Dr. Jan Paulsen, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church responded to questions posed by Nikolaus Satelmajer, editor of Ministry magazine. Born in Norway, Paulsen ministered in pastoral, academic and leadership settings in various parts of the world before being elected president of the world church (General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists) in 1999 and reelected in 2005. As the 16th president of this church with headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA, Paulsen explains his perspectives that we believe will interest and be of value to clergy of all denominations.
NS: How did you decide to go into ministry?
JP: I was about fourteen or fifteen when, for reasons difficult to explain, the presence of Christ in my life and a sense of urgency in respect to how I would spend my life came to me strongly. At that time I made my decision to become a minister.
NS: What was the response of your family?
JP: My parents were very supportive. It was a good Adventist home to grow up in, but it was a poor home. My dad, a cobbler, worked hard to help me get to college. The only one of four children to go, by the way.
NS: How do you keep this call to ministry fresh in your life?
JP: That is related as much as anything to what the church asks me to do. The church has given me assignments that have kept my sense of calling very alive.
NS: So the call that we receive from God has to be confirmed by the church in order for it to be realistic?
JP: Oh yes, definitely. For me it’s very much that—the needs of the church, the trust of the church, the affirmation of the church. Yes, all of that.
NS: Who are some people—teachers, or historical figures in Christianity—who have influenced you positively?
JP: I think of my Bible teacher in junior college— a Danish theologian who later came to America and became president of Loma Linda University—Dr. V. Norskov Olsen. He did much in those early years to confirm my calling. Then at the seminary, teachers like Ted Heppenstall influenced me a lot. He helped me to understand the wonderful balance between the assurance of salvation and the obligation to live in harmony with the will of God—the dual balance, whether you call it grace and law, or whatever label you use. It’s important to have the assurance of things being right with Christ, accompanied with the affirmation, therefore, that I shall live a life of discipleship. Then there was Jűrgen Moltmann, at Tűbingen, who taught me a lot about the concept of hope. Even though his theology differed in some way from mine, his emphasis meshed very nicely with my understanding of the second coming of Christ.
NS: I noticed in your sermons at the church headquarters and other places that you do put a lot of emphasis on the concept of hope. Evidently that is foundational to your understanding of God’s message.
JP: Yes—I think that God is in the business of creating a better future for us. All that is His plan. Thus hope is a big element.
NS: Ministers live busy lives, sometimes at the expense of their own spirituality. What helps you to grow spiritually?
JP: Since my early years of ministry I have been a very early riser and probably get by with less sleep than most people. I get up regularly at four-thirty in the morning. That gives me some two and a half to three hours at the house when I can think and do some spiritual reflection. I have time to read, and that’s when I do some sermon preparation. My wife has also become a fairly early riser, and we have some good time together in the morning. It’s a very creative block of time for me, which prepares me for the day ahead.
NS: What would you share with ministers who feel overwhelmed with their ministry and discouraged with their responsibility?
JP: I think it is important that we all recognize our humanity. Don’t try to be what you’re not. It is important that we recognize and accept our limitations. It’s also important to realize that we will have lofty standards that we might not reach. It’s good to have standards, noble standards—even if you miss them from time to time. God asks no more than that we do our best.
NS: Let’s shift emphasis. What are some of the broad issues and challenges facing the Adventist Church?
JP: First, as you know, the Seventh-day Adventist Church is a rapidly growing community. With children and adults, we are now well past the 20 million mark. One of the challenges of a rapidly growing church is, How do you hold such a global community together? So for me, as a church leader, one of the high priorities is the unity of the church.
Now, we are bonded in the Spirit, as the Scripture teaches us. The Spirit is the key element to hold us together, but even when you make that statement you have to work it. You have to nurture the bonds that bind us. And that means that you have to be strong about that which we cannot give up. Strong about that which is a must to our identity. And you have to be generous about that which requires latitude. In a global community with diverse cultures, there will be certain differences because we have to obey God where we are. In Africa it’s going to be different from Asia, different from Europe and from America. So I think they are the elements of exactness— the definitions of what make us the Seventh-day Adventist Church—and there are elements of cultural diversity within which worship expresses itself. We must recognize both aspects. But unity is one of my high priorities.
The second priority has to be with the mission of the church. We are here for a mission; that’s how we define ourselves constantly when we sit in counsel. The Lord has asked us to be His witnesses, and thus I am compelled to share the witness about Christ to all. We have to be innovative, creative, finding ways through radio, through television, through satellite, through the Internet to reach people that may not be reachable in other ways. We must at least reach them in the sense that you can implant a seed; the Holy Spirit will then have to do with it as He pleases.
The element of unity in a rapidly growing church and the element of expanding mission represent to me two of our big challenges.
If I should mention a third one, it would be giving to the youth—the age group of 18 to 32, particularly students and young professionals—a sense of ownership in the church. To make sure that we have not only reluctantly made space for them, but that we have actively invited them to come in as partners in the life, mission, and ministry of the church.
NS: Do you have any specific suggestions for local congregations on how they could help keep these youth involved?
JP: To every local congregation I would say this: Be sensitive to the presence of the youth. Do not relegate youth to be observers. Bring them into the life of the church. And I must say, trust them. Allow the Holy Spirit to find expression through their creative ideas.
NS: Do you find the youth around the world enthusiastic for Jesus Christ and the gospel?
JP: I find that there are many who are constantly searching for ways to make faith relevant to the challenges that young people struggle with. They are searching for answers to questions that are not easy to deal with.
