Are Adventist hospitals still important to the mission of the church? Some feel that the Adventist hospital system in the United States has departed so far from its origins that it should no longer be considered Adventist. Some even argue for complete separation from the church. What is the mission of Adventist hospitals today? What part should the health work play in Global Strategy?
In November of 1989 Mardian Blair, president of Adventist Health Systems/Sunbelt (AHS/Sunbelt), invited me to attend that organization's first conference on mission in Orlando, Florida, January 25-28, 1990.
His letter went on to say: "This meeting will give you an opportunity to share with us your concerns and suggestions regarding the mission of the health work. It will give us an opportunity to hear your views, benefit from your counsel, and exchange ideas." Now, instead of looking in as an observer, I could participate directly and find out if some of my perceptions were wrong.
I was intrigued by the goals of the conference as stated in Blair's letter:
"1. We in the health-care work want to better understand what church leaders want the hospitals to achieve in terms of mission.
"2. We want to provide a forum for church leaders and health-care leaders to openly discuss their vision of a fulfilled mission. To do this we need to reach an understanding of the major issues that must be resolved in order to implement this vision. This is extremely important.
"3. We want to share with the church some of the current mission activities in AHS/Sunbelt hospitals.
"4. We want, through fellowship and prayer, to become better acquainted with each other."
Did the conference accomplish these objectives? Not entirely, but enough to convince me that I had to revise some of my perceptions. I cannot speak for the other Adventist health systems, but I was certainly impressed by this group's inter est in seeing that the hospitals form an integral part of the church's mission.
The 123 voting delegates came from eight employment categories: AHS/Sun belt and hospital presidents (26); AHS/Sunbelt and hospital vice presidents (22); union conference officers and conference presidents (10); other union and conference leaders (13); hospital chaplains (18); pastors near AHS/Sunbelt hospitals (12); Adventist physicians at AHS/Sunbelt hospitals (10); and various other church and health leaders (12).
Roy Naden, professor of religious education at Andrews University, and Des Cummings, Jr., president of Huguley Hospital, were the facilitators of the conference. (In a separate article Naden explains how the conference operated and presents some of the most significant results. I have also included an example of one hospital's Sabbath policy. It could well be a model for all our hospitals.)
Impressions
I was impressed by the atmosphere of collegiality and spirit of inquiry. The group had to grapple with issues concerning a culture and health industry as different from the time of Ellen White as night is from day. The delegates discussed 26 issues (see box) and ranked as number one " 'wholistic' care: mind, body, and spirit." Meeting the spiritual needs of patients and staff constitutes a high priority.
I was impressed with the great variety of people present. Hospital personnel, church administrators, pastors, chaplains, and departmental people mixed well together. The Adventist media were minimally represented. This underscores part of the reason why "lack of communication with the church" received the highest ranking among barriers to realizing the mission of the system.
Editors from the church's leading papers, such as the Adventist Review, Ministry, and the union papers, should at tend all important gatherings of AHS. The truism "what you are not up on you are down on" tends to represent fact more than fiction. As I talked one-on-one with the hospital leaders, I found that they were grappling with issues so complex that if we had to deal with them, many of us would immediately lose 20 years of our life span.
At the end of the conference I spent an hour with Mardian Blair, the AHS/Sunbelt president. He admitted candidly that the hospitals still had far to go in fulfilling their mission. That was why he convened this special conference, which incidentally was so well appreciated that the group voted to hold a second conference on mission in 1991.
Blair spoke about the time they take in their board meetings to review their mission. He shared how difficult it is to always meet the needs of patients, staff, and constituency, especially when they appear to conflict.
Yes, the hospitals are not what we would like them to be but then neither are our churches or our families. If we look for perfection in this world, we will not see it. Our only perfection is that found in Jesus Christ. He is the Master Physician. He is our example and our only Saviour. Some of us fret over things we cannot change and neglect those areas closer to home in which we can be involved.
I am reminded of the saying "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." May the church and the hospital systems continue to do their part in preparing the world for Christ's coming and together contribute to Global Strategy's success.
