Leadership Initiative
Rockyview Alliance Church held their Annual General Meeting on Sunday June 2nd, 2024. The attending membership voted on the Leadership Initiative Motion as presented by the Board of Elders.
Results from the vote:
There were 94 voting members at the AGM, including proxy votes.
67 votes for YES
27 votes for NO
The 67 votes in favour (out of the 94 members present) amounts to 71.28%, and does not meet the required 75% for the motion to pass.
The motion was therefore defeated.
Whats next on our Leadership Initiative Journey?
We will be having an evening of conversation as a follow-up to our AGM voting and decision process. Please plan on attending, here at Rockyview, the evening of Monday June 17th, at 7 pm.
Church leadership is about serving others in accordance with Christ's interests so that they can see and accomplish God's purpose for them in the world. A church leader needs qualities that influence and morally support the congregation, the volunteers, and others within the community.
Rockyview Alliance Church is entering a season of exploring the role of women in leadership.
Complementarianism and egalitarianism are theological views on the relationship between men and women, especially in marriage and in ministry.
Complementarianism stresses that although men and women are equal in personhood, they are created for different roles.
Egalitarianism also agrees that men and women are equal in personhood but holds that there are no gender-based limitations on the roles of men and women.
This is an important decision in the life of Rockyview and one that requires everyone to make an informed decision. The Board encourages you to engage in the process of learning, prayer, and discerning the Holy Spirit’s guidance in this matter. Below you will find resources (books, videos, articles) to aid in learning about the different perspectives on this issue as well as a timeline of events, including guest speakers, congregational meetings, and when we’ll be voting on Rockyview’s leadership initiative.
We look forward to engaging in this process with you.
Click the button below for access to the SLIDES used in this Summary Presentation...
Process & Events
Click on the Mural Board to see what's happened and what's next. Mark your calendars for those events you especially want to participate in.
Scripture Passages about Women in Leadership
Guest Speaker Presentations
Suggested Resources
We encourage you to engage with material that represents both perspectives (complementary and egalitarian) by reading or listening to at least one resource from each perspective. Rockyview has copies of many of these titles available to sign out from our book table on most Sunday mornings.
Start Here
C&MA General Assembly
Adopted 2016
Books Representing Both Perspectives
Michelle Lee-Barnewall
Baker Academic
2016
James Beck, Stanley Gundry, Dr Linda Belleville,
Craig L. Blomberg, Craig S. Keener
Zondervan Academic
2016
Complementarian Perspective Books
Andreas J. Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner
Crossway 3rd Edition
2016
John Piper, Wayne Grudem
Crossway Books
2021
Kevin DeYoung
Crossway
2021
Claire Smith
Matthias Media 2nd Edition
2022
Andreas J. Köstenberger and Marny Köstenberger
Crossway
2014
Complementarian Perspective Videos, Podcasts, & Blogs
A panel discussion with Pastors & Scholars
Dr. John Piper, Russell Moore, Pastor Greg Gilbert
T4G YouTube
2016
Egalitarian Perspective Books
AVAILABLE at Rockyview's
BOOK TABLE
Scot McKnight
Zondervan
2008
Ronald W. Pierce, Rebecca Merrill Groothuis, Gordon D. Fee
Intervasrsity Press
2006
Lucy Peppiatt
IVP Academic
2019
Egalitarian Perspective Videos, Podcasts, & Blogs
Mike Erre, Bonnie Lewis
Heated Convo YouTube
2019
Community Questions & Answers
Here you will find questions that have been submitted to our leadership team about the Leadership Initiative process or the content of what we are learning together at RAC, and the answers that have been provided.
How will the decision about women serving on the board of elders be made?
The Board of Elders will draft a motion that includes a question or statement regarding women serving as elders at Rockyview Alliance Church. This motion will be voted on by Rockyview’s membership at the June 2024 AGM.
Will this conversation continue after the vote, no matter the outcome?
Yes, it will continue from the perspective of what our new realities are and how to move forward based on the outcome of the vote. This conversation will not continue in the sense of revisiting this question in the near future.
We also recognize as a board that people may experience various feelings from happiness, closure, disappointment, confusion, etc. and are determined to continue the dialogue from a perspective of acceptance, learning, and inclusion. We understand that we will never have uniformity on all decisions, but we aim for unity within Rockyview.
