The General Conference has declared 2004 the Year of World Evangelism. One afternoon last December William Johnsson and Roy Adams (editor and associate editor, respectively, of the Adventist Review) sat down with Pastor Paulsen in his office to explore his thinking on evangelism, mission, and related issues.--Editors.

Y WISH FOR THE CHURCH RELATES very closely to the church's vision and drive, and its capacity to be what God intended it to be. The church should be focused on mission. It's not to be simply a maintenance society, a feel-good club, but an entity that has the drive, purpose, and vision to say, 'This one thing we're busy about.' This kind of focus has enormous consequences, so far as the church's use of resources is concerned. It has consequences for us as administrators, who constantly must be prepared to answer the question 'Did you have clear objectives, well-defined goals, as you made decisions for the use of the church's funds?'

"I also have wishes for the church in regard to spirituality, something very difficult to measure or quantify, of course. We should mutually accept one another, not feeling for any reason that we have to measure one another. That's the spirit we need; that's how it should be in the family of God. Those are two of my wishes for the church."

With those preliminary remarks behind him Paulsen opened himself up for questions.

AR: In regard to spirituality, do you have concerns for the encroachment of the world upon the church?
JP: I have concerns for the church; the "encroachment of the world" is difficult to measure, for we are surrounded by the world and, in a sense, part of it. When I speak specifically of my concern for our spirituality as a community of believers, I mean it in terms of our own personal lives with God. I mean my own development, my own prayer life, my own time to commune with my Maker.

This translates into what I bring to the congregation of which I'm a part. Do I, in fact, bring a sense of richness in Christ, a sense of assurance, a conviction about what I believe, a sense that this church is my church, my home? I love it, and I want to be here. In other words, are these the dynamics that flow from me into the life of the church? If they don't, it's a sign that something is very fundamentally wrong with my own personal life. And that goes immediately back to my prayer life, my study life, and my fellowship with God.

So that's where my greater concerns are.

You're talking about your wish list for the church, and you've so far touched on mission and on spirituality. Are there others?
I do have wishes also for the world in which we're placed. We long for the day when the Lord will return, and it's our assignment to be busy until that happens. But this is where we live; we're not yet in Canaan. And the church must feel a responsibility to do what it can to make this world a better place. I think we owe it to humanity; we owe it to the children. The church should address and be sensitive to the glaring needs in the world, especially those needs that have no one to speak for them. The church must never tire of championing a cause, however unpopular it becomes. If we know our position is right, we shouldn't become weary speaking out, even though people may be weary and tired of hearing it. We're to share Christ with everyone, including those who are jaded and cynical. So as we look at the world, whether in regard to poverty--a huge item--or HIV/AIDS, or whatever, the church should always be an instrument of encouragement and hope, bringing people a sense of their value in Christ. Christ has called us to serve Him in the world.

Talk to us about mission against the background of the church's usual focus on witnessing and growth. What challenges do you see here?
I think it is so important for the church to remember that we exist for the primary purpose of mission. The life of witness and service is the heartbeat of the church. The church has no life without it. If we don't engage in mission, we are a dying community. Growth is the most visible result of engagement in mission. But growth also brings challenges with it, which, incidentally, is not a bad thing. Challenges are as natural as life itself, opportunities that might be shaped for the good of the church and those who are part of our community.

Can you expand a little on these challenges, as you see them?
I think that the most immediate challenge to a rapidly growing church is whether we are able to care for our members. Do they have a church or chapel in which to worship? Do they have competent people to look after their spiritual nurture? Do they have schools where their children can receive an education in a Christian environment? Wherever there is rapid growth, these questions are crucial.

But I also recognize two other far-reaching challenges, namely, our ability, as a world community (1) to stay together; and (2) to remember who we are. Neither of these is easy to measure. And they are not good at looking after themselves. They don't just happen. They have to be nurtured and caringly looked after. I strongly believe it is the responsibility of those who accept positions of leadership, whether in the local church or in an administrative office, to place both of these high on their agenda. I believe that loyalty to God will be tested here.

We gather you're making a distinction between evangelism and mission. You're saying they're not the same thing.
Evangelism--and here I'm referring to public evangelism--has always been an important part of witness and outreach. Persons with that gift of the Spirit preach to the masses; lives are touched; and decisions for Christ are made. That, I am confident, will continue to be part of the church's outreach ministry until the Lord returns.

