Operation Mobilization Considering Egalitarian Statement on Leadership

Operation Mobilization has been proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the nations since 1957. Today, OM has more than 4,000 missionaries working in some 100 countries, many of whom are planting churches and assisting existing congregations in the proclamation of the Gospel. OM seeks to take the Gospel to peoples among whom Christ is least known.

Yesterday, the annual meeting of OM's International Executive Committee (ILC) opened in Germany. On the agenda for the committee's consideration is a document that represents a full embrace of an egalitarian view of gender roles within OM leadership. The document, which appears in full below, asserts that "divine calling and gifting rather than gender" will be OM's guiding principle in the future appointment of leaders.   

In a brief introduction to the statement, OM leaders admitted that  "not everyone in OM will be able to sign up to this statement as their personal conviction" but hoped the document will provide "a consensus position that we will be able to embrace collectively."  

If agreed by the IEC, the statement will be presented to OM's General Council and, if agreed upon at that level, will be added to the organization's International Policy Manual. The committee will continue to meet and consider the document through March 8. Gender Blog will continue to provide updates as this decision process unfolds. 

We are asking all complementarians to pray for the International Executive Committee to reject this proposal and maintian a strong commitment to biblical authority on gender issues.

The statement under consideration reads as follows:

We affirm that God created men and women to work together in equal complementary partnership, each fulfilling their God-given ministry. We believe that divine calling and gifting rather than gender should be the most important factor in the selection of members for leadership within the movement. We believe that leadership and public ministry within the movement may include both men and women. We commit ourselves to maintain the unity of the Spirit and our calling as servants of Christ. Therefore we will give due consideration to calling, giftedness, cultural appropriateness and the local church context in our leadership appointments.

OM members are drawn from many different cultures, denominations and backgrounds. Inevitably, therefore, there will be differences of outlook on some matters including major theological questions the Church has grappled with over the years. These would include baptism, church government, eschatology, charismatic gifts etc. In matters that are not fundamental to the basic character of the Gospel, OMers are expected to respect each other's personal convictions. As a movement we desire to organise ourselves in a way that is agreeable to the clear teaching of the whole of Scripture, believing that this is the way in which we will please God. Our understanding of the basic principles of leadership is that it is based on our submission to Christ and should be shared, gentle, serving and loving. Our prayer is that as God has poured out His Spirit upon us without regard to gender and He has shed abroad His gifts and fruits in the Church, we might as men and women, married and single work together more effectively to achieve our God-given goals.

We recognise that some evangelical scholars and church leaders believe that the biblical teaching on male headship implies that leadership should be limited to men. We also recognise that some evangelical studies in biblical hermeneutics have led other scholars and church leaders to believe that leadership should include both men and women. As there are OMers who adopt each of these positions, we believe that the issue of women in leadership is one on which we must agree to differ. Yet while we agree to differ, we affirm these guidelines as our practice as a movement.