Journey of Renewal

The Accountability Movement
of The Salvation Army

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Invitation
from the General

‘I invite everyone linked to The Salvation Army to join an Accountability Movement’

General André Cox

‘I invite you to join me on a journey of renewal. In a world of shifting values, we need to be people of spiritual vitality and integrity, faithful and dynamic in mission.

‘We should want to be accountable for our actions and attitudes as we participate in God’s mission to transform the world. We must be keen to learn from our successes, but also our failures.

‘To address these vital concerns I invite everyone linked to The Salvation Army to join an Accountability Movement.’

- General André Cox, 2016

Getting
Started

1. What is the Accountability Movement?

The Accountability Movement is an opportunity for people in and linked to The Salvation Army to be renewed by God’s Spirit and refocused on God’s mission to redeem his world.

2. Will it affect me?

Yes! In fact it must. Everyone linked to The Salvation Army – employees, junior and senior soldiers, active and retired officers, adherents, advisory board members, volunteers, friends – needs to catch the vision and get involved.

3. How can I be more accountable?

We all need to be accountable for every aspect of our journey through life. We are pilgrims and accountability helps us keep going in the right direction.

To help us on our journey, a six-dimension tool called the Mission Accountability Framework (MAF) has been developed. The MAF helps people plan and track progress towards a common purpose: life in all its fullness as offered by Jesus.

The Mission
Accountability
Framework

The Mission Accountability Framework

The Salvation Army works in more than 125 countries so there is lots of diversity.

However, we are also part of One Army and have much in common. We can all answer the same questions:

1. People
Who is making the journey and
how are the relationships?

2. Passion and Spirit
Where do we get energy for
the journey?

3. Purpose
What is the reason for
the journey?

4. Plan
What is the plan and
how will we measure our journey?

5. Progress
How do we track progress and
learn from experience?

6. Procedures and Systems
Are our procedures and systems
fit for purpose?

Updating
Systems

Strengthening and Updating
Salvation Army Systems

Some of our organisational
systems need to be improved.
We need a foundation in living
Christ’s values and we need to
develop leaders, build capacity
and communicate effectively.
The Accountability Movement
is focusing in four key areas.

Governance
The purpose of this review is
to ensure, at all levels, that
The Salvation Army has a
governance structure fit for
its God-given purpose in the
21st century.

Impact Measurement
The purpose of this review is
to measure the transformative
change in people and
communities that is brought
about through interaction
with The Salvation Army.

Finance
The purpose of this aspect
is to monitor, review,
upgrade and enhance
worldwide Salvation Army
financial systems.

Child Protection
To ensure The Salvation Army’s
commitment to the well-being,
safeguarding and protection of
children by implementing best
practice in every expression of
Salvation Army contact and
influence with children.

The Four Pillars of the Accountability Movement

Time to
Get Moving

Updating systems is important and the Accountability Movement will result in a more effective, efficient Salvation Army. However, systems and procedures do not change the hearts of people. This journey of renewal must result in people living more Christ-like lives or it will not achieve its purpose. The following behaviours and attitudes are needed in every aspect of Salvation Army life:

Love one another.
At the Last Supper, Jesus commanded his disciples: ‘A new command I give you: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another’ (John 13:34-35). The Accountability Movement will help us to know what ‘love one another’ looks like in practice in the 21st-century Salvation Army.

The accountability movement is about people.&nbsp;We must love, trust, encourage, and respect each other.

The accountability movement is about people.
We must love, trust, encourage, and respect each other.

Being open and transparent.
The Accountability Movement encourages people to be more open and transparent. Leaders should not ask ‘why do they need to know?’ but rather enable an open, transparent culture of ‘why shouldn’t people be told?’

Salvation Army leaders at all levels should encourage people to think, discuss and debate how the Army can be more effective, efficient and faithful in doing God’s will in our communities.

Mutual respect and truth.
There must be a culture of mutual respect and truth-telling between Army leaders and those under their command. Developing this culture means that if leaders or followers behave badly there must be consequences. The General has made it clear that everyone needs to be held to account – but fairly.

The practice of complaining secretly or writing anonymous letters has to end. A new accountability culture will require effective processes to address the concerns of whistle-blowers – but allegations must be backed up with facts, not rumours.

When William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, saw homelessness in the East End of London he said:&nbsp;‘Do Something!’&nbsp;We are accountable if we do nothing as much as if we do the wrong thing.

When William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army,
saw homelessness in the East End of London he said:
‘Do Something!’
We are accountable if we do nothing
as much as if we do the wrong thing.

‘Do something!’
We need to move away from a culture of ‘do nothing so we cannot be blamed if it goes wrong’. As Jesus taught in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), we are accountable for what we fail to do as much as for what we do.

Be positive!
We must avoid a culture of cynicism and negativity. We are a people of hope – not of hopelessness. ‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’ (Romans 8:31). The Lord is still using the Army in many places.Let us humbly learn from others who are producing fruit.

One of the key aims of the Accountability Movement is to encourage a culture of learning across the international Salvation Army.

Journey of Renewal is a short book (free download) which explains the Accountability Movement. It contains practical tips and tools to integrate accountability into your work, mission and ministry.

The book.
This website gives a taster of the Accountability Movement. Now your appetite has been whetted, it’s time to discover more by reading the short book, Journey of Renewal. This book explains the Accountability Movement in more detail and provide practical tips and tools to integrate accountability into your work, mission and ministry.

A final word from the General.
‘Please pray for God’s blessing, wisdom and grace to fill this process. It is never easy to change. If the Accountability Movement is only a human creation it will fail. If God is at its heart it will bear much fruit for his Kingdom. Your prayers and active support are essential.’