. For
example, if a member of the national Children and Parenting board comes to your
Home, you're welcome to talk to them about any childcare problems or ideas
that you may have and get their counsel on the matter. But they're not visiting
your Home to solve conflicts not related to their field of expertise, discipline
Home members, check on your Charter standard, or counsel you about your
marriage. They're ther e to help you in matters relating to childcare and
parenting. If they're asked for counsel on other matters, in most cases their
answer should be, "That's not within my ministry. If you need counsel on that,
please get in touch with the proper board." That's not to say that they can
never offer you advice when asked, but that advice would only be given as a
friend or brother/sister, just like any other Family member could give, and not
in their capacity as a board member.
17.We believe our Ho mes will openly welcome the boards' services,
and can greatly benefit from their help. However, we do not want to create a
structure where every board member who comes to or communicates with your Home
takes on the role of a VS, checking your Home out, nor as a shepherd, offering
counsel about everything. We are trying to find people who are gifted to
work within certain areas of expertise, but who are not giving counsel on
matters that are outside of the responsibilities of their board. And yo u, as a
Home member, should not expect that of
them.
18.If there are
spiritual or shepherding problems within your Home, then you need to communicate
with the members of the VS board. If you're experiencing problems with
educating your young people, then the members of the FED board are the ones to
talk to, not the Children and Parenting board members, or the Church Growth and
Outreach board members.
19.We
really don't want to create a structure of whole new groups of people
coming in and checking out every aspect of your Home, with every board
member turning into a shepherd or VS who is coming to check on you and correct
you or give you advice on a myriad of topics. The board structure is not
for that purpose. It's meant to create a mechanism whereby those who are gifted
and talented in certain areas can teamwork together to give advice and counsel,
to help find solutions to problems within their specific ministries, and to
help the Family to blossom and make headway and progr ess in each of these
different areas.
Following What
the Boards Decide
Is Voluntary
20.A national board may decide to hold a retreat or a witnessing
excursion for the young people in your area, but they have no authority to
force the members of your Home to attend. It's voluntary.
We're establishing a way for those who are gifted in these ministries to offer
their services and counsel when needed or requested, but whether you participate
in those local initiatives or accept and apply the counsel will be entirely up
to you. The board members have no authority to enforce the board's
recommendations.
21.This is a
very important point that I want to spell out in black and white. We're
not trying to have more people tell you how to run your Home; that's
your responsibility. You still retain all the decision-making power given
to you in the Charter regarding the goals and running of your Home. Aside from
the VS board, these boards are ministry boards, being set up to assist you wi th
counsel, tools and resources, and to organize activities concerning their
ministry.
How Do the Boards
Tie in
With the Charter?
22.In setting up the board structure we have not dismantled
the Charter or modified it in any significant way. We have not taken away
any of the rights or responsibilities which the Charter granted to you as an
individual or as a Home, nor are we attempting to add extra layers of spiritual
leadership on top of it. The boards are a service structure to assist yo u in
your service for the Lord and help you have a fruitful and happy Home. We hope
that the boards will enable your Home's ministries to flourish, because there
are people at ground zero--at the national level--who are thinking and praying
and trying to help organize those particular ministries within the national
area, which you can then benefit from.
Qualification for
Board Members:
Gifts and Talents
23.Those who sit on the boards have been selected because of the
gifts and talents tha t they have in that particular ministry. They are not
expected to be shepherds or spiritual leaders. They may or may not have those
qualities, but you shouldn't expect that they do. Their job is to offer the
Homes the services of their board; spiritual shepherding comes from those on the
VS board.
24.In the case of
the VS board, they are your shepherds. Those on the VS board must reflect
the qualities of a shepherd and Visiting Servant, and will carry out the duties
of an Area Officer as outl ined in the Charter. With the exception of the VS
board, people will be chosen because they are gifted within their ministry, not
because they are shepherds or great people-handlers. (Some may be good shepherds
as well, but others may not.)
25.If we require every board member to have shepherding qualities, be a good
example in all or most areas, be well-rounded and have good people-handling
skills, then it may be difficult to find enough people to sit on the boards!
The above-listed qualifica tions are the same ones that we require for VSs
and COs, and it can be difficult to come up with people who have all those
qualities, are available for the job, and can fill those
roles.
