B. B. Beach, Reporter

he General Conference session “Day in Toronto” follows biblical reckoning, rather than the time set by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures outside Paris. It begins at 6:00 p.m. An hour earlier [on July 6] the nominating committee rendered its eleventh and final report, including the General Conference associate departmental directors, who made up the bulk of the last report.

Having watched the nominating committees at work over the past 54 years, I can say that the 174 members of this one finished their work more expeditiously and earlier than previous nominating committees. Maybe the 700 bottles of water they consumed helped the flow of decision regarding the 119 names presented and voted! Now that we know who our leaders are going to be during the period ahead, we can all relax and fully enjoy the remaining two days of the Toronto session.

The evening program began with the song “All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name”—precisely what all the exciting division reports are doing this week.

Soloist Wintley Phipps, in his inimitable way, set the mood by affirming through voice and body language that “It is well with my soul.”

I was thrilled listening to the reports of the South Pacific Division, starting with Brian Enoch and the unique and haunting sounds of the didgeridoo. The theme of the audiovisual and onstage presentation was “Contact.” Indeed, there can be no evangelism, no human or divine relations, without “contact,” and as this word implies in English, it must be “with tact” in order to be successful.

The brief reports from the various South Pacific unions mentioned six personal stories, each having modern-day miraculous aspects, such as condemned murderer Kalisto (of the Kwaio tribe) escaping from his prison by a canoe pushed along by two sharks and then turning his life around and becoming a gospel preacher.

There is good news in the South Pacific on the evangelistic front: in the western Solomon Islands one person in four is a Seventh-day Adventist. The church is “booming” in Papua New Guinea. In 1999 new technology helped add more than 16,000 souls in this country, where just a few generations ago almost Stone Age conditions prevailed in certain areas. Today there is one Adventist for 86 people of the population of the South Pacific Division—the highest ratio of any division. I liked Matt Byrne’s statement: “Put Jesus first and miracles happen.”

Wise leadership not only talks of success, but comes to grips with unsolved challenges. In the South Pacific the evangelistic problem is the “urban jungle.” A series of perceptive videos have been prepared called “Chasing Utopia.” The STORMCO (Service to Others Really Matters) service trips by youth groups are making an impact on various communities. I welcome seriousness about both the present and future tasks.

In between the two division programs, the president and the associate treasurer of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division drove to the front of the SkyDome in a half-size jeepney, a highly decorated Filipino transportation vehicle, and presented it as a gift to the General Conference. They then invited president Jan Paulsen to ride in it—when last seen as it drove away, he was standing on the back bumper!

If the keyword in the South Pacific report was “Contact,” that of the Africa-Indian Ocean Division was “Action.” The officers of the AID walked on stage to the accompaniment of a Yoruba talking drum, in the style of Nigerian chiefs.

The colorful AID program centered around three miracles: growth, development, and unity. Despite the formidable challenges of war, instability, and economic devaluation, there has been an impressive forging ahead from 330,000 members to 1,400,000. Self-support leading to union conference status of some fields is a good step forward. Unity of purpose has been achieved despite having 32 countries and scores of different languages.

One intriguing story presented was of the convict who became converted to Adventism. While in prison he had befriended a fellow prisoner. This fellow prisoner has now become the Nigerian head of state, and our brother has been pardoned! In a letter to our church, the country’s president wrote: “God does not allow anything to happen outside His purpose and plan.”

Another story concerns three Adventists in the Cape Verde Islands being falsely accused of desecrating a Catholic church. Two were imprisoned and subjected to mistreatment. At the trial they were vindicated, and the judge said, “The only crime these people committed, if this is a crime, was to be Seventh-day Adventist!”

During this quinquennium the division’s baptismal goal was 500,000. During the coming five-year period the goal has been doubled to one million!

The grand finale of the evening was the AID delegation marching in their colorful attire onto the stage singing “We’re Marching to Zion.” This gave us a foretaste of the climactic parade of nations we will view tomorrow.

Any GC session has its characteristics, and we can learn from each experience. I have one concern: the very sparse attendance of delegates at the afternoon business sessions, especially during the first hour. Understandably, quite a few delegates including myself are involved in the work of the session backstage—in the nominating committee or elsewhere; nevertheless, it seems strange when more than half of the delegates are absent from their seats. Early Friday afternoon a lovely ceremony took place honoring the General Conference retirees, but the session floor was almost empty. We need to take a look at this absentee problem in planning for the St. Louis session.

In his Friday devotional Kingsley Clarke focused on the great controversy between Christ and Satan, between truth and error. (See the summary on page 5 of this Bulletin.) Indeed, our enemy is not Christian brothers and sisters, but the devil himself. In the last days the “serpent” has turned into a “dragon” and enmity has become all-out war. However, we have the assurance that where iniquity abounds, God’s power and grace superabound.

During the Friday morning business session a motion was passed to rescind the motion of the previous day that had referred the Church Manual amendment dealing with marriage and divorce back to the Church Manual Committee. Following today’s vote, these items have now been voted. Otherwise, these issues would have had to wait five years until the next General Conference session, at which time a new set of delegates would have had to deal with the discussion all over again. The delegates also voted to introduce in the Church Manual a certain format change. This means that certain parts of the Church Manual will become “Notes,” which can be changed by any Annual Council.

This has been the “walkingest” GC session in history. The facilities are first class, but the colossal size of the SkyDome and the many floors of the Convention Center required considerable walking back and forth and up and down. Good exercise, for sure, but two blisters on my feet are a reminder of our sedentary life!

This is my thirteenth General Conference session, and what a great session it has been! Many presentations have been outstanding, the division reports superb, and the music almost out of this world. The observers from other churches and from governments have been impressed. I am proud to belong to this church—my church. The church of the remnant is not perfect, but we belong to a mighty God, and when you are on God’s side, you are on the winning side.

Very soon we will be “home.” As I get older (I have had the privilege and joy of serving this church in active service for 51 years), the beautiful hills of the Promised Land look more and more inviting. God is good and faithful, and His amazing love demands “my soul, my life, my all.” This must be our pledge on this General Conference next to the last “day in Toronto.”