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A New Direction from the National Board

Note: Bishop Paul Hirschy sends a monthly newsletter to all United Brethren ministers. It is called B-Mail. Here is his February 2005 edition.

Paul Hirschy, bishop

February 2005

After the referendum to join the Missionary Church failed during the October voting, I called a special meeting of the US National Board. People were asking, "What happens now?" This meeting was intended to help answer that question. The National Board met on February 14-15 at Huntington College to discuss the future direction for the US National Conference.

I am thankful for the positive, cooperative spirit expressed during this meeting. We openly discussed many issues related to the organizational needs of the US National Conference. I believe the prayer support across the US National Conference had a major influence on making this a positive and productive session.

Several significant motions were passed that will shift the focus of the US National Conference and local congregations toward a streamlined structure involving every congregation.

The major part of our discussion related to developing a structure for the US National Conference. One component of that will be the referendum which puts the National Conference on a two-year cycle and gives every local church at least two delegatesÑthe pastor and a lay delegate. That referendum received 86% approval in October. The National Board, expecting that this referendum will be adopted in June by the US National Conference, worked on developing the best way to organize for this National Conference format.

The National Board heard two presentations regarding a possible structure for the church: one from me, and one from Anthony Blair on behalf of UB Hope (which, Anthony announced, has now disbanded as an organization). Our presentations had a couple of key similarities. Most notably, each involved organizing our churches into smaller groups and letting them serve as the key entity for pastoral accountability. Both proposals also involved eliminating the role of conference superintendent.

One Conference, National in Scope. The first official motion in regard to structure was, "That whatever structure we adopt include only one annual conference, with the boundaries the same as that of the current national conference." This motion passed, and became a foundation for everything that followed. It involves eliminating the current annual conferences. All 250 churches in the United States will now, in effect, be part of the same conference. However, there is room for maintaining relationships and cooperative ministries which exist as part of the current annual conferences.

Cluster Groups. All US churches will be organized around "cluster" groups of about seven churches, each with a cluster group leader. The following motion helped describe the cluster approach:

  • That the National Conference consist of clusters of pastors and congregations.
  • That a cluster be defined as a group of five or more congregations whose primary purpose is accountability and relationship for pastors and congregations.
  • That each pastor and each congregation be required to join and participate in one such cluster.
  • That such clusters be approved by the Executive Leadership Team.
  • That the assignment of clusters be voluntary on the part of the pastor and congregation.

Cluster groups will be a place for building relationships, mutual encouragement, training, coaching opportunities, and peer accountability. A subsequent motion determined that the bishop would appoint the cluster leaders.

Role of the Bishop. There was discussion about the role and authority of the bishop, particularly in regard to the cluster groups. In the end, the delegates adopted a motion which says:

That the bishop will serve as the spiritual leader of the church with the following responsibilities:

  • He will hire other staff/directors to assist him in fulfilling his work and the initiatives established by the National Conference. [This would include appointing the Global Ministries Director, which is now an elected position.]
  • He will appoint cluster group leaders.

My proposal also involved hiring a person whose primary focus will be the cluster groups. I use the title of Healthy Church Director to describe this role.

A Membership Organization. The US National Board approved, 28-0, a motion asking each local church to sign a "covenant" with the US National Conference. The motion, as adopted, goes like this:

That the Church of the United Brethren in Christ become a membership organization that requires every church to sign a covenant prior to each national conference that affirms:

  1. They are committed to the Confession of Faith.
  2. They are passionate about fulfilling the Great Commission in their local church.
  3. They are interested in partnering with other like-minded churches.
  4. They agree with the core values of the National Conference.
  5. They are willing to pay an annual partnership fee [akin to the current assessments].

Financing. The National Conference structure will be financed by each local church sharing 3-4% of their tithes and offerings, minus missions and building costs (the "partnership fee"). The final percentage will be determined by the US National Conference. This money will be sent by each local church directly to the United Brethren Headquarters, since there will be no conference through which to channel assessments.

US National Board. The delegates also approved a motion to do away with the US National Board. With the National Conference meeting every two years, it was felt that the Executive Leadership Team could handle any business in the interim.

Study Committees. The motions above touch key aspects of the proposed structure. However, a host of details remain. Therefore, two committees have been established to flesh out all of the ramifications of going to a structure built around one national conference and cluster groups. One committee will focus on the national level, one on the cluster group level. Their recommendations will then be passed along to the Discipline Revision Committee, which will prepare them for submission to the US National Conference, which meets June 20-23.

I should emphasize that none of the motions passed by the National Board regarding structure are final. Only the US National Conference, meeting in June, can make the Discipline changes needed to implement these changes.

My goal is to complete the National Conference notebook the first week of May. This will give time for the conference delegations to meet and discuss the issues being presented to the US National Conference. Materials will be posted online as they become available.

I ask each of you to pray for the people who will be working on preparing all of these materials for the US National Conference delegates.