Gary Swartzlander
28th February 2006, 10:53 PM (22:53)
Many discussions have been had about the pros and cons of districts, district budgets, so on and so on.
Shortly after the holidays the church leaders and delegates to district assembly received a letter from the DS regarding some financial issues that the district was facing and asking for our prayers.
A couple weeks ago we received another letter that kind of sized up the situation and what actions were being taken to resolve the problem.
Without going into a lot of details the district advisory board had made some huge errors in setting the district budget for this past year, to the tune of around $100,000. Because of this there have been several layoffs announced on the district staff and some other cuts to offset this difference.
Last night the DS and the District Advisory Board held the first of 4 meetings that were scheduled for church staffs, boards, and delegates to attend to find out more about the situation and to hear from district leadership about the hows, whys, etc. and to answer questions that we may have.
I was very proud of our district leadership team last night as the issues were met head on. It was clear that they knew that errors had been made and they were very embarressed by them. They articulated the solutions very well and answered questions in a very open and candid manner.
I was also very proud of the 100 or so in attendance from the churches who asked thoughtful questions and in the end showed united support for our district leadership team and the direction they are moving.
We left the meeting very confident in the direction of the district and confident that the solutions offered were well thought out and prayerfully considered. They swallowed some big pieces of humble pie, and I for one am very greatful to them for that.
Good Job by the leaders of the Michigan District.
Shortly after the holidays the church leaders and delegates to district assembly received a letter from the DS regarding some financial issues that the district was facing and asking for our prayers.
A couple weeks ago we received another letter that kind of sized up the situation and what actions were being taken to resolve the problem.
Without going into a lot of details the district advisory board had made some huge errors in setting the district budget for this past year, to the tune of around $100,000. Because of this there have been several layoffs announced on the district staff and some other cuts to offset this difference.
Last night the DS and the District Advisory Board held the first of 4 meetings that were scheduled for church staffs, boards, and delegates to attend to find out more about the situation and to hear from district leadership about the hows, whys, etc. and to answer questions that we may have.
I was very proud of our district leadership team last night as the issues were met head on. It was clear that they knew that errors had been made and they were very embarressed by them. They articulated the solutions very well and answered questions in a very open and candid manner.
I was also very proud of the 100 or so in attendance from the churches who asked thoughtful questions and in the end showed united support for our district leadership team and the direction they are moving.
We left the meeting very confident in the direction of the district and confident that the solutions offered were well thought out and prayerfully considered. They swallowed some big pieces of humble pie, and I for one am very greatful to them for that.
Good Job by the leaders of the Michigan District.