To ‘honor’ is to give respect, even more, to give reverence and homage. It is those words that I would use only to refer to my Creator, my Savior, and the One who has my heart first and foremost.
During this time of year, we live in a world that has a different focus on who should receive honor. First we had Halloween that slides seamlessly into Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations and shopping comes out simultaneously with the costumes. What are we to do to be the ‘salt and light’ in these holidays?
Three pastors gave their thoughts about Halloween in response to our inquiry about the focus of popular Fall Festivals:
I once delivered a sermon entitled “Don’t Fear The Dark.” The point of the sermon was just that. As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been infused with the light of truth. Why recoil from such things as Halloween? I appreciate people’s concerns with seemingly embracing a dark holiday. However, is Halloween really a dark holiday? I would contend that it is, or at least have become for the vast majority of those who celebrate it, a distinctly American tradition for dressing up, having costume parties with friends and family, and for children to find and eat as much candy as possible. Perhaps it is indicative of a culture of excess, with children and adults alike indulging in sweets and frolicking, but not any more so than on any other day of excess in American life. My aim is to redeem the holiday, as with any other day, for the glory of God and the exaltation of Jesus Christ.
I am fully supportive of fall festivals and similar activities. At the church I currently serve, we ask church members to decorate the trunk of their car with lights, fun Halloween decorations (we stay away from the gory and overtly scary), pumpkins or gourds, and pass out candy during the same time that the downtown businesses do in our area. Our church is located just a few feet out of the downtown district. We take advantage of this time to pass out information about the church and small Gospel tracts which are specifically geared toward the Halloween time. We do our best to make Halloween a time for soul-winning and outreach. Just as we do for every other time of the year. We serve a God of redemption. Our goal is to redeem the day, as with all days! – Rev. Chris Surber, Pastor First Congregational Church, Peru, IL , author of The Sacred Journeyand Sweet Potatoes in my Coffee
I have struggled with this same question for years, and I have come down on the fact that Halloween is the second most popular “holiday” in America, next to Christmas. People are out and about, and will come to events that churches put on simply because of the day. Therefore, I cannot see Jesus not taking advantage of a time when people will come to you to hear the gospel. While churches don’t promote gore, death and darkness, we do encourage dressing up, playing games, giving out candy, and focusing on Jesus as the One who gives us life and makes us new people. While many people will still come only for the fun, games and candy, it is a great time to plant seeds, make friendships and just love on people where they are. – Rev. Ted Wood, Pastor Rockledge United Methodist Church, Rockledge, FL
We don’t have what is called a “Fall Festival”. We do have a fall Bazaar and fish fry. The purpose of the Fall Bazaar is to raise funds to support our youth ministry. The fish fry proceeds go to the men fellowship for different projects. – Rev. Riley Richardson, Pastor, Myrtle Grove United Methodist Church, Pensacola, FL
It is wonderful to see God’s children obediently seeking to fulfill the Great Commission by following Jesus’ example…
“Now go out to the street corners and invite everyone you see.’ So the servants brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike, and the banquet hall was filled with guests.” Matthew 22:9-10 (NLT)
Four couples with children were asked about Fall holidays and celebrations. What are you teaching your children? Couple A
have 3 children ages 9, 7, and 5
We have no Fall celebration in our home other than Thanksgiving. I am very honest with my kids about Halloween. I have explained to them that I do not like it because it promotes fear, terror, horror, and is all around evil. I then explain that all those things come from hell. They get it. On the other hand, I am not…afraid, or concerned about Halloween. We have never taken the kids trick or treating other than at big church festivals (which, by the way, they always get way more candy there). We have fun with the kids and let them dress up as something for school…a race care driver, Woody the cowboy, etc. We avoid any type of “haunted house” experience, or scary movies. Public school is always an issue with this type of holiday. Not knowing what they will do to celebrated the day is the problem. It hasn’t been a problem the last few years, mostly just dress up and candy. We will see as they get older. Halloween does provide a good opportunity to talk to our kids about “stuff.” Couple B
have 2 children, ages 5 and 2
My kids are a little atypical in what you can explain to a two and four year old and expect them to grasp. To them dress up is fun, candy is good, and hanging out with anyone is Good Times. To them “God is bigger than the boogieman, bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV” to quote a Veggie Tale’s song. However, they know what appears scary and even though they know it’s not real it opens their eyes to a thing we constantly are teaching them which is DO NOT LIVE IN FEAR!!! We celebrate life, fellowship, and playing dress up!! We rebuke and teach against fear and the motives behind it. My children are taught daily to believe in and on the cross, and through His light there is no prevailing darkness!!!!!!!!! Couple C
have 2 children, ages 8 and 5
We have a “October Jam” at our church which we usually attend. It’s fun for the kids to dress up and frankly we as parents also like candy! It provides a family friendly, safe environment for kids and our church does a community wide festival not on church property, at a nearby park. We give away bags of “goodies” with lots of information in it inviting them to church for a “free gift”, which is a way to outreach. Also the Gospel is shared in open air with a drama.
