(The English follows the Chinese.)

任命選舉政策委員會，作為邁向「聯邦化多式會眾制」的第一步 (Appointing An Electoral Policy Committee as the First Step Towards Federated Multimodal Congregationalism)

李業基 (Gideon Lee) 5/28/2024

自成立以來，匯點教會一直蒙福。根據多種衡量標准，包括浸信會流行的所謂3B（Buildings 建築物業、Budgets 預算和Baptisms受浸人數），匯點教會持續增長。為了繼續這增長，一些 匯點成員意識到，是時候將教會治理模式朝著以下方向發展：

1.           教會領導層中公平分配堂會的代表權。

2.           按比例分配各堂會的預算。

3.           堂會事工高度自治。

4.           設立政策制定和行政決定的問責機制。

「聯邦化多式會眾制」是為實現這些目標而設計的「一會多堂」教會模式，啟發源自美國聯邦政府與各州政府分享權力的策略，以公平和相稱的方式，將教會的領導權和資源分散到各堂會中，以便每個每個堂會都能在各自的本地處境中更有效運作。

本簡介並不旨於給「聯邦化多式會眾制」一個準確定義。要準確定義必先對教會論進行更深入的神學背景討論。此外，還需要一個具體的政策建議，詳細說明教會內不同管理實體的權責。這兩項工作都會有適當的時機。本簡介將重點放在政策制定者的選舉政策上。當使用革新政策選立任命新一代領導人以後，他們能以廣泛代表整個教會的集體思想，來開展這兩項工作。  

作為第一步，本簡介建議任命一個選舉政策委員會，其主要任務是確定基本的管理實體和這些實體的選舉程序。 通過在確定組成不同實體的量化標準，選舉政策委員會將提供細節，實現下文所設想的理念骨架： 

1. 堂會(Congregation)：  教會由多個堂會組成。每個教會會員都屬於一個堂會。堂會概念上與「分堂」(Campus)有關，但並不完全相同。多個堂會可以共用一個分堂建築物，例如，可能有不同語言的堂會在同一棟分堂建築物中聚會。反之，一個堂會可以跨越多個地點。堂會的一個量化標準是所需的最低成員人數，如 50 人。
2. 受托人(Trustee)： 每個堂會在教會層的信託委員會中都有平等的代表權。受托人由其所代表的堂會通過競選産生。受托人的一個量化標準是每個堂會在信託委員會中的席位，如每個堂會有2 個受托人席位。
3. 執事(Deacon)： 每個堂會在教會層的執事會中都有按比例的代表席位。執事由其所代表的堂會通過競舉産生。執事的一個量化標準是每個堂會在執事會中的席位，如每 50 名堂會會員有 1 個執事席位。
4. 雇員人數(Employee Headcount)：堂會的雇員人數上限與其經常奉獻成正比。雇員人數的量化標準是其上限，例如[堂會經常奉獻的 50%/家庭收入中位數]。
5. 堂會主領牧師(Congregational Lead Pastor)： 堂會主領牧師由堂會聘牧委員會提名，並經會衆投票通過。堂會主領牧師的一個量化標準是堂會會衆對其任命所要求的贊成票數比例，如三分之二贊成。
6. 堂會聘牧委員會(Congregational Pastoral Search Committee)： 堂會聘牧委員會是負責提名堂會主領牧師的特設委員會，成員由代表堂會的受托人和執事提名。堂會聘牧委員會的一個量化標準是堂會會衆對其任命所要求的贊成票數比例，如三分之二贊成。
7. 合規委員會(Compliance Committee)： 教會層的合規委員會是一個常設委員會，負責調查違反政策的指控，並向所有教會成員報告調查結果。 合規委員會的一個量化標準是其組成的堂會代表性。例如，可以等同堂會在某一個委員會中的席位數，如每堂會兩名委員（即類似信託委員會），或每 50 名堂會會員有一名委員（即類似執事會）。
8. 資歷審查委員會(Credentials Committee)： 教會層的資歷審查委員會是一個常設委員會，負責通過審查資格證明文件，檢查教會和堂會各委員會候選人的資格。 資歷審查委員會的一個量化標準是其組成的。（見上文合規委員會中的例子）。
9. 提名委員會(Nominating Committee)： 教會層的提名委員會是一個常設委員會，負責提名教會層的委員會成員。現今的提名委員會一直有既定的政策決定。但可以設想制定一項新政策，讓提名委員會的組成符合一個具堂會代表性的量化標準（見上文合規委員會的例子）。例如，新政策可規定提名委員會由信託委員會和執事會負責提名。
10. 選舉政策委員會(Electoral Policy Committee)： 教會層的選舉政策委員會是一個特設委員會，負責起草本簡介所設想的選舉政策提案，發表草案以收集反饋意見，並將最終草案提交會員大會批准。實現的第一步是確定選舉政策委員會的組成。其最終政策提案包含上述的各量化標準，例如可以用下表概括：

一個可以想像的時間表如下：

• 2024年年終會員大會：
  • 任命選舉政策委員會。
  • 任命合規委員會。
• 2025 年中會員會議：
  • 選舉政策委員會發布政策草案徵詢意見。
• 2025年年終會員大會：
  • 批准選舉政策。
• 2026年年終會員大會：
  • 信託委員和執事根據新的選舉政策透過競舉產生。

Appointing An Electoral Policy Committee as the First Step Towards Federated Multimodal Congregationalism

Gideon Lee, 5/28/2024

Since her inception, Crosspoint Church has been blessed with a history of continual growth according to multiple measurements, including but not limited to the Baptist cliché of 3Bs (buildings, budgets, and baptisms). To continue this growth, it has become evident to some Crosspoint members that it is time to evolve the church governance model towards more:

1. Equitable distribution of representation among congregations in church leadership.
2. Proportional allocation of budget across congregations.
3. Local autonomy in congregational ministry.
4. Accountability in executive decision and policy making.

