As a young minister I have received so much help through the various channels of the Ministerial Association that I would like to know more about how various phases of helpfulness to the workers began. Won't you, through THE MINISTRY, tell us the story of its beginning, its development, and present scope, so we younger workers may have the historical background? Please cite the authorizing provisions so we may have them for record. I cannot recall seeing any sketch of this kind."
This request seems so reasonable, as well as desirable, that we shall respond, giving "chapter and verse." If it seems an old story to the older workers, we crave their indulgence for the sake of a fine host of younger workers the world around, who are unfamiliar with the background. And it may even clarify the .remembrance of older workers.
The idea of a General Conference Ministerial 'Commission, or Association, sprang from a sense of need, back in 1922, for some means of systematically and tangibly strengthening our ministerial worker forces, that they might render increasingly effective service to the cause. The various departments of the General Conference, founded to foster certain phases of our work, had proved effective and worth while for specialized lines. But the rank and file of our ministers—evangelists, pastors, Bible teachers, and chaplains—and their associated workers remained without any special help. Should not something definite be done to aid them in their study life, to augment their spiritual power, and to increase their efficiency in ministerial lines and methods?
The challenge of ministry for God and the value of exchange of conviction, experience, and observation made this highly desirable, and, in fact, long overdue in a movement of this sort and size. Obviously it could not be just another department of our work, for tile ministry of the movement is not a department but the very heart of the movement. Why not, then, an association of these workers through which they might help each other, through 'which the more experienced and successful could aid the less experienced, and through which our appointed leaders could speak to us all?
Some fields had set up similar organizations of their own. For instance, the Australasian field had its own ministerial association, and for a time published a ministerial journal of exchange, called The Evangelist, with A. W. Anderson as the association secretary and editor of the journal. This was discontinued when THE MINISTRY came into being. It will be seen, therefore, that the organization of a General Conference Ministerial Association was really an answer to a recognized world need.
1. Historical Development of the Association
So it came to pass that such a Ministerial Association was authorized by the General Conference session of 1922, with our veteran leader, Arthur G. Daniells, as its first general secretary. Two associates were chosen to assist him. His was a pioneering task, as there were as yet no precedents to follow. New ground must be plowed. The Ministerial Reading Course, which had been launched a few years previously, really as a sideline of Department of Education endeavor, had but 250 enrollees when the newly formed Ministerial Association was made responsible for such an annual study plan. And no ministerial journal was authorized until 1927, five years later. Until then only mimeographed exchanges were used.
Systematic ministerial institutes and workers' meetings seemed the logical way to start this endeavor in behalf of our workers. God greatly blessed Elder Daniell's in these early institutes. All older workers in North America remember them with gratitute. They marked the turning point in the life of many a then younger worker.
THE MINISTRY magazine was soon launched, for "greater power and more efficiency," and ha 'S increased in value and influence with the years. Started with thirty-two pages, in a small pocket-size edition, it was changed to the present page size in 1933, with twenty-four pages as a regular edition. It was enlarged to its present forty-eight pages in 1938, to incorporate a special "Medical Missionary," or health evangelism, section, and a few pages of advertising to offset °increased costs.
The Reading Course steadily progressed in its career of helpfulness, and some three thousand now follow the English Reading Course annually, in addition to foreign-language courses overseas. Heartfelt appreciation has been expressed by hundreds for this plan. A goodly number of its books have proved to be strong accessions to our worker literature.
As yet there was little contact with the ministerial students in our colleges, except help in Weeks of Prayer, and there were virtually no overseas contacts.
When Elder Daniells was called to the chairmanship of the College of Medical Evangelists,
I. H. Evans, general field secretary of the General Conference, was made general secretary, again with two associates. Steady but definite growth in service to the field was made. The present secretary, who had been associated with Elders DanielIs and Evans, was elected in 1932. In 1933 special research work was added to his responsibilities, pertaining to the beginning of the Second Advent Movement and the historical background of prophetic interpretation. This took an increasing proportion of his time, and greatly curtailed the field work of the association.
