The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is investigating concerns relating to moral character and governance in its leadership following allegations made by an anonymous whistleblower, published by the Christian Council of Korea (CCK).
The CCK is not a WEA member but has called on it to cancel its upcoming General Assembly in Seoul this Autumn in light of the problems raised. The whistleblower documents allege problems relating to how the WEA deals with organisations of other faiths and the theological positions of its leaders, as well as issues concerning governance, accountability and morality.
Following the levelling of accusations, the CCK claimed that the WEA General Assembly Organising Committee rejected a request to meet to discuss whether the assembly was a force for good or not, in light of what has been alleged, and subsequently called for the event to be cancelled.
The WEA said in a statement that they are “profoundly concerned” by the allegations, as well as by the public way in which the CCK have announced their concerns without first raising them privately with them.
While they said that they share the CCK’s commitment to upholding gospel truth, they reaffirmed their intention to hold the upcoming assembly in Seoul and defended their position when it came to ecumenical and interfaith relations, their theological stance, and issues of governance and morality.
However, when discussing the final two of those points, they acknowledged that questions had been raised concerning moral character and governance practices in their leadership, and said they are “actively reviewing” such matters.
They said: “As an organisation committed to accountability and integrity, we are actively reviewing these matters to ensure that we separate fact from fiction and that there is alignment with our governance framework.
“Where needed, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that those representing the WEA do so with credibility, humility, and Christlike character.
“At the same time, we strongly believe that personal accusations are best handled through a process outlined in Scripture through personal dialogue and interaction, not in the public media space with anonymous ‘whistleblowers’.”
The WEA were contacted for comment but had not responded as the en deadline arrived.