As our children get older we do explain the meaning of Halloween and why we don’t necessarily celebrate it per say, and we don’t trick or treat because its just not safe anymore. You just don’t know people and what they put in those bags. Couple D
have 1 child, 10 months old
We have always loved Halloween as a time to bring many friends, from our work, our church, and neighborhood together and try to outdo each other with great costumes! The history of All Hallow’s Eve began with the Celts as a celebration of the end of harvest. What we do now in America has more to do with the media and retail sales and did not begin here until the early 1900’s. During the Depression and into post World War II, ‘trick or treating’ was an opportunity for poor children to “appropriately beg” for goodies. They wore costumes so they weren’t recognized and to maybe receive more candy for their clever costumes.
We will be teaching our children history and to reach out to people.
Jody Neufeld
Jody Neufeld is the editor of Bible Study Paths. She has been an RN for more than 30 years; the mother of three and grandmother of six. She and her husband are the owners of Energion Publications and Neufeld Computer Services. How do I live in thanksgiving like Psalm 100 when I have lost my job and we hope we aren’t homeless by Christmas?
I want to begin by saying that I do not have all the answers. That is no surprise and neither is it a surprise that God is the only One who does! Psalm 100 (New Living Translation) Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
It’s interesting, and right on target, to me that you mentioned Psalm 100. Many worship services begin with all or part of this psalm as a call to worship. And I remember that the Thanksgiving after my son died that this was the call to worship and I surely did not feel like shouting with joy!
Which makes me think of the guy who might have wrote this song – David. We don’t know at what point in his life that David might have wrote this. Depending on when David wrote this song, he might have wrote it in victory or he might have been affirming that, even though he was being hunted down or his kingdom was crumbling, God was still on His throne and His love and faithfulness would continue.
Even in the middle of terrible times, God is faithful and His love is still there for us. And the wonderful thing is that God knows my life and knows the condition of my heart. He can handle my questions and my anger. He sees the big picture that gives me a look into the ‘why’ of it.
I pray you will make a choice, Dear Reader, to grab on to God like Jacob did and ‘wrestle’ out your questions with God (Genesis 32:22-32). Do not let Him go until He blesses you! I also hope you will have open eyes to see what could be next in your life. Do not limit God’s answer to what you might think should happen. He has been known to lead us out of our comfort zone so that we will rely even more on Him and the path turns out to lead us into His Promised Land. I also pray that your circle of Believers, family and friends, will hear God’s voice and help you. Remember that even the patriarch, Moses, needed friends to hold his arms up during a crucial battle (Exodus 17:8-13). Accept God’s messengers and the gifts that they bring from Him.
God bless you.
My desk for work is also geographically located in my home. I am a detail person and a multi-tasker. For all the wonderful plus’s to having your own business, holidays are days that I can count on the business being ‘closed’ but it also means – no business and no money coming in. So my husband and I are working long hours, as many others must do, to finish work before the other offices shut down for the holidays.
In the middle of all of this scurrying around, there is Thanksgiving. I am alternately sad and relieved that I have no children who live within driving distance so we will not have any guests for a ‘table-groaning’ meal. I won’t be cooking for 10 hours. Now I am sad that I won’t be cooking because if I was the table would be full – of people I love.
