UCG to Revise Strategic Plan

The September-October 2007 edition of UCG’s United News is now available. Here are excerpts from its lead article:

A major focus of the Council’s efforts in the coming year will be a full rewrite of the Strategic Plan.

by Robert Dick, chairman

Strategic planning was placed front and center at the Council of Elders August meeting. Nearly all of Monday (Aug. 6) and a significant part of Tuesday and Wednesday were spent mapping out how to perform a major rewrite of the Church’s 10-year-old Strategic Plan. While all the Council members have been involved in the annual edit of the existing plan, it has been our desire to take a fresh look at the plan, the process for designing it and the best way to implement it…

Following the day’s discussion, the Council expressed the desire to do a full rewrite of the plan and to begin the process immediately.

The Council felt that our best work can be done if we are assisted by a professional facilitator. One of the foremost qualifications for leading the process of strategic planning is neutrality and detachment from the issues making up the plan. A facilitator must be able to ask the hard questions and require answers without getting involved in the issues themselves.

It was universally felt that all the Council members and home office staff are too passionately involved with the mission of the Church to provide that necessary neutrality. The search for a facilitator was authorized and Jason Lovelady, Dee Kilough and Linda Register, all of whom have professional experience with strategic planning as well as candidate interviewing and selection, were appointed as a search committee. Currently the search is underway with interviews of the final pool of candidates to take place before the Feast of Tabernacles.

The Council agreed that it would be ideal to have the new plan ready for the 2008 General Conference of Elders meeting, but realistically that may not happen considering the lead time necessary for “Call and Notice.” Everyone agreed that the quality of the plan takes precedence over the speed with which it is produced, and therefore it cannot be driven by a precise timetable. It is understood that a full organizational strategic plan usually requires six to nine months to create. As the process move forward it will lead, among the steps, to a full board/staff retreat to focus solely on the critical issues that will be part of the Strategic Plan.

While this is a major undertaking, it is clear that there is full Council commitment to the task and a satisfaction that this issue is finally moving forward in a structured way.

Comments by COGwriter:

UCG has a history of having a lot of meetings and committees. Trying to figure out what it believes and stands for has been a subject of many such UCG activities in the past.

Other than perhaps one or two of its eleven plus years of existence, it has spent more money on governance and administration than proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world as a witness.

Jesus said:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 3:22).

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Should the Church Still Try to Place its Top Priority on Proclaiming the Gospel or Did Herbert W. Armstrong Change that Priority for the Work? Some say the Church should mainly feed the flock now as that is what Herbert W. Armstrong reportedly said. Is that what he said? Is that what the Bible says? What did Paul and Herbert W. Armstrong expect from evangelists?

Differences between the Living Church of God and United Church of God This article provides quotes information from the two largest groups which had their origins in WCG as well as commentary.

Are the Laodiceans the Modern Sadducees and Pharisees?Discusses similarities of the Sadducees and Pharisees to various COGs in this end-time.

7. The Laodicean Church Era was predominant circa 1986 A.D. to present. Non-Philadelphians who mainly descended from the old WCG.