Federated multimodal congregationalism is a multi-congregational church polity designed for such objectives. Inspired by how the USA federal government shares power with the state governments, federated multimodal congregationalism aims at decentralizing the leadership and resources of the church among the congregations in an equitable and proportional manner so that each can be more effective in their own local context.

This presentation does not aim at defining federated multimodal congregationalism precisely. To do that, a more thorough background consideration in ecclesiology would be necessary. Moreover, a concrete policy proposal detailing the authority and responsibility of different governing entities within the church would be necessary. There shall come an appropriate time for both exercises. Instead, this presentation draws the focus on the electoral policy of policy makers. Once a new generation of leaders is put in place using the reformed electoral policy, the new leaders can take on both exercises with a collective mind that is more broadly representative of the whole church.    

As a first step, this presentation proposes the appointment of an electoral policy committee whose primary mission is to identify the essential governing entities and the election process of such entities.  The electoral policy committee will furnish the details of the skeletal framework envisioned below, primarily through establishing quantitative criteria in the composition of the different entities:  

1. Congregation:  The church is organized as a collection of congregations. Every church member will belong to a congregation. Conceptually, a congregation is related but not identical to a campus. Multiple congregations can share a campus building, e.g. there might be different language congregations meeting at the same building. Conversely, a congregation may span multiple sites. A quantitative criterion for congregation is the minimum number of members required, e.g. 50 members.
2. Trustee: Every congregation is equally represented at the board of trustees. Trustees are competitively elected by the congregation they represent. A quantitative criterion for trustees is the number of seats each congregation has on the board of trustees, e.g. 2 trustees per congregation.  
3. Deacon: Every congregation is proportionally represented at the board of deacons. Deacons are competitively elected by the congregation they represent. A quantitative criterion for deacons is the number of seats each congregation has on the board of deacons, e.g. 1 deacon per 50 congregational members.
4. Employee Headcount: The employee headcount ceiling for a congregation is proportional to its general offering. A quantitative criterion for employee headcount is its ceiling, e.g. (50% congregational general offering / median household income). 
5. Congregational Lead Pastor: The lead pastor of a congregation is nominated by a congregational pastoral search committee and approved by the congregation. A quantitative criterion for lead pastor is the percentage required in the congregational approval for his appointment, e.g. two-third approval.
6. Congregational Pastoral Search Committee: The congregational pastoral search committee is an ad hoc committee responsible for nominating the congregational lead pastor. Its members are nominated by the trustees and deacons representing the congregation. A quantitative criterion for congregational pastoral search committee is the percentage required in the congregational approval of the appointment of its members, e.g. two-third approval.
7. Compliance Committee: The church-level compliance committee is a standing committee responsible for investigating allegations of policy violation and reporting the findings to all church members.  A quantitative criterion for the compliance committee is its composition, possibly in terms of the number of seats each congregation has on the committee, e.g. 2 committee member per congregation (i.e., like the board of trustees) or 1 committee member per 50 congregational members (i.e., like the board of deacons).
8. Credentials Committee: The church-level credentials committee is a standing committee responsible for checking the eligibility of church-level and congregational-level committee candidates by reviewing documentation of credentials.  A quantitative criterion for the compliance committee is its composition (see examples above in compliance committee).
9. Nominating Committee: The church-level nominating committee is a standing committee responsible for nominating members of church-level committees. An existing policy informs the annual formation of the nominating committee currently. But it is conceivable that a new policy can be established to establish the quantitative criteria used in determining the composition of the nominating committee (see examples above in compliance committee). For example, a new policy could make the nomination of nominating committee members the responsibility of the trustees and deacons.
10. Electoral Policy Committee: The church-level electoral policy committee is an ad hoc committee responsible for drafting the electoral policy envisioned by this proposal, releasing the draft to collect feedback, and sending the final draft to the members for approval. Its composition must first be decided before this proposal can be realized. Their policy is characterized by the quantitative criteria described above and could be summarized by a table like the following:

 A conceivable timeline is as follows:

• Year-end 2024 membership meeting:
  • Appoint the Electoral Policy Committee.
  • Appoint the Compliance Committee.
• Mid-year 2025 membership meeting:
  • The Electoral Policy Committee releases a policy draft to request for comments.
• Year-end 2025 membership meeting:
  • Approving the Electoral Policy.
• Year-end 2026 membership meeting:
  • Trustees and Deacons are competitively elected using the new Electoral Policy.