Friday, May 1, 2009

WELS Budget Measures



WELS Synod President Mark Schroeder



Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

Finally a breath of sanity.

---


"SC adopts budget proposal
A special message from President Mark Schroeder


The Synodical Council (SC) met last Friday and Saturday to adopt a proposed budget that will be recommended to the synod convention in July.


The WELS constitution requires the SC to submit a budget proposal that is balanced and in line with the anticipated financial support from all sources. A budget that would call for spending greater than anticipated support is not an option. The projected support for the next two years made it necessary for the SC to reduce the synod's ministry program by more than $8 million (from $38.4 million to just under $30 million). As it considered this situation, the SC was very much aware of the painful and difficult choices confronting us. It was clear that significant budgetary reductions in all areas of ministry will be necessary. Recognizing that, the SC made every effort to find ways to limit the size and scope of the reductions that will need to be made.

Some of these reductions will involve the loss of called and hired positions in our mission fields, at our schools, and at the Synod Administration Building. Since the boards and groups that oversee these ministries will be responsible for communicating with the called workers, congregations, and mission fields that will potentially be affected, the budget information in this communication is in summary form only; details will be released in the coming weeks. This will give those responsible the time to speak personally to those that will be affected. Complete financial information will be included in the Book of Reports and Memorials and will also be posted online.

Some of the features of the proposed budget include:

A salary freeze for all synodical workers in the first year of the biennium and a one percent increase on the base salary in the second year.


A re-amortization of the synod's debt (projected by the end of June to be reduced from $22.4 million to $15 million by Year of Jubilee offerings and by budgetary payments toward the debt). Re-amortizing in this way will reduce annual debt payments from $2.7 million per year to $1.6 million per year, making $1.1 million per year immediately available for the support of gospel ministry. The re-amortization payments would begin in the second year of the biennium (2010-11).

Increasing the portion of health care costs paid by workers by changing the plan deductible from $500 to $1,000, resulting in an annual savings of approximately $400,000.

As the budget was constructed, the SC was keenly aware that there are clear differences of opinion in the synod as to which ministry programs should be given priority. As it weighed the many different scenarios, the SC decided to present a budget that offers two options or alternatives. This approach reflects the SC's recognition of the priority preferences expressed by recent conventions, as well as the current economic conditions and other factors which may have changed since then. The SC is also convinced that presenting two options will help to create an atmosphere in which brotherly discussion and debate will be conducted based on the factual information and a careful consideration of the long-term ramifications of any decision.

There is really only one significant difference between the two proposed options. Both options require significant reductions in all areas of ministry. The difference: in Option A, Ministerial Education receives a synodical subsidy allocation of $9.1 million; in Option B it receives $8.1 million. In Option A, World Missions receives $5.9 million and Home Missions receives $5.2 million. In Option B, each mission area is allocated an additional $500,000 in subsidy.

This chart is a comparison of synodical subsidy allocations under the two options. Please note that these figures represent synodical subsidy only and do not include funding from special funds, gifts, or fees.

*Ministry Support includes the President's Office, Conference of Presidents, district ministries, Synodical Council, special called worker support, Ministry of Christian Giving, Finance, Technology, Human Resources, Communications, and facilities.

The specific impact of these allocations under both options will be described more fully in the coming days after the areas of ministry have had an opportunity to revisit their plans and priorities. Regardless of the specific decisions they make, under both options above significant numbers of missionary positions, mission locations, faculty and staff positions at schools, and administrative positions will no longer be able to be funded.

Because of the size and scope of the reductions in ministry programs, steps to reduce ministry will need to be taken immediately. In fact, some have been taken already, as vacant positions have not been filled and various programs have been scaled back. In cases where reductions cannot be made until after the new fiscal year begins in July, transition funding has been included in the 2009-10 budget proposal.

As the picture becomes clearer and as the time approaches for final decisions to be made at the synod convention, we recognize the need for continued faith and trust in God's promises. We will need to maintain our trust that even in these painful and difficult decisions God will graciously work to bless his church. And we will want to conduct our discussion and debate with the prayer that God will use this situation to unify us in our common mission for the good of his kingdom.

Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder"

Suffragen Bishop Katie, Popcorn Cathedral of Rock, Will Attend Babtist Drive '09



My proposed logo for The CORE.


Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Suffragen Bishop Katie, Popcorn Cathedral of Rock,...":

The new CORE logo gets my vote. Cute isn't he.

[GJ - Dude, where's my prize?]



