LC: DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION OF TERMS
Terms used in the "Charter of Responsibilities and Rights" and the "Fundamental Family Rules":
Accounts Payable: financial obligations owed to others by your Home, which are due on given dates; for example, $300 owed to the Home loan fund
Accounts Receivable: funds owed to your Home by others, that are due to be received on given dates
Age Determination: when an age is specified in the Charter, such as "18 years of age," it always means those who have passed the birthday of the age stated
Area Officers: leaders above the Home level but below the continental office level, presently the Visiting Servants (VSs).--Collectively known as the area office
Assets: all of a person's or Home's goods: reserves, surpluses, cash, accounts receivable, and material belongings
Babe: a new, non-voting Charter Member who has been in the Family less than six months; or a rejoining member during the first six months he or she is back in the Family
Children: Family members under the age of 16
City: when "city" is used throughout the Charter and the "Fundamental Family Rules," it is referring to an actual city, town or village, not a metropolitan area
Closed City: a city where the opening of further Homes is not permitted without CRO approval
Continental Area: a specific geographical area, designated by WS leadership, and overseen by continental officers
Continental Officers: WS officers appointed by WS leadership to oversee a continental area.--Collectively known as the continental office. Presently they are known as CROs
<<[New]>>
Current Operating Expenses: the current month's rent, phone, utilities, food, transportation, and other regular monthly expenses incurred in the normal running of a Home (Seed corn is not included, as that should be linked directly to tool distribution and handled separately.)
Dating: to go out socially with a member of the opposite sex, or to engage in an emotional or romantic relationship with a member of the opposite sex
Debt: late or non-payment of financial obligations; for example, overdue rent or Home loan payment
Excommunication: a disciplinary action ranging from excluding a member from Family literature and fellowship, to the less severe partial excommunication that may allow continued membership, but the lose of certain privileges as outlined in the Procedures for Excommunicating Family Members.
<<[New]>>
Family Aid Fund (FAF): fund to which all Charter Member Homes donate 1% and WS 10% of their monthly income, to be used for pioneer gifts, HER fund, Tool funds, "passed on" [death] gifts, Home loans, baby bonuses and, funds permitting, medical emergencies
Fellow Member: non-Charter Family member who is saved, completes a monthly TRF, tithes and fulfills the responsibilities of Fellow Members, as outlined in the Appendix I.
Full Excommunication: disciplinary action resulting in a member being expelled from living in a Charter or Fellow Home, excluded from all but GP/DFO Family literature, and which may result in the member being excluded from all Family fellowship for an indefinite period of time
Fundamental Family Beliefs: Biblical and revealed beliefs, which Charter Members must believe to retain their Charter membership
Guardian: one specifically authorized by a child's parent(s) to assume the responsibility of the parent(s), in the absence of the parent(s)
Home: a Family community where members reside
Home Council Meeting: a meeting to discuss Home matters in which a minimum of 50% of the Home's voting members must be present
Home Officers: Home shepherds, elected by the Home's voting members, presently known collectively as the Home teamwork
Home Referendum: a voting procedure called for by a continental office to vote on matters pertaining to a specific area or country
Home Regulations: rules applying to an individual Home, adopted through a simple majority vote of the Home members, which must be obeyed and adhered to by them
Home Schooling Program: also referred to as the Home Schooling Kit
Home Teamwork: Home officers elected by the Home
Homes' Monthly Report: Tithers' Report Form (TRF)
Intellectual Copyright Material: a legal term referring to any original works of an author or composer which he has written, created or made, etc., and encompassing the general areas of copyright, trademarks, patents, etc
Legal Age: the age at which a minor becomes legally recognized as an adult; this differs from country to country
Liabilities: all of the Home's and members' financial obligations: accounts payable
LIM: WS-sponsored translation center
<<[New]>>
Lit Library: Home library containing Family literature and fully accessible to Charter voting members. Ages 14 and 15 are also allowed to read all Family lit unless specified otherwise or designated for an older age group. Those under 14 may read those pubs designated for them, and other Family lit at the parents' discretion. The HomeARC and the Member's Only Web site are considered part of the Lit Library
<<[New]>>
Live-in Non-Family Young Person: young person staying temporarily in a CM Home for a designated period of time while looking for employment or housing. Or until they are able to adequately get set up elsewhere, or who is underage and remaining with his parents until he is old enough to move out on his own
Live-Out Member: friends who are saved, regularly fellowship with the Home, attend meetings, witness and tithe or give substantially to your Home or WS
Mass Distribution Outreach Tools: publications, either written, audio (cassette or CD), or video, intended for distribution to the general public
Metropolitan Area: large city or urbanized area including adjacent suburbs and towns
Net Income: funds remaining after the tithe, 1% FAF contribution, and seed corn have been deducted
New Disciple: term used for stats-keeping purposes, to be entered on the first TRF after a member has lived in a Charter Home for at least 20 days; otherwise known as a babe
Non-National: Charter Member who is not eligible to hold a passport of the country in which he is presently living; nor a spouse or child of a passport-holding national of that country
<<[New]>>
Minimum Responsibility: parenting teamwork that is formed from the time a single woman realizes that she is pregnant until her child has his or her first birthday
Partial Excommunication: less severe form of discipline than Full Excommunication. Allows for continued membership, but the loss of certain privileges as outlined in the Procedures for Excommunicating Family Members.
Probationary Notice: a disciplinary measure imposed on a Home by an area or continental office, as a result of infractions committed in violation of the "Charter of Responsibilities and Rights" or "Fundamental Family Rules"
Probationary Status: a disciplinary measure imposed on a Home member by their Home by a majority vote, for infractions committed in violation of the "Charter of Responsibilities and Rights" or "Fundamental Family Rules"
Publications: includes the medium of printed literature, audio or videotapes, CDs, disks, etc
Road Team: witnessing team temporarily on a road trip, who still appear on their Home's TRF
Road Team Home: a Home with no permanent residence, which is mobile and reports as a Home; for example, a Home living in caravans or trailers
Seed Corn: fixed amount of money (the cost of each tool) which you should set aside, before deducting the tithe, from the gifts you receive when you distribute tools, to be used to purchase new tools. (In other words, the seed corn itself does not need to be tithed. For more information on how to handle seed corn see question no.12 in FSM 331, "Answers to Your Tithing, FAF, HER, Pioneer Gift, & Home Loan Questions")
Sensitive Country: country that due to its political, religious or otherwise sensitive nature may be potentially dangerous or problematic for a Home operating there, requiring closer oversight of the Homes' activities by the continental office
Service Home: Family Home that offers a service to the Family communities in a city, area, or internationally. Under the supervision of the continental office
<<[New]>>
Sexual Activity: any sexual relations, including deep kissing
<<[New]>>
Sexual Contact: any sexual relations that go further than deep kissing
Simple Majority: a vote in which the will of over 50% of the voting members determines the outcome of the vote
Tithe: 10% of all cash income to be given to the Lord via World Services
Two-thirds Majority: a vote in which at least 67% (two out of three voting members) must give an affirmative vote for the measure to pass
Voting Member: member of a Home who has reached the age of 16 and has been in the Family for at least six months and is not on Probationary Status or Partial Excommunication
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family