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BOA ACTION: Motion to adopt as amended by the Budget and Finance Committee.
GCRCC Status: forwarded for April 2011 BOA action
Introduced by: Mark Adams, North Central Conference
Written by: Mark Adams
Related to Paragraph(s) #: 6440
Whereas:
The support for Free Methodist Churches and ministries shall come from tithes and offerings (¶6440.A);
And other methods of financial support are permissible so long as they are not a substitute for tithes and offerings, consistent with our faith and do not entangle the church with the commercial products of its constituency (¶6440.B), and community wide fund-raising efforts are encouraged only if they do not benefit the Free Methodist Church (¶6440.C), but;
The biblically correct fear of “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:11-13) and to flee from the “love of money” (1Tim.6.10-11) has led a good number of Free Methodists to fear business or commerce itself as a form of evil that should not impact the church, which has;
Created a non-incarnational divide between the church and marketplace, the spiritual person and the business person, and the opportunities a church or its constituencies may have to fund ministry and impact the marketplace if God so wills (James 4:13);
And devaluing the concept of the priesthood of all believers by creating a false divide between the world of commerce and of care for souls;
Therefore, be it resolved:
That the Free Methodist Church permit a more open stance toward strategic partnerships between the church and the marketplace, industry and spiritual leadership, business with integrity as evangelism and community service, by amending ¶6400 to include a paragraph which reads:
A church may develop strategic partnerships with commercial, industrial, technological and charitable organizations, which provide healthy connection with the community and world and which may tangibly benefit the church and its ministries financially, so long as the church acts within the spirit of the Discipline and in conformity with local, state and federal law.
Does the resolution have a direct relationship to the vision and mission of the Free Methodist Church?
Yes.
How will the proposed change help us accomplish our vision and mission?
The heart of this resolution is to allow churches to explore the possibility of conducting business or partnering with business for tangible gain.
The Resolutions Committee rates this resolution as:
(C) Rejected – anticipate General Conference rejection
Comments:
The concept is too far removed from the core FM conviction that funding should come from tithes of the members alone.
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