Every cathedral needs a bishop, and every bishop needs an assistant. High church Rock and Roll pastors prefer lofty titles, so the pricey executive assistant (the one who does the heavy Tweeting) is the Suffragen Bishop.


The Suffragen Bishop's Twitter:


@loswhit three pastors from Milwaukee and I want take you to dinner (your choice) on Wednesday after Drive. You game?
about 5 hours ago from Tweetie in reply to loswhit

[GJ - Translation: Katie's Tweet to Carlos Whittaker is an invitation to dinner after Drive 09. Apparently three WELS pastors and Katie are going to Drive 09 together. Carlos is on the staff at Northpoint/Buckhead Babtist Church. Ski went to Drive 08 with John Parlow, a member of the Willow Creek Association.]


About Carlos Whittaker
Carlos Whittaker is an artist, pastor, thinker, experience architect, and Web 2.0 junkie.

Carlos was at Sandals Church in Riverside California where he served for 10 years as the Pastor of Worship and Creative Arts. Sandals Church is an authentic community of believers whose goal is to be real with themselves, others, and God. His passion for leading the church into a relational worship experience each and every Sunday was his hearts goal.

In August of 2007 Carlos and his family made the move from Southern California to Atlanta, GA. Carlos became the Director of Service Programming at Buckhead Church which is one of the three North Point Community Church campuses. He oversees all the Sunday adult experience and design. He directly oversees all areas Hosting, Production, Creative, Video, Music, and Programming at Buckhead Church. He also sits on the creative sermon planning team for Andy Stanley.

Carlos and Heather Whittaker make up a blogging power couple in Ragamuffinsoul.com and Whittakerwoman.typepad.com. They have 3 children. In November 2006 Carlos and his wife Heather adopted their son Losiah from Seoul Korea.

:: This whole Ragamuffin thing is simple. I'm just a screwed up man, in need of adoption, trying to be real. I was poured into, mentored, taught, and sometimes beat into authenticity by my family at Sandals Church. They created this beautiful mess of me and I'm forever grateful.

:: Now in the ATL with my hot wife and kids, I get to create relevant & engaging worship experiences every week. I am being shaped by Jeff Henderson and Andy Stanley at Buckhead Church. From creative sermon planning, to off the hook music experiences. This place is stretching me to my limits and I love it.
:: My life goal is to inspire a movement of authenticity among all generations of Christians that morphs the face of the evangelical church into a place of being real with yourself, others, and God.


---

Add the Drive Conference badge to your
Facebook profile!

My group does not speak English. How can we make arrangements for translations?
Translation equipment is prohibited during any of the sessions, breakouts or round table discussions. This is due to the disruption to other guests and the possible interference that may occur between translation devices and audio equipment used throughout our facility.


Schedule
Monday, May 4
5:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Check-In
7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Main Session One
Tuesday, May 5
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Breakout Session One
9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Breakout Session Two
11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Lunch
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m. Breakout Session Three
1:30 p.m.-2:00 p.m. Break
2:00 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Main Session Two
6:30 p.m. Drive Thru
Wednesday, May 6
8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. Breakout Session Four
9:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. Break
10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. Breakout Session Five
11:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Break
11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Main Session Three

Breakouts Inside Admin
Welcome to a behind-the-scenes look at how we've established our administrative culture. Over the past thirteen years, we have brainstormed, strategized, tweaked, and modified our model. In this breakout, we'll share philosophies, strategies, practices, and processes in an effort to help other churches learn from our successes and failures. We'll also talk about the why behind the things we do.

Teaching That Sticks
What if you could significantly improve how much the people in your ministry learn each week? You'd do it, wouldn't you? As teachers, preachers, and leaders, we often try to pack as much as possible into our lessons, messages, and events. We think we are doing a disservice if we don't "download" all the information we have. More often than not, people leave our environments so overloaded with stuff that they forget what should have been the bottom line. In this breakout, we'll unpack bottom-line communication and discuss how we have implemented this "less is more" strategy in our teaching environments.

From Crib To College
Are you interested in creating a Family Ministry environment that is intentional about what it teaches children and students at every stage of life? Do you believe that the investments into the life of a child from birth to high school have a cumulative effect on that child's spiritual life? In this breakout, we'll share the significant mile markers for each age group and the critical handoffs from one stage to the next.

