The Great Controversy Project

The Great Controversy Project: An interview with Delbert W. Baker

By distributing The Great Controversy, we say to the world, “Here’s a simple message that we want you to read, and it’s one of the best you’ll find anywhere!”

-Willie E. Hucks II, DMin, is associate editor of Ministry.

Editor’s note: Delbert W. Baker, a general vice president for the world church of Seventh-day Adventists, who chairs The Great Controversy Project (GCP) Committee, discusses the worldwide initiative to distribute Ellen G. White’s book The Great Controversy, disseminating its last-day message to a world in need of hope.


 

Willie E. Hucks II (WH): Dr. Baker, thank you so much for taking time to share with our readers about The Great Controversy Project. First of all, what is the purpose of this initiative?

Delbert W. Baker (DB): The purpose of this project is to give the reading public an opportunity to be aware of the coming events portrayed in The Great Controversy. In a very intentional manner, this project allows our neighbors and friends to be privy to one of the best messages to be found anywhere—that the great controversy between good and evil will be ended, and there will be a triumphal ending to all the pain and suffering we are experiencing in this life. That’s the blessed hope. So by sharing this dynamic book, it’s our way of saying to the world, “Here is a simple message to which we want you to be exposed, [which] is both inspiring and life changing.” That’s what our General Conference president, Pastor Ted Wilson, was referring to when he preached his first message in Atlanta—do something big and bold for God! Under God, we need to do something bold and get our message out in a very powerful and distinct way. We must tell the world about the message God has given us. By sending millions of copies of The Great Controversy around the globe, we think that can be accomplished.

WH: I understand the goal is to distribute tens of millions of The Great Controversy. Could you discuss the overall logistics behind this distribution plan?

DB: Well, we’re really downplaying an actual number—we do not want to be driven by a number; rather, let the Holy Spirit help us [to] distribute the highest amount possible. But we are trusting God that He will impress members to distribute millions! Again, we don’t want people to get caught up in a numbers game. Let’s just do our best and see what God does. The point is we want to distribute The Great Controversy—it is a great Spirit-filled book, and the masses need to get it, read it, and be changed by it. So President Wilson has challenged all the divisions of the world field, all the departments in the General Conference, all the entities, for example, hospitals, Adventist Health Systems, schools, Adventist-laymen’s Services and Industries, independent ministries, publishing houses, supporting organizations, and so forth, to help us in spreading The Great Controversy like the leaves of autumn. Now, will the world church distribute forty or fifty million or more? We do not know. But we do want to do all we can under God. But, again, we don’t want to get caught up with the numbers. The number is subordinate to doing our very best to get the books out in large volume and letting the Holy Spirit anoint the project.

WH: What do you see as the benefits of The Great Controversy Project?

DB: I think there are several very concrete benefits. First, The Great Controversy gives us a real-time version of religious liberty through the ages. From the very beginning until now, people have fought for the basic principles of religious liberty and the freedom of choice and the ability to decide how to serve God according to their conscience. And that’s a current message for today. Not everyone will choose Adventism, but they should have the right to choose; for that’s what The Great Controversy talks about.

The second one addresses the eternal theme of the great controversy between Christ and Satan, between good and evil, between the positive and the negative. Christ is presented as Savior and Lord and as [the] coming King. And the book shows it in such a wonderful way. Though I’ve read The Great Controversy before, I’m reading it again, and it’s transforming. It’s helping me to experience revival and reformation. I’m inspired to be like the Reformers of ages past. The same values and traits that were needed then are needed now.

The third benefit of The Great Controversy is that it has a way of applying history in a very practical fashion to our lives. So when we read the story about Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, then the Reformation, lessons are not simply relegated to the distant past, but they can be applied to our lives today.

In the latter part of the book, Ellen G. White talks about end-time events. She had to have prophetic insight. People need to know what is in these pages. Today, people are very interested in the future. They want to know, what does the future hold? What can we expect? The Great Controversy answers those questions. Ellen G. White said she wanted to see this book distributed more than any of her other books. And so we are following through with her desire. Now, there are some people who believe we should distribute The Desire of Ages, or Steps to Christ, or perhaps others of her books first; and clearly these books have been distributed in the past—and they have their place. We need to distribute those as well. But now is the time for The Great Controversy. Many people are distributing it now and have been for some years. But it is the conviction of Pastor Wilson, the division presidents, the vice presidents here, and church leadership overall, that the message of The Great Controversy is what needs to be shared at this time!

WH: We have been engaged in the “Tell the World” initiative for the last five years. Now we are also embarking on the very necessary thrust of revival and reformation. How do you see The Great Controversy Project tying into both “Tell the World” and revival and reformation?

DB: They are inextricably bound together. You cannot separate them. In fact, “Tell the World” is the umbrella initiative—the program under which all the other initiatives fall. When we speak of reaching out, reaching up, and reaching across,* revival and reformation consist of initially reaching up to Christ. We’re not simply doing things for the sake of doing them. Our actions originate from the spirit of Christ. It’s all a part of revival and reformation. We’re being quickened in our hearts to do something with our hands. It’s one thing to pray and ask for something to happen, but we also believe it should result in a witness and a reaching out to others. So revival and reformation are key. Then on top of that you have The Great Controversy, which is a tool of the “Tell the World” initiative and revival and reformation. We have the heart and the hand involved in these two initiatives. We’re praying that God will bless these efforts and that the Holy Spirit will be behind all [of] this.