Thanksgiving. Giving thanks for the ALL. Looking at what is the ALL and choosing to look for the “Thanks” any way. If life seems to be moving at warp speed and money is available at a snail’s speed, let’s work together on our list. THE LIST
Thank You, LORD:
For putting me here. For giving me opportunities to be Your hands, Your feet; a leaky container of Your Love.
For the many friends. Some of them are my family. Some of them have been in my life for years and are solid gold. Some are new friends and You are refining us together.
For allowing me to be born in a country with freedom. May I never take it for granted.
For my family. For the gifts You have placed in them and the Kingdom work they are doing.
For the millions of ‘details’ that You made: a baby’s giggle, leaves turning colors, beaches that roar, mountains that stand in silent tribute, a touch that is gentle and yet strong in its presence.
For Your grace (love), mercy (forgiveness), and wisdom that You have promised in unending amounts.
Our intrepid traveler, Iris Lloyd, has sent us some pictures from her Fall travels. I hope all of us take some time to look at the splendor of God in all the colors of His creation. – The Editor [slideshow]
BSP: What is your educational background? How did that education equip you for ministry and how did it fall short? CW: I experienced my call at age 15 at the Kansas West annual Conference ordination service. I was a member of the conference through the Conference Commission on Youth Ministries and one of our adult leaders was being ordained that night. The Reverend Paul Matthaei was preaching. I start with that bit of information because my undergraduate degree was specifically chosen with my ministry in mind. My local church was not very supportive (think early-mid 1970’s), but there were many on the district and conference level that felt differently.
After a year in Switzerland as an exchange student through the International Christian Youth Exchange, I began my freshman year at Friends University. I had every intention of doing a liberal arts degree with an emphasis in theater and music. It became apparent after my freshman that the theater and music departments were at odds. So my major became drama and I worked on a minor in music.
No one believed me when I said I planned on being a pastor. The school was relatively conservative and evangelical and there were not a lot of models for women in ministry. I choose theater, because I believed (and accurately as it turns out) that I would receive plenty of theology, Bible, church history and doctrine in seminary. What I wanted was to be able to be comfortable with readings, with preaching, and with interacting with groups of people.
Most of my ministry until recently have been in very rural areas and my music and drama has helped me immensely. Creating worship that flows well makes sense and has a common thread woven throughout the service. Even in small towns, that focus on worship has blessed the congregations, the people, and myself.
The area where my education at both the bachelors and master’s level fell short is in administration. Like most clergy, it is my least favorite task. And yet, being ordained to word, sacrament, and order has never been optional. We, as clergy, are not given choices as to which two our three we will do. Through diligence and perseverance I have learned to read in-depth financials and converse with financial officers and with executive type lay persons. As far as I am concerned, every clergy should be required to take a business class in order to do the administration necessary in the local church. I would have complained in seminary, but now I wish I would have had it. BSP: What is the mission of the current fellowship you serve? How are they impacting the community they serve? CW: The mission of West Heights United Methodist Church is “Changing Lives by Connecting Hearts to Jesus Christ.” All our ministries are beginning to be more focused on ministry and mission outside our walls. Each month we have a food challenge to support United Methodist Open Door’s food ministry. Our food total through the end of July has been 13,000 plus pounds as well as over 80 bags of hygiene products and diapers. We host the Red Cross blood drive in conjunction with other west side churches. We support, with other churches, the seasonal homeless shelter with meals and contributions as well as serving meals 6-8 times a year at the U.M. Open Door’s homeless drop-in center. Our children have handed out socks and mittens to the homeless with St. John’s Episcopal Church’s Sandwich Saturday, and created gifts and visited our home bound. Our youth participate in all kinds missions to individuals and organizations. We host the West Side Shepherd Center an ecumenical group that reaches out to senior adults. We have the West Heights preschool, which was one of the first preschools forty years ago. Of course this does not mention any of our ongoing programs within the church, but our commitment to connect lives and hearts means reaching out to those who are not connected. BSP How could the UMC better support you in ministry? CW: Tough question. This would be an invitation for me to complain, but I really hate doing that. Even though we are a connectional system, I have always had the sense it was sink or swim. I was not always sure I could depend on support. Having said that, if I have ever had an issue that I believe could be brought to the District Superintendent’s attention, or could cause problems, the D.S. was, and is, the first person I call. I don’t like surprises and I have assumed D.S.’s are the same.