The Volunteer Experience
Every Sunday, an amazing group of people wakes up early and heads to church. They lead small groups, direct traffic, run cameras, and lead worship. We know we couldn't survive without them. One of the most frequent questions we get is, "Where do you get enough volunteers and what do you do when you get them?" In this breakout, we'll explain how we find, equip, place, inspire, and lead our volunteers to serve strategically.

Developing A Healthy Staff Culture
Whether you intentionally communicate it or not, your staff members know what is valued in your organization by what is celebrated, what happens relationally, and what is questioned consistently. Join us as we talk about how you can deliberately create a healthy staff culture.

Connecting Adults Into Small Groups
For most churches, connecting people into groups is challenging. And for most church attendees, it is confusing. Providing multiple opportunities for an adult to take the next step is the key to assimilation. In this breakout, we'll talk about our assimilation strategy and how events such as NEXT, Fusion, and GroupLink function as steps to connect adults into small groups.

A Starting Point For New Believers
Where in your church can new Christians and non-Christians go to explore faith and experience community? Starting Point groups are safe places for people to ask their questions about God, as well as to learn about the Bible and Christianity. Come learn about Starting Point, a conversational environment where people can explore faith and experience community.

Developing A Small Group Strategy
There is a road map you can follow when developing your small group ministry. In this breakout, we'll talk about the key principles that form the framework of our small group strategy. And we'll discuss how you can contextualize them to your own adult ministry, regardless of the size.

Developing Group Leaders Who Lead Well
Imagine a network of small groups led by people who truly understand their roles, a development strategy that focuses on the irreducible minimums of leadership, and a leader coaching system that actually works. Possible? Absolutely! Join us as we unveil the practices and principles for building an effective leader development strategy.

Student Impact
Some of our best volunteers are high school students. If you walk around our Sunday morning environments, you'll see students running soundboards, leading worship, facilitating small groups, and caring for babies. Find out how we create specific opportunities for students to be connected, grow spiritually, serve strategically, and make a difference in the lives of others.

Multi-Site Strategy
Developing a multi-site strategy can sound complicated. But it can also be the key to leveraging the abilities of your leaders to reach even more people in your community and beyond. How do you determine if multi-site expansion is right for you? What are your expansion options and which is best for your organization? Which practices are integral to your DNA, and which ones are optional? In this breakout, we'll share what we are continuing to learn about multi-site strategies.

Guest Services
We want everyone who walks through our doors each Sunday to feel like an invited guest. Our volunteers and staff are consistently challenged with the task of removing obstacles that would keep a guest from having a great first experience. Find out what it takes to make a positive first impression as you walk with us from the parking lot to the children's environments to a seat in the worship service.

Worship Service Programming Model
It's the number one question on all of our minds: "Sunday's coming and what are we gonna do?" Our programming team has developed a strategy that makes planning the worship services fun and exciting. We'll walk you through the process from creation to implementation . . . and everywhere in-between.

Memorable Experiences
What do people remember after they leave your environments? For the last thirteen years, we've been creating, evaluating, and recreating ministry environments that keep people coming back. In this breakout, we'll pass on the key principles we use to create memorable experiences.

Putting A Creative Idea To Work
Have you ever had a great idea and wondered how to actually make it happen? The secret to moving from a great concept to a highly effective product lies within the creative process. We'll help you move from the brainstorming phase to the actual implementation of the idea.

The North Point Model
This session is designed to give you a look at the founding principles of North Point Ministries and the philosophies that shape our environments. We'll explain our mission and strategy and encourage you to clarify your mission, fine-tune your strategy, and focus your environments.

Essentials For Leading Student Small Groups
The 5 Essentials are vital ingredients of our student ministry's small group leader training. These simple but rich values describe how our best volunteers positively influence students in our ever-changing culture. In this breakout, we'll share with you the insight we have gained from conversations with our most effective leaders.

Round Table Discussions - As an alternative to attending one of your breakout selections, you can choose to attend a round table discussion on a very specific topic. Groups will be limited in size to maximize discussion time. Topics have been chosen based on your input and roles of those attending. You can discuss anything you want concerning the discussion topic with the staff and other leaders at your table. Our hope is that you will walk away with your specific questions answered and some real, practical implementation strategies. Tickets for the Round Table Discussions will be available at the Ticket Exchange Stations at the conference.

Click here to download this information as a PDF file.

Pricing and Policies Early Bird ($239) through February 15
Regular ($269) from February 16 through April 20.
Pricing includes conference materials, snacks, lunch and dinner on Tuesday, and lunch on Wednesday. Transportation is not included.

