he recent move by Seventh-day Adventist Church administrators in the South Pacific to implement new salary guidelines for church employers highlights similar challenges facing church leaders around the world.

“Over the past few decades there has been a growing gap between the remuneration policy stated in the church's Working Policy, and the needs and practices of church institutions and entities around the world,” says Gerry Karst, a General Conference vice president and chair of the church's Remuneration Study Commission.

Under the South Pacific measure there will be separate wage scales for ministers, teachers, business administrators, and employees of Avondale College. (see South Pacific story below)

"There are now many variations and exceptions to the one wage scale that we have used for many years," explains Karst. "The time has come for taking another look at this issue. The questions are being asked, 'If one group can move away from the standard wage scale, why shouldn't another? And what are the principles that hold us together?'"

Established in September 2000, the Remuneration Study Commission is charged with reviewing and revising the church's current Philosophy of Remuneration, which was first included in the church's Working Policy in the early 1960s. The Commission will then move on to the second stage of its responsibilities--to develop a salary scale for elected and appointed staff of the Adventist Church's world headquarters that is consistent with the Philosophy of Remuneration.

Karst says the revised policy will help guide regional church administrators who are "feeling pressure in various sectors, such as the South Pacific has in its educational institutions, to make adjustments to their wage scale." One of the main challenges facing these church employers, he says, is to attract and retain well-qualified staff in often-competitive job markets.

The Commission is also concerned with bringing a greater sense of uniformity to what has sometimes been seen as a fragmented process of setting remuneration levels. In North America, the church's hospital and health-care system moved away from the single wage scale system some 20 years ago. Further exceptions were added in 1994, when the Adventist Church's executive committee voted to give General Conference institutions, which do not receive appropriations from the General Conference, the option to move to wage rates more in compliance with community rates. The Pacific Press Publishing Association, based in Idaho,

United States, and the church's Risk Management Service, in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, are among the entities that have adopted different salary scales.

The commission will meet for two days in July to review the church's remuneration philosophy statement. "We are studying and reviewing papers from both the White Estate and the Biblical Research Institute to help us develop a philosophy statement consistent with Biblical principles and with the sense of mission that accompanies denominational employment," says Karst. "From this foundation, we'll attempt to build a remuneration policy that may provide a little bit more flexibility or latitude than we've had historically, while constantly aiming to maintain a sense of unity and mission. The work was begun with sacrifice and self-denial, and no less will be required to finish the work."

The commission is made up of four GC employees and seven lay church members. All recommendations will go to the GC Administrative Committee for review and then to the General Conference Executive Committee for final approval. Adventist News Network

South Pacific Revises Wage System
Wages paid to Seventh-day Adventist Church employees in Australia will now be determined by several different "streams" rather than by reference to a single wage scale. South Pacific Adventist Church leaders voted in Mid-may that the wage system for ministers will remain unchanged, with the addition of separate salary schedules for those employed in education and business, and for employees of Avondale College, Australia's only church-owned tertiary institution.

The changes follow recommendations made by a committee of lay people who also serve on the church's executive committee. Professor Warren Grubb of Curtin University, Western Australia, chaired the lay committee. He emphasizes that the church has not sought parity with non-church organizations, but has attempted to increase a loading for responsibility. There is, he says, a "degree of sacrifice involved that we felt should always govern our work."

Several practical problems also needed addressing. Rod Brady, treasurer of the Adventist Church in the South Pacific, says that recruitment and retention of staff were not the least of these problems. "The education department has difficulties in getting people to fill senior positions," he says, "and we see the same thing happening in business or treasury positions."

Grubb heard concerns raised by teachers such as, "Why should I take a school principal's position where there is hardly any extra remuneration, but a lot more stress? Why should I go through all that stress?"

"The separation of schedules allows us to cater for the needs of each group in the best way possible," he adds. "This recognizes that there are differences in the types of employment--for instance, ministers and teachers operate differently and have different needs."

Under the new system, wage rates will remain unchanged for those remunerated on the ministry schedule. This group includes church presidents and departmental leaders.

Also recommended was an ongoing Employee Remuneration and Conditions Advisory Group for each stream. These will consist of seven employees, two lay persons with relevant expertise, and two employer representatives. --Adventist News Network

New Food Factory Opens in Tanzania
On March 13, in an event anticipated for over two years, International Health Food Association (IHFA) Chairman and General Conference Vice-President Gerry Karst officially opened a new food factory in Arusha, Tanzania.

Sponsored by IHFA and funded by contributions from church-owned food industries around the world, the food factory was a part of a mission to begin addressing the nutritional needs of the underprivileged.  Tanzania, which is in the Eastern Africa Division, was chosen as the country best suited for this initiative. 

The factory produces maize and wheat flour, cookies and peanut butter. The products, fortified with vitamins and minerals, are the first of their kind being made in Tanzania. 

Project director Jose Luis Gomez moved from Spain in 1998 to take up residence in Arusha. As the food factory reaches out to the people of Tanzania and neighboring countries, IHFA hopes that it will be a model for similar projects.

South African Legislator Visits the GC
John N. Gogotya, member of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa, visited Adventist World headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, while attending bi-lateral commissions in Washington D.C. as a guest of the Pentagon.

Gogotya (left), an active Seventh-day Adventist, said that the church has a definite role to play in the political scene in South Africa and surrounding countries.

He described the Millennium Africa Recovery Plan (MAP), which President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa launched in an aim to transform the continent into a country no longer associated with war, disease, and hunger. 

“As a church, we can encourage a healthy, positive lifestyle,” said Gogotya, identifying AIDS and poverty as areas in which the church can make an impact. 

Gogotya noted that the political infrastructure in many African countries such as Rwanda, Liberia, Angola, and Sudan have made it difficult for the propagation of the gospel and that “the situation can only change if we work together with the Lord.” 

He stated that South Africa has been blessed by good roads, facilities, and telecommunication systems that can further the work of the church.

As a parliamentarian, Gogotya spends much of his free time visiting churches and institutions. He adds that “Christian education has acted as a catalyst” in spreading the Adventist message. 

“First and foremost I am a Christian and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,” said Gogotya. “I don’t look at people as numbers, but as God’s creations.  This makes me a better politician.”

Gogotya, who has served seven years in the South African parliament, is a member of the Hambanathi Adventist Church in Cape Town.

News Notes