Alliance prepares for pivotal convention
Christian and Missionary Alliance is charting a new course.
DOUG
KOOP
CW Editor
More than one Canadian Alliance is preparing for big changes. A week after the federal political party announces its new leader later this month, the Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada (C&MA) will be making a series of very important choices of its own.
Representatives from the denomination’s 403 congregations will be gathering for Assembly 2000 in Calgary, June 29 to July 4 to select a new president, adopt a new vision, strengthen their faith statement, and set long term goals.
Along the way they’ll pray as they’ve never prayed before, offer corporate repentance for sins of the past, and try to come to a practical resolution on the potentially divisive issue of women as elders.
Significant things
“There are so many significant things for us as a denomination this year,” says Ken Paton, an administrative vice president in the C&MA’s national office. “It will take a very God-anointed leader to pull this all together.”
Paton should know. For the past three years he’s been heavily involved in an elaborate evaluation and re-visioning process that aims to reposition the denomination for a more effective future. While the C&MA has shown consistent growth over the past decade, rising concern that what used to be “a passionate band of world evangelists” has mellowed into “a middle-class evangelical denomination” has prompted leaders to take a hard look at the Alliance.
And they’ve been taking nothing for granted. They’ve talked among themselves, commissioned studies, employed consultants–and prayed. Now the fruit of that process–a detailed analysis of the denomination, strategic vision and “denominational transformation” timeline–is on the table.
At its heart is a new vision statement cast in the form of a prayer (see sidebar). “I like that because although people have visions and concepts, a desire expressed to God has an inbuilt protection against being human-centred,” says Sunder Krishnan, pastor of Rexdale Alliance in Toronto and a member of the “guiding coalition.”
Certainly the denomination has been promoting prayer like never before. It established a national prayer mobilization team that developed a quarterly College of Prayer for pastors. And in the six months leading to the convention it organized solemn assemblies with prayer and fasting and distributed a detailed 100-day prayer guide for C&MA worshipers.
“While we have 10 and 20 year goals as part of our process, we’re not so naïve to think that structural change is the big thing,” says Paton. “We need a move of God. Being revived and renewed equips for the future.”
Outgoing president Arnold Cook, incumbent since 1992, launched this future-preparation process. Four years ago he asked the assembly to articulate critical theological issues, to identify “biblical risks” the church should be willing to take in order to relate to culture.
One result is an updated faith statement. The new version avoids exclusive language, substituting non-gender-specific terms where appropriate. It also clarifies clauses on doctrines of salvation and the church, and dispenses with premillenialism as a necessary tenet of C&MA eschatology.
Back in 1996 Cook also asked the church to “define the kind of denomination we are becoming.” With the background work done (sociologist Reginald Bibby conducted an extensive analysis of the denomination), the momentum for action is growing. “We’re not demoralized or discontent, but God is stirring our hearts to do better,” says Ken Driedger, superintendant of the C&MA’s Western Canadian district.
Driedger sees this as an opportune time for a new president to take the reins. “Leadership is shifting from one generation to the next,” he says. A fully developed strategic vision is waiting to be implemented.
Just who the new leader will be is a closely guarded secret. A small committee which has been pre-screening candidates will bring its recommendations to a larger group by the end of June. The group hopes to bring one name to the full assembly for approval.
Women as elders
Another item on the agenda may prove more troublesome. For years the denomination has struggled to agree on the spiritual leadership role of women. Assembly 2000 was supposed to be voting on a motion to eliminate gender restrictions in leadership positions, but after significant internal debate the board of directors is proposing an alternate which will allow flexibility at the local church level.
Miriam Charter, who will be heading up the C&MA’s new seminary branch in Toronto, supports the new option. Observing that theologians of good faith and impeccable evangelical credentials differ on the issue of women elders, Charter says: “If I have to vote in a democratic process, I will raise my hand in favour of an egalitarian position.”
But she insists that “there are more critical things that we as a denomination need to be grappling with–people who haven’t heard of Jesus. In the interest of unity and vitality of our mission, let’s allow local churches to have more say in the matter.”
Krishnan agrees. “When the Word of God is grey, the work of God is a wise addition in hammering out policy,” he says.