Terms and Conditions, Cancellation Policy - Please note that a full refund less $50 per person will be given for cancellations made on or before April 1, 2009. There will be no refund for cancellations made after April 1, 2009, or for no-shows. Registrations may be transferred from person to person within your group or organization at no charge. Transferring or selling your registration to anyone outside of your church or organization will forfeit your entire registration. Registrations are not transferable to future conferences. All cancellations must be made online at www.driveconference.com. Please do not ask the Drive staff to make exceptions to this policy.

Payment - Payments may be made by Visa, MasterCard, or check. For credit card payments, the full amount will be charged to your account at the time you register. For check payments, you will be emailed an invoice for the full amount due when you register. We must receive a check for the full amount due within 10 days or your seat will be released without notification.

If you elect to pay by check and then cancel your seats before your check has been received, you are still obligated to pay the cancellation fees ($50 per person for cancelled seats before April 1 or the full conference fee for cancelled seats on or after April 1).

Waiting List - Once we have reached our maximum conference capacity, a waiting list will be opened. Names will be added to the list in the order they are received, and they will be removed from the list in the same order as space becomes available. Priority will not be given to churches or organizations that already have a group attending or those who have already purchased airline tickets. PLEASE BE SURE THAT YOUR CONFERENCE REGISTRATION IS CONFIRMED BEFORE PURCHASING AIRLINE TICKETS.
Registration Fees - Price includes registration fees, conference materials, and snacks on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Please register early to ensure your spot and to have the best breakout selections for Drive 09.

North Point Community Church
4350 Northpoint Parkway
Alpharetta, GA 30022

Drive 08 Highlights - Ski's Blog.


Registration for DRIVE 2009 is now closed. Registration for DRIVE 2010 will open on Monday, May 4.

Is there a discount for churches that use 252 Basics or First Look?
These two curriculums are produced by an organization called "The reThink Group," which is not a part of North Point Ministries. Therefore, we are unable to provide any discounts for anyone who uses their products.



So it is the end of ‘08.We are choosing to trim in ‘09 as an organization in lieu of the current economic slump.This isn’t rocket science.It needs to happen.One of the ways that my dept and others are choosing to save is by not catering for Christmas parties and having pot lucks in each others.




"I'm Doug Englebrecht, in charge of doctrinal discipline in my district. Oh yes, the COP expressed concern...that they weren't going too!"



---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Suffragen Bishop Katie, Popcorn Cathedral of Rock,...":

Ok, Ichabodians,

Let's presume a church's website reflects a bit about the people that worship there. Perhaps as Lutherans we can associate with calling it an outward "confession" of the congregation. "This is what we believe..."

Here are the two church home page websites of the fellow that three WELS pastors and the Bishop of Butter want to take out for dinner, or as it used to be known "break bread with." Mr. Whittaker is "Director of Service Programming" at Buckhead and he is on the creative sermon team for Andy Stanley.

http://www.buckheadchurch.org/
http://www.northpoint.org/

Ok class, you seen those two websites. What is missing? What extremely important 'confession' is missing from those homepages? Is the name of any particular Savior missing entirely? What does that congregation emphasize to world instead?

Based on what they show to the world, assess what appears to be more important to that congregation: music concerts or Christ.

No wonder Ski wanted the big screen and subwoofers.


+Diet O. Worms

***

GJ - Somewhere on the Northpoint Babtist Church websty there is a page opposing infant baptism. The WELS workers going to Drive 09 are saying by their attendance and fees, "We agree. Infants cannot believe and baptism is just an ordinance to be obeyed by man." As Ski observed ecstatically at Drive 08, they worship with the Babtists.

Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and Mini-Me Doebler Want More Funds



Busta Gut asks a musical question.



Here is the link showing VP Don Patterson and Rock n Roll Doebler asking for more funds.

The district board is meeting May 1 and 2. Someone converted the PDF to Word for me. Thanks.

Field Reports: Mission Enhancement
6) Holy Word, Austin, Texas. Pastor Don Patterson. Holy Word is a self-supporting congregation. However, there is a mission opportunity with the Hispanic community nearby. Holy Word would like to enhance their ministry by calling a Staff Minister to coordinate Hispanic ministry. Holy Word's request for Mission Enhancement funding will be determined at the BHM meeting on May 1-2, 2009.


Strategic Planning 2003
Introduction & Background

Holy Word has grown from a church with 26 chartering members to one of over 500 today. This is a wonderful testament to the power of the Gospel, and it is a welcome blessing to have a large body of believers.