26.We're not
looking for "spiritual giants" to be board members. What we're looking
for are people who are filled with the Holy Spirit, who are gifted in these
particular ministries, and who are living in the Charter Member Family. It's
worth noting that sometimes people who are really gifted in one ministr y
might be lacking in many other ways. They may not, as we said, be good
people-handlers or shepherds, but that doesn't disqualify people with regards to
sitting on the boards. The goal is to find people gifted in specific ministries
to be praying, counseling, advising, organizing, and coming up with ideas that
will assist your Homes.
27.We
don't want to restrict ourselves by not using people who have the gifts and
talents for the job but aren't completely well-rounded, or who might have
stro ng or abrasive personality traits, or might not have very good
people-handling skills. We want to be able to use people's gifts, and we don't
want to limit a person's usefulness because they lack in other areas. If
you expect board members to have the same shepherding skills as your COs or VSs,
then you're going to be disappointed. Board members will be chosen because
they're gifted in a particular ministry, and we want to be able to use
people's gifts to benefit you and your national and region al
areas.
28.Of course, we hope
that those on the boards will be humble, loving, prayerful, wise,faithful to hear from the Lord, and continually striving to live the
Letters in all areas, just as we hope that of every Family member,
including you.
Limited to
Involvement
In Two Boards Only
29.One of the main reasons we are setting up the board structure is
to spread out the leadership load and to help those who are gifted in
certain ministries to be able to focus on those ministries. W e are applying
these principles to the CO level of leadership
too.
30.Presently, some of
the COs have their fingers in many pies--not because they want
control, but because in our present Family structuring they're forced to be
intimately involved in many aspects of the work. Therefore they aren't able to
focus on the one or two areas where their greatest gifts and talents can be put
to the best use.
31.Some of
our COs, for example, are very good in childcare and the educational aspect of
the Family, but perhaps they're not gifted in business or outreach. In other
cases, some COs have good business acumen, but perhaps they know very little
about childcare. Or perhaps they are very strong in both areas but don't have
the time to give both the attention they deserve. Under our present structure,
these COs are expected to be able to give counsel on a wide array of topics,
even though some of the things they're asked to give counsel on are not their
forte or an area they're very invo lved in. This, along with the tremendous
spiritual pressure that is placed on the COs, is one of the reasons we want to
change our leadership structure.
32.In order to help each of the COs and others to focus on the
ministries in which they're gifted or called to, and not to have to spread
themselves so thin, we've limited their participation to two boards at a
regional level. This means that Continental Officers can only participate as
board members on two different regional boards (as menti oned earlier, the one
exception to this will be a CO sitting on the Public Relations board). They can
be the chairperson of two separate regional boards; they can be the chairperson
of one regional board and sit as a board member on a second regional board; or
they can be the chairperson of neither and sit as a member of two regional
boards. But that's all. They are limited to sitting on the boards of two
different pillars at the regional level. (As a regional board chairperson they
will automa tically sit on the Regional Council, and as a Continental
Officer they will be a member of the Continental
Council.)
33.We have made the
same stipulation for national board members. The one difference is that a
national board member can only be the chairperson of one board. He is allowed to
be a member of no more than two boards at a national level, and he can only be
the chairperson of one; if he sits on a second board, he cannot chair that board
also. A chairperson of a national board will automatically sit on the regional
board, which does not count as one of the two national boards he is allowed
to sit on. (Note: There are some exceptions to this, as specified in the
Family Board Handbook.)
34.We want people to focus on the ministries that they're gifted
in. This will hopefully help people to not get involved in ministries that
they're not so gifted in, or to realize that it's just too much to take
on a third, fourth, or fifth ministry. Rather than someone, or a number of so
meones, having their fingers in multiple pies, we want to have people focus
where the Lord is leading them to invest their talents, and put the time,
prayer, effort and work into it that is needed to move things forward. It
doesn't work so well when you're trying to move three or four completely
separate ministries forward; something is bound to
suffer.
35.Our prayer is that
those who are on the boards, whether they are COs or not, will be able to
just focus on the one or two ministries that they are most gifted or talented
in, or feel the most called to, and give those their full
attention.
36.For example,
this means that if a CO is the chairperson of the regional Children and
Parenting board and the chairperson of the regional FED board, that CO
cannot sit on any of the other boards. He or she, therefore, has
no vote in the decisions made by the JETT/Teen board or what goes on in
the Church Growth and Outreach board. Nor can they sit in on those other board
meetings (unless th e board decides to invite them to an occasional meeting to
give input--but as a nonvoting member).
