Another reason for optimism is that much of the Blue Ribbon Task Force was REALLY occasioned by the growth of district bureaucracy, i.e., full-time district presidents, executives, and their staff. And the regionalizing resolutions will help stop that and put the districts “out of their misery”!
The regional vice-president proposal, although poorly conceived, is actually a two-step process to eliminate the district offices. When the process is done, we will only have five full-time regional presidents, with some staff, throughout the US. All the present district presidents, executives, and staff will be looking for full-time jobs. The district president position will either be staffed by a retiree, or by an unpaid volunteer. This will free up lots of district funds, that will then flow to the national office coffers. This will solve the national office financial crunch, eventually, maybe, at least that is the hope.
What I am surprised, though, is how all the district presidents are on board with this regional restructuring. Don’t they realize they are watching while their own ships are scuttled? Do they think they will be spared, because the President is their friend? How many of his “friends” has he abandoned? These District Presidents will join the list of “hard luck cases.” You need to shake their hands, if you are a delegate, and thank them for their service, because you won’t see them at the next synodical convention, at least not on the district’s expense account.
So if the delegates vote in favor of “regionalization,” all the conservative complaints about “district bureacracy” may finally be heeded! That is the upside on that one!
Yours in Christ, Martin R. Noland