Last week I was in Houston, Texas at the annual gathering of Regional Pastors and Overseers.
Confused yet?
"Regional Pastors and Overseers" is the new phrase our association came up with to better describe our current roles within the North American Church of God. This will replace the meaningless "Area Administrator" moniker that we have used for several decades and provides a more accurate reflection of the type of work we do within our respective regions. Certainly, individual RPO's will still use their official titles as designated by their state or district, but this new designation is a intended to be a general description that can used to describe us as a group.
The real issue here, however, is not the titles we use. The bigger shift that is occurring across our movement concerns the role that regional organizations have alongside individual congregations and Church of God Ministries. This was an important part of our discussions last week, and will continue both among districts, RPO's and across the North American church as a whole.
The reality is that our structures our still evolving. For a movement that largely treats organization with suspicion, if not contempt, we are still trying to figure what the optimal structure looks like. We're not there yet, but I am at least encouraged that we are willing to explore this issue with an openness to continually make changes as necessary to serve better the common ministry that we share.
Confused yet?
"Regional Pastors and Overseers" is the new phrase our association came up with to better describe our current roles within the North American Church of God. This will replace the meaningless "Area Administrator" moniker that we have used for several decades and provides a more accurate reflection of the type of work we do within our respective regions. Certainly, individual RPO's will still use their official titles as designated by their state or district, but this new designation is a intended to be a general description that can used to describe us as a group.
The real issue here, however, is not the titles we use. The bigger shift that is occurring across our movement concerns the role that regional organizations have alongside individual congregations and Church of God Ministries. This was an important part of our discussions last week, and will continue both among districts, RPO's and across the North American church as a whole.
The reality is that our structures our still evolving. For a movement that largely treats organization with suspicion, if not contempt, we are still trying to figure what the optimal structure looks like. We're not there yet, but I am at least encouraged that we are willing to explore this issue with an openness to continually make changes as necessary to serve better the common ministry that we share.
