Central Church of Christ
Amarillo, Texas

9/27/06

The head of Central Church of Christ is Jesus Christ. As an organization, we seek to reflect
His priorities in all we do and how we do it. No decision is ever made that would knowingly contradict any of Jesus’ teaching. In addition, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we endeavor to discern God’s program for us as a church. Whenever we implement a plan, we keep one eye on our effectiveness and the other on the next step God seems to be showing us.

In order to manage the mission of Central, the intent of this arrangement is to free as many elders as possible to shepherd people in this church on a personal level, while insuring a spiritually healthy environment in administrative, corporate and ministry areas. The church must maintain legal and ethical standards consistent with being the Bride of Christ. Therefore, the following leadership structure has been developed.

The Elders

The Elders have the direct responsibility of shepherding the congregation. While delegating the following, they are ultimately responsible for overseeing: biblical teachings, spiritual direction, doctrinal statements, management of the church, and legal decisions.

The New Testament is clear that the church is to be led by a plurality of godly leaders under the oversight and watch-care of elders. The elders are given ultimate responsibility and authority to see that the church remains on a true course biblically, that its members are being appropriately shepherded, that the body is being fed through insightful and accurate biblical teaching, and that the life of the church is being well-managed with the assistance of other competent and godly leaders. They are to care about the spiritual and physical well being of members, regularly praying for the sick. They are to guard the body against harmful influences, confronting those who are contradicting biblical truth or who are continuing in patterns of sinful behavior. In doing so, they are to keep closing potential entrances for Satan, so that the truth of Christ will remain credible to both the congregation and the community (1 Peter 5:1-4; Acts 20:28-31; Titus 1:9; James 5:14).

Elders function as

• Elders - wise older men who discern God’s will, give counsel and direction as well as resolve tensions within the community of faith.
• Shepherds – looking after the needs of the congregation and staff. Ensuring they are well fed, trained for ministry, disciplined when out of line, cared for when in need, and prayed for.
• Overseers: Final stewards or guardians of the church’s people, property, and programs. They must give an account to God for the church. Decision Makers - give final approval for big decisions that need the whole eldership’s approval (e.g. incurring debt larger than 5% of annual budget, staff changes, capital campaigns, building new facilities, etc.)
• Advisors - to the ministers. Partners in ministry clusters

Elder Meetings

• Wednesday nights at 8:15 pm in the Fireplace Room. Pray with and over members seeking prayers of the elders. Celebrate baptisms. Invite ministries and members in to thank them for their ministries and pray over them
• First and Third Wednesday nights: Break into Shepherding Groups after “a” above
• Second and Fourth Wednesday nights: Used for general meetings when needed, studying, etc.

Chairman of the Elders

sets the elder meeting agenda and runs the meetings.

Cluster Elders

• Elders are connected to a ministry area led by a minister based on their passion for ministry, their gifts and interests in ministry.
• Their function in the cluster is to support and partner with the minister.
• They participate in the ministry.
• They mentor the ministers
• Decisions about ministry vision, programs, organization, etc. are led by the Senior and Executive Ministers. Elders and ministers are part of the process, but do not make these decisions independent of the Senior and Executive Ministers
  

Management Cluster

The Management Cluster will consist of two Elders who serve two year terms (renewable), the chairman of the elders (rotates every 6 months, the Senior Minister, the Executive Minister, and the Chairman of the Deacons (rotates annually).

The eldership will appoint two elders who have administrative gifts and interests to serve on the Management Cluster. For consistency, one elder will be asked to serve for three years. All appointments to the Management Cluster are subject to annual eldership review.

Their purpose is general management and supervision of the ministries and operations of the church. They will have the responsibility of overseeing the Deacon Group (who manage the day-to-day business of finance, buildings and maintenance). They will also oversee the staff and administer the personnel policies of the church. They will report to the Elders. They will be chaired by the Senior Minister.

They will bring in members of the congregation as needed for their counsel and advice on management issues.

The Management Cluster’s function is to

• Propose policies for the Deacon Group (elders will give final approval)
• Hold Deacon Group accountable for operating within policies
• Discern the annual focus for the congregation, as well as ministry needs, direction, etc.
• Provide criteria to the deacon group for developing a church budget each year.
• Annually present a final budget to the elders for approval.
• Oversee “human resources”
• Set, review and update staff policies.
• Research and determine compensation ranges for each position and make final decisions on compensation issues.

Senior Minister’s Role in regards to the Management Cluster

• Leads the Management Cluster and reports directly to the Elders.
• Is responsible to the elders for the operations of Central, making such decisions as the Senior Minister deems necessary and prudent in consideration of the vision and purpose of the Central as well as any guidelines or directives emanating from the Elders or Management Cluster.
• The Senior Minister, in cooperation with the Elders, may and shall delegate responsibility for the operations of the church to the Executive Minister and the Deacon group.
• Attends Elder meetings and Management Cluster meetings.
• Provides input and reports as requested by the Elders.
• Such other duties and responsibilities as are directed by the Elders and as described in the Senior Minister’s job description.

Executive Minister’s Role in regards to the Management Cluster

• Is a member of the Management Cluster and reports directly to the Senior Minister.
• Is responsible to the Senior Minister for management and other operational duties delegated to him by the Senior Minister.
• Attends Elder meetings and Management Cluster meetings.
• Provides input and reports as requested by the Senior Minister.
• Such other duties and responsibilities as are directed by the Senior Minister and as described in the Executive Minister’s job description.
  

Ministers

Under the leadership of the Senior Minister, the ministers are responsible for their day-to-day ministries and equipping people for ministry. They are responsible for casting a vision for overall ministry programs and implementing plans to accomplish ministry purposes. Their role includes establishing and training teams of people to help carry out the vision of the church under the oversight of the Elders. They oversee and work with the ministry leaders in their ministry area. They partner with their cluster elders in ministry.

Deacon Group

See Deacon proposal