16 Aug NC2015: The National Conference Debate on Same-Sex Marriage

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

The 2015 US National Conference considered two proposals regarding same-sex marriage and homosexuality. They were sibling proposals submitted by Jeff Reser (right), pastor of East Washington UB church in Ashley, Mich.

The proposals were presented on May 18 at a United Brethren regional meeting in Sunfield, Mich., attended by pastors and laypersons primarily from Michigan churches. The next day, the proposals were presented at a regional meeting in Willshire, Ohio, and later at a meeting in Lancaster, Ohio. So they predate the June 26 Supreme Court ruling which recognized same-sex marriage nationwide. Much of the motivation, as expressed at Sunfield, was to shield ministers and churches from potential lawsuits should they refuse to solemnize or host same-sex weddings. Both proposals contained language from a legal organization called Alliance Defending Freedom.

Proposal 10. Proposal 10, “Same-Sex Marriage,” would add a paragraph to our existing statement in the Discipline on “Marriage.” It passed with a couple amendments as given below. The paragraph in bold is the new paragraph which was part of the original proposal. The words in bold italics were added by amendment from the floor.

¶122 Marriage

Marriage was instituted by God and is regulated by him. For this reason, the Church must resist all attempts to alter marriage from what the Bible has revealed about it. The purpose of marriage is companionship between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18) in a permanent relationship which can end only when one of the partners dies.

A Christian should marry only another Christian (1 Corinthians 7:39, 2 Corinthians 6:14). Their relationship is to express God’s original intention for marriage: the wife’s role alongside her husband as an equal.

Because God ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a man, a woman, and himself, the Church of the United Brethren in Christ USA will only recognize marriages between a genetic, biological man and a genetic, biological woman. Further, the ministers classified with the authority to conduct weddings shall only participate in weddings and solemnize marriages between one genetic, biological man and one genetic, biological woman. Finally, the facilities and property of churches in covenant with the Church of the United Brethren in Christ USA shall only host weddings between one genetic, biological man and one genetic, biological woman.

Proposal 11. Proposal 11, “Illicit Sexual Relations,” sought to expand the current statement on “Illicit Sexual Relations” and to add four more paragraphs. After much discussion, it was tabled in favor of a study committee. The text of Proposal 11 will be included later in this article.

That’s the end result. Now let’s eavesdrop on the business session to see how we got there.

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A Testimony from Canada

Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, chaired the proceedings. Early on, he invited to the platform Brian Magnus (right), bishop of the United Brethren Church in Canada. Magnus told about the situation in Canada regarding gender issues, giving a peak at what the future may hold for the United States. Here is what he said (with some editing).

“We want to welcome you to the post-Christian world. It’s not a great place to be, but it’s where we are.

“One of the first stages in the grief process is denial, and that’s kind of where we were ten years ago. Our Parliament had just passed a resolution affirming the traditional view of marriage—one man and one woman—overwhelmingly, including all parties. And just a couple years later, our supreme court declared it all unconstitutional. There was shock and denial at first, of course. This can’t happen. It can’t happen to our country. This isn’t right. It can’t last. We need to work harder to reverse it and get it changed back.

“Well, gay marriage has now been the law for ten years, so we haven’t been able to reverse it in Canada. I’m guessing you won’t be able to reverse it here in the States, either. Yes, Christians should have the right to speak in the marketplace, and try to influence and vote to affect society. But that’s not our primary call or commission from the Lord.

“So we’re ten years in, and no pastor has been forced to perform a gay wedding. No church has been forced after ten years to host a gay wedding. Now, we were told initially that it would be helpful if there were denominational proclamations on this that would form some protections, so we have those and have had them for ten years in pretty much all of the evangelical denominations in Canada.

“We anticipate that there will be lawsuits, of course, because there are activists, liberals, around. They are long past gay marriage–that’s just old hat, way behind. I think you’ll find it’s long behind, too. Gender identity, that’s the next one, and you’re talking about some of those things as well.

“First, we had to learn what LGBT meant, and then they added Q. Now it’s LGBTTTQQIAA [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Transexual, Two-spirited, Queer, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Ally.] At present in Canada, in most government institutions, if you present yourself as male today, they have to treat you as male. Come back tomorrow and present yourself as female, they have to treat you as that. They will soon be removing gender from driver’s licenses and passports, because it’s no longer relevant, because people can claim to be whatever they want to be on any given day. That’s the direction we’re going. Polygamy, of course, is coming.

