Governance FAQs
Can we do a vote over the live stream? While there is no provision for online voting in The United Methodist Book of Discipline, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, our Annual Conference and the Council of Bishops has recommended that all Church/Charge Conferences take place virtually until the pandemic ends. Our plan is to ratify the outcome of the voting at this and any other Church Conference the next time we are together in person. Why are we doing this? How does it make us a better church? One of the reasons Asbury First has been able to celebrate its Bicentennial this year is because of its willingness, over and over again, to adapt to the changing realities of the congregation and community. The Asbury First Dreamscape set the goal (7.3) that our structure and systems would be organized in a missionally-effective way. If we want to continue to thrive as a congregation in the 21st Century and meet our goals, we will need to change the way that are organized. Through increased execution of day-to-day operational tasks by staff (with the assistance of lay teams and committees), Asbury First will be able to make critical, mission-enabling decisions more quickly and devote more resource to core mission and worship activities instead of meetings and other overhead. Asbury First is large enough that its traditional way of operating and decision-making are no longer viable. The legacy decision process of having many meetings on the same subject attended by many of the same people makes the process unacceptably slow and labor-intensive. By consolidating many of the standard, day-to-day operational decisions and delegating them to a professional staff (with oversight by the Board and a few key committees), more effort can be devoted to critical, core mission initiatives and major decisions. Why are we doing this now? We had originally intended to put forward this plan for a vote in June, but as with most things, the pandemic forced us to adapt. Among many other things, this year has reminded us just how important it is for our church to react quickly, faithfully, and flexibly to the changing needs of our world. Our current structure, through no fault of any one person, doesn't always allow for that. If we are going to continue to respond to the rapidly changing realities in which our ministries are attempting to function, we need a structure that supports that effort. We have many challenges ahead and we need a structure that allows us to respond to them well. Is this plan in keeping with The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church? Yes. The Book of Discipline (Paragraph 247.2) allows for modifications to traditional structures when “membership size, program scope, mission resources, or other circumstances so require.” Many other churches have adopted a similar model. What’s the difference between a team and a committee? The traditional and often lost meaning of the word “committee” is “those to whom work has been committed.” In any healthy congregation, there should be very few committees and many more teams. Committees serve a specific purpose in aiding the Board with making policy. Their primary function is to prepare reports for the Board so that it can better articulate policy. Teams are the life-blood of the congregation and are the place where ministry happens. Any group whose main function is something other than a report for the Board, should be viewed as a team. Stewardship is a team. AFFRAM is a team. Planned Giving is a team. Memorials is a team. The Prayer Shawl Ministry is a team. The Dining and Caring Center is a team (or many teams). Many teams will interface with committees frequently, and are no less important than the articulated committees, but their primary role is the carrying out of the mission and ministry of the church, not recommending policy or providing reports. How will we start new ministries going forward? The Church's mission, values, and strategic plan (Dreamscape) will continue to guide and inform evaluation of new ministries and programs. If a proposed ministry/program is aligned with the mission, values, and Dreamscape goals, and is within the scope of the current Annual Operating Plan (budget), it may begin with approval from the appropriate staff or ministry team member. If the proposed new ministry/program represents a significant departure from the Annual Operating Plan, the appropriate ministry teams and/or committees (e.g., Finance) will evaluate and provide input, so that a proposal can be presented to the Board for consideration and approval. What happens to the ______ committee (we’ve been asked about Stewardship, AFFRAM, Planned Giving, and Memorials)? In most cases they will become a team and continue to function in a very similar way that they have in the past, though hopefully with a clearer sense of direction and purpose as it relates to our mission together. For a clearer understanding of the difference between a team and a committee, please see the answer to "What's the difference between a team and committee?" above. What will happen to outreach? The Governance Task Force has incorporated the recommendations of the Outreach Task Force and their “A Way Forward” document (November 2016) in the proposed governance model. While the changes in outreach are not contingent upon the vote for this new model, we felt it important that they were represented in our proposal. As such, this governance proposal creates an Outreach Center Committee that will provide oversight and set policy for four outreach ministries that currently operate on our campus: The Dining and Caring Center, the Storehouse, the UR Well Clinic, and the Grocery Bag Ministry. Although each of these outreach ministries will continue to have separate teams that carry out the daily tasks of their ministries, their collaborative and strategic functioning will be imperative to the success and health of the forthcoming Outreach Center. The changes to Outreach beyond the creation of the Outreach Center Committee are outside the purview of the Governance Task Force, but you can learn more about them here. What happens to the trustees? The Governing Board will serve as the official trustees in this new system. Most of the traditional tasks of the trustees, which include managing of the fiscal and physical assets of the congregation, will be work committed to the Investment Committee and Property Stewardship Committee of the Board. Those tasks not delegated to these committees will remain with the Board. How will we take care of the grounds? The current management of the Asbury Campus properties is overseen by the Board of Trustees who, among other things, are responsible for: capital plans, insurance (including: buildings, grounds, non-physical assets), and the oversight/financing for proper management of the campus. Actual campus maintainance is conducted by a Property Care Manager, custodial staff, the Monday Morning Crew, and other church volunteers. The future management of the Asbury Campus will be handled by a Property Stewardship Committee that will work directly with the Church Administration. The ministry work will continue to be done by team members in the manner described above. How will we manage the endowment? The current management of the Asbury First endowment assets is guided by the Investment Committee with ultimate oversite by the Board of Trustees. The Investment Committee is responsible for overseeing the investments of the endowment (which includes preserving and growing the portfolio in a prudent manner), selection and hiring of financial management