Community of Christ has new leader

He's a youth minister, a foreign church planter, a fly fisherman and a 47-year-old father of three — all characteristics that leaders of the Community of Christ believe will give Stephen M. Veazey a unique vision for the future.

Veazey was named Monday as the designated president of the 250,000-member faith, previously known as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Headquartered in Independence, Mo., the church lost its previous president in December when W. Grant McMurray resigned, citing health problems and undisclosed personal issues.

In his letter of resignation, McMurray said he had "made some inappropriate choices, and the circumstances of my life are now such that I cannot continue to effectively lead the church."

Though he had the right to choose a successor, he elected not to do so, leaving the faith's top leaders to determine who would succeed him. Since then, the church has been overseen by McMurray's counselors in the First Presidency — Kenneth N. Robinson and Peter A. Judd — as well as the faith's Council of Twelve. Veazey is currently president of that council, a position he came to not by seniority but by the designation of fellow church leaders after a discernment process involving "a period of prayer and reflection."

That's the same process by which fellow members of the Council of Twelve came to the decision that Veazey should be their next president and prophet. That decision was taken to counselors in the First Presidency as well as the Presiding Bishopric, High Priests Quorum and Presidents of Seventy, who also engaged in prayer and reflection to know God's will.

When they all agreed, their decision — announced Monday before about 1,000 church leaders, members and friends at the faith's temple in Independence — was broadcast via the Internet to church members worldwide, who were told last week to expect the announcement.

Veazey's role as prophet must be ratified by a majority of 2,800 church member delegates, who will gather in the small, Midwest town June 2-5 for the faith's 2005 World Conference.

The faith is governed, as many Protestant faiths are, through democratic processes that approve or disapprove proposals from top church leaders. Veazey said he isn't ready to publicly name those he will choose to serve as counselors in the First Presidency, but he is responsible to propose the names, which also must be ratified by majority vote of church delegates.