Dr. Cleghorne present a crisis that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is face with. The problem is there is a serious need for term limits within all levels of the organization. There are several levels of administration in Seventh-day Adventist Church: Local church, Conference, Union, Division, and General Conference. In the constitution and bylaws of the five levels of the church, each entity of the church, chooses at constituency meeting, the officers that will serve them for the duration of the term. Some have Trienniums (three years), Quadrennium (four years), and some Quinquennium (five years). All union and conference with its Divisions have Quinquennium.
There is a conflict between some constituencies; some choose to have open-ended terms, while others have chosen term limits. Dr. Cleghorne believes this inconsistency causes serious conflict because this creates the opportunity for some leaders to remain in office “ad infinitum” and will do anything to manipulate the process. Cleghorne examined the ecclesiastical operations at the constituent levels of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and recommended positive alternatives to this ongoing political problem. Below are a number of arguments Dr. Cleghorne presented in favor of term limits:
1. The need to avoid any man or woman feeling that they are indispensable, because of the length of time he/she would have served in a particular office.
2. The need to preserve the purity of its operation, ensuring credibility at all levels and integrating the involvement of many leaders in the direction and management of the organization.
3. Term limits does an excellent job at mentoring a cadre of possible successors. This provides and creates a healthier environment for the develop...
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...ith empowerment comes liberation. Liberation according to Dr. Cleghorne is “allowing the mentee to fight in his or her own armor.” Too long he says “we expect those we train to be exactly like us. “We are to be thinkers and a not mere reflector of other men’s thought” he warned.
Summary
Dr. Cleghorne pointed out that the greatest investment the Seventh-day Adventist Church has is not in the stock market, it’s not in industrial corporations, and it’s not in real estate nor is it in technology but rather in people. Cleghorne believes that however good or spiritual a leader might be, there are bound to be people, equally committed and spiritual, who’d find their leadership style unattractive, mundane, even cruel. And the thought of a seemingly endless term could become burdensome and discouraging. Term limits carry the hope that no administration would last forever.
Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier . The Alban Institute, Inc., 1991. Kindle eBook file.
Term limits could increase the quality of the Supreme Court nominees. One of the driving factors behind a Supreme Court nominee is their age (Ringhand np). Individuals over 60 years of age are less likely to be appointed. This means presidents intentionally exclude a large number of highly qualified individuals from serving on our nation’s highest court (Ringhand np). Term limits resolve this problem. Furthermore, the threat of a justice’s cognitive decline may be reduced, since there would no longer be a temptation to hold out for a strategically timed retirement.
...tion we must ask ourselves is, “Why is it in the best interest of our Country to limit the number of terms our president can serve, but not in our best interest to limit the number of terms served by our Congressional representatives?”
Martins Luther’s vision for a future church where the bible was the standard for truth was blocked time and time again by bureaucracies within the church. Martin’s vision enabled him to lead the people through every huddle along the way. Luther’s use of influence changed the way I look at how I lead and influence others. How many times in the past did I face hurdles and gave up quickly. I must convey a vision for the future, one that will inspire my members to perceive a need for change. Therefore, I must use transformational leadership tools like “Idealized influence” and exhibit moral behavior to do the right thing to ensure I move my airmen from our current state to a better future state. Additionally, I need to use cognitive flexibility to incorporate different thinking strategies to “develop plans for different situations to be able to respond to change” (Crs 14 v6, LM06-2SG - 5). When I face hurdles, I must have many strategies to ensure my airmen will be able to get around obstacles to see the vision through. Furthermore, Martin Luther was so concerned for the truth and for the people of the Church that he was willing to risk his life for it. Though I most likely won’t have to risk my life, I must demonstrate ethical leadership by standing up for what is right. Status quo is the easy route for most leaders, but doing what is right sometimes comes with risk. Ethical traps like worry over image, loyalty syndrome, and ethical relativism can get into way (Crs 14 V6 LM01SG – 6). If I let my personal faith bias or worry over what people might think of me when doing what is right, then I will likely do nothing to bring about change. Additionally, Martin Luther had to rectify his vision against the bible to discern truth from a lie during his ethical dilemma to do what was right. Being a military leader, when I am faced with an ethical dilemma, I have to go to
"Sexual orientation no barrier to church leadership." Anglican Journal Oct. 2009: 10. Academic OneFile. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Although written for church leadership, everyday church members would also benefit from understanding the concepts that Dawn is directing at God-empowered leaders. Ms. Dawn's work is predominantly scholarly, and she cites several other works at great length.... ... middle of paper ... ...
