1992 Annual Council report

The 1992 Annual Council, held at the General Conference headquarters, saw a major departure from past practice. For the first time, instead of debating all the items on the floor the council created five discussion groups: Abortion and Care for the Dying Statements, Environment Statement, Finance Committee, General Agenda Items, Policy Items. These discussion groups operated similar to United States Senate hearings. All groups met at the same time, and delegates chose which one they wanted to attend.

Each group voted on changes that were then brought to the whole council for its vote. This speeded up the process, as much of the discussion often centers on wording a policy or other item in a particular manner.

Daily devotionals

The most significant aspect of this Annual Council turned out to be not the various actions taken but the series of daily devotionals given by Dr. George Knight, professor of church history at the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary. The theme for the council was "Safe in Him." Dr. Knight stirred the council members first by his provocative titles: "Sin Is Love"; "Adventists Neglect the Law"; "Justification: The Work of a Lifetime - Sanctification: The Work of a Moment"; "Temptation Is Not TEMPTATION"; and "I Used to Be Perfect" then by his Christ-centered messages.

Dr. Knight lifted up Jesus in a beautiful and reassuring way. He tried to do for the Seventh-day Adventist Church what Jesus did for the Jews when He gave the Sermon on the Mount. Knight cut through much of the superficiality surrounding current Adventist discussion on sin, law, grace, and love. Many groups within the church constantly bombard us with exhortations to righteousness, but George Knight through his preaching set a far higher standard to reach than even these groups teach. Knight pointed out that we too often mirror the Jews who were consumed by emphasizing correct behavior while strangely neglecting right relationships. He asserted that in our quest to be perfect we often become impossible to live with.

Knight clearly revealed that our perfection lies in what Jesus has done for us in His life and death and when we trust in Him, surrendering our lives completely to Him, He considers us to be perfect. Knight also made it clear that the Christian will never take the law of God lightly. Rather, the Christian is even more motivated to live a holy life because of that person's surrender to Christ and great appreciation for the sacrifice of Christ. The secret to victory and overcoming sin comes from focusing not on oneself but on Christ.

Global Mission

Mike Ryan led out in the report concerning Global Mission. We will say very little here, as we have already devoted a whole issue (November) to this most important subject.

Carlos Aeschlimann gave a thrilling report concerning the number of accessions to the church. During the first eight quarters of Global Mission there have been 1,207,675 baptisms, which totals 366,537 more than during the same period of Harvest 90. Aeschlimann pointed out that we are now baptizing one new person every 52 seconds. Our official church member ship stood at 7,274,181 on June 30, 1992.

Division presidents told thrilling stories of what is happening throughout the world. Out of many that could be told, we mention one. On July 30 and 31, 1992, 2,000 persons were baptized in one city in China. This number of people presented a huge logistical problem. The church did not have an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister so they invited one to come from a neighboring city.

The government had given permission for praying, preaching, and baptizing to take place, but then some Sunday-keeping believers complained to the government. They prevailed upon the local government to withdraw their permission for this baptism to take place. But the believers were determined to proceed anyway. On the morning of July 30, the Sunday keepers arranged for a large group of their members to again complain to the government. The provincial government then ordered the city government to stop the baptism. So leading cadres of the United Front, the Religious Department, the Street Commit tee, and the Police Station were sent to the Adventist church to prevent the baptism taking place. However, our members formed a wall around the church and prevented them from entering.

How does one man baptize 2,000 people? Very tiredly! The pastor began at 8:00 a.m. and kept baptizing nonstop until 8:00 p.m., at which time he had immersed more than 1,500 persons. The next day the minister baptized more than 400 people.

On Sabbath, August 1, some 2,500 arrived to attend the Communion service, but they were prevented from entering the church by the police and several government cadres. The church leaders were concerned about the possibility of confrontation and decided not to continue with the Communion service. But because about 1,800 people, many of whom had traveled a long distance, refused to leave and continued to wait outside in the hot sun, the church leaders finally decided to continue with the Communion service. The police tried to break up the meeting, but without success. They ended up watching the communion service take place.

Praise God for the many wonderful and thrilling events happening around the world. Look for future reports in Ministry.

Year of the pastor

The Annual Council voted 1993 as the Year of the Pastor. The delegates discussed and then listed five objectives: "(1) Reaffirm the importance of the pastorate in the mind of each church leader, pastor, and member as the pivotal function of ministerial endeavor; (2) update and strengthen communication and understanding be tween pastor and administrator; (3) establish a global theology of ministry which defines the role of the pastor as watchman, shepherd, and preacher in modern society; (4) address the issues threatening the Church's mission; (5) structure, with broad input from pastors, systems of evaluation, communication, and accountability for all levels of church organization that will assist in improving effectiveness in achieving church ministry."

The January issue of Ministry will give additional details, including what some pastors are saying about the Year of the Pastor. In addition, each division is to prepare its own implementation of these objectives.