I came into the system at 23 and was the second youngest in my seminary class with an average of 37. I was among the youngest 15 clergy in my annual conference for much longer than I should have been. At almost 52, I am grateful for the support and encouragement of young clergy. My slight frustration is that with an emphasis on “young” we devalue years of service and learning that comes with experience. I am sure there is some kind of balance that can find a way to incorporate the energy, new trends, and possibilities that young adults bring, with an appreciation for what can only be learned through experience and an understanding of history. I am getting a wee bit weary of the statements that I, at my age, cannot relate to anyone under 40 or over 65. As some one who has mastered Facebook and Twitter and have encouraged my church to find ways to use social media as a “connecting” tool, I believe that dichotomy of young/old may not be as helpful as it appears. BSP: If you could change one thing in the ordination process, what would it be? CW: I have just rotated off my second 8-year term on the Board of Ministry. My first term was from 1988-1996 and this one was 2002-2010. There have been many changes over the years. I believe in an educated clergy and clergy that can have appropriate boundaries. However, that means the process tends to be long and frustrating. Men and women want to “be” in ministry and often feel shackled and hindered from doing the work they have been called to do. The conference has an obligation to protect local churches and to properly “vet”, if you will, any person wanting to be ordained a deacon or an elder. While the process may be cumbersome, it is one way to make sure, as much as humanly possible, to provide the best pastors one can. I think if I were to change it, it would have to do with supervision in order to shorten the process, not in integrity, but in time. BSP: What congregational expectations of the pastor are unrealistic? CW: Is this a trick question? What congregational expectations of the pastor are unrealistic? Like all of them? I jest. I have served churches in three-point charges where the smallest church averaged 8 on a good Sunday morning, a county seat church where we average around 175, and now a large suburban church where we average around 325. As a woman in ministry, it was occasionally difficult for those churches to balance the need for the traditional “clergy wife” with a clergywoman.
I have found that churches will take everything I have and then some. So it took my first few years, to establish boundaries about what I would do, and what I would not do. Even small churches can accept areas of expertise and areas where I was woefully inadequate.
I found that it was important for me to define those areas and priorities for ministry. This is not an easy task. It took a divorce in 10th year of ministry for me to really focus on what was important. I became clear about how I prioritized ministry: preaching and worship, my calling: hospital and emergency; and then administration.
Above and beyond that, I was single mom for a while, so I stacked meetings in order to be home more and informed the church, that I would do school parties, go to ball games, and attend school activities for my children. In small towns, that was a bonus. I came to my current setting after my last child graduated from high school. Since I tend to work too much, I am grateful that this opportunity did not open before then. I would have been sorely tempted to work too many hours, which would have been a disservice to my son.
I try to balance it all, work, family, and self-care. Often, I do not do it well. I am driven to be a preacher. It is in my bones. The challenge for me is to balance all those parts of who I am, preacher, wife, mother, grandmother, amateur chef and potter in order to live the fullest of who I have been created to be by God.