MAJOR ADVANCE VOTED BY 1941 SESSION.— In 1941 a major advance was made in association scope and service to the field. Just prior to the Genera! Conference session in San Francisco, a three-day Ministerial Council was held under the guidance of the General Conference officers and the Association secretaries. Our ablest denominational leaders were active participants—J. L. McElhany, W. H. Branson, L. H. Christian, L. K. Dickson, H. M. S. Richards, M. L. Andreasen, and others, along with experienced evangelists such as C. T. Everson, R. A. Anderson, and J. L. Shuler—together with various pastors, evangelists, district leaders, administrators, Bible instructors, and departmental secretaries. It was a memorable gathering. The watchword was "The Finishing of the Work Under the Power of the Holy Spirit." Larger plans were laid for a great forward move in evangelism.
With W. H. Branson in the chair at the time, this large council asked that a representative committee of eleven be appointed by the chairman to summarize the suggestions of this Ministerial Council. The committee named was comprised of R. A. Anderson, W. H. Branson, F. W. Detamore, L. K. Dickson, L. E. Froom, C. B. Haynes, W. L. Hyatt, W. C. Moffett, W. A. Nelson, H. M. S. Richards, J. L. Shiner,
J. L. Tucker, and W. G. Turner. This committee was asked to crystallize the general conviction of the hundreds of council participants, and to bring in a comprehensive series of recommendations. The resultant recommendations were placed with the large Plans Committee of the General Conference, and were unanimously approved by the full session on June 4, 1941.
These recommendations called for each conference committee to give first place to evangelism in conference planning, for each pastor and district leader to conduct or assist in at least one public effort each year, for administrative and departmental leaders to participate in these efforts, for the rallying of our church membership to the task, for special endeavor to be put forth for the unentered sections, for goals for souls to be set, for the energies of interns to be utilized chiefly in evangelism, for effort to be made to develop strong city evangelists, for the development of effective singing evangelists, for a far greater use of message literature to be made, and for union-wide evangelistic councils to be held to give impetus to this greater evangelism. (Review and Herald, General Conference Report no. 9, June 8, 1941, p. 196.)
It might be added that, in immediate connection with and coming from this same Ministerial Council, suggestions for the development of a greater radio work were recommended and passed, which actions finally eventuated in the North American Radio Commission and Voice of Prophecy hookup, and ultimately its international features.
Following these actions on evangelism, the General Conference session formulated and passed two actions tying the Ministerial Association inseparably into this greater evangelism and training program. The first of these actions reads:
Promotion of Evangelism by Ministerial Association
"In the light of the clear call to a world advance in aggressive evangelism as sounded in this General Conference; We recommend, 1. That one of the secretaries of the Ministerial Association be an experienced, successful evangelist whose primary duty would be to assist in evangelistic institutes and councils, both in North America and overseas, and to foster the development of younger evangelists of promise for the gigantic task of proclaiming the message in the great metropolitan areas of the world."—Ibid.
The second action pertaining to the Bible work was premised on the following session recommendation:
Developing Our Bible Work
"In view of our depleted corps of Bible workers throughout the field; We recommend, 12. a. That our colleges be urged definitely to strengthen the courses for Bible workers, and to encourage more of our strong young women to train for this needy branch of service, under. instructors with successful field experience in soul-winning endeavor. b. That our conferences seek to strengthen their evangelistic efforts by using the trained product of our schools, and also by developing promising recruits from the churches."—p. 197.
This explicit action affecting the Ministerial Association activity in this line was taken.
"In conformity with the former plan for the Ministerial Association, wherein provision was made for one secretary and two associate or assistant secretaries,
"We recommend, That one of the members of the Ministerial Association secretarial staff be a qualified, experienced Bible worker, appointed as an assistant secretary whose duties shall include fostering the Bible work in the field and in our training schools, assisting in institute work, aiding in the development of an advanced Bible workers' course in the Theological Seminary, and collaborating in the preparation of a Bible Workers' Manual."—Ibid., June so, 1941, Report no. so, p. 240.
Such are the authorizing and directive actions taken by the San Francisco session of 1941, enlarging and defining the scope of increased responsibility, and outlining the activities of the Ministerial Association of the future. R. A. Anderson and Louise C. Kleuser were elected by the session as the two new associates, to foster the special features outlined by the session mandate.
The work of the association secretaries during the past six years is well known, and need not be rehearsed here. Participation in institutes, workers' meetings, evangelistic efforts, personal and group counseling, Seminary teaching, helping in our colleges, and building up the Bible instructor and evangelism sections of THE MINISTRY, are all part of the record. The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers volumes (two now available), and the long-desired manual for Bible instructors, just completed by Miss Kleuser, are all part of the over-all picture.
—To be concluded in April