04
GOING FURTHER IN OUR JOURNEY OF RENEWAL
the accountability movement
N
OVEMBER 2016 was an important milestone in the Accountability Movement as territorial and command leaders from around the world gathered in New Jersey, USA, to discuss, listen and pray about the opportunities and challenges that The Salvation Army faces in a rapidly changing environment.
”
This extended General’s Consultative Council (GCC) built on the latest developments and provided significant input into a clearer focus of our thinking in some areas. It is our desire now to move forward and shape as much of the work as we can. Since the 2014 Singapore International Conference of Leaders, I have deliberately focused our energies on this one significant piece of work that we call the Accountability Movement. I have consulted as widely as possible; I have listened and dialogued with many people along the way; I have written and expressed many thoughts; numerous individuals have made significant and important contributions, which have all helped to shape the process to what it is today. The Accountability Movement is not just about systems and correcting management practice. It is not just about conforming to legal requirements and legislation. It is not just about ensuring that our accounting standards are fit for external scrutiny. It is an outworking of the vision I shared with the 2013 High Council when I said: ‘I have a dream of an Army that practises what it preaches from the top leadership down, an Army that is a visible and living example of Kingdom values.’
GENERAL ANDRÉ COX
The Accountability Movement is about The Salvation Army reflecting best practice in everything we do. It is about The Salvation Army living up to, in the fullest sense, our theological beliefs in the ‘Body of Christ’ and the ‘priesthood of all believers’. It is about the way we show inclusiveness and passion for our God-given mission. It is about delegation of authority. It is about our intentional mentoring and development of leaders. It is about releasing our people and enabling them to achieve their full potential. It is about valuing our
Permission is given by the General for this article to be reproduced. Please credit The Officer.
“
|
05
The Accountability Movement is about The Salvation Army reflecting best practice in everything we do …
”
people and empowering them. It is about renewal, revival, a new sense of urgency and an incredible opportunity for us to rediscover a new passion for mission. It is about the total mobilisation of our Army. We do not have the luxury to act like an Army in times of peace when we are confronted with a ravaged, torn, unjust and unsafe world where people are literally dying in despair. It is about us, as leaders, supressing our human agendas and making sure we are totally in sync with God’s will for us and for the Army. If we lose vision and lack strategic drive our mission is the first casualty. Our people and those we serve need us to be relentlessly focused on or God-given mission. Our international mission statement declares: The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination. This is our integrated, holistic mission. It is not either/ or; we are to do both at the same time and at all times. We are to do both in Christ’s name and without discrimination. We cannot pick and choose whom we will serve and with whom we will share the gospel message. How effective are we in achieving God’s mission for The Salvation Army? In some parts of the world, The Salvation Army is not as visible and perhaps not so effective as it once was. Not only have we experienced stagnation and, in many places, decline in membership, we have also lost ground when it comes to our ability to serve suffering humanity. Now I know that there are many reasons for this and I am aware of the fact that we have sometimes decided
on a strategic withdrawal from the delivery of certain social services because we realised that the outcomes did not really align with our main mission priorities. We have, however, lost many social programmes because we have not planned well, have not been able to adequately fund things and, sometimes, we have miscalculated the true cost of sustaining mission (eg property maintenance, vehicle replacements, hiring of qualified professional staff). As a result, programmes have been shut down. On occasions, perhaps, we have not adequately read the times and adapted, thus some programmes have simply become obsolete and disappeared with nothing replacing them. As a result, we have withdrawn and lost significant influence. Certainly in some places Commissioner Silvia Cox and I visit we get the impression that we are far less visible than we once were. All of this impacts our contacts in society and our ability to raise much-needed funds for the programmes we are, at times, struggling to maintain. In some places we have entered into programmes as funding became available, thus chasing finances without always considering the consequences and sustainability of our work. A lack of clear mission strategy puts us at risk. We are blessed with passionate, committed and dedicated people; but if we are chaotic in the way we meet human needs, it can result in us running in multiple directions, with no coordination. A lack of clear strategy places us at risk. Good governance ensures that the vision and strategy get implemented properly. In some places we have good vision and strategy but we fall down on implementation. I am convinced we can do better in terms of governance, and we have much to gain by doing so. An essential aspect of our integrated mission is the call to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Perhaps we do
»
the general
| going further in our journey of renewal
FROM THE GENERAL
the officer march-april 2017
06
» well to ask ourselves how effective we really are. Do we still preach for a conviction? What about soul-saving? In some parts we have been in decline for generations! What are we doing?