If the vote affirms women to serve as Elders at Rockyview at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), would it be another year before we’d see women being elected to the Board of Elders?
If the vote affirms women as candidates for eldership, it will require that our authorized nomination process still be followed. This means that the first opportunity that women will have to be nominated for the Board of Elders is at our AGM in June 2025.
What transpired this question regarding women in leadership?
The national Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) has enabled and called local churches to discern and consider the question of women serving on the Board of Elders or not. Our Rockyview Alliance leadership and congregation have asked about and felt the need to have this conversation at this time.
What will be the process to determine the actual wording of the question that will be voted on at the AGM?
The Board of Elders have first and foremost prayed that God would lead us into the appropriate wording of the motion for Rockyview. We have reviewed example motions from other churches and have received advice from C&MA District advisors.
We had a Complementarian speaker and an Egalitarian speaker, but we have not had a woman speaker. How come?
The process that we’ve been going through as a church has been to learn about the different perspectives on the topic of women serving on the Board of Elders and praying and discerning what God would have us do. As part of this process, we brought in speakers who were recommended by the Western Canadian District of the C&MA as experts in each perspective. Both speakers who were recommended were men. At this time, we do not intend to bring in additional, female speakers.
What exactly is the role of Elders? (and how is this different from the role of pastors?)
The role of an Elder is primarily focused on the oversight of the ministry and operation of Rockyview Alliance Church. Our Board of Elders is responsible for:
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Oversight of the ministry and operation of Rockyview
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Teaching
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Praying for the sick / Visitation
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Managing Rockyview’s finances and operations
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Making and communicating decisions
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Guarding the church from false teachers/teaching
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Coming alongside the vulnerable
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Practicing hospitality
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Modelling faith as an example to others
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Interviewing membership candidates
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Serving Communion
The role of Elder is different from that of Pastor in that Pastors are responsible for the spiritual direction of the church, especially that of Lead Pastor.
Does Rockyview allow women to be pastors? (and how is this related to the Leadership Initiative?)
Our denomination allows male and female official workers to be ordained. It is up to the Board of Elders of each church if they will recognize and allow an official worker to have the title pastor, to preach and to oversee the administration of our ordinances (eg solemnization of marriages, baptisms, communion etc.). Rockyview Alliance does not have a written bylaw or policy, but our practice has been to allow certain female official workers to use the title pastor or director but not to oversee the administration of our ordinances.
What does it entail to become a member? (and what are the expectations of a member?)
To become a member of Rockyview Alliance Church, a person must complete our Membership Class and sign Rockyview’s Membership Covenant. Prospective members are then interviewed by the Board of Elders to confirm that they meet the requirements of membership.
The expectations of a member of Rockyview Alliance Church are:
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to have received Christ as their Lord and Saviour
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to have been baptized as a believer
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to be currently striving to live a godly life
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to agree with The Alliance Canada’s Statement of Faith and Rockyview’s governance, vision, mission, strategy and structure.
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to agree to:
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protect the Unity of this church:
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share the Responsibility of this church:
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serve the Ministry of this church:
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support the Vitality of this church
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to honour their commitment to Rockyview Alliance Church by attending regularly, serving regularly and giving regularly.
I recognize that this is being framed as a "Leadership" Initiative, and thus that the motion being voted on is specific to the question of women serving on the board. However, both perspectives also carry implications for male-female relations in general, as well as in marriage/the family. Will the adoption or non-adoption of the motion impact the way gender relations and marriage relations are presented at Rockyview? Specific questions arise around whether women are portrayed as having a primary role/responsibility to their family in a way unique from men (how do you talk about this on Mothers Day and Fathers Day?), and also as to what we are teaching youth about what it means to be male and female (is there such a thing as biblical manhood or womanhood? do men have a responsibility to lead in any unique way?) I know in the past we have received resources from Rockyview that had more of a gender-differential focus (thinking about John Eldridge "You Have What it Takes" resources provided to our family when we dedicated our 1st born), so I'm curious if this vote will take into account and shape how these realms of home-life are portrayed and discussed?
The goal of the Leadership Initiative is for Rockyview’s members to make a prayerful and informed decision of having qualified men and women be equally eligible to serve as Elders at Rockyview Alliance Church at this time. Exploring this topic does not require a change to what is being taught at Rockyview regarding Biblical manhood or womanhood, or gender roles within the church and family.
