BY JONATHAN GALLAGHER
"The large challenges which faced the church of the first century
were those of mission and unity. Having pondered and reflected for some time
on where we are and where we are going as a Seventh-day Adventist Church at
the beginning of the 21st century, I am convinced beyond any shadow of doubt
that the same two remain our most formidable challenges." --
Jan Paulsen, opening address to the 2000 Annual Council.
Mission and Unity
hese two key themes, articulated by General Conference president Jan Paulsen
as he opened the 2000 Annual Council, clearly drove the Adventist Church's
yearly business session. While all the legal niceties should and must be attended
to, it was this twin focus on "what makes the church" that gave the
meetings direction and purpose. Add the fact that this is the first Annual Council
after GC Session, the first of the five-year term, the first of the millennium,
century, year--and the recipe for enthusiastic progress is clear.
The clear message: let's get on with our mission, together. Yes, there
are many distractions. Yes, many challenges. But to become sidetracked would
mean, in the words of Paulsen, that "the church has failed, and eventually
decay and disintegration set in. I do not want mission and unity simply to become
something we duly acknowledge and then we move on to other important and pressing
matters. They are, in my view, terribly important for the Seventh-day Adventist
community today. It is right that the General Conference should be an instrument
designed to focus on both of these and to use its resources to achieve them."
The two "big items" of mission and unity led to the formation of
two big solutions-Crecognized by the heavy funding committed to them: the Council
of Evangelism and Witness, and Leadership Training. Presenting the 2000 Supplemental
Budget, Undertreasurer Robert Lemon pointed to the earmarking of $1 million
to be split between the two vital programs, with Leadership Training also receiving
an additional $700,000 from a member to aid in establishing a foundation. A
further amount of $7.5 million from the Supplemental Budget was distributed
to a wide range of projects around the world.
As one informed financial analyst once commented: "You can always tell
what's important to any organization by where they choose to spend their money."
Treasurer Robert Rawson pointed to the great importance of strategic planning
for the church's response to the changing times. "The future requires that
current methods of allocating resources become responsive to the outcomes of
the strategic planning process," Rawson said. "All budgets and the
release of funding must be developed and directed by the strategic plan. We
can no longer afford budget development and resource allocation based on the
slogan of the moment or the idea of the day. Good stewardship requires that
the resources of the church be focused in those areas identified as desired
outcomes of the strategic planning process."
Flat Budget
Undertreasurer
Robert Lemon reported next year's
world budget at $112,019,012, an increase of less than one percent more than
the 2000 budget. He explained that the major reason for the small increase was
a projected lower rate of increase in tithe receipts over the next five years,
as a result of the tithe-sharing plan.
Under the tithe-sharing
program, world divisions will increase the amount of tithe they pass on to the
General Conference from one to two percent, while the North American Division,
which provides most of the financial support, decreases its share of tithe passed
on from 10.27 percent to eight percent.
Lemon also announced that the General Conference
in-house budget totaled nearly $25 million, an increase of nearly $560,000 over
this year.
Questioning the budget summary, one delegate asked how the council could know
"if the money is being spent efficiently?" The responses revealed
a high commitment to the wisest use of funds. Other delegates spoke of the need
not just to look at the bottom line of "cost per baptism," since the
gospel commission is to all the world, not only where the work may seem easiest.
The Adventist Church,
as underscored by the Annual Council actions, is spending its resources on education,
vocational training, health, and all the other vital functions, but most of
all on evangelism and training leaders--the key elements of a growing faith community.
Soaring Membership
How much the church is growing was made clear by GC secretary Matthew Bediako:
"As of June 30 our total world membership was 11,336,026. Last year at
Annual Council it was reported that there was one Seventh-day Adventist for
every 570 people in the world. Currently, there is one Seventh-day Adventist
for every 535 people now living. The Inter-American Division has already surpassed
the two million member mark. It is hoped that the Eastern Africa Division will
reach the two million member mark this month."
Presenting a summary
of statistical trends, Bert Haloviak, director of GC Archives and Statistics,
revealed that the current rate of church growth is about eight percent, the
highest rate since the 1920s, equivalent to 2,310 additional members every day.
In his report, Bediako cautioned against too much celebration: "While
we rejoice in the growth of the church we need to be reminded that growth is
happening in many regions which are considered Christian regions.
"We are yet to have any meaningful impact in the 10/40 window. The work
among these people groups and other religions does not belong to any particular
division. It is the challenge of the world church. Our mission is not accomplished
until the 10/40 window is saturated with the gospel. It calls for a united effort
of the world church in personnel and resources to achieve this noble objective."