Salary equity study

During the discussion concerning the Year of the Pastor several pastors voiced their concerns about the disparity between the pay scale for pastors and the pay scale for administrators and nonpastoral workers. Pastors are told that the pastorate is the key position in the church, yet pastors are rewarded financially by receiving a higher percentage of remuneration when they leave the pastorate. One of the pastors moved and it was voted: "To appoint a study group composed of pastors and administrators representing the world field to study salary equity among pastors, department directors, and administrators and to bring a recommendation to the 1994 Annual Council."

Elections

The council filled the following elective positions: Ted N. C. Wilson, president of the Euro-Asia Division; P. D. Chun, president of the Far Eastern Division; V. F. Bocala, secretary of the Far Eastern Division; Philip Follett, a general vice president of the General Conference; James Cress, as the new ministerial secretary of the General Conference (a full introduction will appear in the January issue); Enrique Becerra, an associate in the General Conference Department of Education; Gerald Karst, associate secretary of the General Conference.

The "Historic Stand for Temperance Principles and Acceptance of Donations Statement" was voted, urging "individuals and church organizations to refuse donations and favors from the alcohol or tobacco industries."

Marrying non-Adventists

Consensus prevailed during most of the council except when it came to approving an addition to the Church Manual in the section on courtship and marriage.

The old Minister's Manual and the new Minister's Manual state that an Adventist minister cannot marry a non-Adventist to an Adventist. Some felt that this should also be in the Church Manual. Three paragraphs were suggested outlining the reasons ministers should not perform this ceremony. A number of the delegates spoke against this inclusion. They felt that it would be too prescriptive and did not allow for any exceptions.

However, instead of voting the proposal down, they referred it back to the Church Manual Committee for further study. It could come back at the next Annual Council. There is no easy answer to this dilemma. Some feel strongly that with marriages disintegrating at an alarming rate, the church needs to take a strong stand in this area. Many feel that if the church does not take a stand, it will show the church in general and young people in particular that courting and marrying outside the church are of no consequence.

Others argue that making such a blanket prohibition allows for all sorts of strange situations: people will be pressured into joining the church before they are ready so that they can be married in the church; others, who are only nominal members, who may not have attended church for years but whose names have never been removed from the books, will be treated just like the most committed members. Just because two people are Adventists does not necessarily make them compatible; and so the arguments continue.

It is still the recommendation of the Ministerial Association that ministers not perform mixed religious marriages. However, this recommendation has not been codified into canon law or been voted by an Annual Council or a General Conference session. If pastors have any questions regarding this recommendation, they should counsel with their local conference or field presidents.

Minister's manual

Floyd Bresee, retiring Ministerial Association secretary, presented a new Minister's Manual to each delegate at the Annual Council. This is not just a revision of the old manual, but a re-write. It contains 267 pages the size of the Church Manual and covers almost every conceivable area of ministry. Its 42 chapters are divided under four major headings: "The Minister," " The Minister and the World Church," "The Minister and the Local Church," " The Minister and Special Services."

We recommend that as part of the Year of the Pastor every conference and mission give a copy to its pastors. More than 100 people served on the reading commit tee giving their ideas. Unfortunately, not every idea could be incorporated.

Abortion and other statements

The Annual Council voted statements on abortion, euthanasia, and the environment. The abortion statement, three and a half years in the making, occasioned the most discussion. The council changed the title from that of "A Seventh-day Adventist Statement of Consensus on Abortion" to "Seventh-day Adventist Guidelines on Abortion."

A minority report from the Christian View of Human Life Committee was also presented to the council. The members graciously listened but declined to accept any of its recommendations. Dr. Rock said history was being made in that a minority report was being allowed to be presented. He emphasized that this did not set a precedent or that any minority reports would be allowed in the future. The framers of the minority report were concerned that it be written within a biblical framework, the majority report, while based on Scripture only added some texts at its end. In contrast, the statement on euthanasia incorporated Scripture throughout the document.

The Annual Council overwhelmingly approved (more than 90 percent majority) the abortion guidelines. The major area of focus centered on statement 4 in the Guide lines: "The church does not serve as con science for individuals; however, it should provide moral guidance. Abortions for reasons of birth control, gender selection, or convenience are not condoned by the church. Women at times, however, may face exceptional circumstances that present serious moral and medical dilemmas, such as significant threats to the pregnant woman's life, serious jeopardy to her health, severe congenital defects carefully diagnosed in the fetus, and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The final decision whether to terminate the pregnancy or not should be made by the pregnant woman after appropriate consultation. She should be aided in her decision by accurate information, biblical principles, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, these decisions are best made within the context of healthy family relationships."

The council ended with a strong appeal from President Folkenberg to remember the prayer watch begun at the 1990 General Conference session in Indianapolis. More than 2,500 people signed a commitment to pray daily at 6:15 in the morning for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to lift up Jesus Christ and Him crucified. May every reader of Ministry make a strong commitment to daily pray for that power to lift up Jesus and to live daily for Him.