Cleveland, TN—The International Executive Council of the Church of God met in their regularly scheduled spring session, completing their agenda on Tuesday evening, April 23, 2019.
General Overseer Timothy M. Hill moderated the session, starting with a breakfast meeting where he presented a report entitled, “Melting the Icebergs: Developing a Culture that Delivers Vision.” Highlights of Hill’s report spoke of the continued need to cast vision amidst the changing climate and culture of not only society, but of the Church of God.
[1]General Overseer Tim Hill delivers the opening address to the International Executive Council (click photo to enlarge)
“It is my humble thought that at least in some ways, a decision was made to greatly defund a managerial culture that at least some believed to no longer be entirely applicable for doing ministry in today’s world,” Hill told the Executive Council in reference to a 2010-2014 process of budget realignment at the International Offices. “While we may have voted to reduce the funding for one culture, have we yet entirely transitioned to one more accommodating of the Great Commission? Are we still trying to get at Kingdom business the same as we did before, only now with a few less people and a lot less dollars? Understanding and managing organizational culture is no easy task, but if we want to be effective in ministry, the hard work will be well worth the effort.”
Following Hill’s opening address, the Council adjourned to the Executive Council Chambers to hear first draft reports from members of the Task Force Committees. The reports are a result of action passed at the 2018 General Assembly and are being prepared for presentation at the 2020 Assembly set for July 2020 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not all committees made a presentation, deferring to the fall (September) session to allow for further study and research. The task force topics include the following: Spiritual Acceleration and Core Values; Ministerial Activation; Visional Actualization; Structural Acclimation; Generational Assimilation; Aging of Ministry; Bylaw Issues; Study Series for Kids and Students; and Actualization of a Global Context of Ministry.
In other business, Hill led a discussion with the Council on budgetary items following the customary presentation by Director of Business and Records Raymond Hodge. Topics covered included reports from the Budget Review Committee, Loan Underwriting, and a report on the Church Planting Bank. A video presentation was given on GO FINISH 2020, the global initiative on soul-winning set for May 2020. Hill also updated the Council on his experiences with the Global Ministry Forums he has conducted thus far.
The next scheduled session of the International Executive Council begins on September 22, 2019 in a joint meeting with the International Council.