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to allow a multitude of additional benefits.
In today’s society, Effective leaders are essential to an organization and exceptional leadership techniques impact the success of reaching goals. Most important leaders often viewed and analyzed as a key component of an organization improperly trained leader can cause both moral and costly negative consequences. Even though unprepared leaders lead in our community today, Billy Graham’s leadership style and communication skills affected the United States because he exhibits characteristic of a leader. There were several obstacles as a leader that Billy Graham endured as a visionary, and his leadership effectiveness and traits observed throughout his ministry.
Instead of believing “their foot shall slide in due time” (Edwards, 209), Franklin and Emerson view individuals as empires full of potential rather than lives managed by God. Franklin seldom goes to public worship, because “their aim seeming to be rather to make us Presbyterians than good citizens.” (Franklin, 580) Yet, he still gives money to some churches because he thinks the churches will use the money to do good, not because
Young, D. S. (1999). Servant Leadership for Church Renewal: Sheperds By the Living Springs. Scottdale: Herald Press.
Menzies, William, W., Anointed to serve: The Story of The Assemblies of God. (Springfield: Gospel Publishing House). 1971.
When advocating on behalf of a population experiencing a social problem, empowerment seems to be more prevalent than one may think, although this remains a difficult skill to master. Empowerment is the process of enabling an oppressed or marginalized population to think, behave, and take action in autonomous ways. The purpose of empowerment is to assist an oppressed and/or marginalized group in overcoming feelings of powerlessness and negative valuations so they can resolve their problems and influence political change (Hardina, 2003). In social work, the goal of empowerment is to increase the power of the oppressed population or community (Hardina, 2003).
When we think of the Church as followers of Christ we think of the Church of Christ. The Church which is from the Kingdom of God. That we serve in and are to minister in. It is also the same Church that Jesus told Peter that he will be the rock of His Church which He will build on. “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church;…” (New American Standard Bible, Matthew 16.9) Over time the Church has grown and developed many different forms of government. However, the three major forms of church government is Episcopal Government, Congregational Government and Presbyterian Government. Each government of the church has played an important role within the church and in its history.
The Episcopal Church was founded in the 16th century during the Protestant Reformation on the belief to spread Christianity and worship . The Episcopal church originated from the Church of England that modeled much of it’s religious beliefs from the Roman Catholic Church. Episcopalians (followers of the Episcopal Church) refer to their religion as “Protestant, yet Catholic,” (Wikipedia). I had the privilege to interview one of my teachers from middle school, Erin Havens. She grew up as a conservative Episcopalian, and described that experience as being almost identical to, “The way the Roman Catholics hold their masses, holidays and how they practice their beliefs,” (Havens). Which is true, because most of the modeling of the faith is role modeled after the Catholic Church other than some key differences.
Dr. Willis M. Watt authored this article on Relational Principles for Effective Church Leadership. He explained 8 different principles that lead to a person having a effective relational ministry. The first principle was mission and how a Church leader should be able to rally people together to go on mission. He stated, “Future church leaders must be able to unite everyone in the same direction.” His Second Principle was Conflict Management and how a leader should be careful how they use their power of influence to effect conflict resolution. The third principle was power and influence, here Watt explained that true relational power is given by those who are being led. Fourthly, he introduced