The SALT Report Explained: Question #7 

Does the SALT Report alter the direction of the Council of Delegates as agreed upon in October 2020?

No, it does not. The SALT report recommendations further develop the October 2020 decisions of the Council of Delegates (COD) about the leadership structure of the CRCNA. 

A summary of pertinent decisions may be helpful: 

• In July 2020, the Canada Board approved a new position description for an executive director of Canadian ministries. 
• In October 2020, the COD approved a new position description for an Ecclesiastical Officer position for the CRCNA.
• In October 2020, the U.S. Board approved a new position description for an executive director/senior leader for U.S. ministries.
• As the Banner reported in December 2020, the COD recommended that a new task force (SALT) examine all three of these position descriptions and determine how they should interact with each other and what modifications should be made. 
• In May 2021, the SALT report was adopted by the COD. 

The SALT report contained a number of recommendations regarding the CRCNA leadership structure. Three of the recommendations were based on the decisions made by the Canada Board in July 2020, the COD in October 2020, and the US Board in October 2020 as indicated above. The three recommendations were: 

1. Establish the position of General Secretary (based on the Ecclesiastical Officer position description). 
2. Establish the position of Chief Administrative Officer (based on the text from the U.S. executive director/senior leader position description).
3. Establish the position of Executive Director of Canada (based upon the earlier description approved by the Canada Board with a few changes requested by the Canadian Board delegates). 

The SALT task force recognized and understood that the U.S. leadership structure would need to be further developed and differentiated. This understanding became evident in February 2022 when the COD reviewed a proposal to move the Office of General Secretary to a separate ecclesial organization, and establish a senior leader position for U.S. ministries. The COD asked the current CRCNA executive leaders, Colin Watson and John Bolt, to further develop the proposal for the COD meeting in May 2022. 

Co-Authors 

Rev. Frederic Koning is a retired CRC Pastor and Medical Ethicist. He served as the Reporter for the Structure and Leadership Task Force (SALT), and co-facilitator of the SALT Steering Committee and the Joint Ministry Agreement Task Force.  

Dr. Lloyd Vanderkwaak is a retired CEO and has conducted research on the governance partnership in nonprofit organizations. He served as a co-facilitator of the SALT Steering Committee and the Joint Ministry Agreement Task Force.