WELCOME!

Associates in Advocacy now has two sites on the internet. Our primary help site is at http://www.aiateam.org/. There AIA seeks to offer aid to troubled pastors, mainly those who face complaints and whose careers are on the line.

Help is also available to their advocates, their caregivers, Cabinets, and others trying to work in that context.

This site will be a blog. On it we will address issues and events that come up.

We have a point of view about ministry, personnel work, and authority. We intend to take the following very seriously:

THE GOLDEN RULE
THE GENERAL RULES
GOING ONTO PERFECTION

Some of our denomination's personnel practices have real merit. Some are deeply flawed. To tell the difference, we go to these criteria to help us know the difference.

We also have a vision of what constitutes healthy leadership and authority. We believe it is in line with Scripture, up-to-date managerial practice, and law.

To our great sadness, some pastors who become part of the hierarchy of the church, particularly the Cabinet, have a vision based on their being in control as "kings of the hill," not accountable to anyone and not responsible to follow the Discipline or our faith and practice. They do not see that THE GOLDEN RULE applies to what they do.

If you are reading this, the chances are you are not that way. We hope what we say and do exemplify our own best vision and will help you fulfill yours. But we cannot just leave arrogance, incompetence, and ignorance to flourish. All of us have the responsibility to minimize those in our system.

We join you in fulfilling our individual vow of expecting to be perfect in love in this life and applying that vow to our corporate life in the United Methodist Church.

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If you have any questions or suggestions, direct them to Rev. Jerry Eckert. His e-mail address is aj_eckert@hotmail.com. His phone number is 941 743 0518. His address is 20487 Albury Drive, Port Charlotte, FL 33952.

Thank you.

(9/26/07)


Sunday, November 20, 2011

JCD 1199

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1320&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1101&EN=1200

I’m a devotee of being able to ask questions of law and seeking declaratory decisions to resolve personnel problems.

In the instant case, I wish the request had not been made because it appears the conference was open to granting the pastor’s wish of applying five years of previous service to the two years required after graduation, given the pastor’s impending retirement.

The implications related to pensions, health insurance benefits, and other factors are a little beyond me, though I do not think they would have been affected. It seems the matter is one of appearance rather than substance, though there could be other factors involved not mentioned in the Statement of Facts. Hopefully, the ordination of a retired pastor is not out of the question.

But the Council was drawn in. And the gracious intent of the conference and petitioner was set aside. The simple statement of the law shows that the Council did not trivialize the matter but took it too seriously.

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