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)


Wednesday, April 20, 2011

JCD 1120

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1237&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1100&EN=1181

The Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference faced a resolution that attempted to moderate the anti-homosexual language in the Discipline. During plenary, someone asked the bishop for a ruling of law about whether or not the resolution was out of order. The bishop took the time to go beyond that question to answer the rationale of the questioner. And the Council did likewise, rather than just responding as they should have that the Judicial Council does not deal with parliamentary questions.

It appears the Council chose to educate. They seemed to want to share the bishop’s arguments which they would not have had to if they had properly refused jurisdiction. After spending a lot of text on helpful historical understanding of various resolutions brought to them in the past, they told the bishop his decision was reversed.

On the one hand, they should have kept it simple by avoiding a parliamentary ruling. On the other, they provided a good summary of church law on resolutions.

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