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Overview

A Summary

The General Secretary will have a demonstrated ability to nurture a shared and vibrant vision for the mission of God through the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) as together we follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. This vision is dynamic and is embodied and enlarged through focused implementation. Working out of either the Burlington, Ontario or Grand Rapids, Michigan head offices of the CRCNA, the General Secretary will work as a servant-leader in close cooperation with local churches, classes, and the agencies and institutions of the CRCNA.

Read the Alignment Profile for more information.

Core Characteristics 

The General Secretary will be an ordained minister of the Word within the CRCNA who:

  • exemplifies a strong, vibrant Christian faith marked by humility and integrity. 
  • possesses deep respect for the polity, theology, history, and growing diversity of the CRCNA
  • possesses the ability to provide exceptional leadership within a multiagency and binational denomination.
  • exhibits the ability to bridge diverse perspectives and inspire trust.

Leadership Competencies

The General Secretary will be a servant leader with demonstrated fruitful ministry in these Spirit-shaped leadership competencies.

Visionary Leadership

The General Secretary will discern, communicate, and impart God’s vision, setting direction for the future of the CRCNA as an integral part of God’s mission. This vision will be cultivated and nurtured by intentional participation and discernment with local churches, classes, synod, and the agencies and institutions of the CRCNA. 

The General Secretary will ensure and be accountable for the implementation of strategies. The vision needs to be transformative and translated into concrete actions with an outcome-based implementation strategy. Building a spirit of close collaboration and common vision among the boards, ministries and institutions that serve the CRC is especially important.

Adaptive Leadership

The General Secretary will be a person who embraces risk and welcomes a challenge. There is a deep trust that God will lead us through adaptive change and innovation that may be quite different than our practice to date. The General Secretary needs to navigate and manage well in a context of ongoing change.

Collaborative Leadership 

The General Secretary will exhibit dynamic skills in collaborative relationship building, teamwork, and participatory management. By fostering cooperation working through a variety of leadership circles, the General Secretary will draw people into a growing consensus while providing significant room for local and national contextual implementation. 

The ability to bridge diverse perspectives and inspire trust is essential and will be especially manifested in cross-cultural leadership by assisting diverse cultures and ethnic groups to talk together for synergistic growth. This will be evident in the discovery of new ways to express our binationality and to be one church in two nations. In these and other areas the General Secretary will help us move beyond polarities to a greater synergy.