Holy Word is an affluent congregation - read here.

Holy Word Staff Members, Not Including the Newest: Ex-SP Gurgel (Is Campaign Manager a divine call?)

Field Reports: Mission Establishment
7) Christ the Rock Lutheran, Round Rock, Texas. Pastor Matthew Doebler. In just three years, this mission has developed the resources required to support a ministry plan that includes a full-time pastor and rented worship space. However, the mission would like an additional year of subsidy to cover increased staffing and establish their ministry. Christ the Rock’s request for Mission Establishment funding will be determined at the BHM meeting on May 1-2, 2009.


Doebler's assistant, Gretchen, was given a raise to $50k. They live high on the hog in Patterson's circle.


15) Christ the Rock, Round Rock, Texas. Pastor Matt Doebler. The ministry has a specific need for some equipment to enrich their ministry. Pastor Doebler contacted the DMB and they located some designated BHM funds that may be available. [If you looking to fund a specific Mission Enrichment project, contact the DMB Chairman to see if there are designated BHM funds available.] Christ the Rock’s request for Mission Enrichment funding will be determined at the BHM meeting on May 1-2, 2009.

Doebler wanted $200,000 from the Antioch Foundation, but only got $20,000 of the request. I thought Rock and Roll was doing so well?

Round Rock, Round Rock, is everything they say
And no place that I'd rather be.
Where else can you do almost nothing,
All at a quarter to three.
When they play their music, ooh that rockin' music
They like it with a lot of style.
But it's still that same old back beat rhythm,
That really drives 'em wild.

They say the heart of rock and roll is still beating
And from all those grants I believe 'em.
Now the old WELS may be barely breathing
But the heart of rock and roll is still beating.


The DPs (Doctrinal Pussycats) met at Holy Word a few months ago, blessing Rock and Roll.



You got a grant so you could hunt zebras in Africa?



Vote for the new grants for Patterson and Doebler, and you could be hunting in Africa too. Missionary Johne went. How cool is that?


---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

It must be nice to have so much time and money to take safaris. I am in the wrong profession.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

Of all the gull [GJ - gall?], expecting additional assistance when they have 500 members. This is unfair and unbalanced.

***

GJ - Church and Change exists to funnel money and power to the fraternity. Over the years, all the frugal leaders 2929 were replaced with the "cool guys" from Church and Change. Headquarters became The Love Shack, the exclusive haunt for their little group. At each convention they spoke and voted as a block - more funds and staffmembers for themselves.

The president of Northwestern College was not allowed to speak against amalgamation on the floor of the convention. He said, "It was the lowest day in my ministry." No, the lowest day was when he first imagined he was the college president instead of a Love Shack lackey.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

One of the worst fallacies of political conservatism is that government should do for people what people cannot do for themselves.

You can see all the nonsense that this line of thinking fails to prevent. (I cannot bailout Wall Street all by myself, so I'm glad Uncle Sam does it for me. )

If a local congregation cannot support its own expansion efforts, it should not expand. Period. Crying "I have a big unchurched mission field nearby," isn't good enough. We all have one; here's your map and some walking shoes.

If a congregation relies on a constant steam of external funds to keep afloat, all the extra cash results in superfluous expenditures that wouldn't otherwise exist. It becomes bloated. Now that the tide has gone back out we can see who is swimming naked and cannot support themselves.

Worse, lining up for grant money lets synod political (or marriage) connections grow in importance when they shouldn't matter at all in the church. If a congregation is jockeying for position and staffing, it's losing sight of its purpose.

Ultimately this radical downsizing at WELS will be a good thing, because it will cut the number of fingers in the offering plate. Just as tax dollars should be left closest to the people, contributions to synod must also be slashed to force a radical change in synod's purpose.

Froo-froo vicar and "mission" work just builds up a synod-welfare soaking constituency voting itself largess and status quo at convention.

+Diet O. Worms

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

No bailouts for the Peterson gang.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

What must one do to drive Patterson and his ilk out of synod? Either he goes or our money does.

I hope the BHM reads this blog.

***

GJ - Drive them out? The Sausage Factory asked Kelm and Patterson to give papers on how to improve their product!




---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

It is truly fraudulent that these WELS pastors have their handsout just one week after the Synodical council makes drastic reductions.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Massive Cuts in WELS, But Safari Don Patterson and...":

Just what is the truth? Holy Word is not self-supporting when it seeks more handouts -- especially at the expense of struggling congregations.