Answers
1. Is a female Assistant Pastor going to be recruited to replace Julia?
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It is too soon in the transition process to finalise our decisions as to how Julia’s excellent pastoral work will continue after the handover date. We would like to ensure that the new senior leader has a significant input into the overall structure of pastoral care going forward and hence we will need to wait until he or she has been identified before finalising this area.
Rest assured that the Eldership Team is committed to ensuring the continued provision of pastoral care for both men and women throughout the transition period and beyond.
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2. While the transition is taking place will the Eldership Team stop considering other ‘big’ projects (e.g. a new building)?
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The Eldership Team has no intention of allowing this transition to slow the advancement of God’s Kingdom through HCC and to that end we will continue to evaluate new ventures (e.g. the debt advice clinic) and seek the Lord for His wisdom as to their exact timing.
3. Will we get to vote on who becomes the new Senior Leader?
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The Eldership Team is seeking the Lord for the name of His anointed individual and would ask every member of HCC to do the same and share what they hear. When a suitable individual has been identified, the Team will share the individual’s name with the body and seek their opinions and views. Ultimately however, the Eldership Team, as the anointed leadership of the church, will make the final decision.
4. Is the 18 month timescale (i.e. hand over on 1 July 2009) set in stone?
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The timescale is not set in stone and may change as we progress through this period of change. The Eldership Team feels, however, that the current timescale is an appropriate one to aim for. If it is felt right or necessary to change the timescales we will communicate this.
5. Can you clarify the financial implications?
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The Eldership Team believe it is right for HCC, as their sending church, to continue to provide some financial support for Simon & Julia as they move into their new Apostolic role. Time has been spent looking at this but it is too early in the process to provide more details. Once we have identified the new leader and a more precise timescale for hand-over we will provide details.
The Eldership Team is keen to identify God’s new anointed leader for HCC and we are looking for an individual that shares our ‘spiritual DNA’. To that end we are currently looking at the potential within our own immediate family (HCC), the extended family (Plumbline) and the overall family of God. Please continue to pray that we hear God clearly, and also that our new leader hears the call!
There is no intention currently to change the arrangements by which Plumbline is administered out of HCC’s offices with support being provided by HCC’s administrative team. The Eldership Team (alongside Plumbline) will, however, continue to review this arrangement on a periodic basis to ensure that it best meets the needs of both parties.
When we say we are looking for someone with 'the same DNA' we mean we are looking for a leader that shares HCC's vision and values. Our vision and values are in essence the spiritual DNA that God has birthed within us as a church body and it is this that makes us unique.
A 'son of the family' is used as another analogy for the same thing and again should not be taken too literally. When considering potential future leaders in this respect we are not looking at whether they are a natural 'son' who has been brought up within HCC or Plumbline but rather looking more at their spiritual character and how that matches our vision and values.