Evaluation Time
Annual Council
also took time to analyze and review the church's on-going initiatives, such as the impact of Global
Mission, the church's
outreach to previously unentered territories.
The report made
it clear that Global Mission has made a massive contribution to the evangelistic
outreach of the church, with the number of population groups of more than one
million not touched by Adventists had been reduced from 2,287 to just 472 over
the decade.
The same review
process was evident in constituency reports from organizations including Adventist
World Radio, the International Religious Liberty Association, the Adventist
International Institute of Advance Studies, Home Study International, and Christian
Record Services International.
On the lighter side
The heavier "legal" meetings were balanced by lighter moments, like
the time Pastor Ted Wilson, newly-elected vice-president at Toronto, acknowledged
a question from his father, former General Conference president Neal C. Wilson,
with the phrase, "Yes, Dad?" To which his father responded, "Brother
Chairman, my dear son."
Pastor
Tor Tjeransen, elected as Norwegian Union president in August, called the council
"inspiring," pointing particularly to "what is happening in Argenta, Italy with the new AWR radio station that
can reach so many millions of people. I also appreciate the whole mission emphasis
of Annual Council, and it is good simply to be part of what is happening in
the world Church." Not that everything was wonderful:
"Of
course, the minor items of re-numbering policies or deleting this or that is
not that exciting."
But he agreed that it was important to do things right, bringing some gratification
to the policy drafters.
Dragutin Matak president of the Atlantic Union, in Eastern Europe, commented
that it was "always refreshing to meet people and talk with them about
problems and dilemmas from the field." He mentioned a new religious denomination
law in Croatia, and that in discussion with other church leaders he had gained
some "useful insights." Most important of all, he said, was that "the meeting
together of union presidents on a regular basis is very good for church organization."
Melchor Ferryra, newly-elected president of the Peru Union, particularly
appreciated the theme: United by the Word of God. "At this time the theme
is particularly appropriate," he commented. "The devotionals that
developed this concept were very relevant, because what the church thinks about
this will determine our future. Most of all we need unity throughout the world.
Working on this topic is essential."
Raul Gomez, secretary of the South American Union,
he affirmed the council and its associate meetings, saying that though busy,
the time together was important.
Luka Daniel, president of the Africa-Indian Ocean Division was optimistic,
but cautious. "So far, so good. Things are moving along fast enough, which
is better than having dead time. The content is good, well thought out, and
unnecessary discussion is minimized."
Annual Council Briefs
In other business,
the General Conference Executive Committee:
Voted a Commission
on Higher Education to develop a global plan for the church's colleges, universities, and seminaries. The commission
will develop and recommend guidelines for establishing new institutions, identify
areas of duplication within divisions, and develop strategies to strengthen
the unity, integrity, and financial viability of the Adventist educational system.
Humberto Rossi, General Conference education director, said the new commission
was needed because the church's universities and seminaries had doubled in
the past 10 years and that many schools have emerged without proper planning.
He said that church-related schools of higher learning inevitably split from
those churches and become independent over time, "and we want Adventist
higher education to be completely united with the spirit and mission of the
Adventist Church."
Heard a report
from Harold L. Lee, Columbia Union president and chair of the Board of Adventist
Healthcare, Inc., regarding the accreditation of Shady Grove Adventist Hospital
in Maryland.
Lee told the committee that Shady Grove had "faced significant problems
in patient care and executive compensation." He said the Joint Commission
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the lead accreditation
agency for hospitals in the United States, upgraded Shady Grove's status from
"Conditional Accreditation" to "Accreditation with Type I Recommendations."
William G. Robertson,
president and CEO of Adventist Healthcare, said the new accreditation status
is held by 85 percent of hospitals in the United States. He explained that JCAHO
has submitted recommendations for improvement in six areas of operation. These
concerns will be reviewed in a site visit scheduled for January, 2001.
Regarding executive
compensation levels, Lee also told the delegates that Adventist Healthcare was
in full compliance with the Adventist Church's remuneration guidelines.
Elected a lay member, Jack L. Krogstad, an associate
dean and professor of accounting and management at Creighton University, Nebraska,
as chair of the General Conference Auditing Service Board. This board is responsible
for the financial audit of over 2,400 church-related organizations with collective
assets of some $11 billion. This the first time that a lay member has been selected
to chair a GC auditing board.
_________________________
JONATHAN GALLAGHER is associate director, General Conference Public Affairs
and Religious Liberty Department
Exclude PDF Files