Dear Brother Pierson:
The Annual Council of 1974 is now history. I wish that every member and worker of the church could have been present to share the spiritual impact received by the delegates. The heart-searching emphasis at our recent Annual Councils is one of the most encouraging signs that God still has an interest in His church. All of us, even those with the slightest degree of spiritual inclination, cannot but believe that this is a long-overdue step in the right direction.
When hearts are united and minds are submissive to God's leading there is no reasonable reason in the world why the necessary business of the church should not be done with dispatch. So, Brother Pierson, the Christ-centered trend in these business sessions causes many of us to rejoice. Undoubtedly what we are seeing and experiencing is the direct fruitage of your administration's emphasis on revival and reformation.
We cannot blame the devil for being unhappy over what is taking place. If we were in his shoes we would be unhappy too! But could it be that he will still be able to secure his objectives in our church in other ways? Could it be that his primary method in retarding the church's progress is to cause us to channel our time, energies, and money into that which is good but relatively unimportant?
The much-needed call to revival and reformation should not just touch lives of ministers and laity, but should reach into every area of church policy and practice, including budgets, plans, and actions. Reformation in these areas is just as necessary and important as reformation in our personal lives. Personal salvation on our part does not guarantee an accompanying mental acuteness for administering the affairs of God's church. It is to be hoped that revival and reformation in our lives will lead to revival and reformation in our whole church structure. To be aware of Satan's deceptions, which often come under an appearance of goodness and right, demands a thorough understanding of the objectives of the Advent Movement on the part of every minister and layman.
Pressure Tactics
Those acquainted with the internal operations of our church are aware of the constant chorus of cacophonous voices declaring what direction the church should take. The church is in a very similar position to that of most world governments where pressure groups and lobbyists are ever seeking support for their causes. In fact, the same pressure tactics are used in all segments of society, whether it be a child pleading with his parents for a new bicycle or a department or institution pressuring the church for additional men and materials.
The only safe course to follow for the church is to know for certain what God's objectives are for us and decidedly to set up a system of priorities in reaching them. In other words, every decision this church makes on every level should be made in the light of what contributes most to reaching our over-all objectives.
275,458,110 Members
Presumably church growth in terms of increased membership is one objective most subscribed to. As to whether it has top priority in areas other than in our thoughts is questionable. Statistics indicate that for the most part our membership growth has been a rather steady and gradual one over the years. The most significant increases are not recent ones. The average membership increase between 1870 and 1880 was a little more than 11 per cent per year. The increase during that decade was the greatest our church ever experienced.
Had we maintained our 11 percent per year net increase from 1880 until now, our church membership today would be 275,458,- 110.
It is also interesting to realize that, had we maintained that 11 per cent increase each year since that time, we would have reached our present membership of 2.4 million by 1928 forty-six years ago!
However, 2.4 million is a far cry from the 3,500 we had in 1863, and for this we praise God. But it also comes far short of the 275,- 458,110 membership that perhaps could and should have been ours.
Our slow and steady growth has not been spectacular. Or is a 5 percent annual growth spectacular? Should we not expect some dramatic, or should I say miraculous, influx of members that would indicate a second Pentecost?
"The Bland Leading the Bland"
If this doesn't happen, does it prove the church is (as one writer called it) a "blank island of serenity"? Or are we, as another has put it, "the bland leading the bland"?
The apostolic church was not plagued with fuzzy concepts as to what their mission was. In short, "one interest prevailed; one subject of emulation swallowed up all others" (The Acts of the Apostles, p. 48). What was that one interest? Was it salary increases? Additional paid staff? Location of the next General Conference session? Another program to finish the work? A new departmental or institutional film? Surely, these things would be secondary to the early believers. Their primary concern was "to reveal the likeness of Christ's character, and to labor for the enlargement of His kingdom" (ibid.).
Note that their one interest was a two-sided affair. Thank God our church is attempting to focus on the revelation of Christ's character. But, Brother Pierson, are we putting the enlargement of His kingdom on an equal footing? What about the gospel commission? Are we, as leaders, taking it seriously?
When the spotlight of the Spirit of Prophecy is focused on the mission of the church, we discover what the true interpretation of the scope of the gospel is. Ellen White in vision declares that she saw "jets of light shining from cities and villages, and from the high places and the low places of the earth. God's Word was obeyed, and as a result there were memorials for Him in every city and village. His truth was proclaimed throughout the world." --Evangelism, p. 699.
Flesh & Blood or Brick & Mortar?
Whether or not the words "memorials for Him in every city and village" refer to flesh-and-blood memorials or brick-and-mortar ones, still the disturbing question is How near are we to fulfilling this prophecy? Will we ever fulfill it? At our present rate of growth I doubt that even the most optimistic among us would be so bold as to declare that we are even approaching such fulfillment.