37.As a chairperson of a regional board and as a member of the
Regional Council, he or she will get the minutes from the other regional
boards in order to be kept abreast of the decisions of the other boards.
However, they're not involved in the decision-making process of the other
boards. Basically board members will "stick to their knitting," focusing on
their boards and letting others manage the other
boards.
38.In other words,
this chairperson will now be focusing on the one or two boards that he or she is
involved in, and will give those boards his or her 100%. They won't have to
worry about young people, church growth, outreach, and all the rest. In a sense,
the board structure is limiting the COs' authority, but that's not the main
reason we instituted this change. The purpose for only allowing the COs to sit
on two boards is to free them to be able to focus their talents and energies on
the areas in which they're most gifted or which the Lord is calling them to,
without having to be burdened with all the rest. This holds true for those on
the national boards as well.
National Board
Members--
Elected or Appointed?
39.I'll now explain how someone gets on a national board. When
discussing the board structure and trying to plan it out, we had numerous
discussions and prayer about whether people should be elected or
appointed to national boards. Our final conclus ion, after much prayer
and deliberation, was that for now they should be
appointed.
40.Some of
you might feel this is not democratic. You might feel that you should
be able to vote in those who will sit on the boards. You might feel that if
board members are just appointed, that the board vision is simply the COs
making all the decisions by putting in the people that they like and who will do
what they say. You may feel that you won't be chosen because the COs don't like
you, or someone els e will be put in because they're on better terms with the
COs, etc. Well, we've clearly instructed the COs concerning selection of board
members--that they must not pick people just because they like them or work well
with them. Their mandate is to search out the people who have the gifts needed
for those various pillars and who will be the greatest help to the
Homes.
41.In time, we would
like for board members to be elected. However, while trying to build, set
up, and implement the structure --which will take a great deal of work for the
first year or so--we felt it would be best to not have to at the same
time figure out the whole election procedure and try to hold elections. It's
also difficult to hold effective elections when not everyone knows each of the
different candidates, nor all that they will be required to
do.
42.We would like to
appoint people to the boards for at least the first year. During that year
we'll attempt to work out the kinks within the board structure, a nd then
evaluate whether it's beneficial and works well; if it doesn't, we can always
modify it, or even disband it if necessary. We do believe that if we all put our
hearts into it, the board structure will work and benefit the Family. But it's
going to take a lot of tweaking, instruction and guidance during the first year
or so to make sure that it functions the way it
should.
43.Each board
member's tenure will be for one year. We want to give board members enough
time to get adjusted to th e job and for all of us to find out exactly how it's
going to work before we evaluate whether certain board members are doing a good
job or not. This will allow us to try the structure out for the first year and
to see how things go. After that time, we can pray about and consider holding
elections for these various posts.
44.This doesn't mean that we don't want your input regarding who
should sit on the boards. We do. After reading these GNs, if you
think of people who you feel would fit wel l on a national board of a particular
pillar, or if you yourself have the burden to help and feel you have talents
which could be used, please send your recommendations to your COs no later than
September 15, as they will be thinking and praying about the selection of the
national board members. We need your input to help us find those with the needed
gifts and talents to sit on the boards. If you feel you have the needed gifts,
or you know someone else who does, please hear from the Lord in pro phecy about
your suggestions and send your recommendations to the e-mail addresses
below, depending on what continental area you live in. The COs will prayerfully
take your suggestions into account as they pray about and decide who should be
on the boards.
Please send your recommendations and suggestions
to the e-mail address that corresponds with your area. The PGP keys for each
Continental Office can be found on the MO site.
NACRO:nac_boards@abmc.net
SACRO: sasgp@attglobal.net
ASCRO :
cassie@abmc.net
PACRO: pacro@orcap.net
EURCRO:
eurcro@eurcro.org
45.Of
course, not every talented or gifted Family member will sit on a board. Each
one of you has special gifts and talents, and if we used every talented
person on a board, the boards would have thousands of members, making the
structure unmanageable and unworkable! Since there will be a small
group of people sitting on each board, it means that most Family members
won't be on a board, which is as it should be. The boar ds are a means to
an end; they are being set up to assist the Family in preaching the Gospel and
caring for those who have dedicated their lives to this mission. We're not
trying to set up a structure that the majority of our members devote their time
to. The load needs to be spread on many shoulders. Witnessing, reaching the
lost, and teaching discipleship remains our most important responsibility to
which we're all called if we're in the Family. This is our primary goal, whether
we are also pa rt of the board structure or
not.
