The Conference President
THE role of the conference president is magnified by the emphasis placed on the vital part he will play as leader of the working force of the local conference. The description of that role may be summarized as follows:
1. The president's spiritual qualifications.
They [those in authority, presidents] should go weighted with the Holy Spirit. A man's position does not make him one jot or tittle greater in the sight of God; it is character alone that God values.--Testimonies to Ministers, p. 362.
The man who is fully sensible that he is in the service of Jesus Christ, will aspire for the friend ship of God. He will lie low before God, that he may be nothing, and God everything. Such a man is a co-partner with Christ, fitted to preside over a state conference. --Ibid., p. 328.
The words of Christ are spoken just as verily to presidents of conferences, elders of churches, and those occupying official positions in our institutions, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."--Ibid., p. 369.
2. There have been presidents in former years who lacked fitness for their work, and concerning one such Ellen G. White wrote:
He is a man lost in the woods, blinded by a dangerous confidence in himself. . . .
One stood by my side, and said, These men are becoming too wise to follow a plain Thus saith the Lord. They are departing from God. . . .
Awake, awake from your stupor, you who have been under the control of other human minds. No longer allow yourselves to treat with indifference subjects that need to be presented to the people with clearness. Your president does not realize where he stands in the sight of God. Influences have been brought in that have turned his mind away from the preparation that is essential for these last days. And as he has turned away from Christ, the spirit of commercialism has absorbed his mind. The Light of the world has been eclipsed. There is a profession to know God, but there is often a denial of Him in word and in action.--Manuscript 127, 1907.
The following statement is from a mes sage read by the General Conference president to the delegates at the General Conference session and to conference presidents:
The decisions which have been made in various lines have shown that some of the men chosen were not men of consecrated ability, men who were of value because of their experience in living connection with God. They became self-important, wise in their own conceit. . . .
No language can be framed to describe the result of placing unfaithful, unconverted men in holy places. . . .
Sanctification through the Holy Spirit binds up man's will and purpose with the will and purpose of God. --Manuscript 91, 1899.
Nothing will so quickly and decidedly separate the soul from God, and bring defeat, as for man to lift up his soul unto vanity, and speak proudly and boastingly, and in a masterly manner to his fellow men, who are the property of God. (Addressed to conference officials) -Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 319, 320.
3. Presidents of conferences and their associates must accept accountability for giving an example of moral and missionary leadership.
Let those who cannot do this go where they will not stand in the way of the work of God. Especially is this applicable to those who stand at the head of the work. If they go wrong, all is wrong. The greater the responsibility, the greater the ruin in case of unfaithfulness. If leading brethren do not faithfully perform their duty, those who are led will not do theirs. --Testimonies, vol. 1, pp. 677, 678.
Those who occupy positions of influence and responsibility in the church, should be foremost in the work of God. If they move reluctantly, others will not move at all. But "their zeal will provoke very many." When their light burns brightly, a thousand torches will be kindled at the flame.--Christian Service, p. 175.
In a special sense presidents of conferences have a decided work to do. Those who stand as sentinels need to be aroused; for they are watchmen, entrusted with the work of sounding the last note of warning to a perishing world. They are to lay hold of the work in earnest, as men entrusted with the giving of the last message of mercy. It is no time now to stand before the people with a tame, spiritless message.—Manuscript 59, 1912.
If the officers of a conference would bear successfully the burdens laid upon them, they must pray, they must believe, they must trust God to use them as His agents in keeping the churches of the conference in good working order. This is their part of the vineyard to cultivate. There must be far more personal responsibility, far more thinking and planning, far more mental power brought into the labor put forth for the Master. This would enlarge the capacity of the mind, and give keener perceptions as to what to do and how.—Gospel Workers, p. 416.
4. Presidents of conferences are responsible for organizing their forces of ministers and laymen so as to secure maximum results:
I now call upon presidents of conferences and men in responsible positions, to set in operation every possible means by which the members of the churches may learn how to work for the perishing. Let those who have had experience teach those who are inexperienced. Let them pray together, and search the Word of God together.—Letter 314, 1907.