I really appreciated the comment at the Q&A after the service that there is a whole spectrum in between the two extreme poles of Egalitarian vs. Complementarian, and that perhaps we should/could look at other more middling grounds when it comes to leadership at Rockyview. I do not know what that could look like, and I do understand that this vote is intended to "settle" the issue at RAC, not just solve it for now. (Though that does raise the question--could this motion be brought up again in a future AGM ? What would the board's response be if that did happen that someone wanted to re-open the question in some years time?) . One thing that does come to mind, should the vote go "No", is that it might behoove Rockyview to find a way to invite more congregational input into the issues of the church. I know not everything can be brought to the membership, but what I'm envisioning is some quarterly forum where non-elected members can bring ideas/questions/concerns to the board, rather than only having the AGM as a once-a-year opportunity to speak. I guess it's always possible to email an elder, or hopefully catch them after church, but not everyone even knows they could do that, and I think/hope a more involved membership would pay dividends in terms of congregants' sense of connection, commitment and ownership at RAC.
Could this motion be brought up again in a future AGM?
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Yes, it could as the membership is always allowed to bring up motions on a variety of concerns at our AGMs. Our hope as a leadership team is that the process we’ve been through this year, followed by the vote on this topic at this year’s AGM will bring closure on the topic for a while.
What would the board's response be if that did happen that someone wanted to re-open the question in some years time?
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It’s difficult to say for sure how the board would respond to this situation in the future, as context matters, however, the board’s response in the past when this topic has been brought up at an AGM is to recommend delaying a vote at that time and explore the issue in more depth as a first step.
One thing that does come to mind, should the vote go "No", is that it might behoove Rockyview to find a way to invite more congregational input into the issues of the church.
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We appreciate your idea (and keep them coming!). As a leadership team, we regularly reflect on ways to increase the effectiveness of the ministry of Rockyview and communicating with and hearing from our congregants and members is critical. This is something we’ll continue to look at and consider after the vote, even as we have throughout the Leadership Initiative process.
I also want to ask, if the vote goes "YES", if RAC is prepared to step all the way into providing all gifted/qualified women ways to serve that still respect things unique to womanhood, not expecting them to just operate "as a man". Equality is not the same as equity, and some equity-minded measures may need to be considered. I am thinking of this from a very personal lived experience standpoint--being a mom with young kids. Granted, I know each person approached by the nominating committee has to evaluate if the opportunity to serve RAC in this way aligns with the Lord's priorities on their life and time in that current season, but there are some board "norms" from previous years that may need to be revisited so that women can lead without feeling like they have to "compartmentalize life" away from being a woman. For example, a weekend board retreat may not be a possibility for moms with young kids, or single moms. What if a woman gets pregnant while on the board--will it be okay to bring a nursing infant to board meetings, or will that be a reason they need to step down? I know these are messy questions, and believe me, I'm not asking them because I'm eager to step into a leadership role. I just think it's important that if we invite women to lead, we can recognize that they do as women and maybe mothers, and that biologically that comes with ties that men do not carry in the same way.
Rockyview Alliance Church expects every Elder candidate approached by the nominating committee to evaluate if the opportunity to serve in the role of Elder at Rockyview aligns with the Lord’s calling and their current commitments. Each candidate needs to examine whether the sacrifice of joining the Board of Elders is healthy in their current stage of life. With that said, a “yes” vote will require updates to policies and procedures at Rockyview as well as consideration of the individual circumstances of our Elders. While we won’t be able to accommodate every difference, given a “yes” vote, we would strive to create an equitable environment for both men and women to serve on the Board of Elders.
Is there a specific reason why the vote required to change the women as elders bylaw was set to 75% instead of the standard 66% to change a bylaw? It feels as though the bar was set higher specifically to prevent change. Would there be a chance for the members to vote to strike the higher 75% requirement before the vote for the leadership initiative?
This was decided by the board and Lead Pastor when we updated our bylaws in 2019, which were then approved by the congregation at the 2019 AGM. We would not be able to change that number without having our membership vote on adapting the current bylaws first. The Board of Elders feel that to do so in the same meeting as voting on the Leadership Initiative could come across as a divisive tactic.
To submit your own question, please click the button below, and follow the instructions.
Q: Is there a date proposed by the RAC Elder's Board of when they would like to have a Succession Plan?
A: Yes. The RAC Board of Elders intends to present a Succesion Plan by January of 2024.