46.If you are not chosen
to sit on a board, it does not mean that you lack the gifts and talents.
Whether or not you're on a board is no indication of your worth. Being a
board member is not the ultimate goal; reaching the lost, being in the Lord's
will, and faithfully doing the ministry the Lord has called you to is the goal.
Most everyone in the Family is qualified to sit on one board or another,
but it's not possible to have everyone on boards. Realistica lly, only a few
people can sit on the boards, so if you aren't chosen, please don't let it
affect you negatively! Just keep on doing your primary job, which is the most
important job we have to do, and pray for those who have been chosen to
sit on the boards--that they will do a good job and help enable the Family at
large to move forward.
47.We
hope and pray that you understand this decision to appoint board members for at
least the first year rather than electing them. We're not trying to s et up
a structure where we can fill the boards with people that we like, but we are
trying to be pragmatic about it. It's been a huge undertaking to get this far,
and by getting the structure up and running and sort of experimenting with it
for the first year, it will allow us the time to develop future methods for
putting people on the boards. We don't want to bite off more than we can chew,
and at this point we feel that elections would be more than we could handle if
we hope to get the boards up and running this
year.
48.This whole change of
structure is a pretty big deal, and it would even be hard for you to elect
people to the boards without having a complete understanding of exactly how the
boards are meant to work. The COs have been immersed in planning for the boards
for quite some time now and have been very involved with the details of building
this new structure. They have a good understanding of what the goals of the
board structure are, and what type of people could, at least initially, sit on
the boards.
49.We will review
this decision in a year, after the tenure of the first board members comes to a
close. But in the meantime, we would like to focus on getting the structure
up and running, tweaking it, experimenting, and seeing if it's actually going to
work before we open up the board structure to general elections.
Projected
Board
Implementation Timing
50.Our hope is to have the board structure fully in place by
January of next year. With these GNs we are explaining the board vision and
how it will work. The Family Board Handbook, which is being published at
the same time as these GNs, contains detailed information as to how the boards
will function--their authority, the rules for the board meetings,
etc.
51.The next step in
implementing this structure is for you to send in the names of those you feel
might be possibilities for board members and for the COs to pray about and
select those they feel would be able to best do the job as national board
members. They will also select the chairperson of the national and
regional boards. Following that, those who would like to accept these positions
will need to get the agreement of their Home members before being
appointed.
52.Once appointed,
the board members will attend local seminars held by the COs for training and to
gain further insight into their roles as board members. The timing of these
seminars will be left up to the COs, but they will have to be completed before t
he new year. Lord willing, some time in January 2002 the first national board
meetings will be held. Please pray for this timetable and
implementation.
Board Positions
and
Financial Compensation
53. It seemed only fair to give Homes the right to decide, by a simple
majority vote, whether one of their Home members can sit on a board,
since that person will need to give some of their time to their board work,
which will be time that they are not devoting to the Home. This will be a
sacrific e on the Home's part, and because of this, they should vote on whether
to allow that person to sit on the board or not. However, the only way the
board structure will work is if enough Family members agree to participate by
sitting on the boards, and enough Homes vote to allow those members to
participate.
54. In theory it seems
that national board members (with the exception of the chairperson) won't spend
so much time on board work. They will need to attend board meetings at least
every thr ee months and be in e-mail or phone communication with each other, but
those meetings will probably be one- or two-day affairs, though
sometimes they may last longer. They will make decisions at those meetings,
and some of those decisions might require them to personally do some work
related to those decisions, while in other cases no work will be required.
Though we can't be sure at this point, considering the role of most national
board members, it probably won't require more than a few days work per
month.
55. Of course, if a board
decides to launch a local initiative, its implementation might require more of
each board member's time, but most likely it will also require time from members
of some or all of the Homes in the area. At this point there really is no
way to know exactly how much time board members will need to devote to their
board duties, because we don't know what kinds of decisions the boards are going
to make. A board might meet and decide that for the next three months there will
be no initiatives that require their time; the next time they meet they may
enact an initiative that takes more of their time. In any case, it will be a
sacrifice on the part of the Home to let a Home member sit on a board. However,
unless Homes are willing to make that sacrifice for the good of their area and
the good of the Family as a whole, then the board vision won't
work.
