ore than anything else, the Church must be relevant. It must meet needs-directly. It must answer questions-straight. And it must keep to the core of its reason for existence-to preach and demonstrate Christ.

That's the conclusion of what turned out to be an abbreviated Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee that convened September 25-27. Due to travel problems in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, many who would normally attend were not able to be present. Significantly, union presidents, pastors, and lay members were few in number after advice from the organizers, and the meeting was cut to just a couple of days. The truncated agenda meant that some items were deferred to the upgraded Spring Meeting of 2002, while urgent actions were attended to with an increased sense of gravity.

Keynote Address
"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever," quoted General Conference president Jan Paulsen, reading from Psalm 33. Commenting on what he called the "heinous acts" that had occurred in New York exactly two weeks previously, Dr. Paulsen reflected on how such events are burned into your mind.

"I remember as a five-year-old boy fleeing from the occupying forces in Norway during World War II," he recalled. "Similarly, when I was told during ADCOM two weeks ago that a plane had hit one of the towers of the World Trade Center in New York, like everyone else I thought, 'What a tragedy!' Then we heard that another plane had hit the other tower. How do you continue with business as usual at times like these?

More Reports Complete text of President's report See President's Video Secretary's Report Treasurer's Report Allan Handysides speaks out on AIDS Other AC Business

"As a prophetic movement, with a sense of mission and purpose, we cannot have come to this point in time and history without reflecting on what all this says to us," Pastor Paulsen affirmed. " Most of us are probably uneasy, wary about what we will meet tomorrow. Do we go back to yesterday or do we face another day of terroror, the Lord's return? We believe that while nations make plans, God will unmake them and replace them with His own. God is the one who owns the future and who decides finally how it shall look. God will end it all, at His chosen hour; but until then we must attend to our personal readiness, and we must attend to the mission we have been given to accomplish by Him."

Dr. Paulsen identified current events as "surely a wake-up call for us individually, and for us as leaders of a Church with plans for missions." Consequently, whatever is considered safe and secure--buildings or stocks on the market-are in reality fragile, and not the most important. "I must be able to know for myself, personally, that to know Christ is quite enough. Yes, I will be responsible about all my material goods; I will be a responsible steward; but I can do without the goods I have collected. I cannot do without Christ. That is how I would like to face the end-time."

12 Million Members
GC secretary Matthew Bediako reported that the church had crossed the 12-million member mark as of June 30, 2001. This represents one Adventist for every 510 of the world's current population, an ever-decreasing ratio (last year the figure was 1 for every 535). Membership growth is running at just over 6 percent per year, Bediako said.

While it took 140 years (from 1844 to 1984) to reach 4.2 million members, Bediako noted that in just five years (from 1996 to the beginning of this year) more than 4.4 million had joined the church. The Adventist Review will carry a complete summary of Bediako's report in the November 8 edition.

HIV/AIDS
Vice president Lowell Cooper introduced the document "A Seventh-day Adventist Response to the HIV/AIDS Crisis." He commented that many questions are asked about what the church is doing to minister in this environment.

The proposal calls for the Adventist Church to make a clear response to the epidemic, involving a broad range of initiatives including education, treatment, research, and care for victims and families. It is expected that several denominational institutions, agencies, departments, congregations, and individuals will be involved.

A GC committee vote authorized the establishment of an office for HIV/AIDS ministry in Africa, and the formation of an International HIV/AIDS Study Commission.

Dr. Allan Handysides, GC health ministries director, spoke forcibly on the impact that AIDS is having around the world. Alluding to the terrorist attacks of September 11, he said an almost equal number (5,500) perish every day in Africa from AIDS (to listen to Handysides comments, click here).

"Many are ignorant of the cause, and many are victims for a whole variety of reasons," he said. "This is not just about Africa, but many other parts of the world too.

