BY BILL KNOTT

T LOUIS--Delegates representing more than 14 million Seventh-day Adventists today elected Pastor Jan Paulsen to a second five-year term as president of the church's General Conference.

Paulsen, 70, has served as the church's first officer since being elected at a special session of the church's Executive Committee in March 1999. He was subsequently elected to a full five-year term at the denomination's 2000 international session in Toronto. He had previously worked as a general vice president of the General Conference; president of the church's Trans-European Division; and as a pastor, missionary, seminary teacher, and college president. A native of Norway, he is only the second non-North American to serve in the church's highest leadership post since the denomination was organized by 20 American delegates in Battle Creek, Michigan, in 1863.

The president and his wife, Kari, acknowledged the applause of the delegates and guests after the Nominating Committee report that recommended his election was voted by the assembly.

"It is a privilege to serve the Lord and the church in the leadership role that you asked me to fill," Paulsen said. "It is an honor, and I want to express appreciation for the trust you have placed in me. And I will do my very best to serve the Lord and His church-His people-as best I know how."

"The Lord is present with the Spirit," Paulsen continued. "I believe He has guided this congregation, this gathering. If I did not believe that, the responsibility that one assumes is too great to carry. I need to know that the Holy Spirit will be a constant companion and support, and I believe He will."

The afternoon vote by the 2,000 official delegates attending the world meeting endorsed the recommendation made by the 196-member Nominating Committee, and came less than 12 hours after Paulsen's keynote presidential report on Thursday night. The multimedia report, which his wife also helped to present, highlighted Adventists involved in outreach efforts to alleviate poverty, assist with job training, and share Bible truth.

"When a church isolates itself from the environment in which it is placed; when a local congregation forgets the setting in which it is placed, something goes wrong," Paulsen told the Thursday night crowd of more than 10,000 in the Edward Jones Dome. "Too often we are caught up with ourselves, our own inner comforts, strengthening the ties within ourselves, that we forget that we are placed in a context. We are placed in an environment. We are in a specific community for a purpose. We are there to make a difference."

Paulsen also specifically addressed the young adults of the world church near the close of his evening report. "I want you to come in and to partner with the rest of us," he urged those between 15 and 30 years of age. "I want to make room for you, for you have energies and ideas that no one can quite match. If you don't find the church interesting, you can make it interesting; just don't walk away from it, for walking away is the worst possible thing that you can do."

The church's world session typically selects its lead officer first: the new president then meets with the Nominating Committee to help select other members of the church's administrative team.