You know that I have had some television conversations with youth and young professionals. They are saying, “Look, it’s a choice I make about the church. I want to be part of the life of this community.” And there is no way that they are going to be part of the life of that community if senior leaders do not encourage them and in fact embrace them.
NS: We just finished a world session of the church—one that we have every five years. What are some of the visions that you have for the next five years? There has been emphasis on the theme “Tell the World.” What are some of the things that come into your mind?
JP: I feel that the church exists primarily for mission. When everything is said and done, if the church is not an instrument of mission, then the church has failed to be what God wants the church to be. We tell the world by word, by actions, and by relationships. That’s how we communicate the message from Christ to those who do not yet know Him. That has to be the first and foremost task of the church.
NS: So “Tell the World” isn’t a program? It’s a concept or an outlook?
JP: It’s a vision in which we are telling the public that we’re here to share something important with you. We are here to help you become acquainted with Jesus Christ.
NS: What are some fundamental things about the Adventist Church that have made it a worldwide movement? What does this tell us about our future?
JP: From our very beginning we determined that we would bring together— with the preaching of the word—education and the ministry of healing. That was part of a very, very deliberate vision articulated comprehensively through the writings of Ellen White and held to strongly by our church. So you find that we operate the largest Protestant education system in the world, with over 6,000 institutions touching the lives of one and a half million youth and children every day. Secondly, we have always felt and believed that the health of the body and of the mind are important. As temples of God we are under obligation to God, as an act of worship, to keep ourselves healthy. And, therefore, we run a number of health institutions, not only as a sort of body repair shops, but as centers for healing ministries, where we hold workshops and seminars. We’ve done this everywhere around the world. These things have been hallmarks of our mission activities. We have a deep emphasis on the Bible, while at the same time we have a healing ministry as well.
NS: So then education and the health work is not something that we do in addition to the gospel? It is an integral part of ministry?
JP: Absolutely!
NS: You have emphasized the importance of the Bible. What are some of the ways you enjoy reading it? What happens shortly after you get up at 4:30 a.m.?
JP: You know, I’ve gone through stages. When I returned from Africa to England and began teaching at our Theological Seminary at Newbold College for our ministers in Europe, I began using for the next decade the New English Bible. To me it had such a beautiful rendition of the poetic sections of the Bible. Not just the Psalms. Isaiah reads beautifully in the New English Bible. I then went to the NIV. Early on, of course, I used KJV. I came to the NIV and again I found newness in it. And it’s probably the one I use primarily now when I preach.
NS: To another topic. How has the structure of the Adventist church served us? We have a system that’s gone through some changes over the years, but there is a lot of similarity to that which we had when we were first organized and now. How has it served us and where do you see us going into the future?
JP: The structure we set up as a church is over a hundred years old. We set it up when we had a global membership of some seventy-five thousand. We are at this very time asking ourselves, Is this the best way we can stay structured and organized? Given the shift in the population within the church, given the fact that the talents and resources of the church are also widely distributed, we need to look at things again. We have agreed that we will bring together a representative body from around the world to look at the structures—to look at the ministries which flow out from these structures and ask ourselves, Is this still the most effective way we can do it? It may well prove to be. But we cannot assume that it is without looking critically and in an explorative manner. So we’ll see where it takes us.
NS: We have a financial structure that has probably in many ways helped our worldwide expansion.
JP: Yes.
NS: Do you see it continuing to serve the world church as well as it has in the past?
JP: I hope so, I hope so. We need to be sure that our church globally sees itself as one body and any weakness found in one part of the body is supported by the strength that is found in another part of the body. I think it was God’s plan for us to share. And as a global community we are financially intermarried; we do share our resources. Yes, I see that as continuing. I think when that ceases, if it were to cease, we would quickly become a regional church.
NS: If you had an opportunity to speak to all the Adventist ministers, what would you like to say to your colleagues in ministry?
JP: I would say . . . well, maybe many things. But one thought that comes to me is this: Because we’re a global community, we hear stories coming from some parts of the world, particularly from the soil of southern Christianity.
Stories of rapid growth, extraordinary exploits for Christ, and with fruits that go so far beyond what people in other parts of the world would think possible. We praise the Lord for what is happening there. But it can be disheartening for someone who lives in America or in Europe or in Australia and New Zealand, or in a certain part of Asia, Japan, or Hong Kong. Some of the big cities and countries, where secular values have so settled into the minds of people, it’s very difficult for these people to see what God could possibly offer through the instrument of the Christian faith in Jesus Christ and what God could possibly do to improve their lives.
So it’s difficult, it’s tough, for ministers who minister in these areas to see the rapid expansion from elsewhere. And I would just say to them: “God does not expect anything but obedience where you are. Don’t define your success in ministry by looking elsewhere. Just share Christ as effectively as you know how where you are. That’s all He’s asking. And He will say to you, ‘Well done, ye good and faithful servant.’” Faithfulness has to do with faithfulness in the ministry where we are.
NS: Thank you for sharing that. By the time we publish this interview, it will be a new year. We have no idea what the new year is bringing to us. What does the church need to do today to be ready for whatever is before us?
JP: The only preparation we can make for the future is spiritual and in terms of the basic fundamental decisions we make regarding others. These are the only decisions we can make for the future. As we look at what’s happened this past year and in the most recent years, it’s clear that we live in a very unstable time. It will be a miracle if one year were to pass and there would not be a major disaster somewhere, either natural or man-made. I think this should tell us that we need to be focused on the kingdom whose Builder and Architect is Someone other than ourselves. We need to keep focused on that.
NS: Thank you very much.
