Reform Goals
By Bishop Jeffrey N. Leath
AME, Inc. has functioned for too long in secrecy, without accountability, and as a cover for overextension of the power of certain bishops, general officers, and the entity itself. If AME, Inc. will not curb its abuse of power, THE PEOPLE MUST ACT. If the Council of Bishops and General Board will not exercise authority to challenge a body that serves itself above the knowledge and consent of those for whom it was created, THE PEOPLE MUST ACT.
The reform challenge to THE PEOPLE:
Reform Goal #1—AME, Inc.
1. Join a call for an audit for and at the 51st Session of the General Conference.
2. Demand a report to the General Conference which provides a summary, without specific detail, of the number of matters addressed, assets liquidated, and other pertinent information to give the Church a view of the activity, even if there is no identification of personalities in sensitive cases.
3. Call for the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and AME, Inc. to prepare an inventory of ALL real and financial assets of the Church. Let it be presented to the Council of Bishops and the Commission on Statistics and Finance as representative of the larger body for the sake of discretion and confidentiality by 1 June 2021.
4. Insist that the Report to the General Conference includes asset values held by AME, Inc. at the beginning of the quadrennium and the end of the quadrennium.
5. Call on the Council of Bishops to direct the CFO to assist AME, Inc. in every way to produce an accurate presentation of the real and financial assets of AME, Inc.
6. Demand regular, annual reports of AME, Inc. to the Council of Bishops and the General Board.
7. Insist on knowledge and consent before AME, Inc. buys, sells, invests, or borrows. If our churches and annual conferences can do it, they can too!
8. Require notice to be given to the Council of Bishops whenever suits are filed against the Church. No more secrecy and hidden deals!
9. Do not believe the fantasy surrounding the “independence” of AME, Inc. It is a creation by the General Conference for the use and convenience of the General Conference (and the Church).
10. Promote ongoing discussion on, and definition of, the relationship between AME, Inc. and other structures of the Church.
The travesty must stop now. The People must be responsible. Whose Church? God’s Church! Who are the stewards of God’s Church? THE PEOPLE are the stewards of God’s Church! Show us what accountability, integrity, and fairness look like. This is what accountability, integrity, and fairness look like!
Reform Goal #2—The Finance Department
This is more complex than the reform of our AME, Inc. situation although the two are intertwined. The reform challenge to THE PEOPLE:
1. We need a COO/CEO to balance and monitor the activity of the Finance Department. Join the effort to develop some new protocols. Help raise a cry among the delegates. Reform the financial operation of the church, NOW!
2. Bishops and the General Board must demand more from the Statistics and Finance Commission in monitoring the Finance Department. This needs to be resolved with the reorganized General Board in July. Pray and join the call, NOW!
3. The General Conference must limit, organize, and make transparent the lending, borrowing, and investment activity of the Finance Department.THIS IS CRITICAL BEFORE A NEW CFO BECOMES ENTRENCHED IN OLD, REGRESSIVE WAYS.
4. Bishops, and other entities, must stop asking the CFO to “find the money” without expecting proper identification and authorization. Unused funds from the budget should not automatically become discretionary (or slush) funds of the CFO.
5. If there is no thorough identification of ALL AME, Inc. and General Church immediate assets within six months of the General Conference, we must call for a forensic audit to identify the operation of the CFO and Finance Department.
Pray. Encourage the bishops, General Conference delegates, and General Board representatives to exercise the authority of their position.
We have refused to see for too long. The pandemic and activity of the last two to three years shined a light on some very wrong elements. Don’t we want to be people who do right with excellence? Aren’t we of God?
Reform Goal #3—Departmental Operating Budgets
We demand audits but we do not demand budgets. One without the other is practically useless in the quest for accountability. An audit cannot reveal corruption or ineffective administration without parallel structures of governance and goals. The call for audits over the last 50 years was a hollow cry resulting in false comfort in our administrative integrity. We need an oversight body and detailed budgets.
While all of this is true of the Finance Department, the light must also shine on each connectional department. Our Discipline gives the impression that general officers are free to do as they please with the pitiful allocation for administration and programming. In most instances, the departments generate income but our law and policies offer little detail on how such income is allocated.
We are far from fair with our general officers. They are left to make bricks without straw. However, we do not have guidelines on whether the bricks are used to build a personal abode or an institutional structure.
The remedy is not complicated. First, the General Board commissions must be made to function as governing committees. Second, the departments must produce budgets for review. Third, the system must account for the full activity of each department, including supplementary compensation, and deficient support of essential programming.
The goal of such administration is not to deny additional financial support to general officers. The mark is to put on top of the table fair compensation and expose the true costs and benefits of our operations. If our leaders would trust decency and order, there could be a blessing for all in this approach.