In response to that question I am regularly told that more people are coming through our doors than at any other time in our history. That is all well and good, but if we are not reaching them for Jesus, if we are not making them disciples and soldiers – what future will there be for The Salvation Army? If only one per cent of those who turn to us each year, in addition to seeking support, find Jesus and become soldiers, we would see significant gains in net membership and a growing vibrant Army everywhere. Are we strategically focused in all that we do to make that happen? The emphasis, however, is not just about systems, policies and procedures. This is a journey of renewal for The Salvation Army. I remind you of a great resource we all have at our disposal – the book Journey of Renewal, that encapsulates the essence of the Accountability Movement. It has now been translated into Korean, Spanish, French, Portuguese and German. Please refer to it and please use it! This is an opportunity for each one of us to reflect personally on what God is calling us to do and to be. It is about our personal holiness and our walk with the Lord. It is, however, also about our corporate responsibility to be what God wants us to be as a movement. It is about our corporate holiness and dedication to the mission. The Accountability Movement is an opportunity for us to reflect anew on the values that we need to nurture. It is a focus on areas where perhaps we must ‘fan into flame the gift of God’ (2 Timothy 1:6), so that God can indeed use us in our mission to win the world for Jesus. At the conclusion of the extended GCC, Army leaders identified the following priorities going forward: • We affirm that governance, which includes accountability and transparency, is a desired outcome and that in our ongoing journey we must ensure we do not separate mission and governance; • We will proactively protect all vulnerable individuals in our congregations and programmes;
“
It is about our personal holiness and our walk with the Lord. It is, however, also about our corporate responsibility to be what God wants us to be as a movement … about our corporate holiness and dedication to the mission ...
”
the officer march-april 2017
“
|
07
We need to check: are we aligning ourselves and The Salvation Army with God’s plan? ... • In accordance with the principle of good stewardship we will strengthen our financial and accounting processes; • During the implementation process we must build capacity and empower leadership; • There must be an intentional coordination of the work streams of the Accountability Movement so that we build an Army for the 21st century. I passionately believe that God called The Salvation Army into being. I believe that God’s calling is still relevant and that he has plans to use The Salvation Army. However, we need to check: are we aligning ourselves and The Salvation Army with God’s plan? If we are too busy to listen, reflect and capture the vision, many of our frontline ministries are at risk. Better governance will improve our ability to steer the ship and ensure the ship sails securely. We are activists. We are called to be the church with its sleeves rolled up. We are mission-focused, we are first and foremost practitioners, but our effectiveness is at risk because in some places the vision, strategy and governance structures are weak. An organisation as large as The Salvation Army should be best in class. We should be a shining example of best practice in the way we have clear vision and strategy that is then enacted. The Salvation Army should be best in class in ensuring robust frameworks are in place, outlining delegated authority and the empowerment and resourcing of our people, so that they can fulfil the mission. We should be best in class when it comes to accountability and transparency to our various stakeholders.
”
We need to seriously raise the bar so that The Salvation Army can achieve more and be increasingly effective in the fulfilment of our mission to ‘preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in his name without discrimination’. The more I have considered the challenges of governance and accountability, the more I am convinced that The Salvation Army can be and do so much more in this war against sin and injustice. We are not starting from zero, but we need to learn important lessons – some perhaps from the world of business – that will enable us to ensure a secure and flourishing future for our God-given calling and mission. I pray we will be able to reflect on the vision and values that God wants us to uphold and promote in this 21st century. I hope it will be possible for us to work and change our culture to be fit for God’s purposes in the world. Thank you for your willingness to help us to shape and mould the future in a way that will enable us to ensure that we will leave behind a strong, vibrant and growing Salvation Army for those who follow after us. Many of the reforms we will be talking about and implementing in the coming years will continue to reverberate long after we have gone. It is about the legacy we leave for others, so let’s make it a good one.
This is our aspirational goal which we need to keep sharply in focus if we are to be true to our calling and our cherished heritage. The Accountability Movement is really a dream for The Salvation Army. It is a dream for us to raise our game and take our place in the world as a credible partner that can and will deliver quality programmes that make a difference, having lasting spiritual impact for all those connected to us in whatever way. the general
| going further in our journey of renewal