But mission is much more than that. We are not all called to be evangelists. There are large numbers of people in our church around the world who spend their lives and energies in mission as teachers, as healers of mind and body, as writers, as feeders of those who are hungry, and as friends to those who are lonely and have no hope. Mission means primarily to become involved, to spend time, energy, and resources so that a person may come to know Jesus as Savior. Mission is to facilitate a meeting between Jesus and a human being. Mission is to be a witness; to tell someone about Jesus.

No, I don't expect all to do evangelism, as we traditionally define it. But I expect all to become involved in mission.

May we probe one detail here? We gather you have a concern about what might be called "trans-border" evangelism. Can you spell that out for us?
We've always had some of this, and I expect it to continue to be part of our life as an international church. And clearly it has value as moments when the "flag is publicly hoisted." It makes a statement to the public, and it becomes a valuable moment of celebration for the members. An international evangelist can be very effective in this.

A big public evangelistic campaign is a necessary instrument by which the church parades itself to the larger public. To use one example, [South American Division evangelist] Alejandro Bullón holds a huge campaign in Lima, Peru, with 40,000 to 50,000 people attending every night, and lasting for a 10- to 14-day period. In a period of, say, two consecutive Sabbaths, 25,000 to 30,000 are baptized. When that happens, the evangelist is taking the work done during the previous six to nine months in hundreds of local groups throughout the country, bringing them together, giving to those who have already been taught and who have basically made their decision a sense of "moment," a sense of celebration, a sense of the largeness of the Adventist community. And it's also saying to the public, to the city: "Look, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is big! It's full of life! Come, take a look!" I see huge value in such large campaigns.

But there is a downside?
Yes. This arises when we confine such efforts essentially and exclusively within a short period of time, with hardly any preparation or follow-up. In a particular environment or locality, people--for whatever reasons (be they political or social)--may be open to the gospel, and find themselves drawn into the church. Initially everything may look great to them; but once the evangelist leaves, they can find themselves with no mentor and no friends. They lack a sense of belonging. And with no church in which to worship, they lose contact; within a very short time, 12 to 15 months or so, 80 to 90 percent of them cannot be found.

Given the seriousness of what you just said, what kind of action can the church take, with teeth, to fix the problem?
Whenever evangelism is exported to any part of the world, it needs to link up with the work that is done in the area. There needs to be continuity between the work that has been done in that local area and the evangelism brought in from outside. Furthermore, when the reaping culminates and decisions are made to join the church, there must be provision for an infrastructure to care for the new growth--I refer here, for example, to a place for them to worship. That's fundamental. A bush or an orange grove will not do. In addition, the evangelistic team needs to make sure that there's an ongoing ministry to the people who come into the church, and that they're not being left to look after themselves. Annual Council took an action underscoring the need for this to be cared for.

You've seen it done successfully?
About three or four years ago a few leading laypersons from North America--one of them a very good preacher--went to a part of India where we were very thin on the ground. They selected about 50 villages and towns within a radius of some 20 miles. They built a church in each of these and stationed Global Mission volunteers in each for a period of between six to 12 months. Then came the big evangelistic event, with congregations established in each of those towns/villages. It also belongs to the story that the one who paid for both the building of the churches and the expenses of the Global Mission pioneers covered the salary of those pioneers for some five more years thereafter. That person also built several elementary schools and a secondary school at a central location to serve the new believers. So there were places for worship; there was pastoral attention; and there was provision for the education of the youth. The effort saw 15,000 baptized that first year. And you go back two years later to find that that number has grown to 20,000.

This, to me, is a good illustration of an effective way to do it.

This is very helpful in clarifying your thinking.
In terms of building up the church, there can be no doubt that real and lasting growth takes place when the church in the local community becomes involved in their own people-contact activities, inviting others to meet Jesus as Savior and become a part of their church. It's a process that usually stretches over a protracted period, involving witness, study, and the nurturing of friendship. We all need friends--after all, life in the church is also social. When someone is baptized and joins our church, they need to know they have friends in the church. They need to feel socially at home, that they belong to the family. This creates an environment in which people can grow among friends who share a common faith. It's clear to me that this kind of local ownership and network constitutes the most effective instrument of church growth. I feel also that it's precisely in this kind of activity that the local church finds its own meaning. And if the local congregation is not involved in such efforts, then there is reason to be concerned about its life.