I think also about the Office of Adventist Missions and the great 10/40 window thrust we have. Certain divisions in the world field will have different versions of The Great Controversy. We hope, as much as possible, that people will send out the classic version of The Great Controversy. But some may publish a portion of this, as was the case with The Impending Conflict some years ago. That’s OK. There’s latitude in how people distribute the volume in order to give the people the latitude to do what they need to do in their fields.

We’re working closely with Jim Nix in the Ellen G. White Estate to be sure that the message reaches people in a way that remains consistent with the objectives of Ellen White; and we want the book to be distributed in every possible form: print, digitally, the social media. We will have videos, podcasts, and trailers for it. We will have whatever way is needed to share the message of this powerful book. We are open for any suggestions. The idea is that in the year 2011 we’re encouraging all Adventist members to read it and become reacquainted with it. But in 2012 and 2013, that’s when we want to distribute the millions of copies around the world field.

WH: Can you share some anecdotes from your travels and personal experience as it relates to The Great Controversy and The Great Controversy Project?

DB: One that comes to mind is about one of the elders in one of the churches I once pastored. In the years before he became a Seventh-day Adventist, he was pretty much destitute. He had given himself to alcohol and promiscuity. He pretty much had lost all hope in life. In his homeless wanderings, he ran across a portion of The Great Controversy. Not even the whole book. In his drunken state, he began to read it. He then put the partial copy in his bag with all his other stuff. At moments when he was more sober, he went back and read more and more of it. There he happened across a reference—I suppose in the back of the book—to an Adventist church. He visited the church and met some members. As a result, he received Bible studies and began to attend church, eventually getting baptized. Now that was just a portion of The Great Controversy! This guy was at a very low point in his life, and the words in the book changed him.

I heard a colleague of mine tell a story about a man in South America who got a copy of The Great Controversy, and though he was already a Christian, he did not know about Seventh-day Adventists. He began to read the book and started giving Bible studies from the book to his family and friends—and remember, he was not even an Adventist! Finally, he met an Adventist and was planning to give him studies from his copy, and the person said, “We Adventists know that book, and we can give you more books from where that one came from.” He got connected with the church members, got studies, and today, is an active Seventh-day Adventist. In fact, he’s now a strong lay preacher! It all started with the reading of The Great Controversy.

I was in Brazil recently, and at the publishing house there, I saw a video production of a man who was both using and selling drugs. He came across a copy of The Great Controversy, and it changed his life. Now, he’s working for Christ. So, there’s power in this book. Just think what the Holy Spirit can do with millions of copies around the world.

However, there may be people who read the book and have a problem with it, because it contains some hard-hitting truths. And that is why we are working with the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department of the General Conference, developing some questions and answers that we will have on the GCP Web site, so that if our church members are asked, “Why are you distributing this book at this point in time?” they will have definitive answers to provide.

WH: What can pastors do to make this project succeed? How do you plan to link this to local churches?

DB: Well, I think there are two ways. First, a person can accept the Christ-centered message of The Great Controversy, personally, by reading it. I use my iPhone and iPad to listen to it when I’m working out. Additionally, pastors can creatively find ways to urge their members to buy copies and distribute them. The books will be very inexpensive; we’re hoping they will be a dollar or less. The members can buy a book to give away during the planned years of distribution—2012 and 2013. They can give [it] to people they know—or even to those they do not—or leave it in public places for people to pick up. They may be too shy to go and give it to a friend. But they can buy multiple copies and leave them in Laundromats, stores, salons, and other places. So pastors can be the link in facilitating the distribution of the book into the hands of the members and others.

In the South American Division of the Adventist Church, the president is committed in 2012 to distribute at least fifteen million copies of The Great Controversy in one day. Other divisions are planning [and] developing their goals as well. They are planning carefully because the logistics of a project like this are impressive. Currently, publishing houses around the world are gearing up for giant print runs. So pastors and conference and union presidents are crucial to the success of the project—it cannot be done without them.

There may be others who would like to donate funds to send out to various ZIP codes and to various parts of the world. They may say, “I cannot pass them out myself, but I’ll give five thousand dollars, ten thousand dollars, and more to be sure that they go to Africa, Australia, the Solomon Islands, or the Caribbean— wherever they need to go.” We are also encouraging presidents of our colleges and universities, as well as principals of our schools to guarantee that all of their students get a copy and that they give them out in the community of the educational institution. We are asking the CEOs of our hospitals and health care systems to take large quantities and make them available in their lobbies and [in] their communities.

So what we’re saying is “just do it!” Put the word out there. God has promised that if we sow, we will reap. We believe The Great Controversy Project will bless us with immediate results and for years to come.

Some people may ask, “Well, how will they make the connection to the Adventist Church and know how to interpret receiving a free book?” Each book will have a simple but tactful message in it, saying, “This is being sent to you by your friends the Adventists . . . to speak to you where you are now as well as to give you answers for the future.” There will also be some reference in there either to a local congregation, and will include a Bible correspondence course where they can receive Bible lessons, or to a Web site where they can read more of the great controversy story. So the entire GCP will be a 24/7/365 witnessing project. I’m convinced that God is going to bless it in ways we cannot imagine.

WH: Dr. Baker, thank you so much for sharing with our readers. May God continue to bless both the book and the GCP.


* “Reach Up, Reach Out, Reach Across” is a component of the “Tell the World” initiative that focuses on reaching up to God through Bible study, prayer, Adventist Bible study guides, and the Spirit of Prophecy; reaching out to others as a friendly church that puts Christ’s mission first, inviting all peoples to fellowship, and making a difference daily in the community; and reaching across the barriers that threaten to divide us as a family, endeavoring to disciple, nurture, and involve every individual in the life and mission of the church.


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-Willie E. Hucks II, DMin, is associate editor of Ministry.

June 2011

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