Introduction
By ROY ADAMS
n
behalf of the Adventist Review staff, it’s my privilege to
extend a welcome to delegates and visitors to this fifty-eighth
session of the General Conference.
As many of you know, the Adventist Review functions as the official
recorder of the General Conference session. It’s a demanding
assignment, and this year we decided on a modification of the approach
we’ve taken in the past—both for the convenience of
delegates and to make life simpler for ourselves.
You hold in your hand a supplement
of the Bulletins to be produced for the session. It contains the
reports of all General Conference departments, services, and institutions.
Whereas in the past these reports were scattered throughout the
nine or 10 Bulletins produced in connection with a session, we’ve
chosen this time to publish them as a single document.
There are three reasons for this:
1. To
better serve the delegates to the session. In regard to the entities
concerned, these reports contain a summary of their activities and
accomplishments during the quinquennium. And since delegates will
be making decisions that will affect the leadership of each entity
for the ensuing period, these reports, at least theoretically, provide
a partial basis for those decisions.
2. To
make it more convenient for everyone. In the past, it became a time-consuming
exercise to locate a particular report. Here they’re grouped
within the same cover, with a convenient table of contents.
3. To
simplify the process. Making sure every report got published presented
a nerve-racking challenge for the Adventist Review staff at previous
sessions. With reams and reams of materials going through our office
each day of the session, and with coverage of the proceedings and
actions taking precedence and bumping some reports from their previously
allotted slots, the possibility of one or more slipping through
the cracks was a constant nightmare for us. Thus the publication
of this single volume drastically simplifies our work. Besides,
leaders of all departments, services, and institutions can have
the satisfaction of knowing that their reports came to the attention
of delegates during the session itself, rather than being published
after the meetings are over (as happened to some in the past).
About the Reports
Those seeking a bird’s-eye view of the various departments,
services, and institutions of the General Conference will welcome
this special supplement. We think you’ll sense, as we did
while preparing it, genuine excitement in the souls of these leaders.
You will discover men and women who’ve taken their assignments
with utter seriousness.
Our prayer is that this document
might create in every reader a desire for greater involvement in
the church and its mission.. |