Today I learned I'm not righteous. To my friends that may come as no surprise. And the religionists can quickly quote Isaiah to back them up.
Today I learned I’m not righteous. To my friends that may come as no surprise. And the religionists can quickly quote Isaiah to back them up. “All our righteousness are as filthy rags.” Isaiah 64:6 (KJV) However, it is not the rags that were the problem this time but rather my smart, clean shaven face as a bearded man on the sidewalk sidled up to me and thrust a paper into my hands with the words, “you look like a conference man. You need one of these.”
“One of these” in this case was a four-page document informing me that unless I grew a beard I was unlikely to enter the kingdom of heaven. I won’t go into the details of it—please write in if you want more information, but as I’ve walked around St. Louis these last few days I’ve been bombarded with information. My bearded zealot friend is but one of many who have been keen to share their particular form of Christianity with me. And many forms there are, even within the Adventist Church. On my hotel table I have documents endeavoring to draw me back to what our Adventist pioneers originally believed. I have others, and have heard many debates, on contextualizing Christianity for the 21st century, be that in a Western, Asian, African or South American context.
This can make life difficult for a world church in terms of understanding the underlying core of its unity. It can even make life difficult on the way we do business. The nominating committees practices of yesteryear are being forced to adapt to the more analytical and inquisitive minds of the modern world. Delegates on the floor of the hall want more information and are more willing to challenge. Some feel patronized with what they see as outmoded practices imposing names from above. These are concerns that the leadership have tried to take on board. It is not easy. As George W. Brown from Inter-America states, “It’s a very difficult job, but they are doing it well.”
Not all the delegates are so sure. Victor Pilmoor from England feels that “they’re listening, but they’re not hearing.” And listening to both the official debate in the halls, and the unofficial chatter in the corridors, what seems to be clear is that delegates want to feel that their presence at a world business session is going to make a difference to the way the church functions in the future.
That frustrates Enrique Becerra. He works at world church headquarters but is originally from Chile. He says that, “Yes, the dialogue is open, but some of the things said seem to be contradictory. They keep talking about integrating the youth, but there are only old people [being represented]. They [church leadership] are listening, but they should do more. It is a matter of doing things.”
As the investigative press like to say, “a source close to the president” suggested that we should do an “age comparison” of world church leaders in 1995 or 2000 and the newly elected leadership in 2005. With the nominating committee more of less maintaining the status quo, we are establishing an older leadership for what is becoming a younger church.
I’m not sure how it happened, but on Monday night I joined a fairly large group up on the roof of the Edward Jones Dome where the General Conference Session is being held. To get there you have to climb ladders, walk metal gantries and finally exit onto the roof via a skylight. But once you get there you have a spectacular 360-degree view of St. Louis—and an excellent vantage point for the Independence Day fireworks.
Among the spectators I was surprised to see not one, but two vice presidents newly re-elected to office. For the sake of good journalism I will not reveal their identities here. Suffice it to say that I was impressed that these senior men of the church, clad in suit and tie, made it to the dizzying height normally reserved only for maintenance teams. I also discovered, at that high elevation, that they had a sense of humor and that they did genuinely want to stay in touch with the “real world” outside of church administration.
That is a difficult task. Climbing onto the top of the dome gives an overview of St. Louis, but makes it hard to pick out the individual on the street. The same danger is there in leading a world church. The challenge of leadership is to get the overview but stay close to the people.
I commend Dr. Paulsen as world leader for inaugurating programs like “Lets Talk” where he purposely dialogues with young people. It is something we need more of on every level of the church. Even in the business sessions, and despite what Owen Ellis from the South Pacific sees as “a slowness in picking up on what the delegates are saying,” there does seem to be a genuine desire on the part of leadership to listen.
New presentations and listening exercises in these meetings, such as the leadership discussions and asking for dialogue on issues of evangelism and church growth, are refreshing avenues to take on board the views of delegates on a range of important issues. Sunilda Ramos from North America is hopeful. “The fact [is] that the process is there, and they are observing it. All have the opportunity to talk, say how they feel. I think it’s wonderful.”
Leon B. Wellington from Inter-America agrees. “They have shown in this session more willingness to listen and respond to the concerns of the delegates.”
Listening is important. So is empowering. The well experienced group of leaders now voted to lead the world church and its 13 regions for the next five years do well to note Dr. Paulsen’s lead in listening and challenging various sections of our church to act. If that lesson can be taken fully on board, then the predictions for church growth over the next 20 years may be far to small.
*With assistance from Bev Stout/Jessie Breyer