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, November 7, 2012

JCM 1223

http://archives.umc.org/interior_judicial.asp?mid=263&JDID=1346&JDMOD=VWD&SN=1201&EN=1229

LEGALITY OF THE USE OF FUNDING IN EAST AFRICAN ANNUAL CONFERENCE

A Western Pennsylvania pastor presented a referral to the Judicial Council challenging the use of funds from his district by a person in the Eastern Africa Annual Conference and the validity of complaints involved.

The matter was deferred to the spring 2013 session.

One colleague knowledgeable about the matter stated that the Council was making sure it gave the bishop every chance to respond to each of the allegations brought in this referral. There were communication and mailing problems related to preparations for the hearing that needed to be addressed. Under the pressure of the large docket the Council was handling this session, the hearing the Council held only further showed the complexity of the situations under consideration.

We are a global church when a lay person in the U. S. can charge a person on another continent with illegal use of funds and a body that is one third international gets to adjudicate it. That’s pretty neat! At this point in time, it also slows the judicial process….

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