With your strong concern for mission, does the declaration of 2004 as the Year of World Evangelism bring you any discomfort?
Quite the contrary. But I do want to send a message to the many who do not feel they're a natural fit in the public evangelism mode, and who may sit back feeling guilty, wondering whether they are failing the church because they do not sense that the Spirit has given them the gift to function as public evangelists. I want to say to them that the mission of the church is very broad, very complex, and that there's a place for them--in keeping with their own spiritual gifts. I want to say: "You don't all have to run public evangelistic campaigns. But you all have to make it your business to minister to someone, to be a partner with Christ in mission, and thereby also taste for yourself the flavor of the 2004 outreach."

I also know that there are going to be many out there who will somehow switch off because 2004 doesn't fit them. And I want to say to them, "Of course it does. Just look at what you can do also."

Off the record you mentioned something about your feelings about the church. Can you state it for the record?
Well, it has to do with the role of the church as an instrument of mission and evangelism in a world that has lost its way. It seems to me that the church-I mean the church at the level at which we serve it, the church as a local congregation--should always probe and explore these important questions: What can we bring to the world that is our immediate environment, and to the world as a global community? What can we create in it? The world needs all the help it can get, and God wants us to be a creative force within it. That should be a matter of continuing reflection for the church.

We've not talked about revival and reformation, traditional Adventist values. Are they important to you?
Oh yes, I think they're very important. But I believe that spirituality is nurtured in an environment that is alive and active in mission. When the church is busy being the church, the life of Bible study and prayer finds its natural setting. Our prayer life and our reading of the Word of God find their strongest and clearest meaning when placed within the practical and active everyday life. The command of our Lord was to go out and be a witness: to teach, to preach, to heal, and to learn to love people. I believe that spirituality, as revival and reformation, is a by-product of obedience to the Lord.

You've often spoken about unity. Do you see unity as being under threat in our church as it expands?
No, not really. I see unity as something one has to be very deliberate about. You have to think about it. When you make certain decisions, you have to ask: "What does this do to the rest of our church?" You have to be able to identify both the elements that support unity and those that don't.

What do you consider the single most serious threat to the unity of the church today?
Becoming inward-looking and parochial in one's thinking and planning. That's not good for the unity of a global family. It's so natural to see and feel for life and its needs in our immediate environment--this is where I live; this is where my family lives; this is my local church; and why shouldn't it come first? These are important considerations, not to be dismissed out of hand.

But there's another dimension, equally important and in need of attention. From our very beginning as a church, created by God in these last days, we were programmed for mission. We think globally. We have always made decisions about our own local life as a church with an eye on how it would impact the church in other parts of the world. And we have had a wonderful capacity to show deference. We were taught by our pioneers to think mission, to look away from ourselves, and to sacrifice. The idea of "finishing the work" has always been at the heart of our global agenda, with the belief that Christ would not return until that is accomplished. It has always been a hallmark of Seventh-day Adventists to give to mission elsewhere--and to come back and give again and again.

Given our strong growth, is it realistic to think that we can continue to stay as one unified church around the world?
I think that it is, and I think that's precisely God's plan. But important as unity is, it's not going to be accomplished by policies, constitutional provisions, or committee actions. Our unity is primarily and essentially a spiritual one. It's what we share in the Lord. It's driven by the Holy Spirit. It's the faith we hold in common. It's our shared heritage.

The practical leadership dynamics of unity require an administrative style that is based on consultation and consensus, with due deference being exercised, not on the authority of some hierarchical structure or on the exercise of power from higher organizations. The model for church leadership is not found in the corporate world of contemporary society, but in the Bible. Our model is Christ.

But real people live in a real world, and that world differs from one culture to another. Unity of faith--unity as a spiritual community--does not remove people from their own local culture and traditions. Adventism does not make people strangers to their own world. Rather, it brings with it a new addition, a new flavor, found in the values and direction taught by the Bible. But we shall all remain children of our own soil. It would be unnatural and unhealthy to expect otherwise. Therefore, there will be diversity, especially in worship styles and witnessing. Unity as a world spiritual community is not threatened by that.

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Willliam G. Johnsson is editor and Roy Adams an associate editor of the Adventist Review.