firm(s) that are appropriate for the needs of the portfolio, recommending a method and process for investment, and providing the recommended annual disbursements to the Board of Trustees. The future management of the Asbury Endowment assets will continue to be handled by the Investment Committee who will report to the Governing Board. What is the Budget Process? Historically, annual budgets have been prepared and monitored by a lay Finance Leader and Committee, supported by church finance staff member(s). Much of this budget preparation work would happen late in the year and under great time pressure. Communication and validation of the budget drafts and related assumptions was difficult if not impossible. Going forward, the creation and monitoring of the annual budget will be handled by church staff, led by the Church Administrator with the oversight of Finance Committee and assistance of team members. The budget development process itself will start earlier in the year and more closely integrate with the Fall Stewardship campaign, thus permitting improved management of possible issues and anticipation of future year budget needs. Who has oversight of day to day financial decision making? Ministry teams will make financial decisions day to day, in accordance with the Annual Operating Plan (the budget approved by the congregation) under the accountability of the Senior Minister. The Senior Minister is in turn accountable to the board, who is elected by the congregation and sets policy for spending. Does this mean fewer people control church decision-making? Our hope is that this structure will allow more people to be involved in the decision-making for the congregation. While the Board itself will be smaller than our current Church Council, it is guided by direct feedback from the congregation through an annual visioning process. With the committees, we anticipate about the same number of congregants involved at the administrative level. Furthermore, once implemented, administration will be streamlined to free up more people's time for ministry. Initially, this effort was undertaken in response to requests from congregation members to make involvement easier for members and more rewarding. Realizing we need to be good stewards of our congregations' gifts and graces, we embarked on a congregation-wide visioning process, which produced the strategic plan called the Dreamscape. We then brought in consulting expertise to help us determine how best to organize to meet the needs of the congregation. One of the first things we learned is that our current model is not sustainable if we want to get more members working to achieve all our aspirations — so we needed to evolve. Does this diminish the role of the lay leadership? Quite the contrary. This structure is designed to elevate the voice and the role of the lay leadership by creating an annual system of goal setting, articulating policy, setting the strategic direction/goals of the church, and holding the Senior Minister accountable. Rather than a council that functions primarily to report on work that has already been done or events that are upcoming, the Governing Board creates a true balance between governance and ministry that offers responsive lay direction and oversight to the Senior Minister that goes beyond the current Disciplinary requirements. How will Pastor Evaluations work? The Staff Parish Relations Committee has completed reviews of the ministers on an annual basis. This process will continue, with the Pastor Parish Relations Committee as a committee of the Board. How will Staff Evaluations work? The process will be very similar to the current process. The Church Administrator, or each individual's direct supervisor will complete annual reviews for each staff member (with the exception of ministers). Who will "govern" the Senior Minister position? The Governance Board will be responsible for holding the Senior Minister accountable for the mission, ministry, and management of the church. The PPRC (Pastor Parish Relations Committee) will serve as the body who communicates with the Annual Conference regarding the annual recommendation for continuation of ministry. Ultimately, as per The United Methodist Book of Discipline, the Bishop is the sole person in charge of appointing the Senior Minister (as with the other appointed clergy) to Asbury First. This model provides more direct oversight of the Senior Minister than is currently outlined in the Discipline. Can the Senior Minister terminate a member of the staff on her or his own? With the exception of appointed clergy, The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church currently gives full responsibility for the oversight of staff, including hiring and firing, to the Senior Minister. This new Governance model articulates clear policy and expectation around how hiring will be done (particularly of the executive team) and what should happen in the event a termination is necessary. We have not formally had any policy about this before as a congregation. Will this cost the church more? We don't expect this will increase expenses and, in fact, it should result in decreased expenses as staff focus on ways to improve efficiency and identify opportunities for reduced spending. Will we need to hire more people to manage? We do not expect that moving to this governance model will result in need for additional staff. How and when will Board members be selected? As directed by The United Methodist Book of Discipline, the Nomination Committee, chaired by the Senior Minister, will be tasked with recommending a slate of candidates for the Governing Board and Committees. The Asbury First Church Conference (our annual meeting) will then vote upon that slate each year. What is the expected time commitment for Board members? All Board members are expected to abide by a Board covenant which, in addition to living a life becoming of the gospel of Jesus Christ, asks all Board members to: attend monthly Board meetings, participate in the life of the congregation, prepare for Board meetings (including reading the appropriate preparatory materials), and communicate in a respectful, professional, and timely manner. In addition to the one to two hours per month within the Board meeting, each Board member should expect to set aside the time necessary to fully prepare for the meetings. Actual time spent may vary per month/season. What will happen at a typical Board meeting? How will it be different? Whereas current Church Council meetings have been dominated by reporting from various ministry areas, the Governing Board will be much more strategic in its focus. We imagine it handling some of its fiduciary work via a consent calendar so that more time can be spent discussing the missional direction of Asbury First and the current Vision of Ministry. In addition to responding to pressing strategic concerns and receiving a monthly report from the Senior Minister, throughout each year the Board will: review and update the 3-5 years strategic plan (currently dubbed The Dreamscape), discuss an annual list of “open questions” about the church’s future, articulate an annual Vision of Ministry that will provide a short list of top-priorities for the year, and oversee the performance evaluation of the Senior Minister. How does the Church Administrator relate to the Board and Staff? The Church Administrator will serve as staff administrative support to the Board. He/she is not a voting member. The Administrator's interactions and relationships with staff will continue as currently defined.
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