What is your educational background? How did that education equip you for ministry and how did it fall short? TW: My educational background consists of a B.A. from the University of Florda in Political Science, and a Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology, Emory University. I am currently planning on pursuing a D.Min degree from Asbury Seminary in Orlando, Florida, focusing on Creative Transformation. Prior to coming into ministry, I was already a student of the Bible and had begun to take leadership roles in my local church. I took a religion class at the University of Florida, which focused on the literary, religious and poetic themes of the Old and New Testaments, but did little to prepare me for ministry. In seminary, I found an environment that truly focused on expanding a person’s theological thought, mostly in the liberal and progressive direction. I did find that some of the exegetical classes, preaching courses and evangelism courses were very helpful in perceiving the churches mission and direction, but I feel that my seminary experience did fall short of helping me as a pastor develop leadership skills for parish ministry. What is the mission of the current fellowship you serve? How are they impacting the community they serve? TW:The fellowship(Rockledge United Methodist Church) that I currently serve has a simple mission, “To make more and stronger disciples of Jesus Christ”, which we discerned is a simple, biblical focus that in enabling us to strengthen our evangelistic witness and discipleship ministries. This mission is relatively new, and through prayer, preaching and teaching, it is slowly becoming a part of the DNA of the congregation. The fellowship is impacting the community currently through events such as our Back to School Bash, which recently attracted approximately 1000 people, and handed out hundreds of backpacks, dozens of free haircuts, food, recycled clothing and other needs for those hurting in our community. Our fellowship is also ministering in the schools through a mentoring program, an elementary Bible club, and interfaith cooperation between other local congregations to address the needs of our community. While we are a medium membership church, with approximately 200 attending on any given Sunday, the church is having a personal impact on the community, and is searching for new ways to show the love and grace of Christ to the world. How could the UMC better support you in ministry? TW: The United Methodist Church could better support me in ministry by focusing on the fundamentals of evangelism, discipleship and outreach to the poor. In a world where it seems more and more difficult to help people see the relevance of organized religion, the task is made even harder when the average person only hears negative press about our denomination, especially concerning infighting over social issues that I feel the Bible has spoken of authoritatively long ago. When the bureaucracy becomes so political and issue-oriented, we lose sight of the larger picture, a reality that is clearly being seen in the loss of membership and vitality in European and American UMC Conferences. If the focus were clearly on the fundamentals that helped Methodism grow from an Anglican renewal movement into a world-wide Christian denomination, not only would the world see Methodism as being relevant to their lives, but the resources every local church needs to accomplish the Great Commission would also be more readily available as the larger church and the local church might finally become one again in fulfilling our call from God to offer Christ to the world. If you could change one thing in the ordination process, what would it be? TW: The ordination process currently is long, arduous, and questionable as to its effectiveness. Candidates are being asked to not only complete their education, but also to follow a long probationary process, serve in their ministry, fill out huge amounts of paperwork and balance life and family at the same time. Years ago, the process was much shorter and simpler, while today, the process is much more complicated and protracted. I would simply like to see a mechanism put into place whereby the current ordination process could be evaluated for its effectiveness. Is the UMC producing better, more effective pastoral leaders with the current process? Studies and evaluations that follow candidates for a period of 2 – 5 years after their process is complete, along with interviews and consultation from outside sources would surely help to gauge whether the process is accomplishing what it should be accomplishing: producing effective and equipped church leaders for the 21st century. What congregational expectations of the pastor are unrealistic? TW: The most unrealistic expectation I have run into in ministry revolves around 2 issues: pastoral care and leadership. I have found that Pastoral care is impossible to accomplish when a congregation grows beyond the “little country church” model, and begins to number in the hundreds of persons . At that point, a pastor will only be able to provide crisis care, but will not be able to devote the time that is needed to disciple persons in faith and provide the kind of spiritual connection and fellowship of which many are hungry. Other forms of pastoral care like small groups, Stephen Ministry, and lay persons who provide visitation then become invaluable to helping congregation members stay connected spiritually. Many times, congregations resist this because they feel that the pastor is a “paid” employee, and therefore should be able to provide them whatever resources they need for spiritual growth, fellowship and pastoral care. This immature view of ministry leads into the second issue, which concerns leadership. Churches are called to reach their communities with the love of Christ, and provide a light to their community which will alter the lives of those who come into contact with that congregation. Churches who feel that it is the pastor’s job to change their community and reach persons for Christ miss the boat in the worst way. No one person, no matter how talented, gifted and blessed of God, can provide all the leadership that is needed in a local congregation. A pastor may discern a vision or direction for his/her congregation, but a team of lay servants is crucial to carrying out that vision in evangelism, discipleship, outreach and administration. Churches who feel they can sit back and watch their pastor change their community and fill up their churches are missing the call of Christ on their lives and setting up their pastor for burnout and discouragement.
What is your educational background? How did that education equip you for ministry and how did it fall short? AB: My educational background is as follows:
B.A. in Christian Ministries, Malone College, Canton, Ohio.
M.Div. in Biblical Studies, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
M.A. in Religious Studies, Ashland Theological Seminary, Ashland, Ohio
Th.M in Theological Ethics, Duke University Divinity School, Durham, North Carolina
Ph.D in Theology, University of Durham, Durham, UK.