“So here’s the deal. I think we need to engage our culture and be salt and light, amen? But Christianity is essentially counter-cultural, and the majority of our energy, finances, and efforts should go to support the true Great Commission. If we can indeed be loving to our neighbors and friends regardless of who they are for the Lord, that’s great….

“We do need some protections. We were told that having clear statements for all our churches and pastors has been helpful. One more thing I should say. We have both civil marriages, which are the legal marriages, and we have religious ceremonies in our churches. In Canada, you must be registered with the government to do marriage. And once the day happens where we are forced to do them [same-sex weddings], then I believe we will simply all turn in our marriage registration numbers—all evangelical leaders in Canada. So en masse, tens of thousands of pastors will turn in their legal registration numbers and say, ‘We will only do religious ceremonies in our churches for our people.’ So that’s where we are, and where you may be in ten years.”

(more…)

12 Aug NC2015: Message by Todd Fetters

Here is the concluding message of the 2015 US National Conference, delivered by Todd Fetters on Saturday morning, July 18, 2015. (The video starts a few words into the message.)

At the time, Todd Fetters was director of National Ministries. On Friday, August 7, Todd Fetters began his new role as Interim Bishop for the US National Conference.

12 Aug NC2015: On the Floor in Choosing a New Bishop

Steve Dennie, Director of Communications

The business meeting of the US National Conference lasted throughout the morning and afternoon of Thursday, July 16. Several major proposals were on the docket. But the issue foremost in people’s hearts and minds was the resignation of Bishop Phil Whipple, which had occurred just one week before on July 8. What happened? And where would we go from here?

This issue was scheduled early in the business meeting—in fact, the first item of business after the preliminaries. The end result was the appointment of a new bishop.

The business session began with a hot breakfast for all delegates, sponsored by Logos Bible Software. There was some singing, then a brief presentation from Logos about the latest version of their software.

Around 9:30, the business session began. These persons served as officers:

• Chairman: Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries.
• Assistant chairman: Bishop Emeritus Paul Hirschy.
• Recording secretary: Rocky Spear, pastor of Mongul UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.).
• Parliamentarian: Craig Burkholder, pastor of Hudson UB church (Hudson, Ind.).

Into Executive Session

After approving the Rules & Procedures to govern the meeting, Todd Fetters turned the chair over to Paul Hirschy to process approval of the Executive Leadership Team minutes from the past two years—four regular meetings, plus a variety of decisions handled through online voting.

Jason Garwood, pastor of Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.), asked if there would be some explanation of the resignation of Bishop Whipple. It was, indeed, the appropriate time for that.

Two members of the 2013-2015 ELT came forward. Darwin Dunten, pastor of Findlay First UB (Findlay, Ohio), moved that the conference go into executive session, with only delegates and advisory members present. All other persons were asked to leave the room, and they did. Then Gary Dilley, pastor of College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.), read a letter on behalf of the ELT about the circumstances surrounding the bishop’s resignation. There were questions and responses. Nothing was recorded in the minutes.

Bishop Hirschy closed the executive session at 10:30 with prayer. After a break, the delegates reconvened at 10:45. They quickly approved the work of the ELT.

Interim Bishop

Discussion continued about where to go from here. Eventually, this motion was made by Steve Fish, Teaching Pastor at Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.):

“I move the United Brethren National Conference affirm the ELT’s decision to appoint Todd Fetters as the Interim Bishop, and that this body determine that time-frame to begin on August 7, 2015, until the meeting of the next United Brethren National Conference in 2017.”

So, Todd Fetters would essentially serve the remainder of Bishop Whipple’s unexpired term, starting August 7 and continuing until a bishop was formally elected at the 2017 US National Conference.

There was discussion about what title to use—“interim bishop,” or something else. The Discipline mentioned appointing an “acting bishop.” Jim Bolich, senior pastor of Prince Street UB church (Shippensburg, Pa.), made a motion to drop “interim” and just use “bishop.” A number of people voted for this amendment, but it lost on a much stronger voice vote.

Todd Fetters was asked to comment on what title he preferred. He said he felt ambivalent. He understood that regardless of what title was used, it would carry the same weight. He also recognized that he would be serving an interim term, not an elected term. Later in the meeting, he said, “To have an asterisk by my title–that’s fine. I’m happy to serve in that capacity. I’m okay with it, because it’s a great reminder of who I have to be. I’m all right with that, and I want you to be all right with that.”

Dan Paternoster (layperson, Fowlerville, Mich.) said “interim” didn’t make the position smaller, but identified the position while reserving the term “bishop” for persons elected to that position.

At 11:05, a vote was taken on Steve Fish’s motion, which remained in its original form after several attempted amendments. It passed with only one dissent.