"For example, in southeast Asia there is one AIDS sufferer for every 10 in Africa. But in Africa, one of every 10 persons is acquiring the disease while in south-east Asia in every 5 persons is acquiring the disease." Consequently, its impact in this area in the future will be devastating. Today 36.1 million are infected with HIV. Some 70 percent are in sub-Saharan Africa, and 16 percent in southeast Asia. Worldwide, one percent of the whole population of the world is infected. There are 5.3 million new cases worldwide, or 15,000 new cases every day. Last year three million died, of which 1.2 million were children. Life expectancy in the areas not affected by HIV is declining dramatically, being reduced up to 25 years. The 16-35 age group is particularly targeted, which Handysides said, "takes the heart out of society."

"Let us recognize also that this is a problem for the church," Handysides continued. "In one recent survey of Adventist high school students in a area, 30-40 percent were sexually experienced. In a comparative survey of lifetime sexual partners, non-Christians averaged 28 partners, non-Adventists Christians 22, and Adventists 20. Recognizing that sexual activity may have happened before joining the church, the researcher also asked about active sexual liaisons in the previous six months. The averages for non-Christians were 4.3 partners, non-Adventist Christians 1.86, and Adventists 2.3."

A major difficulty the church has in dealing with AIDS, Handysides explained, is agreeing on acceptable prevention methods. "We need to be open and face reality," he explained, referring to disagreements in some regions over whether condom-use should be part of HIV education. ¹

"We're not saying that condoms are the answer to this problem, they are not," Handysides told the international group. "It is conduct, not condoms, we want to preach. But where the conduct is less than exemplary, or in fact, where the condut may be downright promiscuous, a condom, though by no means infallible, may be the only significant option." ²

Pardon Mwansa, president of the Eastern Africa Division, said that he was praying for his teenage children. "To live in that environment means you have to be praying every day. I hope our church will not fall into the 'research and experimentation' trap but directly help people who are dying. Practical solutions are needed."

Luka Daniel, president of the Africa-Indian Ocean Division, called the plan "overdue. I have lost a stepsister and a cousin. It has come close. I fully support the motion and give my thanks to the health ministries department."

GC Youth director Baraka Muganda said that "every family in Africa is touched. The church cannot be absent when it comes to responding to the challenge."

FAITH AND SCIENCE
Acknowledging that some theories of modern science challenge the Adventist church's historic view of creation and evolution, and that several variations of creation and evolution theories are held among church theologians, pastors, scientists, and educators, the GC committee voted a measure calling for a series of conferences on faith and science.

Two major international conferences in 2002 and 2004 were proposed, with additional regional conferences and discussions. The conferences will include church administrators and pastors, theologians and Bible scholars, scientists and professors. The objective of the first conference will be to "initiate a process by which the Seventh-day Adventist Church addresses the interplay of faith, science, and philosophy and the ways in which these challenge or contribute to the Church's understanding and proclamation regarding Genesis 1-11," according to the proposal.

GC president Jan Paulsen responded that he was "very pleased that we are addressing these issues. These conferences will be on the international scale with scientists and theologians, who have underlined that 'this is a conversation is much needed in our church.' It has been a number of years since such a conversation has been held [in the North American Division]. This has the potential to be a bonding experience between disciplines, an open experience of participants from different backgrounds. This is not an attempt to place the church's doctrine on creation under review, but to make the doctrine open and accessible to all our membership."

Violeto Bocala, president of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division, commented that such a program was "long overdue. Our pastors are facing many questions, and I want to ensure that they are able to participate in the regional meetings."

Emphasizing the importance of the discussion, Biblical Research Institute director George Reid said, "We should also underline that discussion of this kind is not just about origins but runs through our whole theology: Sin, God and His intentions, and salvation. Such matters relate to wide parts of scripture. I am very delighted we're doing this; it can only be beneficial."

Former GC president Neil C. Wilson asked that attention be focused "on the most vulnerable group in our church," younger people. They are being bombarded by TV, by magazine articles, and by graduate work about this issue. "We must have a deep concern for our young people where this issue is most intense."

_________________________
¹ Church Establishes Office for HIV/AIDS Ministry, Adventist News Network Bulletin, Oct. 2, 2001
² Ibid.

_________________________
Jonathan Gallagher is the associate director, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty department, General Conference