Gideons slow down pace of change
CALGARY, AB—At one of the most significant conventions in Canadian Gideon history, members voting at the Bible distribution ministry's annual gathering narrowly defeated a wide-ranging set of changes to the agency's general operating bylaws.
"We lost by 50 votes out of about 2,700," laments national president Brad Kennedy. "Our members voted 64.5 per cent in favour, but we needed a two-thirds majority."
If the vote had gone the other way, full membership in The Gideons International in Canada would no longer be restricted to business and professional men, and the agency would be able to distribute a wider variety of Bible versions. According to the existing bylaws, Gideon women can only participate as "auxiliary" members and people working in non-professional vocations are theoretically ineligible.
For at least the past year, Kennedy and the agency's national cabinet have been pushing hard to bring Canadian Gideon bylaws in line with some of its current practices and a more culturally relevant model of ministry.
The Gideons face a serious demographic challenge: Nearly half of its members are older than 70, and another 25 per cent are over 60. Only three per cent of members are younger than 40. The average age of a Canadian Gideon is just under 70 years old, compared with 41 back in 1961. The agency is trying to adapt to attract more youthful members.
Indeed, some of the proposed changes have already been incorporated at the local level. Women are serving alongside men in many distribution projects in ways not technically allowable by the existing bylaws. And many active members would not technically qualify as professionals. "We're trying to correct something that's lost its relevance in our culture today," explains Kennedy.
Strong opposition
Yet the proposed changes are being strongly opposed by the leaders of the U.S.-based Gideons International, which operates in 191 countries. "Our core values represent our identity," wrote International Gideons president Perrin T. Prescott in a letter to Canadian Gideons last March.
"Our values reflect the utilization of Christian business and professional men who along with their wives comprise a workforce, with specific gifts, talents and abilities that leverages opportunities that are not otherwise available to the church. Our values specify and ensure that we provide an accurate translation of God's Word to enable the Holy Spirit working."
Kennedy agrees that "any organization needs a purpose and mission," and insists that people who associate with The Gideons are well aware of "our desire to reach the unsaved using Bible distribution and personal witnessing as the mechanism." They joined because they see what the Bible does when it connects with people, he adds.
"That's what we want to do. That's where we want to be. The Bible opens a witness opportunity. That's our core mission. It's not about being a group of men."
Nevertheless, the international body's understanding of core values is unbending. "A strong component of the Gideon brand is its recognition as a Christian business man's organization. Unfortunately, if you change from that core value, while you may continue under the banner of Gideons, it will be in name only. It will not be reflective of the Gideon membership worldwide."
Hotly debated
Throughout the past year the issues have been hotly debated in Gideon camps around the country. A group of former national leaders circulated a letter deploring the haste with which the proposed bylaw changes were being pursued. They highlighted the threat of expulsion from the International body and insisted that international distribution is a higher priority than finding "more ways to get Scriptures into the hands of Canadians."
And earlier this year a small number of agitated members circulated petitions calling on members to oppose the proposed bylaws "that will divorce Gideons in Canada from all other Gideons around the world."
According to Kennedy, that divisive spirit was remarkably absent at the convention, where the issues were roundly debated. "There were good times at the conference. Prior to the vote the entire group both for and against was on our knees," he says. "For the most part, people were asking 'what can we learn from this?'"
Although Kennedy is disappointed by the result, he is confident most of the changes are likely to be incorporated within the next few years. He notes that the same members who voted down the proposed bylaw changes also unanimously voted to retain the existing cabinet. "We were voted back in to continue our work."
And, he observes, "the vote tells us that only slightly less than two-thirds of our membership is in favour of these changes and implementing them right now. Slightly more than one-third had concerns with timing and process. The national cabinet has heard those things. We know it's important to continue with change."
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