Dear Cypress Street,
Back in late-May/early-June, our church's leadership presented a bylaw change to you. The proposed bylaw change had been put together over a 6 month period by a Bylaws Committee formed by the Board of Trustees. Further revisions were made by the Board and Council before they voted to recommend the new bylaws to you. We also hosted a Q&A evening to hear from anyone with questions or concerns.
At the Q&A evening, concerns were raised that too much responsibility was being given to too small a group of leaders in the newly proposed Leadership Team. Our church has a proud tradition of strong lay leadership. Our aim in proposing a new Leadership Team was not to limit lay leadership but, rather, to increase it: raising up leaders to partner with the Senior Pastor by holding pastors and leaders accountable, partnering in vision casting, and supporting the ministries of the church.
However, the concerns raised at the Q&A were legitimate and, in response, the Bylaws Committee & Board of Trustees feel a compromise is in order. The Bylaws Committee is working to amend the original proposal so that the Leadership Team will have greater accountability and less unshared authority. One way we hope to achieve this is by proposing the Council share increased responsibility.
We ask your patience with this process due to the tedious process of amending the proposed bylaws and the extenuating circumstances of several members on the Bylaws Committee. Your church leadership is committed to working through this change responsibly and that includes taking the time to do it right. We have also received further information from sources at Church of God headquarters in Anderson, IN about some wording we would be wise to include; not only in our bylaws but in other such legal documents, as well.
Thank you for bearing with us. We will continue to provide updates but, at this point, we do not anticipate being able to enact the new proposals in time for this October's Annual Business Meeting. Please continue to pray with us through this important process. And we will all continue to focus our greatest attention on Jesus who calls our church to continue Caring Deeply & Living Boldly!
Grace & peace through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Pastor Neil | |
