LC: 27. RESPONSIBILITIES AND AUTHORITY OF HOME OFFICERS

         Being a Home teamworker is one of the most difficult jobs in the Family. The Home teamworks are the backbone of the Home. Their love, diligence and good business and personnel management can help create a successful Home, and the lack of these attributes can break a Home. God bless you faithful ones who have accepted such a challenging and demanding job!

         Our greatest need will be good leaders who are concerned for their flocks!--Good shepherds who will lay down their lives for their sheep! Are you one of these? (ML #154:11.)
         A chief executive or Colony leader should only be a guide, who in turn is guided himself by God. ... They are also to be largely guided by the people! (ML #263:45.)

The Home officers are responsible to:

A. Fulfill the Obligations of All Family Officers.
         Home teamworkers are also Family officers who must endeavor to fulfill the basic obligations of all shepherds and leaders in the Family.

B. Manage, care for and shepherd the Home and its members, physically, spiritually and organizationally, and endeavor to ensure that they are fulfilling the "Charter of Responsibilities and Rights" and following the "Fundamental Family Rules."
         The Home teamwork is responsible to shepherd the Home and to do all they can to ensure the Home members are happy, well cared-for and loved. They must also diligently manage the Home so that it functions well organizationally, allowing everyone to effectively and efficiently do their job. The Home members have a great deal of say in the management of their Home, and they elect the Home teamwork, which is expected to carry out the agreed-upon decisions.
         Home members are expected to respect and cooperate with the Home teamwork. They must also obey the teamwork in the matters that the teamwork has been given the authority over, either by the Charter or by the Home. Please do all you can to help uphold your teamwork, as you have chosen them as your Home shepherds.

         Our leaders will no longer be called "advisors" and "supervisors," but "shepherds," to remind them constantly of their responsibility to tenderly and lovingly care for their flocks, and feed and protect their sheep, and nurse and cherish the sick and afflicted. ... (ML #176:62.)
         One of the signs of a good leader is always keeping your eyes open and checking to see that everything is running smoothly--that the snags are all ironed out--that everything is getting done that should be done! (ML #22:5.)

C. Lovingly and faithfully correct and discipline individuals who fail to fulfill, or who violate or contravene the Responsibilities of Individual Members, or the "Fundamental Family Rules," and any agreed-upon Home regulations, in a manner appropriate and proportionate to the offense.

1. If the offending member does not agree that the discipline is appropriate or proportionate, he may bring the matter before the Home's officers. If an agreement cannot be reached, the Home's officers must convene a Home council meeting within three days to settle the matter. If a simple majority agree with the Home's officers, the discipline is to be carried out. If the majority disagree, an alternative discipline must be found and agreed upon.
         A Home's teamwork must have the authority to discipline those in the Home who are not abiding by the Charter or the Rules, or even the Home regulations enacted by the Home. The discipline must be appropriate and proportionate in each case. Often a verbal admonishment will suffice for the first offense. The definition of admonishment is "a gentle but earnest reproof or warning." You will notice we didn't use the term
rebuke, which means "to criticize or reprove sharply," neither did we say reprimand, which means "a severe, formal, or official rebuke or censure." If you have to correct someone verbally, please do so lovingly, even if it must be firmly.
         Some examples of discipline that a teamwork may need to enact include: assigning extra duties like dishwashing; loss of Home responsibilities; temporarily relinquishing an activity or privilege, such as missing a movie or an outing, etc. It is also a good idea to assign an appropriate reading list to help strengthen the Home member.
         As mentioned elsewhere, the Home has the authority to vote in its own Home regulations as long as these do not contravene the Charter or "Fundamental Family Rules." But in doing so, each Home member must understand that he is expected to
abide by those regulations once they are implemented, and that the Home teamwork will have the authority to discipline those who disobey them.
         Whenever discipline is assigned, it must be appropriate and proportionate to the offense. If the offense was very minor, then the correction must reflect this same degree of disciplinary action. If the teamwork assigns a form of discipline which the offender feels is not appropriate or feels is excessive for the offense, he can discuss the matter with them.
         The Home teamwork should hear out the member as to the reasons why he feels the discipline is not appropriate or proportionate. The member should also listen to the teamwork's reasons for their choice of discipline. Both sides should prayerfully and lovingly consider the reasons of the other.
         If an agreement on the disciplinary action cannot be reached, the teamwork must call a Home council meeting within three days to settle the matter. Both sides should be heard in the meeting and the Home should discuss it and come to a decision by means of a majority vote.

         Give these wisdom, great wisdom and firmness, Lord, conviction, great love, but to be willing to be firm in love with what's right, in Jesus' name (ML #1467:106).
         With a lot of people's problems, you can just talk to them a little bit and you tell them the solution and they want to do better and they repent and change. With others, you talk to them and you pray with them and perhaps there's a short-lived victory, but then the problem returns over and over again. When there is that kind of problem, I think there needs to be something more than just talking and talking and praying and praying with them (ML #1887:2).
         But we must be sure that [correction is] in the right spirit with the meekness and the quietness of a tender and gentle and loving and contrite heart in all humility.--To be sure that we're in the right spirit as we correct those around us for their mistakes and their errors and their sins, even as God does us and as we would want others to do unto us for ours.--Loving and forgiving one another for Christ's sake, even as He hath forgiven us for our sins (ML #1250:43).

D. Recommend that a Home member be placed on Probationary Status, in accordance with the Procedures for Placing a Member on Probationary Status.

E. Recommend that a Home member be moved to Fellow Member status, in accordance with the Procedures for Moving a Charter Member to Fellow Member Status.

F. Immediately report any accusations of excommunicable offenses to the area and continental offices.

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         If someone within a Home reports that a Home member has committed an excommunicable offense, the Home teamwork must immediately report it to both the area office and the continental office, who will investigate the matter speedily, unless the person being excommunicated agrees to waive the investigation and accept the sentence of the continental office.

G. Bring up all matters submitted for discussion or vote in a Home council meeting within 15 days.
         As each voting member has the right to bring matters up for discussion in the appropriate Home council meeting, and to have it brought to a vote in 15 days, it is the responsibility of the teamwork to make sure that all such matters are voted on within that time frame.

         So we all need to work together, we need to listen to each other, counsel together, agree together, decide together and then work it out together.--That it might "seem good to all of them," and that we might agree and work together as the Spirit leads, if we're going to get the job done, and when and where it is most needed (ML #263:76,80).


Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family