We need Officers ATTRITION SERIES XV

THE International Commission on Officership has completed its work and General John Gowans has launched the biggest-ever consultation exercise in the history of The Salvation Army on the 28 recommendations made by the commission.


The General is inviting all officers, active and retired – more than 25,000 in total – to be part of the consultation process and the commission’s report has been translated into every language needed to make this possible. The consultation process is being handled by the prestigious international research organisation MORI.


The International Commission on Officership, established in response to a recommendation made by the International Conference of Leaders held in Melbourne in March 1998, was asked to review all aspects of the concept of officership in the light of the contemporary situation and its challenges, with a view to introducing a greater flexibility into the concept of officership.


The 28 recommendations cover a wide range of subjects related to officership.


One is ‘that territories continue to move away from authoritarian models of command and develop consultative models of leadership’. Another declares: ‘We recommend that competent officers be appointed to positions of executive responsibility irrespective of age or years of service.’


A number of the recommendations deal with the matter of marriage. Possibilities being considered include – in certain circumstances – the continuance in officer service of one partner in an officer-marriage following the withdrawal from officership of the other partner; the continuing service of an officer following marriage to a non-officer; and the acceptance for officership of just one partner in a marriage, the other partner remaining a non-officer.


Another recommendation deals with ‘open-ended’ officer service, whereby an officer – instead of serving for life – might withdraw from officership after a number of years ‘with dignity’ and with appreciation being officially expressed for the years of service given.


Yet another matter dealt with by the commission is the possibility that an officer, in appropriate circumstances, might undertake secular employment, with all the income from it going to his or her appointment.


The commission also recommends that a review of the rank system should take place. Adjustments could be made to the present system. Alternatives to that include all ranks, with the exception of the General, being awarded on length of service, or all officers, with the exception of the General, holding the rank of captain.


Other recommendations deal with such matters as the officer’s covenant and undertakings, leadership development, the appointing process, women’s ministry, cultural issues and pensions.


With regard to some issues the recommendations allow for the possibility that different policies might operate in different parts of the world.


The consultation process will culminate in the International Conference of Leaders to be held in Atlanta, USA, from 22 to 25 June. Following the conference the General will spend time in reflection and prayer before deciding how the various recommendations are to be handled. ‘Pray for me,’ says the General, ‘that I may have not just the wisdom of Solomon, but the very mind of Christ.’


Copies of the final report of the International Commission on Officership are available at £2 (post free) from the Literary Secretary, Programme Resources Department, International Headquarters, PO Box 249, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4P 4EP, United Kingdom.


General John Gowans, The Salvation Army’s international leader from 1999 to 2002, will be remembered for the unique, colourful and larger-than-life personality that he was. ‘When God made John Gowans he threw away the mould,’ writes General John Larsson (Ret.) in his foreword to General Gowans’s autobiography. ‘Into the gift-mix of this original he poured the potential of an unconventional thinker, an arresting speaker and a charismatic leader. He added the dynamism of a man of action and the creativity of a poet, the ruggedness of an Elijah and the spiritual sensitivity of a John the Beloved. And he topped it all with a large dollop of humanity!’