UCG president-elect decides not to serve as president and council member simultaneously

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MILFORD, Ohio--The president-elect of the United Church of God an International Association (UCG) announced in March that he will not seek reelection as a member of the 12-man council of elders. His term ends June 30, a little more than a month after he is set to assume the presidency.

Mr. Holladay, who recently moved from Hawkins, Texas, to Ohio in anticipation of his presidential responsibilities in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford, will be the third UCG president and the first one not to serve in that position while simultaneously occupying a seat on the governing council of elders.

"Since I will be serving as president," he wrote in a letter to church elders dated March 2002, "I have asked Gerald Seelig [council secretary] to remove my name from the list of Council nominee candidates to be balloted upon this year. My term on the Council will expire on June 30, 2002."

THE JOURNAL communicated by E-mail with Mr. Holladay April 10 and 11. He explained why, when he was elected president, he decided to resign from the council.

"It is my own personal feelings that the president should not be on the council," he said. "The president will attend all of the meetings of the council with the exceptions of those meetings in which the president might be evaluated. I will still be able to give input to the council and recommend policies.

"This will also give another member of the GCE [general conference of elders] the opportunity to serve on the council. This will make it easier for the council to discuss any issue related to the president and administration if the president is not on the council."
He explained that his decision could help head off future perceived conflicts of interest.

"The president and administration carry out the policies and directives of the council," he said. "The president gives input and advice in the decision-making process. Once the decision is made, he must carry out those policies and decisions.

"The council is the ruling body of the church. Even though these two areas are distinct, we have the opportunity to work together in mutual respect and cooperation."

Mr. Holladay says he looks forward to working with the council in his new capacity.

"I have been on the council since the interim board [in 1995] and have served the last two years as chairman. I understand the workings of the council and the information and input that they desire. I will work to fulfill that desire."

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The Journal: News of the Churches of God is available from P.O. Box 1020, Big Sandy, Texas 75755, U.S.A., and https://www.thejournal.org. For more information write . To comment on this article or any other article or feature in The Journal or Connections, write . The preceding article or feature is from The Journal, April 15, 2002.