Metropolitan
Community Churches
Board of
Administration Conference Call
In Attendance: Absent:
Julie
Krueger (Secretary)
Barb
Crabtree
Marvin Bagwell
In Attendance:
Rev Dr
Cindi Love, Executive Director
Rev
Elder Nancy Wilson, Moderator (for part of the call)
Connie
Meadows, Assistant to the Moderator
1.
Opening Prayers and
Sharing
The
meeting was opened in prayer followed by a brief time of sharing.
2.
Minutes of Last
Meeting
The minutes of the last Board meetings will
be circulated for approval.
3.
Resource
Development Report
The Board discussed
a report it had requested from Rev. Elder Lillie Brock regarding resource
development. The report focused on: a) Creating a Life That Matters, b) TAP Online and c) other
certifications. The Board concluded that
good progress is being made and expressed its thanks.
4.
Financial Review
Financial reports
were emailed out earlier in the week.
Cash flow is extremely tight do to the upfront costs incurred for
General Conference. The Executive
Director indicated that good progress was being made on the JOPC tax returns,
but that an extension would be needed because we still are gathering various
required data.
We now have
confirmation that Martina Navratilova will be the honored guest at a donor development
reception hosted by Merrill Lynch on our behalf at the US Open (August
27-September 7, 2007). She has agreed to donate a lesson, conduct a
tennis clinic and sit with key donors in a celebrity box. Mitchell Gold
plans to donate a weekend of shopping at his new store in
5.
Board of Pensions
Meeting
Rev Elder Nancy
Wilson, Barb Crabtree, Steve Marlowe, Bill Hooper and Rev. Dr. Cindi Love
participated in a Board of Pensions meeting.
The reported their observations and a time of discussion followed.
6.
Key Funding Initiatives
The net proceeds
from the building sale were 4,475,956, less $600,000 in repayment of loans,
less $40,000 in repayments to operating expenses, leaving $3,835,956 for
investment or other uses. This exceeds
the goal set by the Board by $383,956. After much discussion, the Board agreed to the
following strategy for disbursement of funds:
1)
The Board has been researching various investment scenarios for the approximate
$3.8 million proceeds received from the sale of the
2) The Board unanimously authorized
the Executive Director to repay MCC’s loans from Circle of Light MCC and Rev.
Charlie Arehart. The Board wishes to express
its deepest gratitude to Circle of Light and Rev. Arehart
for their generosity in supporting MCC prior to sell of the
3)
In order to lay a solid foundation for future financial growth, the Board unanimously
agreed to fund the following from the cash account over a 24 month period:
-
$60K for resource development.
-
$240K for fund development.
-
$100K for staff
support for Executive Director and Fund Development Director.
-
Up to $115K to
restore and reset cash flow to a proper balance now that the
In the long-term, the Board
wants to have reserves equal to three months of operating at all times.
7.
Tithing Discussion
A lengthy discussion was held
regarding whether to withdraw the proposed extension of the freeze on the 14%
tithe level paid by MCC member congregations. If the freeze is allowed to
lapse, the tithe amount would move to 13% in 2008. The Board voted 5 to 1
to withdraw
the proposal to extend and go to 13% beginning in 2008, with the
dissenting vote belonging to Barb Crabtree. Although the Board recognizes that the MCC
Movement needs significantly more revenue than a 13% tithe would generate, the Board
believes that the voluntary generosity of MCC congregations will more than
compensate for any shortfall in mandatory tithes. We are taking a step of
faith in an effort to cultivate a culture of abundance, trust, and generosity.
8.
Senior Housing Agreement
The Executive
Director reported on the comments generated by legal counsel’s review of the
Affirmative Equities contract.
Consistent with those comments, the Board authorized the Executive
Director to tell Affirmative Equities that we are inclined to move to the next
step with them, provided they agree to our conditions regarding completing only
one project, then assessing the success of this project before committing to a
second project. The Board asked them to
submit a revised set of agreements for our approval. Meanwhile, the Board
concluded that they wanted a second legal review, at a more detailed
level. The Board authorized the
Executive Director to have our regular counsel (Daily and Heft) review of the
contract. The Board asked that counsel
review the contract with a view toward ensuring there cannot be any piercing of the corporate veil and that MCC corporate is insulated
from financially responsibility for the transaction.
9.
Budget Discussion
Jeff reported on his
observations from attending the Elder’s Meeting earlier in May in
Jeff indicated that
he led a discussion at the Elders Meeting about budget strategy. The Elders were unanimous in their
willingness to move toward a more strategic approach to budgeting in which
priority areas would receive more funding, even though this means other areas
would receive less. Although they still need some time to develop their
thoughts more fully, preliminarily the Elders would suggest that we focus on
three strategic emphases in the 2008 budget:
-Helping our local churches develop
more focused, intentional strategies for spiritual formation (on the theory
that this is the engine that drives our three key objectives: growth,
generosity, and justice).
-Hiring fund development staff, so that more resources
will be available in future budget cycles.
-Leadership development (especially strategies for
expanding the pool of qualified clergy).
The Board will meet
with the Elders in September to work on the next phase of the budget.
10. Meeting Adjourned
The meeting was closed in prayer and adjourned.