Questions submitted for the Elders

What will we do with the Q & A answers?

·         We will post them on church website and bulletin board and mass email.

Decision  

How was the mutual decision, that Steve is no longer the one to lead Bethel, arrived at?

Is Pastor Steve leaving because he wanted to or because we (the Elder Board on the congregation's behalf) asked him to?

What are the "real" reasons that Pastor Steve is leaving? (I truly want to be respectful of everyone involved here. But I think there is a need for direct communication about this.)  What I've observed is that People think Steve is a wonderful preacher.

·       On separate journeys we both arrived on the same conclusion, we need to go our separate ways.  Out of respect for the elder board and Steve the details of these conclusions are not available for discussion.

·       Steve's preaching ability is one of his recognized strengths and is not an issue.

Skills

It may not occur to many/most that a Senior Pastor at Bethel has a wide array of job expectations and just because he's awesome at some parts of the job doesn't mean he is meeting or exceeding every expectation. Maybe part of the question is: What are the expectations/responsibilities of a Senior Pastor? Who decides what those are? Who evaluates whether the Senior Pastor is meeting those expectations? 

·       See Question number one.

What are leadership skills and style needed?

Do we need a Senior Pastor? How is that role different from that of the Executive Director? Will we replace Steve with a Senior Pastor? Do we need one? What are other options we may consider? (Lay people and/or Elder Board roles in leading the Church? Reliance upon existing staff in a different way?) 

What is the time frame for forming a pulpit comm.?

Why have we not established a search committee for our new senior pastor?

Is there a timeline put together for the new Senior Pastor search committee and to get that process moving?

In article B.9.1.1.1 it states that '3 at-large Bethel Members elected by the membership at a business meeting' will become part of the pastoral search committee. How soon can we have a special business meeting to get these people elected, so we can start moving on our search for a new senior pastor?

What are the plans for the interim?

·       According to the constitution the next step for us is to form pastoral search committee and begin the process of recruiting a new person to fill that role at our church.  The nominating committee is in place and will be activated.

·       At the same time we are considering the viable option of an interim pastor to fill the void along with the established preaching rotation, until we have a new senior pastor.  The timing of convening a search committee will depend on this decision.  The decision will be made before June 1st.

·       The executive manager is a different role than the senior pastor.  The executive manager is staff and organizational focused and the senior pastor is responsible for the spiritual health and guidance of the body.

Steve

Where is he going?

When is he leaving?

·       Steve is waiting on the Lord and pursuing several lines of opportunity.  He will be leaving on or before June first. 

Did we consider offering Steve a "step down" role as a preaching Pastor? Why or why not? (Do we have nothing that is a skill match for this long-time employee? What were the risks or pros/cons of doing that. Did you
consider it?)

If this comm. were to come to the conclusion that Steve should be asked to reconsider would the board/Steve be open to this?

·       The Lord has been clear to Steve that his new role in God's kingdom is elsewhere.

Plan

How does the Elder Board interact with and/or direct the staff?

What is the difference between a "staff led" church and the alternatives?
What are the alternatives?

What is the role of the Elder Board in representing me as a member of the congregation? (This may seem obvious or rhetorical…but it's important to respond to the comment of "why didn't I get a say in this?" I've heard
that one.)

Some people have said that the reason for the delay is that you are considering the restructure of the government of this church, including the elimination of the senior pastor. Is this true? The position of senior pastor is the only pastoral staff member that is specifically called out in our church constitution. I'm afraid that if you present this to the church body it will fracture our relationship even further. If you want to explore changing the structure of the church then at least get the search committee started while you do it and leave the senior pastor out of it. He is the one pastor we get to vote on and we are anxious to get that opportunity.

·       The board is in the process of currently establishing a disciplined approach to governance.

·       The constitution directed that we would be a staff led church. The elders are to be the central governing body of the church.

·       Since the constitution defines us as a staff led church we are not currently pursuing alternatives.

·       The constitution defines that the elders govern on your behalf.

·       The governance of the church can only be changed by a constitutional amendment in which the congregation would be informed and voting.

Jennings & Josh

Does the board consider Jennings and Josh potential candidates?

Can we ask Jennings to step in as an interim senior pastor? If he agreed, could we consider him as a candidate in a permanent role as senior pastor?

·       All who apply for the senior pastor job will be considered.

·       They will not be considered for an interim pastor position because they have roles and responsibilities that are important to sustaining the health of Bethel church.

Staff

How are the sermon series chosen?

·       Sermon series are determined through prayer and consideration of the congregational needs. The preaching team does that work.

Will we go back to studying "books" of the Bible rather than topics in the weekly sermons?

·       We have different topical studies planned out for the remainder fiscal year.

Will we continue to have a rotation of preachers in the pulpit, or will we have a senior pastor who does the majority of the teaching?

·       We will continue with the current rotational schedule.

Has there been a decrease in numbers of Sunday School attendees since the change in schedule allows people to go home during the Sunday School hour versus attendance increasing because children can be in Sunday School while parents are in the worship service?

·       Part of our change is that we are not a 2 hour Sunday morning church anymore.  We expect Bethel people to be in a life group in addition to their participation in a weekend worship service.

·       Kids attendance is holding steady.

·       Other adult Sunday morning opportunities are being well attended.

Is there any concern that the current budget will not be met when we seem to be behind already in February?

·       We are five months into the fiscal year and yes, we are concerned about the level of giving.

·       We are currently watching spending and continue to encourage generous living and giving.

Minutes

Why are the elder minutes on the website not current as well as not have the detail as those posted on the bulletin board?

Can we please get more details on the meeting minutes from the Elder Board? Recently we have seen things like 'much was accomplished'.

·       We will work on keeping both published on the same date.

·       Much of the work the board has been accomplishing has been tied to hours of documentation of the disciplined approach to governance at Bethel Church.  

Stand Alone

What is the consultant needed for that is referred to in the October minutes?  How much is his fee?

·       It was something we considered and we decided not to go down that path.

What are the top 3-5 priorities for the Elder Board this year?

·       Finish up working on elder board's governance model and complete the transition of Sr. Pastor.

What are the top issues/problems facing Bethel church right now?

·       Please refer to the last bullet -- and finances.

What is the Board's strategy for communicating with the congregation? For engaging the leaders in the congregation? (Need clarification)

·       We have a communication model in place for communicating to the congregation. As decisions are made the board will decide the level importance of each communication. The higher the level (importance) the more ways we will communicate with the congregation. (First Class Mail, e-mail, bulletin board, web-site, meetings, etc.)

And the most dangerous question of all…how can I help?

We need you to continue asking good questions.  Continuous prayer is needed along with your support and perseverance (serving attending, giving, encouraging.)