5 December 2016 | Daventry, UK [John Surridge / tedNEWS] ‘Trustees’, the Executive Committee members of our Unions and Conferences, take on a lot of legal and spiritual responsibility when they accept office. While voted for their skills or experience they may, nevertheless, have little knowledge of the work of a trustee in practice.
In planning the event at Staverton Park Conference Centre, Daventry, the BUC Officers realised that, on paper at least, this line-up of speakers could appear somewhat intimidating, so a friendly, wise and experienced counsellor was recruited to complete the quartet of speakers. That counsellor was former BUC President Pastor Cecil Perry, unquestionably the most experienced administrator in the British Union.
Sunday was an intensive 14-hour day of lectures interspersed with brief breaks for eating and socialising. Far from the dry and boring presentations that some had expected from the solicitors, the trustees were entertained and informed in equal measure as the solicitors drew on their experience and presented case studies – some highly amusing and others deeply disturbing. A few were even drawn from our own recent church history, which made uncomfortable listening for some.
Time and time again the same messages came out: stick to your charitable purposes; operate strictly according to your constitution and policy documents; watch out for conflicts of interest; beware of opportunities which seem too good to be true, as they usually are; and keep an eye on the risks that your organisation faces. The trustees were also cautioned not to go beyond their remit as overseers. “Administrators manage, and trustees govern”, was the mantra. “Day to day matters, versus big picture strategies.”
Doukmetzian took his audience on a fascinating tour of Seventh-day Adventist Church Organisation and Structure. Although this should have been old hat to many of those present, there were few who could answer all the questions he posed. Perhaps his most important message was the incredible inter-connectedness of the Adventist church. “There are separate entities,” he said, “but all are inter-dependent.”
In this way a presentation on the technical aspects of church governance and structure led back to the spiritual foundations of our church, echoing Paul’s metaphor in 1 Corinthians 12 where the church is presented as a body – with separate parts but unified in purpose.
Could the British experience be useful elsewhere? TED president, Raafat Kamal, believes so. “Good leadership and good governance is essential in every part of our work,” he said. ”Initiatives like this are very important in helping the mission of our Church move forward effectively. This combines well with the MA in leadership at Newbold that is a significant asset in helping our leaders develop.”
Feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive and most now feel that church governance is on a firmer platform as we head into 2017. [tedNEWS]
tedNEWS Staff: Victor Hulbert, director; Esti Pujic, editor
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