The World Church Leadership Council is a leadership body of the Community of Christ

Community of Christ

The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , is an American-based international Christian church established in April 1830 that claims as its mission "to proclaim Jesus Christ and promote communities of joy, hope, love, and peace"...

. It encompasses the First Presidency, the Council of Twelve Apostles

Council of Twelve Apostles (Community of Christ)

In the Community of Christ, The Council of Twelve Apostles is one of the governing bodies in the church hierarchy. They are disciples who hold the priesthood office of Apostle, and are responsible for the evangelistic witness of the church...

, and the Presiding Bishopric. The group convenes at the church headquarters in the Independence temple

Independence Temple

The Temple in Independence, Missouri, is a house of worship and education "dedicated to the pursuit of peace". It dominates the skyline of Independence, Missouri, USA, and has become the focal point of the headquarters of the Community of Christ...

. With the adoption of a sweeping new set of church bylaws at the 2002 World Conference

World Conference (Community of Christ)

World Conference is the highest legislative body in the Community of Christ and is empowered to act for the entire church. It operates according to a principle known as "common consent" and is presided over by the First Presidency...

, this body replaced the predecessor council known as the Joint Council. Bylaw provisions allow for additional members to be added to the World Church Leadership Council.

Overview

Since its formation, the World Church Leadership Council has been the deliberative and consensus forming body for a number of important decisions, such as the 2002 Statement on Homosexuality, formation of mission centers, and setting of dates for specially called World Conferences. The World Church Leadership Council assisted with the recommendation to the World Conference by the Council of Twelve that Stephen M. Veazey

Stephen M. Veazey

Stephen Mark Veazey is the current Prophet-President of the Community of Christ, headquartered in Independence, Missouri. Veazey's name was presented to the church in March 2005 by a joint council of church leaders led by the Council of Twelve Apostles, as the next Prophet-President...

 be ordained as Prophet-President of the church. In 2006, the World Church Leadership Council deliberated significant restructuring of the church's headquarters operations and reduction in the number of paid field ministers. It has contributed to development of a new format for the 2007 Community of Christ World Conference

World Conference (Community of Christ)

World Conference is the highest legislative body in the Community of Christ and is empowered to act for the entire church. It operates according to a principle known as "common consent" and is presided over by the First Presidency...

.

Prior history of the Joint Council

Before the adoption of the 2002 bylaws, the predecessor body known as the Joint Council served essentially the same role as the new World Church Leadership Council. During their deliberation of the vision and mission statements of the church at a 1994 Joint Council retreat, President Wallace B. Smith

Wallace B. Smith

Wallace Bunnell Anthony Smith was Prophet-President of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints , from April 5, 1978 through April 15, 1996. Son of President W. Wallace Smith, he was designated as his father's successor in 1976, and ordained church president in 1978 when his...

first suggested a new name for the church, Community of Christ. The Joint Council was often designated as the policy approval body in legislation passed at World Conferences over a period of many decades.