UPC Resolution to Remove TV from Manual

[deacon blues]

From two separate sources connected to WEC and the General Board I've been told that last week's GB meetings produced a resolution for this year's General Conference to remove all references to TV from the manual. For some time there has been a committee researching the subject and the relevance of the wording of the manual in regard to television ownership among ministers. David Bernard realized that modern technology had made the wording of the manual irrelevant and obsolete.

The word I received was 75% of the Board members were in favor of it. This is a giant shift in policy. It has been a wedge issue for years between conservative and moderate/liberals. The WPF exists today because of the 2007 decision to allow TV advertising at the GC in Tampa. Should the GC pass this resolution, this could push more conservatives out of the door.

To the man on the street this debate is a no brainer. To ban the traditional TV from preacher's homes while phones, computers, notebooks and other devices can access almost all of the same content of television is nonsensical. A majority of UPC churches have members who own TVs. Many preachers have TVs and have been making the choice to lie on their affirmation statements they are required to sign every other year. Many preachers have left because they could no longer sign it dishonestly. 30% of new applications for ministerial licenses in the UPC had the statement about TV ownership struck through, which automatically canceled the applications validity.

With the numbers in the UPC declining, in numbers of churches, numbers of veteran ministers and numbers of young men applying for license, the UPC cant afford to turn away 30% of new applicants. I believe that with the short term losses of conservatives leaving it's ranks the long term benefits will outweigh the losses.

Then there's the dress code and hair issues...