6. RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE LAW Pastors/leaders shall inform the Secretary or the General Superintendent of the BUV of any matter which may lead to legal action against the Church or its pastors/leaders.

It is unethical for Ministers deliberately to break the law or encourage another to do so. The only exception would be in instances of political resistance or civil disobedience.

BUSINESS ETHICS

Termination of employment of staff members should be done ethically, in accordance with Victoria’s ‘Unfair Dismissal’ legislation.

In any advertising we will avoid personal aggrandizement or exaggerated claims.

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES

Issues here are spelt out in the BUV Duty of Care material (obtainable from the BUV office).

In summary (with particular reference to children, youth, the disabled and the elderly:

a.. There should always be more than one leader with groups of children, youth, disabled, and elderly a.. All leaders should be police-checked a.. Young people need to be supervised in terms of videos/DVDs, computer games or the internet which may contain harmful material. a.. Leaders should be aware of who’s in attendance, who’s coming and going, and be thorough about permission slips, signing people in, what is an official activity etc. a.. Locations should be safe, and communicate that people are valued, with adequate fire drills and suitable lighting a.. Leaders should know the location of the first aid kit, and how to use it. If swimming, always have a lifesaver, knowledge of medication protocols, and emergency numbers a.. Food handling – who can cook, issues of hygiene, nutrition and kitchen facilities. Since 2nd January 2002 churches are required by law to have in place a Food Safety Program – including hazard analysis and control, a training plan, food recall procedure, and good hygiene practices a.. Transport: do drivers have a current licence? Provisional drivers should only convey members of their own families a.. The church should have in place a disaster recovery plan – including knowledge of emergency services contacts, safety of congregation/employees, restoration of essential services. A Risk Management or Duty of Care team should be appointed to study ministry areas that need processes, consult with experts, compile a Risk Management assessment for the church’s properties. a.. Church insurances should be up-to-date. The BUV insurance policy covers professional indemnity for paid employees and volunteers (breach of duty, wrongful advice, libel and slander, infringement of copyright), personal liability of board members, church council, deacons and elders (financial mismanagement. Denial of natural justice, breaches of Incorporations Act, Corporations Law, O H & S Act, Trade Practices Act, Local Government Regulations, Alleged unfair dismissal claims a.. Personal safety issues include work pressures, discrimination, harassment, threats of violence a.. There should be a good process to deal with complaints. They should be taken seriously; action should be taken – and reported to the complainant and other relevant leaders POLICE CHECKS

The BUV strongly encourages current leaders of church ministries to be prepared to undergo a police check every two years. This should be a firm requirement for those working with children, youth, elderly or disabled people. The BUV also requires churches to undertake a police check for every new appointee. The applicant is required to sign a consent-form to this effect. Churches should keep records of the name and date of the police check, and when examined by the relevant interviewing/leadership body, it is handed back to the person concerned for them to retain or shred it. Such information must not be filed.

CHURCH MANSES

Churches-as-landlords have an obligation to provide a manse in reasonable repair, and to be conscientious in maintaining the manse in a safe and liveable condition. When leaving, the pastor’s family should ensure the property is left clean and tidy. If a manse is not provided, the church will reimburse the pastor (‘house allowance’) for expenses associated with operating a ministry from his or her own home.

PRIVACY POLICY

BUV policy has been adopted to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act No 155 of 2000. The policy should be read together with the National Privacy Principles (NPPs) set out in the Privacy Act. A copy of the NPPs is available on the Australian Privacy Commissioner’s Website. [http://www.privacy.gov.au/]

A church will only use personal information for the primary purpose for which it is collected. In most cases, the purpose will relate to the spiritual, pastoral, social, educational and administrative functions of the church. Those functions include maintaining personal information for the purpose of analysing the role of the Church in society and recording the family histories of its members. The information may be disclosed to scholars studying the Church and to relatives of Church members. Churches will only use personal information about an individual for a secondary purpose if that individual has consented or the use is otherwise permitted by the NPPs. Churches will take reasonable steps to keep personal information secure and will, subject to the NPPs, comply with any request from a person to correct or remove his or her information.

Wisdom and discretion is to be exercised about the disclosure of such details as sickness, hospitalisation, and church-attenders on holidays. Generally a person who is sick should be mentioned in a church service or church bulletin only with their permission. Wisdom is also required in terms of giving sensitive details about a person’s illness. If a person is critically ill and comatose family members can guide the church in terms of information for prayer etc.

WORKING WITH OTHER INSTITUTIONS

Pastors/leaders shall be aware of the Codes of Ethics or similar guidelines in other institutions where they may work (eg. hospitals, prisons). In such placements they have a responsibility to abide by those Codes of Ethics also.

PASTORS/LEADERS AND THE BAPTIST UNION OF CHURCHES

Pastors/leaders are encouraged to support, love and cooperate with the family of churches to which they belong, recognising the debt we all owe to our denomination for its contribution to our lives, ministry and churches.

Pastors are encouraged to be regular in attending BUV / VBMN pastors’ conferences and be generous in responding to requests for assistance from fellow-pastors and the denomination, remembering they are members of a larger Fellowship

UNETHICAL OR UNPROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: BREACHES OF THE CODE OF ETHICS

When pastors/leaders know of a Code of Ethics violation by others, or if there is an instance of encouragement of another to breach the terms of the Code, and it seems appropriate, they shall

informally attempt to resolve the issue by bringing the matter of concern to the attention of that pastor/leader in a constructive manner, according to the principles and procedures specified in Matthew 18:15-17. If this is not practical, or does not address the issue of concern, the facts shall be reported to the BUV Regional Superintendent.

All pastors/leaders are required to inform the appropriate council or officer of the BUV if the behaviour of any pastor, leader or other church appointee could be considered as sexual misconduct.

NOTE:

No code of ethics is complete. Any suggestions for improving or updating this Code are welcomed, and should be addressed to the General Superintendent, Baptist Union of Victoria.

SOURCES, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND REFERENCES

Note: There are echoes of many other Codes of Ethics in this document. Our thanks to all the sources below – and others. And to many individuals who have contributed wisdom/ideas.

Richard M. Gula, Ethics in Pastoral Ministry, Paulist, 1996.

Spiritual Abuse, Recources http://jmm.org.au/articles/8354.htm

http://jmm.org.au/articles/2108.htm

http://jmm.org.au/articles/8203.htm

http://jmm.org.au/articles/1297.htm

Joe E. Trull & James E. Carter, Ministerial Ethics: Being a Good Minister in a Not-so-good World, Broadman 1993.

Uniting Church of Australia Code of Ethics for Ministers http://vic.uca.org.au/docs/ethics/CodeofEthicsJuly2000.html

Weeding out Pedophiles – http://www.crimenet.com.au/show_editorial.phtml?id=744

Walter E. Wiest and Elwyn A. Smith, Ethics in Ministry: A Guide for the Professional, Fortress Press, 1990.

James P. Wind et. Al, Clergy Ethics in a Changing Society: Mapping the Terrain, John Knox Press, 1991.

NOTES FROM OTHER CODES OF ETHICS TO BE MODIFIED and inserted (WHERE?)