Big issues dominate General Conference agenda
At this General Conference we hope to fine-tune an organizational shift from a board-based to team-based approach in church-wide ministries, including world missions. The aim of this shift is to increase collaboration, assure accountability, and enhance flexibility in responding to the needs of peoples near and far. The landscape is changing in relation to our global church family. For 100 years we related to BIC groups outside North America as “daughter” churches. As these churches mature, parent-child relationships need to give way to peer-to-peer relationships. At this General Conference you will hear how leaders of BIC churches around the world have taken steps to advance their mutual collaboration, approving a draft of by-laws for an International BIC Association (IBICA). Over the past several decades many of our congregations have grown in size. Larger, multi-staff congregations are deploying personnel in new and creative ways. In order to move away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to credentialing clergy, we are recalibrating all credentialing categories. This includes a proposal to this General Conference for a new category for staff who do not serve in primarily preaching/teaching roles. In the increasingly diverse neighborhoods around us, we are confronted with “real life” issues of various kinds. At this conference a statement on marriage will be presented for consideration. Delegates will act on an addition to the Manual of Doctrine and Government designed to protect congregations from legal pressures related to homosexual marriage or unions. We must face up to economic realities that impact the church. A volatile health care climate, escalating and uncertain costs, and diverse needs and resources among our congregations make it increasingly difficult for congregations to care well for their pastors, particularly in the United States. Because we believe the church has a responsibility to provide health benefits for pastors and congregations in a fair and equitable way, we are presenting a health insurance plan (U.S.) for approval by this General Conference. Over the past number of months a multi-generational sampling of about 250 BIC members from across North America have interacted about potential vision priorities. Insights from these conversations were distilled and refined into a summary statement, “Listening Forward: Emerging Vision Themes, 2010-2020,” for presentation to this General Conference. As we gather in Toronto, we desire to renew our commitment to building a community of believers who worship and obey God and share the Good News of Jesus Christ with all people. We want to nurture a church-wide environment in which vital, growing, mature Christ-followers among the Brethren in Christ can invest in both local and “extended family” aspects of our shared witness to the peoples of the world. Included in this is giving attention to governance and organizational issues that undergird and facilitate our ministry outreach
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For most of our history as a faith community, the BIC Church in North America has been a relatively homogeneous community of Caucasian adherents, located in rural and suburban communities. However, on the eve of our 120th General Conference, a sixth of our churches worship in the Spanish language. A third of our constituency is urban. Two thirds of our constituents were not born into a BIC household. Our extended church family has been wonderfully enriched by ethnic and cultural diversity. In light of these changes, we will consider at this General Conference a proposal to adjust the  |
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