56. The national board
chairperson will have more work than a regular board member. He or she will
be responsible to see that the various decisions made at the board meeting are
carried out, and will probably be the one handling the communications,
writing the Homes in answer to their questions, etc. The chairperson will need
to keep in communication with the other board members, and will most likely need
to do some follow-up work on the decisions made, as well as report to the
regional board. He'll also need to attend the regional board meetings, since as
a chairperson of a national board h e is a member of that pillar's regional
board. The regional boards will meet twice a year. He'll also need to
communicate with those on the National Coordinating
Council.
57. Because the position of
national chairperson will require more time and work, we hope to be able to
give each national chairperson a small monthly
gift.
58. The national board
chairpersons are members of the regional board. They will meet twice a year,
so their duties as regional board members should not require a grea t deal of
work. However, the regional board chairperson's job will be a very busy one.
Part of their job is to keep up with all the decisions of the two or three
national boards in their region. They are also expected to visit the national
board members and to help them in any way they can. They are expected to help
implement the decisions made at the regional level, and to assist the national
boards as much as they can.
59. Some
regional board chairpersons will chair two regional boards, so t heirs will
basically be full-time jobs and they will therefore need to receive greater
support.
60. Besides these
stipends, we'd like to make some finances available to the overall board
structure for projects to be undertaken by the boards, such as
meetings, fellowships, workshops for Homes, educational resources, etc. Again,
this is on our wish list, but exactly what money will be available remains to be
seen.
61. For the past five months,
WS income has been low. Each year our February th rough May income is
generally low, but this year it has been lower than normal. This has meant that
all of our WS Homes, COs and CRCs (Continental Reporting Centers), LIMs,
Lit-Pics, missionaries in poor countries, and anyone else who receives a monthly
gift has had their gift cut by 10% during this
period.
62. In spite of this lower
income, WS has been trying to set aside finances for the board structure, in
order to help finance the training seminars for those who will sit on the
boards. We are also restructuring some of the monthly budgets in order to
be able to give toward each board chairperson receiving a monthly
gift.
63. The financial side of the
board structure is still a work in progress. Judging by the way things look
now, WS will be able to cover the regional board chairperson's expenses by
reapportioning some WS funds and redirecting payment of the current CO gifts and
transferring those to the regional chairpersons. However, WS is not in a
position to support those on the VS board, as it is the one board on which
all board members, and not just the chairperson, will need financial
help, just as today's VSs do, in order to do their job properly. We also aren't
in a position to help cover the costs of local programs and
initiatives.
64. In light of this, we
are asking the COs to look over their financial situations and to pray about
ways to cover these costs from the funds they receive from you via your local
Common Pot 3% gift. In most areas the Common P ot covers some of the VS
expenses and helps as much as possible toward any local projects, such as camps,
meetings, etc., which would be basically the same within the board
structure.
65. As explained above,
the financial side of the board structure has not yet been determined. We
are working with the COs on this, and any change in the expenditure of your
Common Pot funds will be made in consultation with you and decided upon via a
referendum. We just wanted to explain the situation to you, a s it stands at
present, so you can know what possibilities we're thinking about--and most of
all, so you'll be informed of the great need and can pray fervently for finances
for both WS and the board structure, as well as all our precious Family Homes
worldwide. Thanks!
The Family Policy
Council
66.In order to help Mama and me with decision-making in regards to
overall Family policy and other matters, Mama and I are also going to set up
what will be called the Family Policy Council. The Fa mily Policy Council's
main responsibility will be as an advisory body to Mama and me. This council
will be made up of some members of WS and some Continental Officers from around
the world, and allows us to meet on a regular basis with members within
and outside of WS who we can talk with, work with, pray with, and make
decisions together with.
67.This council is different than a board. The Family Policy Council itself
does not have authority in the same manner that the boards do. Each board has a
certain amount of authority to make decisions and implement them within the
sphere of their responsibilities; this council is different in that
it does not have the power to make and implement decisions on its own.