We had a new bishop. (more…)

24 Jul The 8 Elected Members of the New Executive Leadership Team

On July 16, the US National Conference elected eight persons to the Executive Leadership Team–one minister and one layperson from each of the four regions.

Staggered terms were implemented with this National Conference to provide some continuity. All members previously served two-year terms. Now, the eight elected members will serve four-year terms, with half of them being elected every two years. To get the stagger in place, this year half of the ELT members were elected to two-year terms and half were elected to four-year terms. Beginning in 2017, with the stagger in place, everyone will be elected to four-year terms.

Sometime prior to the October 2015 ELT meeting, another four persons will be nominated by the bishop and then appointed by the ELT. All appointed members will serve two-year terms.

Here are the eight persons elected and the length of their terms.

East District (Everything east of western Pennsylvania)

• Clergy: 2 years. Dennis Sites (left), senior pastor of Jerusalem Chapel (Churchville, Va.).
• Lay: 4 years. Sherwood Cook (right), a retired construction administrator from Mount Pleasant UB church (Chambersburg, Pa.).

Central District (Ohio, Kentucky, western Pennsylvania)

• Clergy: 4 years. Greg Voight (left), senior pastor of Lancaster UB church (Lancaster, Ohio).
• Lay: 2 years. Todd Rhoades (right), a writer and website administrator on Christian leadership issues from New Hope Community Church (Bryan, Ohio).

North District (Michigan)

• Clergy: 4 years. Randy Carpenter (left), senior pastor of Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.).
• Lay: 2 years. Bob Tobey (right), a retired schoolteacher from Colwood UB church (Caro, Mich.).

West District (Indiana and all points west)

• Clergy: 2 years. Gary Dilley (left), former Director of Global Ministries and current senior pastor of College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.).
• Lay: 4 years. Kevin Smith (right), national sales manager of Romar MEC/Fit Up Gear from Zanesville UB church (Zanesville, Ind.).

Five of them were re-elected from the 2013-2015 team. The new members are Randy Carpenter, Kevin Smith, and Todd Rhoades.

You can also view them here. Four additional persons will be added as the ELT appoints them.

08 Jun Cluster Leader Changes

We appreciate the work of our cluster leaders. In addition to leading the regular cluster meetings with their group of pastors, they are also called upon to interact with the churches in their clusters in various ways.

We recently had four changes of cluster leaders:

• Dan Van Arsdalen, senior pastor of Alvordton UB church (Alvordton, Ohio), is now leading the cluster around Camden, Mich. Todd Fetters, director of National Ministries, had been leading this cluster.
• Greg Voight, pastor of Lancaster UB church (Lancaster, Ohio), is the new leader of the Columbus (Ohio) cluster. Mike Brown, senior pastor of Franklin UB church (New Albany, Ohio), had been leading that cluster.
• Steve Henry, senior pastor of Victory Heights UB church (Franklin, Pa.), is the new leader of the Franklin cluster. The previous leader was Steve Clulow, senior pastor of Cochranton UB church (Cochranton, Pa.).
• Darrel Bosworth is now leading the Grand Rapids (Michigan) cluster. He is pastor of Kilpatrick UB church (Woodland, Mich.). He replaces Randy Carpenter, senior pastor of Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.).

In addition, nobody is currently leading the Midwest cluster (Kansas and Missouri). Micheal Dean, the previous leader, is no longer pastoring the Sabetha, Kansas, church.

The UB website has a list of all clusters and their leaders.

27 Feb Jennifer Kennedy Joins Women’s Ministry Team

Jennifer Kennedy (right) has been appointed as a new member of the Women’s Ministry Team. Jennifer’s husband, Matt, is pastor of Dillman UB church in Warren, Ind. She takes the place of Stacy Gentry; she and her husband, Don, are now serving at a non-UB church.

25 Nov 2015 UB Association Insurance Info

As you examine health insurance plans for your church staff, you might want to consider two plans offered through the United Brethren Association for Church Development, based at Rhodes Grove Camp in Chambersburg, Pa. This is our denomination’s voluntary insurance program. About 50 UB people, including the staff of the US national office in Indiana, are enrolled in the plan.

The UB Association offers two programs with Capital Blue Cross of Pennsylvania. The policies are effective December 1, 2014 through December 1, 2015.

21 Nov Mabel Mundy Retired; Welcome Judy Dyer

The UB National Office welcomes Judy Dyer to the staff. At the beginning of November, she began work as the new accounting clerk. She will work closely with Finance Director Marci Hammel.