I believe that my educational background helped indeed in equipping me for ministry. I have never accepted the theoretical/practical distinction. Theology is an inherently practical discipline. If theology needs to be made practical, something has already gone wrong in how theology is done. I have been a full-time pastor for twenty-six years and an adjunct professor at a seminary for seventeen years. I have no idea how to understand the unity and fellowship of the church apart from the doctrine of the Trinity. I cannot articulate the sacrificial presence of the church in the world apart from the crucifixion of Jesus. I have no way to understand what it means to offer hope to the world without the resurrection of Christ our Lord. Those who think that theology is somehow beside the point for the ministry of the church misunderstand the function of theology and the ministry of the church.
Of course, education cannot prepare a pastor for everything. But neither can medical school prepare a doctor for everything, nor can law school prepare a lawyer for everything. What is the mission of the current fellowship you serve? How are they impacting the community they serve? AB: I am the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Cambridge, Ohio. We are in a downtown setting in a town of approximately 13,000 people. Our primary mission over the years has been as a benefactor church; that is we have provided funds for other churches and agencies to do ministry. That has led to a decline in our congregation. We are attempting to remedy that by actually doing ministry ourselves. We have just begun a relationship with Children’s Services in our county and we are planning a regular mission situation in Haiti. How could the UMC better support you in ministry? AB: The best way that the UMC can support me in ministry is to stay out of my way until I need them. There is too much top down perspective in our denomination. We strangle pastors and churches because the hierarchy frankly gets in the way, even though they are well intended. I am glad to have the resources of the denomination, but I can work very effectively without their “help.” I have said to my bishop and superintendent, “Don’t call us; we’ll call you.” If you could change one thing in the ordination process, what would it be? If you could change one thing in the appointment process, what would it be? AB: I wouldn’t change anything about the ordination process per se, but I would interject more flexibility that would take into account unique and differing situations. With more and more churches in decline and more and more part-time pastors, local pastors, and bi-vocational pastors, we need to accommodate those realities. Holding on to a legalism at all times that simply responds “but that is what the Discipline says,” will make things even more difficult. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to work outside the process as well.
As far as the appointment process—I would like to see the bishop and the Cabinet employ the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” rule. I have great sympathy for bishops and superintendents who have to muddle through the appointment process being forced to make decisions that are not good ones. But I fail to see the logic in taking a pastor out of a church where things are going well in order to appoint her or him to a church that needs to be “turned around.” Too often what ends up happening is that the Conference ends up with demoralized clergy and even more churches in need of revitalization. If pastor and church are working out well, leave them alone. It is not a matter of what the larger church needs. The larger church is only as strong as each individual church. What congregational expectations of the pastor are unrealistic? AB: Nobody in the church believes that the pastor can do it all. What they do believe is that the pastor should devote time to the areas of ministry that they believe are most important. Since church folk disagree on what areas are most important, the pastor gets pulled to and fro by different people with different expectations of what the pastor should prioritize. There are two problems here: the first is the idea that the pastor provides the only, if not the primary care of the church. The second is that the pastor encourages such a view by their enabling in the way they discharge their own duties. Pastors all too often enable their congregations to hold dysfunctional views of the church and who is responsible for ministry. Pastors need to be willing to give up control and encourage and allow their laity to perform vital ministry on behalf of the church of Jesus Christ.
BSP: How does the UMC appointment system today compare to what you believe was practiced in the 1st century church? CW: I do not think the U.M. appointment system can be compared to the early church. One could argue Paul’s ministry was itinerant, but he certainly wasn’t “appointed” to a particular congregation. The appointment system is certainly under the microscope right now. It has it good points and it’s bad points. I can remember be a young clergy and thinking I was under valued (and probably was a young clergy woman), and that they should provide more exciting and better appointments for younger clergy. Then I watched as several of the younger clergy (at that point men) crashed and burned. Training and mentoring was part of it, but serving where I do now, I am grateful for the years of service that toughened me up and helped me be more discerning on what issues to take on and what issues to let go. Until we really are able to accept clergy no matter what their gender, their ethnicity, their relationship status, their age, the appointment system is just and can be fair. The system itself needs to hold clergy accountable if they are inadequate, lazy, under-performing or moving every other year. The Discipline has steps that can be taken and needs to be used.