68.When various boards
suggest new policy pertaining to their ministry, this council will be able to
review these policy suggestions and make their recommendations. Mama and I
would then make the final decision. Having such a council will be a tremendous
blessing to Mama an d me, and we hope to you as well, through their wise counsel
which will be reflected in the future policies of the Family.
GP Production
Board
69.Over a year ago, Mama and I set up the GP Production board within
WS to make the decisions regarding the creation and production of new GP tools.
This board is made up of members of WS who work on GP productions, as well
as one CO from each area. This board will continue to function within WS and
will work in conjunction with the international Ch urch Growth and Outreach
board to continue the flow of new GP productions to the
Homes.
70. For the most part, ideas
and suggestions for new outreach products will be generated through the Church
Growth and Outreach board. Generally speaking, it's our witnessers who have
the suggestions and ideas for new outreach products. It will be those who are
doing follow-up, using the Activated materials, and teaching and training
new disciples and new Family members, who will have the suggestions and re
commendations for what new material is needed to feed these sheep, or what
products would best provide for the Homes'
support.
71.This flow of
suggestions will, like others, go from the national Church Growth and
Outreach board to the regional board, and on to the international board.
When these ideas are agreed upon at the international board level, then they
need to be passed on to the department within WS that is going to take
responsibility for the actual creation of the product, wheth er it be printed,
audio, video, multimedia, etc.
72.There are a lot of factors to consider when creating a new
product. For one, it's important to make sure that the product being created
fits the area for which it is being created. There are marketing issues to be
addressed, and whether it will be primarily for regular Family distribution,
will be marketed through System channels, or both. Will there be sufficient
demand? What will the impact be on other products already in stock? Does this
target a certain area, or is it usable worldwide? And then there's the financial
issue.
73.While we create our
outreach products as witnessing tools to get out the message, it's still
business, and these kinds of decisions have to be made taking into account
all the various business factors--evaluating sales, inventories, and
availability of resources both at the creation, duplication and marketing
levels. There's the question of whether there are sufficient finances at the
local production c enter (Service Center/PPC) to reproduce such material. Is the
product in question really what that particular area desires, and is the
presentation of that product going to go over well in that particular area or
country? To find out all this information and more requires a fair bit of
communication, discussion, prayer and counsel with those outside of WS--the
Service Centers, local outreachers around the world, etc.
74. When the international Church
Growth and Outreach board has suggestions and requests for various GP products
from WS, these requests will be sent to the GP Production board. The GP
Production board will be responsible to direct the WS GP department, or others
outside of WS who help with tool creation, as to what products to
create.
75. The GP Production board
will also communicate with Aurora and the production centers
(SCs/PPCs) in their areas in order to help fine-tune the particular product
needs for each area. It will be up to this board to also determine, i n
counsel with the SCs, if enough finances are available to create, produce, and
stock a certain tool. In other words, the GP Production board will be
responsible to take the ideas from the international Church Growth and Outreach
board and work on the nuts and bolts of those ideas--to see if the ideas are
feasible, if there are funds to produce the tools, if the tools will hit the
mark, etc. Once this is determined, then the GP Production board will instruct
the WS GP department concerning what to create and what it needs to be.
Basically, the GP Production board will be the body that oversees the business
of creating, producing, distributing and marketing new products, both for Family
distribution by the Homes and for GP marketing through System
companies.
76.This particular
board will only exist within WS, and it will work closely with the Church Growth
and Outreach board. We felt it was better to separate the business/financial
side of our outreach and follow-up operations, to b e managed by those talented
in this area, so that the Church Growth and Outreach boards can concentrate on
the needs of the sheep. The COs who sit on the international GP Production
board would also be responsible to support and work together with the production
centers (SCs/PPCs) and Activated offices in their area.
The Regional
Board
Chairperson's Job
77.As we explained earlier, the chairpersons of the national boards
will sit on the regional board. That means if your region has three national
areas, then the three national board chairpersons will sit on the regional board
of that particular pillar, along with a chairperson appointed by the Continental
Council.
78.The job of the
chairperson of the regional board is to manage the day-to-day operations and
communications of the regional boardand to oversee the implementation of
the decisions made by the board. He or she would also chair the regional
board meetings. However, this job also includes meeting and working with t he
national boards of that pillar. The regional chairperson may come to a national
area to see firsthand what the needs of the area are. He or she can meet
together with the national board to help them with questions that they have.
