What prompted the Church Lobby to Campaign against Journalist? 4 January 2004
To
Mr. Bruce Goodwin
Chairman
PCO Council
Muscat
Sub: Anomalies regarding the appointment of the new Senior Pastor.Dear Mr. Bruce,
Seasons Greetings to you and the council members.We would like to bring to your notice some disturbing information floating around regarding the appointment of the new Senior Pastor. The general areas of concern are as follows:
Policy norms have not been followed with regards to the salary of the senior pastor. He has been offered a Basic salary of RO 1700/- plus huge perks & allowance etc. Does this fall within the norms of the PCO? It seems there is a huge disparity between the existing salary structures compared to what has been offered.
Have the pre requisites for the appointment been taken into consideration? What about qualifications, doctrinal standing etc?
We have also been given to understand that A LOT OF PRE CONDITIONS have been put up by the new appointee like ASKING FOR TOTAL CONTROL OVER FINANCES, HIRING & FIRING, BUILDING, MANAGEMENT ETC, EVEN BY PASSING THE COUNCIL. This, we firmly believe is against the very principles of PCO and its present structure.For over a year we have been talking in the church and praying with faith so that God gives wisdom to someone to serve in this position. Then how can this man of God dictate such terms and how can the council even consider this, knowing the financial situation of the church? If these terms have been put forward, then we would rather wait longer for someone else who will primarily look at this as doing service as per God's will in Oman and NOT AS A BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.
There is a shortfall of free will offerings in the present budget. In the light of omanisation / floating population along with the average income not being that high, this is not going to increase substantially. How then, such huge expenses being incurred, be borne?Apparently, the new building fund reserves are to be utilized to offset the income shortfall. If so, then it is against the constitution of the PCO. How will the building cost be met especially when the Ruwi building project has been pending for years?
When there were so many concerns and were voiced by some council members too, how did the council go ahead with the vote? Where is the unity / oneness and the leading of the Holy Spirit in such major decisions like this?
Considering the present financial situation, can the church afford such huge increase in expenditure? Has the uniqueness of the PCO been taken into account regarding its diverse multinational / denominational congregations? How can the matter go ahead if the council and the congregation are not united on this issue?
Already rumors about mismanagement have surfaced in the Kerala Monitor. Do we really want to add on to such situations at this juncture?
There are presently five pastors & Deacon. Has their full utility been evaluated before rushing in for a new appointment? If indeed there is a personnel shortfall, why cannot a pastor be appointed under the present norms instead?
It seems that this matter has been pushed ignoring all reasonable objections esp. the salary and perks / authority. We understand that in the earlier case when Rev. Mcvitty put up similar demands the Council rejected them, but in this case it seems that the same logic/parameters have not been exercised????
All the above points are quite shocking. The congregation is deeply disturbed over the way the appointment was pushed, without being fully informed and kept abreast of the major changes in the policy decisions and proposed changes to the constitution. Any such changes made require a full AGM with complete quorum and approval by two-thirds majority before being ratified.
If congregational approval is not given, where will the PCO stand? What will be the position of the new pastor under this situation? Would this be fair to him?
We are strongly concerned about all the above and DEMAND A FULL EXPLANATION.An Urgent extraordinary AGM should be convened to discuss the same, with every member of the church made aware of the above issues.The meeting should be held immediately before confirming the offer to the senior pastor.
If the offer has been made already then the Council should immediately inform him of the serious reservations of the congregations regarding his appointment so that he is aware of the serious repercussions. We look forward to hear from you on this matter at the earliest.
Yours sincerely,Members of the PCO Congregation
Cc: PCO office, All council members, Ruwi Church notice board, Ghala Church notice board
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