The Board of Elders raised all four of the issues during General Conference in 1999. We are at the threshold of transfer of leadership to the next generation. With the retirement of our Founder and Moderator in 2005, we must determine what structures will best serve our future. This occurs in the context of dramatic changes throughout society in the relationships and expectations between local churches and denominations. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.
Every age tastes the temptation to forget that the gospel is ever new.
But then, with time the old wineskins begin to burst, and the power of the gospel pours forth once more. It is well known that new religious movements must inevitably make a transition from the charisma of early leadership to diffusion of that charisma through individuals and institutions of the second and subsequent generations. Most new religious movements do not make that transition. The emphasis on continuous learning and the development of church leaders will support the growth of both clergy and lay leaders in your church. Access to a highly qualified Regional Elder, a pastor and guide to your pastor and lay leaders, will be available wherever your church is globally, not just in districts that currently have effective leadership.