They have the right to sit in on the national board meetings of the pillars that
they're involved with, though they have no vote on the national
board.
79.Their job is to
train the national board chairpersons and other board members, and to help
assist the nationa l boards in any way they can. For the most part, the
national board members, while very gifted in their particular ministry, may not
have a lot of experience in working with others, people-handling, or attending
these types of meetings and bearing the responsibility of the decisions that
they make. The regional chairperson will be there to assist them, help them, and
train them, sort of like a coach, advisor or
helper.
80.This makes the
regional board chairperson's job a fairly full-time one , especially if
this person happens to be a chairperson of two separate boards. They will
not only chair the regional board meetings, but will be personally involved in
helping to strengthen and assist the national boards and their
ministries.
Board Website
Forums
81.We're hoping to eventually be able to set up both e-mails and
websites for the various boards. This would enable the national boards in
one area to get input from the national and regional boards of other areas. We'd
like to h ave a forum where board members can exchange ideas, get information,
and generally be able to see what's happening someplace else that might be
helpful for or applicable to their area.
Your TRF Comments
and
Suggestions Rerouted
82.Our prayer is that, in time, when a Home sends in a comment,
suggestion, or expresses a problem on their TRF,this portion of their
TRF will go to the appropriate regional board chairperson. Eventually it
will be the responsibility of the regional chairperson to either answer the
question or pass on the information to the national board chairperson as needed.
It will also be the regional board chairperson's responsibility to teach
and train the national board chairperson in how to handle those questions,
suggestions, etc.
83.We want
to direct questions to the appropriate boards so that those sitting on the
boards can answer those questions, instead of those questions coming to a
Continental Reporting Center or to WS, where it's much more difficul t to get
around to answering them because of both the big workloads, lack of time and
manpower, and even full understanding of the situations. The ideal would
be, in the future, for the national boards to answer those questions which come
under their pillar and give you counsel which could help you to solve those
problems. However, we don't feel at this time that your comments, questions and
suggestions, sent in via the TRF, should be sent directly to the national
boards. Instead, in time, the y will go to the regional board chairperson, who
will work together with the national board to try to answer your questions. (The
VS board is the exception.)
84. This
means that, in time, if you write a question regarding childcare on your TRF, it
will automatically be forwarded to the regional chairperson of the
Children and Parenting board. If you write a shepherding question, it
will be directed to the national chairperson of the VS board. Relevant portions
of your comments and suggestio ns will also be sent to WS. Of course, you're
still welcome to write directly to Mama and me, the various pubs teams, your
COs, or to those on the VS board.
Other Appointed
Board Members
85.As explained earlier, the regional boards consist of the
chairpersons of the national boards and the appointed regional
chairperson. There may be some instances where someone who has a lot of
expertise in a particular ministry will not be able to sit on the national board
for one reason or another. Per haps they have other duties or a large family,
and they don't feel they can bear that responsibility at the national level.
However, it would benefit the area if their expertise could be used in that
ministry.
86.In such a case,
the Continental Council has the right to appoint to the regional board
additional members who are not national board chairpersons; however, they
cannot appoint a majority of board members. For example, let's say that the
regional Children and Parenting board has thre e national chairpersons
sitting on it, plus the appointed regional chairperson. The Continental Council
in such a case can appoint two more members to the regional board, but no more,
as if they appointed more, then they would have appointed the majority of the
board.
87.In a case like
this, there would be three national chairpersons sitting on the board, and three
other appointed members of the board--the appointed chairperson and two
additional appointed board members. This will be the ex ception rather than
the rule, as we believe that in most cases the people who are gifted and
talented in these ministries will be members of the national boards.
However, we foresee times when circumstances will arise in which someone
who has the gifts and talents to be on a board won't be able to give
sufficient time or attention to a national board, but could participate at
the regional level, since the regional board will meet much less often. In such
a case, they could be appointed to sit on the regional board.
Non-Board
Members
Attending Board Meetings
88.All boards, by a majority vote of the board, can invite others to
attend their board meetings. Boards may want to invite someone to speak to
the board on a subject the board is deciding on. There may be a visitor from
another area who might have helpful information to share with the board, or they
may want to invite a number of others from their area, whether CM, FM, or
otherwise, to give input on a subject. Those invi ted to sit in on a board
meeting would just be guests and would not have a vote on the board.
