Dale, I certainly share your views about the Jesus way of love. But judging the NAD brethren for reducing their monetary contributions is not part of this love way. They have good reasons for doing so, North America is a huge mission field, they need their money at the local churches and areas. I am not willing to assume they are doing this for selfish reasons, because they feel offended or something similar.
Dale, the discrimination and racism you’ve experienced is wrong and contrary to the kingdom of God. I’m glad that you find your strength in God, no matter how devilish people are. Be blessed. Small steps within the love way include mourning about the brokenness of the world and fighting discrimination and racism in whatever form we face them.
In general, treating everyone with a loving heart, yes. But that doesn’t mean one has to be silent when this love is abused. Christians are not masochists.
A glimmer of hope amid the chaos of a divisive Autumn Council?
Perhaps, the recent decisions at the church’s Autumn Council could be considered a “blessing in disguise” for the church’s growth. The common wisdom is that such factions are a bad thing for any complex organization like our church. Internal bickering takes key leaders off message and saps energy and hurts job performance. But that disunity may actually turn out to be a blessing in disguise and have some hidden benefits, including the promotion of more ethical administrative practices.
As reported on-line in the journal Psychological Science , the more fragmented a company’s upper management was, the more ethical its record—but only in organizations where decision making was decentralized. In companies that consolidated power at the top, fragmentation did not lead to more ethical decision making. It just led to fragmentation. That’s a lesson for any organization, whether its business is business or governing. To test this idea, Ormiston and Wong examined existing data on leadership teams at about fifty Fortune 500 companies. They ranked each leadership team’s degree of fragmentation, based on tenure and education as well as the homogeneity of competing factions. They also measured how centralized, or decentralized, the decision making power was in each company—figuring that disunity would be more beneficial in organizations where decision making power was dispersed. Finally, they examined each company’s ethical record over a three-year period—measures like charitable giving, for example, or disregard for the local community economics.
When they crunched all the data together, the results were unambiguous. As unified leadership teams splinter into factions, the key players become more competitive and more vigilant in monitoring one another. Competition and monitoring have downsides, but they can also influence organizational decision making in positive ways. Specifically, factions foster intense scrutiny and discussion of competing agendas, which in turn lead to more ethical choices and judgments and more efficient accountability.
I support the reduction. I actually think that the GC is irrelevant, and should get no money at all. The Divisions are paying for nothing but a bad deal.
And, on top of this all, the GC now plays this song all day long in their building:
So true! These 1933 lyrics can easily be modified to more closely fit the current mindset.
We’re in the money!
We’re in the money!
We’ve got a lot of what it takes to get along!
We’re in the money!
The skies are sunny!
Ol’ Man Depression, you are through, you done us wrong!
We never see a headline 'bout a bread line today,
And when we see the landlord,
We can look that guy right in the eye!
We’re in the money!
Come on, my honey! Let’s lend it, spend it, send it rolling along!
I am impressed with what you and others contribute - songs, drawings, poems, lyrics, videos. You have a mind like a library. Thank you for this variety!
also @meldouglass
What’s the point of reprimanding a leader for doing exactly as his constituents voted for him to do? When a leader does what he is supposed to do, he should be rewarded. Many thanks to Brother Graham, Brother Weigley, and those leaders in the TransEuroDiv. who truly understand the duties of a Christian servant-leader.
Those people appear to be drinking some very strong beverages (Vodka, Whisky?). I think that they should go easier with their drinking habits. As a less damaging option, I recommend this:
And if they ever go to Vienna, they should try this (the best in town):
This has been our approach, with the sincerest of apologies to our pastor for not supporting his source of income, ever since last year’s compliance committee vote debacle.
This year will probably mark our request for dropping membership.
There is a way: You just specify that it’s for pastor’s wages only. Check with the Conference for the right wording, they will help you promptly since they welcome such contributions.
Don’t do it, I beg you. Let’s work from the inside! Unless you decide to be a member in another denomination, then, yes, get out of the Church fast!!! …
Seriously, thank you. I was scrolling through the comments, and hoping for someone to note something like this. During the last AC, something like 80% of worldwide unions were said to still be out of compliance. It’s been the same ones, with the same causes, year after year. Nary a peep from the GC about warning any South American or African divisions, but God forbid anyone look askance at their pet cause du jour.
(In fact, it was the GC Treasurer who gave that presentation. He pointed out that the majority of delegates weren’t even in attendance for that session. But rather than see it for the huge red flag it was, he moved right on. Then he had the audacity to show up at the NAD tithe parity meeting, tell everyone they were voting based on emotion, and that he needed to interject some intelligence into the discussion.)
I’m glad a lot of you seem to at least have local churches where you’re satisfied. I envy you. Mine has taken a hard right turn over the last 2 years, and I don’t even recognize it anymore. The other surrounding churches have pretty much all done the same. It’s tough when you’re in the rural Bible Belt, man. The only thing I know to do anymore is walk away. I hate it, but what can you do.
I feel your pain. We know we can never be in total alignment with the group with which we worship. It is difficult to know when the breech to one’s integrity is too great. Courage.
“What can you do?”
You are attending FOR WORSHIP.
Bible reading, singing to the Creators and Redeemer, and Meditation
with Prayer.
Plan your OWN worship service [on paper if need be]. Then when
arrive to church can follow YOUR PLAN while others are doing theirs.
If no cross on the worship space wall, you can vision one.
Be pre-prepared.
