Report of the

Ministerial Relations Committee

In the year ending December 31, 1995, resignations from pastorates were as follows:

Church                                         Pastor                                            Effective Date

Wappingers Falls, NY                  Byron Widger                                  April 16, 1995

Lancaster                                     Daniel F. DeLozier                          July 29, 1995

Sunbury                                       LeRoy S. Heller                               July 31, 1995

Bethlehem                                   Harvey J. Fritz, Jr.                            August 31, 1995

Paradise                                       Ralph M. Soper                               December 3, 1995

The following pastorates were established under our rules:

Finesville, NJ                                  Byron Widger                                April 17, 1995

Somers Point, NJ (Mission)            Richard A. Moyer                          May 1, 1995

Lebanon                                         LeRoy S. Heller                              August 1, 1995 (Assistant Pastor)

Emmaus                                          Ralph M. Soper                             December 10, 1995

The following churches were without pastors as of December 31, 1995:

Bethlehem, Paradise, Sunbury, Walnutport, Wappingers Falls, NY.

              The 112th Annual Conference gave the committee the assignment of studying the “minimum pastor’s salary” (1995 Yearbook, p. 45). This study continues and a report will be brought next year.

              We recommend the following be adopted by the 113th Annual Conference:

RESOLVED, that the recommended minimum salary for a pastor serving a Bible Fellowship Church, including benefits, be $22,280 for the 1996 year (a 3.0% increase).

              The following legislation is proposed at first reading:

RESOLVED, that the following legislation replace duty 1 in the Faith and Order (1986 edition) p. 140. Subsequent duties will be renumbered.

1.           The committee’s role is to consult and advise churches and pastors in regard to initiating and maintaining the pastoral relationship. The Committee becomes involved in the affairs of a particular church or pastor upon request of:

a.           the Board of Elders of the Particular Church.

b.           individual elder or elders of the Particular Church.

c.           the Pastoral Relations Committee of the Particular Church.

d.           the pastor of the Particular Church.

2.           The committee may initiate involvement and call a meeting with a pastor, Pastoral Relations Committee, or Board of Elders if the Committee concludes that there are matters threatening the health of the pastoral relationship which are not being adequately addressed by the particular church.

a.           This request for a meeting shall be in writing.

b.           Reasons for the meeting shall be given in writing, if requested by the pastor, Pastoral Relations Committee, or Board of Elders.

(FIRST READING)

Request From Ministerial Relations Committee

              The MRC has been in existence for about 25 years, brought into being as part of the system which replaced our previous pulpit supply rules. There are now only about 20% of our ministering brethren who were licensed in years prior to 1970, and only a handful of delegates present now who attended Annual Conference previous to the year of change. Memories of some of the glaring problems of our old system are unknown to most here, but those who do remember would probably agree that there is much about our present form which is vastly superior to how we operated before.

              However, during the past 25 years, some aspects of our present system have proven deficient and the MRC would like to present Annual Conference with some observations relating to these deficiencies. The committee is already proposing some legislative changes at this Conference intended to begin a process of improving the work of the MRC.

              An area of major concern has not been previously addressed which we now want to present to this Conference. We believe that it is time for consideration to be given to the study of the need of the MRC to employ a man able to devote the time now required to accomplish the objectives expected of this committee.

              We believe that through our own experiences, discussions and observations, as well as input from others, we must give greater attention to consultation and advice. There are situations which have arisen and resulted in sorrow and difficulty which may have been averted if a man with enough time had been available to intercede.

              By no means are we proposing a return to an authoritative figure empowered to displace and replace. Rather, we might need a man, most likely retired from the pastorate and well respected for his accumulated experience and proven pastoral skills, acting under the authority of the MRC.

              Therefore, we are requesting the appointment of a Study Committee to examine the strengths and weaknesses of the role of the MRC and what changes, if any, should be made to the policies and procedures of this committee. Or, if the Conference so directs, the MRC itself would undertake such a study and return findings and proposals to the 1997 Annual Conference.

Ministerial Relations Committee: David J. Watkins, Chairman; Randall A. Grossman, Secretary; Lee E. Boyles, Keith E. Plows, Calvin T. Reed, L. James Roberts, Jr., Harold L. Snyder, Jr.