Judy and her husband, Phil, have attended College Park UB church (Huntington, Ind.) since 1985. She and Phil met on a blind date, and were married in 1977. Phil works for the Norfolk & Southern railroad. They have two daughters. Natalie lives in Warren, Ind., and Marceline lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Judy grew up in Huntington and has lived here all her life. She graduated from Huntington University in 1976 with an associates degree in Business Management and Administration. In 2002, she received a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Judy has worked in a variety of finance-related positions. She has managed two credit unions, worked for a nonprofit senior center, and worked in accounting for over 15 years. She brings a lot of experience and expertise to the position.

Judy takes the place of Mabel Mundy, who had served at the national office since 1987. At age 74, she decided it was time to retire. She and her husband, Bill, live outside of Huntington.

For 16 years, she was executive secretary in Global Ministries, and worked for three different persons—Bishop Jerry Datema (until 1993), Global Ministries director Kyle McQuillen (1993-2001), and then Global Ministries director Gary Dilley (2001-2003). In June 2003, Mabel switched to a different role, as accounting clerk.

We are grateful for Mabel’s 27 years of service in the national office. She was extremely dedicated, tireless, selfless, and just a very very nice person to be around.

16 Oct 2015 Pastor Salary Guidelines

The Executive Leadership Team, during its October 13-14 meeting, approved the Pastoral Compensation guidelines for 2015. Many UB churches use this formula to set salaries and budgets for the coming year.

The minimum fulltime salary (called Standard Base Salary) for senior pastors was set at $37,981 for 2015. This is an increase of 1% over the 2014 figure.

The Standard Base Salary is only the starting point. Other factors–such as experience, education, church attendance, staff size–add to the base salary.

Benefits such as parsonage, utilities, SECA, insurance, and pension round out the total compensation package.

To be a fulltime pastor, the compensation package must meet all of these criteria in full. If a church cannot meet these guidelines, a pastor may pursue supplemental employment to achieve the compensation level.

13 Aug Grow Materials: Revised and Ready to Order

The Grow In His Word materials, used in discipleship by over 50 United Brethren churches, have been completely revised. Grow is written by Dennis Miller, pastor of Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind. Grow is used in over 50 United Brethren churches, and over the years has been used to systematically take thousands of people through the entire Bible.

There are four books, each of which has its own leader’s guide and accompanying teaching slides. Books 1 and 3, along with leader’s guides, are now available for churches.

1. Old Testament: The People (Genesis through Esther)
2. Old Testament: The Prophets (Job through Malachi) – available in November 2014
3. New Testament: The Christ (Matthew through John)
4. New Testament: The Church (Acts through the Revelation) – available in November 2014

What is Grow?

The Grow Ministries plan is a 52-week study which takes students through the Old and New Testaments in an orderly manner. Students grasp not only what happened, but in what order, with hooks and memory tools to help them remember what they learn. As believers learn about God’s Word, they gain confidence in their understanding and use of the Bible.

Rev. Dennis Miller developed Grow in the 1980s. “When I became a pastor, I realized that the church was not teaching new believers. I tried several Bible studies to fix that. All of them were good, but I needed something that would give people methods for retaining what they’d learned. I also wanted application to go along with the content that was being taught.”

How to Use GROW

Previously, Grow in His Word was divided into two 26-week courses. The new 13-week format gives more flexibility and is less intimidating to people who are perhaps hesitant about making a 26-week commitment.

Emmanuel Community Church, for example, will offer Book 1 and Book 3 this fall, and then offer Book 2 and Book 4 in January (to complete the Old and New Testaments). Then they’ll start another round of parts 1 and 3. This encourages people new to the church to jump in, and gives more entry points to the discipleship process.

It’s best to take a person consecutively through the four parts, a total of 52 weeks. Churches can decide whether or not to include a break between the 13-week sessions.

Materials

Student Books. A workbook is needed for each student. Cost: $9.95 each.

Leader’s Guide. The completely new Leader’s Guide is formatted to provide a more step-by-step guide (especially helpful for first-time teachers). It lays the student workbook side-by-side with the leader’s guide. Cost: $24.95 per course. Includes a student book.

PowerPoint and Keynote Files. PowerPoint and Keynote files, one for each lesson, are available through the Grow Ministries website. Once purchased, an email will be sent with downloading instructions. Cost: $12.95 per 13-week course.

Audio Files. Audio files show Pastor Miller teaching the material to a discipleship class. Each lesson is a different MP3 file and can be purchased from the iTunes store. Cost: 99 cents per lesson.