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2008-06-17 issue:

UPDATE: Executive Board “ready to defer” on one-board concept

by Marathana Prothro

Print Article

COLUMBUS, Ohio—Following a June 20 meeting of all Mennonite Church USA boards of directors in which participants were presented a document clarifying details of a plan to improve churchwide structures, the Mennonite Church USA Executive Board spent a day and a half discerning how best to move forward. After considering the perceived concerns and possibilities shared in the meeting, the Executive Board adopted Sunday a statement of response outlining its intentions for moving forward.

Adopted by a unanimous vote Sunday, the statement says, “At this time, we are ready to defer the model of one leadership board, provided that we can find an alternative route for integrating our churchwide priorities and can make progress on reaching the communications, development and operations goals outlined in the working draft of our earlier plan.”

The “earlier plan” was a working draft circulated to agency boards and boards of directors for The Mennonite and Mennonite Health Services (MHS) Alliance June 19. Members of the Constituency Leaders Council (CLC) also received the plan at the same time. That plan, refined by the Executive Board during its meetings June 19, further clarified details of the Executive Board’s plan to integrate and simplify churchwide structures. Sharon Waltner, moderator, said the working draft was shaped by more than 30 conversations with leaders from across the denomination.

The working draft distributed June 19 contained specifics on functions that would be housed in an integrated communications and development system, the role of a churchwide operations staff person and the potential composition of one leadership board. The document also outlined what the Executive Board named as six “commitments” for moving forward.

After listening to boards’ concerns June 20, the Executive Board felt it was important to re-evaluate the working draft.

“We have heard many requests for slowing down this process and that more collaboration is possible without forming one board,” Waltner said. “We are ready to take a ‘wait-and-see’ attitude, provided we can find ways to begin work immediately on our goals of making the resources of the denomination more accessible to all of its members.”

The Executive Board’s statement of response affirms the dialogue shared among the boards and expresses gratitude to participants’ call for the Executive Board “to demonstrate visionary and inspirational leadership.” The statement also points to a need for “clear accountability of agency board leadership to Executive Board leadership and upon the accountability of agency executive directors to the executive director of Mennonite Church USA.”

According to the statement, the Executive Board plans to continue working on the areas of one churchwide operations person and an integrated communication and development system, using the goals outlined in the June 19 working draft.

Regarding the concept of one leadership board for the agencies, Executive Leadership and The Mennonite, the Executive Board continues to believe this approach would be the best option for effectively reaching denominational goals and serving area conferences and congregations. However, the board is “ready to defer” on the model to see whether progress can be made towards its goal in other ways. Ed Diller, moderator-elect is hopeful other parts of the church will engage the process and contribute their ideas for how best to accomplish the “commitments” the board presented Thursday.

“The development of the Executive Board actions has been influenced and continues to be influenced by the ideas of many people and institutions,” Diller said. “We continue to listen to ideas even as the direction of the Executive Board efforts continues to evolve. In the end, we are committed to ensuring that Mennonite Church USA conferences and congregations receive the best support we can provide as they attempt to see where God is working in the world and to join in that work.”

The list of “commitments” was widely affirmed at the all-boards meeting June 20, and the board’s statement of response highlights the board’s continuing commitment to those items. They include:

Our vision: Vision Healing & Hope: God calls us to be followers of Jesus Christ and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to grow as communities of grace, joy and peace so that God’s healing and hope flow through us to the world;

Our intent to be a church that seeks to understand what God is doing in the world and to join in those efforts (missional church framework);

Integrated churchwide priorities which drive program and practices of the denominational structure;

Built-in intersections through relationships and practices which are intentional and a routine part of the denominational structure;

Intentional and focused resource allocation which is in line with the integrated priorities of the denomination;

Commitment to simplifying the system to benefit the missional church efforts of congregations, conferences and their leaders.

Communications and development
In its previous communication regarding its plan, the Executive Board regarded communication and funding as two separate functions within its strategy. Based on its conversations and input from staff and constituency, the board determined that combining funding and communications into a communications and development system could best serve congregations and conferences.

This system would have one leader, a director of communications and development, who would be responsible for all communications and development efforts for all churchwide ministries. This staff person would report directly to the executive director and oversee a team that would be responsible for eight functions. Those functions include: communications, development, marketing, news, services, convention planning, church/congregational relations and organizational communication.

The Mennonite would be included in this system under the functions of communications and news. The proposal anticipates that the current board of directors for The Mennonite, Inc., would evolve into an editorial board.

Churchwide operations staff person
The churchwide operations staff person would be charged with overseeing the development of budgets for all churchwide ministries and making sure that those ministries use resources wisely, “in ways which are appropriate, effective and consistent with the mission, vision and priorities of the leadership board.”

The churchwide operations staff person’s responsibilities would include overseeing income and expenses and all human resource issues for churchwide ministries staff. She or he would be called on to institute a treasurer role for all churchwide ministries and expected to recommend and implement “program, funding and staffing consolidation and other changes across what are now separately administered and staffed ministries.” The executive director and Executive Board would approve final decisions made by the churchwide operations staff person.

Next steps
The Executive Board’s statement highlights that “all of this agenda will be primary work for our board and staff and we will continue to assess whether we have made sufficient progress towards our vision, missional and intent and commitments.” The Executive Board will release a revised and working draft of its plan “soon,” the statement says.

At its February meeting in San Antonio, the Executive Board released a statement that it did not believe current relationships, behaviors and structures adequately supported the church’s vision. In March, following a meeting of agency board chairs and executive directors, the Executive Board announced that it saw integrated communication and funding structures, a staff person to ensure stewardship of church resources and one board of directors as the specific areas it would explore to address what it perceived as dysfunctions within the church system.

The CLC discussed the issue and provided feedback at its early April meeting in Mt. Pleasant, Pa. In the weeks between the CLC meeting and the all-boards meeting members of the Executive Board listened to leaders from across the church, such as executive conference ministers, young adults, Racial/Ethnic leaders, constituency groups, women, and others to seek counsel on how best to move forward.

The Executive Board plans to continue working with area conferences, the CLC and Racial/Ethnic groups as the process moves forward.

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