Outcome of the 30 June Special Meeting

Many thanks to those who were able to be in attendance at our special family meeting last Sunday.  At that meeting, members voted on a motion put to the church by the SC and LT, that Erin Temu be appointed to the role of Senior Pastor at FBC.

Our constitution requires that 75% of the votes cast need to be in favour of the motion presented for it to carry.  However this threshold was not met - the result being 73%.

We know that for many, including the Leadership team, Search Committee and Staff Team, this is a disappointing outcome.

Before discussing next steps, Erin has provided some words that he wishes to share:

Kia ora Church Whanau,

Thank you for the opportunity to share with you. I respect and accept the outcome of the vote. While the result didn't meet the 75% threshold, I believe in the sovereign hand of God and that He is in control. I know he loves me and my whanau and trust He has good plans for me.

This process has been a valuable experience. Throughout my career at the Electoral commission, I've witnessed the emotions of both winning and losing elections. However, the sacredness of the vote always remains paramount. Regardless of the outcome, it should be honoured.

Moving forward, I believe there's room for improvement in the search and appointment process. I'd be happy to work with the church members, the leadership team, the search committee and the Baptist union to review it and explore potential enhancements.

My deepest gratitude goes to the search committee for all their hard work and dedication throughout this process. You did a wonderful job. I also want to thank the leadership team for their endorsement and encouragement, as well as my family and supporters for their unwavering belief in me.

Throughout this journey, my prayer has been for God's will to be done. While some may be experiencing sadness and disappointment, I trust we will provide the necessary support and pastoral care during this time.

While I didn't secure the Senior Pastor position, I remain passionate about serving our church and will continue to support the staff and the leadership team in whatever way I can.

May the Lord bless you all.

Nga mihi
Erin Temu

While Erin is clear that an appointment to the Senior Pastor role is not something he is now pursuing, we are incredibly blessed that Erin remains fully committed to FBC and will continue to serve on our Leadership Team. You can see from his own words that his commitment and love for FBC is undiminished, and we are hugely grateful for his continuing involvement.
 
 
Next Steps

In the days since the meeting, the Search Committee and Leadership teams have met to debrief, and to review the meeting which took place on Sunday.  We have identified a number of positive things that occurred, but also a number of areas where we know we could have done better.   

The Leadership Team would like to formally apologise to the whole church whānau for the way we handled the meeting last Sunday.  We know we were ill-prepared for some of the questions raised and in a number of cases did not give satisfactory answers. And we did not manage the meeting appropriately when the vote was not carried.  We have absolute confidence that God will continue to work out His purposes at FBC, but we also know that there are clearly a number of things we need to do differently in future.

Right now, before we jump into any planning relating to next steps, we want to pause and pray.  We call you to join with us.  Every day at 12 noon we would ask that each attendee of FBC pause to pray for God’s leading and guidance about the appropriate next steps and the timing of those.  Set up a reminder on your phones or watches!  And please also come to the Sunday prayer meetings at 5pm at FBC.

We would also welcome conversations with any FBC attendees who would like to give us feedback or just spend time together processing and sharing the events of the last few days.  We know many are grieving and disappointed.  Members of the Leadership Team and Search Committee will remain behind after church this Sunday 7 July to meet informally with those who would like the opportunity to do this.  You may prefer to e-mail your comments to leaders@fbc.nz – we would also welcome this over the next few days. Thank you to those who have already done so.

As we respond to the call to prayer for guidance and wisdom, we also want to hear what you sense God is saying to you – please also send this to the above e-mail address. 

At our upcoming church family meeting we will talk more about where we have got to and how we feel God is leading us forward. 

Be in much prayer our dear family.

From the FBC Leadership team