The Details Are
in the
Family Board
Handbook
89.Trying to explain every detail of the board structure in two GNs
is a difficult task. We pray that the general overview we've given through
these GNs has been a blessing, and helps you to understand the need for this new
structure and generally how the structure will
work.
90.The details and the
governing rules of the boards themselves are covere d in the Family Board
Handbook; this will be the official guidebook for those who are board
members. We will be making some minor amendments to the Charter to include the
boards, and within the Charter, reference will be made to the Family Board
Handbook. In order to understand all the details and have a clearer
understanding of how the boards actually function, what board members do, and a
more comprehensive definition of their responsibilities and authority, please be
sure to take the time to study the Family Board Handbook.
It'll Take
Patience, Faith,
Prayer, and Time
91.We realize all of this may be somewhat overwhelming. It's a
lot to absorb and it will require study to completely understand it. It may seem
a little unclear or confusing for a while, but in time the pieces will settle
into place and you'll have a better grasp of the whole structure. We pray that
this explanation hasn't been too lengthy and detailed. If you're finding
yourself a little lost in the explanatio n, don't worry. Keep your eyes on the
overall goal. The details will become clearer as the board structure is
implemented. Once you see it come to life in your area, it will be much more
comprehensible.
92.The main goal of the board vision is to help you, dear
Family. It will enable us--WS and your Family leadership--to serve you
better. It's a mechanism that we hope will allow you to get more help,
counsel and support at the ground level in the main pillars of daily life in the
Family.
93.It's also a
mechanism whereby you can participate more in the governing of the Family.
Even if you are not on a board, that doesn't mean you can't participate. You can
have open and direct lines of communication with the members of your national
boards so you can share your ideas. You can write your national boards with
ideas, suggestions and considerations, which they will take up and discuss and
pray about at their meetings. If you need advice, help and counsel, you can
communicate with y our national board members and get
it.
94.In essence, the board
vision creates a service structure, making members of the boards servants
who are trying to be a blessing and a help to you and your Home on a regular
basis. We believe this will make your lives easier and the overall Family more
fruitful.
95.We believe that
the entire board structure--with the vertical pillars going from the national to
regional to international level, and on to WS; the horizontal crossbeams, the
National Coo rdinating Council, the Regional Council and Continental
Council--will help us to serve you better. It will give us regular input on
these specific pillars which will help us to be able to better answer your
questions, produce on-target pubs and respond more precisely to the needs of the
Family.
96.We are your
servants. We live each day of our lives trying to serve you, to be a
blessing, to find out your needs, and do our best to meet those needs. We
believe this structure will help us to do t hat, and our prayer is that you will
participate. We hope that if you are called upon to sit on a board, that you
will serve; that as a Home you will cooperate with the boards; that you'll share
your ideas with them; that you will listen to their advice and counsel so that
together, as a Family, we can grow and prepare for the future that the Lord has
for us--the future that is beginning
now.
97.We hope that the
board structure will be a wonderful help to you, to your Home, and to the entire
Family. And it can be if each Family member will do his or her part
to make it work. Most of all, please pray. Pray for the setting up of the
structure, and pray for your Continental Officers, who will be hoping to
hear from you with your recommendations of who should be on the national
boards in your area, and pray for those who will be asked if they are willing to
be board members.
98.Please
pray for the board vision in its entirety, as it will probably take one year for
it to be fully se t up and functioning smoothly and well, as it should, to where
it is truly benefiting the whole Family. It will take time for the national
chairpersons to receive the training needed to be fully effective. It will take
time for our overall Family to adjust to this new structure and way of
operating. But we believe it's worth it. Mama and I have prayed and sought the
Lord countless times about this new plan, and the Lord has assured us that
launching the board structure is His highest will and wh at will help you as an
individual and us as the Family to bear more fruit than
ever.
99.As we embark on this
new pioneer venture, Mama and I want to thank you in advance for helping to
bring to reality the board vision. Thank you for your willingness. Thank you
for your patience. Thank you for your love. Thank you for having the faith to
follow the Lord. Thank you for being willing to let go of the old and take hold
of the new things He shows us. And thank you for continuing to fulfill the co
mmission the Lord has given us--to reach the world, preach the Gospel, win
disciples, follow up on and feed the hungry, which is our ultimate goal. God
bless and keep you!
Mama and I love you,
and we're so proud of you.
Love,
Peter