Let every man work who can work. The very best general is not the one who does the most work himself, but one who will obtain the greatest amount of labor from others.—Evangelism, pp. 96, 97.
It is the duty of every Christian to be sanctified. The church must take up her individual responsibility; it cannot be vested in any minister. They may help you, but they can never do your work. The church of God is the great depository of truth. They must have skill, efficiency, and ability as home missionaries.—Letter 38, 1890.
5. Regardless of competence of leadership and excellence of plans, provision must be made for God to direct and for the Holy Spirit to lead in the way God chooses.
Unless those who can help in ____ are aroused to a sense of their duty, they will not recognize the work of God when the loud cry of the third angel shall be heard. When light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming up to the help of the Lord they will want to bind about His work to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a manner very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning.
There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel in the message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that He is taking the reins in His own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that He will use to bring about and perfect His work of righteousness.— Testimonies to Ministers, p. 300.
All Departments and Agencies United
Let every department of our work, every institution connected with our cause, be conducted on considerate, generous lines. Let every branch of the work, while maintaining its own distinctive character, seek to protect, strengthen, and build up every other branch. Men of varied abilities and characteristics are employed for carrying forward the various branches of the work. This has always been the Lord's plan. Each worker must give his own branch special effort; but it is the privilege of each to study and labor for the health and welfare of the whole body of which he is a member.
Not consolidation, not rivalry or criticism, but cooperation, is God's plan for His institutions, that "the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part," may make "increase of the body unto the edifying [building up] of itself in love." Ephesians 4:16.— Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 174.
Well-defined plans should be freely presented to all whom they may concern, and it should be ascertained that they are understood. Then require of all those who are at the head of the various departments to cooperate in the execution of these plans.—Evangelism, p. 94.
The work of God in all its wide extent is one, and the same principles should control, the same spirit be revealed, in all its branches. It must bear the stamp of missionary work. Every department of the cause is related to all parts of the gospel field, and the spirit that controls one department will be felt throughout the entire field.—SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 2, p. 1029.
The Work Before Us
The messenger of the Lord asks us a significant question, one that we all may well ponder:
Have we lost all sense of our position as the Lord's chosen people, who are to represent Christ and proclaim to the world the last message of mercy? "Ye are a chosen generation."—Manuscript 75, 1898.
I'm certain that we have not. And I believe that we sense our duty. We have the original gospel commission, and to fulfill it we have our Lord who is clothed with boundless authority. Added to that we have the prophetic mantle of Revelation 14 and Revelation 18 placed upon our shoulders. Modern thinking, higher criticism of the message we bear, a criticism that lingers even in our borders, must not be permitted to disturb us from that mission. There is no mistaking the call addressed to us all; and may we discern clearly and plan boldly as we respond to it.
The light we have received upon the third angel's message is the true light. The mark of the beast is exactly what it has been proclaimed to be. Not all in regard to this matter is yet understood, nor will it be understood until the unrolling of the scroll; but a most solemn work is to be accomplished in our world. The Lord's command to His servants is: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isaiah 58:1.
There is to be no change in the general features of our work. It is to stand as clear and distinct as prophecy has made it. --Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 17.
Upon us rests the weighty responsibility of warning the world of its coming doom. From every direction, from far and near, are coming calls for help. God calls upon His church to arise and clothe herself with power. Immortal crowns are to be won; the kingdom of heaven is to be gained; the world, perishing in ignorance, is to be enlightened. —Ibid., vol. 7, p. 16.
We are standing on the threshold of the crisis of the ages. In quick succession the judgments of God will follow one another fire, and flood, and earthquake, with war and bloodshed. We are not to be surprised at this time by events both great and decisive; for the angel of mercy cannot remain much longer to shelter the impenitent. --Prophets and Kings, p. 278.
A crisis is right upon us. We must now by the Holy Spirit's power proclaim the great truths for these last days. It will not be long before everyone will have heard the warning and made his decision. Then shall the end come. . . . God is the great Master Worker, and by His providence He prepares the way for His work to be accomplished. He provides opportunities, opens up lines of influence, and channels of working. If His people are watching the indications of His providence, and stand ready to cooperate with Him, they will see a great work accomplished. --Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 24.
