Ministers Council Senate 2007 Report

Submitted by

Rev. Joan Burnett

ABCCONN Senate Representative

 

 

Kate Harvey Retires effective Senate 2008

Executive Director Rev. Dr. Kate Harvey announced that she would retire in August 2008 following the 2008 Senate meeting. In an effort to provide continuation and continuity of the work of the Ministers Council, the Senators approved a resolution giving the executive committee the authority to appoint an Acting Director for a period not to exceed longer than 3 years to carry on the work of the Ministers Council, upon the retirement of Kate Harvey. This action in no way curtails the power of the Senate to vote on an Executive Director.  The Senators approval is to provide a seamless transition. Meanwhile, the executive council will conduct a national search for a permanent executive director.

 

Newly Elected Senate Officers

Elected were Steve Bils, Associate Executive Minister Council of the ABC of Nebraska, as Vice President of Communications and Forrest Cornelius, Pastor of First Baptist Church of Waterloo, Iowa, as Secretary/Treasurer. Their four-year terms run from 2008-2011.

 

New Baptist Covenant, January 29-February 1, 2008, Atlanta, presentation by Marcus McFaul

The gathering of North American Baptist to discuss new ways of cooperating that will allow Baptist achieve more by working together than they could achieve independently.  The theme for the event is Unity in Christ, based on Luke 4:18-19.  A Breakfast gathering is planned for ABC pastoral leaders after the New Covenant Baptist Celebration on Saturday morning, February 2. The morning will feature conference speaker Tony Campolo talking to the ABC family, with worship and conversation around tables. We will discuss how we can further the agenda of Christ in our own places and work together. There is no cost for the three day program.  National Ministries and MMBB will be sponsors.  For more information go to the event website www.newbaptistcovenant.org  Handout of Frequently Asked Questions Provided.

 

Minister Council Online Resource Book

An online resource book has been added to the Ministers Council Website that provides extensive resources for regional and local ministry on a variety of pertinent ministry topics including Baptist Identity, Clergy-Congregational Relationships, Ethics, Legal Issues, Self-Care, and templates for a variety of worship services. The Resource Book offers continually updated answers to questions and issues that are a concern to both clergy and laity.  It is a comprehensive tool for those who want to improve their ministry.  Because this is a growing collection of ministry related materials, members of the Ministers Council, constituent councils, and regions are invited to submit additions to the manual. Documents may be sent to Rev. Dee Dee Turlington, at revdd@comcast.net for consideration.  Handout of Table of Contents Provided.

 

Together In Ministry

There are three types of Group Funding options for 2008. 

• Continued partial funding for existing collegial covenant groups for 2008-2012 in the amount of $979,000.  Partial funding made available on a competitive basis to 50 groups funded in 2007 that continue, at a rate of $1,000 per year for facilitators for two additional years 2008 and 2009 for a total of $100,000.  Groups seeking additional funding are required to complete evaluation forms in addition to completing an application for 2008 funding.

• Funding in the amount of $2,000 is available for 20 “new” collegial covenant groups for each of the five years from 2008 to 2012 for a total of $200,000.  Also, for each of the project’s five years 120 of the participants in the funded collegial covenant group will receive $100 group expense money, for a total of $60,000.

• A new optional model for covenant group formation is introduced to include pastoral and lay leaders together focused specifically on Christian practices. This new option extends the TIM work to enhance pastor-people relationships. In 2008 and 2009, facilitation of 16 groups of clergy and laypersons together focused on Christian Practices will be funded at $2,000/year each for a total of $64,000 for two years.  96 of the participants in the 16 funded groups of clergy and laypersons will be granted expense funds of $100 each/year for a total of $19,200 for two years. Each year from 2010-2012, 114 participants in the nineteen funded groups of clergy and laypersons focused will be granted expense funds at $100 each/year for a total of $11,0000 each of those three years.

 

All applications for 2008 covenant group grants are due in the National Ministers Council office by October 31, 2007.  Application forms may be found on www.ministerscouncil.org under the Together in Ministry Link.

 

New Resources available: 80-page print issue of Minister and a DVD on TIM collegial covenant groups.  Copies available for Executive Committee for review and file.

 

ABC General Executive Council Writing Team Structural Proposal Update

Jeff Woods, Associate General Secretary, presented the General Executive Council Writing Team Report. It has been proposed that the General Executive Council reduce from 120 to a Board of General Ministries of 30 members as the policy making group and a Missional Table to handle ministry issues, and National Ministries to have a Staff Leadership Council that would be chaired by the General Secretary and governing body similar to that of International Ministries. Copies of the GEC Writing Team Report and Feedback Form are made available for the Executive Committee for review and file. 

 

The Five Senate Committees Reports Overview:

• The Professional Effectiveness Committee is working on a series of articles describing several diverse models of congregational leadership (the elder model, the ordained diaconate model, and the intentional facilitated learning model).

• The Communications Committee continues to work on the content and appearance of the Ministers Council website. They also announced the creation of a monthly email update to ministerial leaders and the desire to provide web space and links to the individual constituent councils.

• The Membership and Constituency Committee planned work to welcome and sustain the new Jew Jersey Latino/a constituent council. They are also working on immigration issues for foreign pastors.

• The Denominational Relationships Committee is developing strategies to strengthen ties between constituent councils and the National Ministers Council as well as between the Ministers Council and the individual regions. I was assigned to this committee.

• The Spiritual and Personal Wholeness Committee is developing a directory of Spiritual Directors and Respite Sites. They are also compiling articles and essays on spirituality of Baptist distinctives and on the spiritual disciplines. If you have information that can be shared with them, let me know. The more input, the better.

 

AB Personnel Services Report

On November 1, 2006, ABPS launched the Ministry Opportunities Online (MOO) service. To date 75% of its subscribers have created their MOO web account and are able to access the most recent updates. Less than 4% of the subscriptions are now distributed in print form, as a result, the monthly printed version will no longer be available after the end of the year. All the ABPS print resources can be ordered from the ABPS website. An electronic version of the resources was given to each Senator on CD. A copy has been provided to the ABCCONN Ministers Council Executive Committee for review and file.

 

Other News:

• The Latino/Latina Ministerial Association within the Ministers Council of the ABC of New Jersey applied for and received recognition as a separate constituent council.

• Rev. Karen Gygax-Rodriguez, Pastor of The Federated Church in Green Lake, Wisconsin since 1966, was the recipient of the President’s Award, the Ralph Garfield Schell Prize.

• The new “How to Connect Ministers Council” media card was distributed. The card advertises the MC, which includes Membership Info, the Mission, and Contact Information. Additional copies are available for order. Copies made available to the ABCCONN Ministers Council Executive Committee for review and file.

 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Senator for ABCCONN Ministers Council. The work during the 2007 Senate was most rewarding.

Respectfully Submitted,

Joan Burnett

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