Churchboard and the Uri-kiri

Koot van wyk (DLitt et Phil; ThD)

Visiting Professor

Department of Liberal Arts Education

Kyungpook National University

Sangju Campus

South Korea

Conjoint lecturer of Avondale College

Australia

It is not difficult the know what the churchboard is since the Church Manual defines them as a group of baptized, tithepaying members who gather under the chairmanship of the pastor, if there is one in the church, or in the absence of the pastor, the appointed elder that the pastor asked to take care of the chairposition in his absence. The caretaking is only in tempore meaning that it is only temporary until the pastor is back. It is also expected that the elder or headelder will call the pastor as soon as the meeting is over to inform or update him about the meeting. This is the normal run of things in the cities.

The uri-kiri and how it works

When we come to the countryside, we have a different challenge. Farmers meet daily under a wooden structure and sit around chatting. It is called the uri-kiri meeting. There is no prayer and no chairperson. Opinions are expressed back and forth and the consensus is seen as their view of the situation. Just before you think this is very nice for the church, you need to think again.

Problematic uri-kiri meetings

The uri-kiri in the church may decide to have a meeting without the pastor. They do not pray for the meeting but just start chatting. In essence the uri-kiri gatherings are for the purpose of playing together, human games. There is a psychological and humanistic advantage to have these meetings. People feel they belong and that feeling is very strong. Unfortunately there are also deficits about this gathering. It is a major gossip column. Everyone and everything is discussed and if it is in the church-context, it creates partisan feelings, partisan opinions and becomes a power-tool readily to be misused by powerful head-elders and their wives. It is then that they make decisions without the pastor as chairman, without prayer to ask the Holy Spirit to lead, but just based on humanistic considerations of what is right and wrong, to allocate money to a previous uri-kiri member that is not part of the group, but who became sick. In fact they decided among themselves to give 1000% more than they normally give to ordinary members in the ordinary course of events and even 500% more than the pastor. They want to do this wrongful money allocation from God’s funds “quickly” and without delay. Many of the church-board who were not present at the meeting, are just slightly informed that “we have decided”. Like one objector asked: “Who are we?” Of course the answer is the uri-kiri. The uri-kiri then carry their wrongful decision into the regular church-board and like a political caucus, they all vote for the idea to carry it out, with a 7 for and 6 against. At least the church-board meeting had the pastor as chairman and the proper prayer at the beginning and the end. And that is how the Holy Spirit works. After long rowing on the matter back and forth by the church-board the uri-kiri team were persuaded that the issue should be voted one more time. That decision carries the will of the Holy Spirit in this sense that it calms down the faithful members of the board that the wrongful choice of the majority is now in His hands and no longer the responsibility of the other members of the churchboard.

On the issue of non-tithe paying voters of the uri-kiri in the churchboard

It is also interesting to see that the uri-kiri members that pushes for the misuse of the funds of God for one of their past uri-kiri friends, actually do not pay tithe. It is maybe advisable to have a rule in the church-manual that for business meetings, those members of the churchboard that do not pay tithe, cannot vote.

The uri-kiri’s decision to 2424 or move on the Sabbath

It happened once that the uri-kiri saw it fit to go after church to help one of the churchmembers to move to another house. We sent them SMS messages to remind them of the sanctity of the Sabbath and for a long time many of them walked with long faces. They stick to their view that it was right to move on the Sabbath. We even suggested they call us just after sundown and we will come and help move. But, the uri-kiri decided and they got all members lined up for the work. Recently we heard the accusation in a churchboard meeting from an uri-kiri member, how we dare to say they cannot move on the Sabbath?

Consensus is not always right although it is democratic

It is evident that Christians experience the problem that consensus is not always right although it is democratic. If the lives of the Christians that make up the group are off the mark, then it follows that their decision will be also. There were many examples of the same situation in the history of Israel with Moses in the book of Numbers and Elijah in the book of Kings. Those were the cases where consensus was totally wrong and the minority vote was the correct one. There is not much the minority can do about the situation but pray, pray for the Holy Spirit to take firm control of their hearts, appeal, live up to standards, and hope to convince them in time.

The churchboard is not the uri-kiri and vice versa. It cannot replace the churchboard and it cannot function as the churchboard.

Finally, we need to remind ourselves with the words of Hans LaRondelle. He said that God can still hit straight with a bended stick. Once the prayer was made at the beginning and the end, the issue is over but not done. It only moved from human hands to the divine and consequences for bad decisions are meted out by the Holy Spirit in due course: some of them become sick, the bad turn on each other, and all kinds of problems in their lives. People reap what they sow and the Holy Spirit never wish them to receive pain and suffering but they insist to bring it upon themselves.

Let us summarize the deficits of the uri-kiri structure for the churchboard in the countryside churches:

1.     They have a negative view of the role of the ministry.

2.     They do not honor the pastor as Shepherd of the church but think “We do it our way”.

3.     They caucus on a humanistic level outside the perimeters of the Holy Spirit and then enter the Churchboard not selling their idea but forcing other churchboard members to abide by their pre-churchboard decision without opposition or face ostracizing and condemnation plus the potential of gossiping behind their presence.

4.     A uri-kiri team that is of a high spiritual quality, can have a very positive and supportive role for the pastor but when they act outside the influence of the pastor, in his absence with strong gossiping, operating with two tongues to the pastor, not informing the pastor about their decisions well in advance of the churchboard, then this is not the way the Holy Spirit wish the churchboard should go.

5.     Any church meeting, the uri-kiri included, that did not pray at the beginning of the meeting and end of the meeting, is not blessed or led by the Holy Spirit but is a pure VIP club meeting that reaches no further than the team comprising the meeting.

6.     Secular decisions by such an uri-kiri VIP team in church cannot be brought to the duely Holy Spirit led and sanctified churchboard meeting and made mandatory barring other absent churchboard members from the uri-kiri meeting to challenge their decision.

7.     Any act without the pastor in mind or supported by the pastor or with his consideration or his guidance, cannot be carried through as a proper church activity.

8.     The Adventist church is not a Presbyterian system in which absolute power reside in the presbyters or elders. It is a ministerial system in which the minister is the Shepherd of the church leading and guiding it and thus presbyters or elders work relational in a strong capacity with the minister always.

9.     The uri-kiri cannot hire and fire a pastor and their gossiping behind a minister’s back in doing so is not appropriate, not according to Church Manual and do not carry force.

10. It is unfortunate if the Conference is unaware of this complicated structure in country congregations bulldozing their ideas, hiring and firing pastors, and like a sanctified “mafia” want to prescribe what they want and not want. The Conference would do well to first research whether such an uri-kiri team exists in the local church and then do their utmost best to come to the assistance of the ordinary members of the churchboard and church by providing Churchboard Membership Training Seminars where the textbook is the Churchmanual.  

11. Another aspect also necessary to be provided by the Conferences, is the Treasurers Seminar in which treasurers and assistant treasurers attend a Seminar on how to properly run the business affairs of the local church, the computerized system and its benefits, collecting of receipts for each expense, indexing every transaction properly. Issues like when it is proper to give money and when not, when an amount should be blocked by the treasurer and when not, should also receive attention.