Do you think God expects us to take the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy literally on these points? Or could it be that this is just an ideal that God knows we could never reach with or without His help? I personally believe that we must categorically reject any interpretation that does not take God's expressed desires for His church literally. The commands of Christ are clear. . Our mission is unmistakable. The scope of our soul-saving work is worldwide. Our witness is to reach every nation, tribe, and person. The question is What can we do to reach this divine objective more quickly?
Frankly, Brother Pierson, I don't think any of us relish the thought of granite memorials, with a few facts, figures, and a bit of verse chiseled on them, being erected over our graves. Is this really the personal objective of any one of us? Not that we distrust God's ability to resurrect us no! Rather, there dwells within our hearts the blessed hope of Christ's return while we are yet alive. His coming certainly is a climax, not to an unfinished task, but to a finished one.
Because of unbelief, the bones of Israel's laity and leaders alike bleached in the desert sun on the wrong side of Jordan. What can we do, or what should we do, to prevent a recurrence of this tragic episode? !t will take more than prayer and heart-searching, as important as these are. It will take more than testimony meetings and thank God for them! It will take bold, dynamic action along with spiritual renewal! It will take broad planning, which will test our faith to the ultimate and challenge our pocketbooks, energies, and time to the limit. It means that we will no longer "play it safe," but swiftly move ahead in communicating the message of the cross to the world's inhabitants. It means that we will examine carefully, in the light of the gospel commission, everything we are doing.
We will consider our budgets in the light of our objectives. Are we spending our money for the most important projects? It is not a matter of right or wrong spending for the most part; rather, it is a matter of priorities. Are we setting aside funds for those programs and people that will fulfill God's expectations for this movement? What are our priorities?
I was encouraged by several items in the budget such as the $450,000 set aside as a "new work" reserve, to be used when special unique opportunities present themselves for advancing the gospel anywhere in the world.
Of course, the nearly 2 million dollars of tithe increase reversion to be used specifically for evangelism in the North American unions was another outstanding feature of the budget. The support given PREACH (Project for Reaching Every Active Clergyman at Home) was also much appreciated.
Yet there still remains the uncomfortable feeling that much more could be done by this church in meeting its objectives in a responsible way.
The answer does not lie alone in voting increasingly larger budgets that surpass the preceding years, but in re-evaluating every administrative, institutional, and depart mental plan and program this movement is involved in. Further more, no program should be judged a success simply because it is going over "big" in terms of numbers. The question should be Is this what God would have us do? Are we fulfilling His objectives for this church?
You will recall the story of the man who came to Jesus asking for His help in settling a dispute be tween him and his brother over their inheritance. Jesus calmly but firmly said, "Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?" (Luke 12:14).
A very pertinent comment on this story states, "The Saviour's mission on earth was fast drawing to a close. Only a few months remained for Him to complete what He came to do in establishing the kingdom of His grace. Yet human greed would have turned Him from His work to take up the dispute over a piece of land. But Jesus was not to be diverted from His mission. ... Christ gave the man plainly to understand that this was not His work. He was striving to save souls. He was not to be turned aside from this to take up the duties of a civil magistrate." --Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 217.
Forced Labor?
The principle stated here cannot be misunderstood. The Saviour's business and the church's business should be identical! But is it? Let me quote the next sentence which is startling in its import. "How often today labor is forced upon the church that should never be allowed to enter the work of the gospel ministry!" --Ibid. (Emphasis supplied.)
If this last statement was a fact in the day when it was written, I wonder what God would add or subtract if He were to update it. Brother Pierson, some of us believe that the time has come when every facet of our church program needs to be re-examined in the light of the gospel commission. This goes for The Ministry magazine, the Ministerial Association, or any other part of the church program.
Our world is doomed. You have heard, I'm sure, the illustration of the airliner in trouble. Under normal circumstances it would be entirely appropriate to serve meals, hand out newspapers and magazines, pass out gum and candy, and for the pilot to announce the weather and the distance to the destination. But all of these normal activities are abandoned when there is a possibility of a crash. Priorities are immediately established. Everything possible at this point must be done to save the lives of those on board.
Today the church is not existing under normal circumstances. The crash is coming and may be on us much sooner than we think. Routine business must be laid aside, and emergency measures taken to fulfill the mission of the church. Anything and everything that does not contribute to the fulfilling of our great commission should be eliminated from our agendas, our budgets, our plans. It's time to carefully consider the question, What are our priorities?
This is an earnest appeal that the bit of leaven we have permitted God to put in the church in these final hours of human history will now be permitted to work until the whole world has a chance to share with us the blessed experience of salvation through Christ alone. Yours for an expanded revival and reformation,
--- J. R. Spangler
P.S. In future open letters we would appreciate the opportunity of being more specific.
