Education, AWR, ARM report; Great Controversy excerpt read
Spring Meeting delegates heard reports from denominational institutions and commissions and read a chapter from a book written by a key church co-founder to close the final day of business, Monday, April 11.
Some 130 delegates of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Executive Committee were updated on the operations of the church's Education department, Adventist Risk Management and Adventist World Radio. Committee members also took turns reading aloud the 32nd chapter of Ellen G. White's book The Great Controversy during the final half hour of the half-day business session at McKee auditorium at Oakwood University.
Education Director Lisa Beardsley said one of her department's goals is managing the growth of the denomination's educational institutions and keeping Adventist identity a core part of each institution -- points she has emphasized in previous speeches and interviews.
A medical school will soon open at Babcock University in Nigeria, Beardsley said. Also, two more medical schools will likely be established by 2015 -- one in Peru, and another in the Philippines. The denomination currently operates three medical schools -- in the United States, Mexico and Argentina. A dental school is proposed to open within a few years in Chile, Beardsley said.
Beardsley also commented on a recent, high-profile university accreditation. Riverside, California's La Sierra University, the focus of debate on its teachings on origins, was recently extended accreditation through the end of 2012. A new term of accreditation will be decided in October of 2012.
Committee members also received a report from Dowell Chow, president of Adventist World Radio. Mission programs are broadcast throughout Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East through shortwave and AM/FM radio. The AWR board recently approved an expansion of the shortwave broadcasting facility on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean to offer better coverage in Asia. Chow also said all of AWR's multi-language programming is available worldwide as podcasts and on-demand at their website, awr.org.
Adventist Risk Management President Bob Kyte shared the ministry of risk management in preventing and controlling losses, as well as funding unavoidable losses. In encouraging safe places for ministry growth, ARM serves all church institutions and has saved the church "untold millions over the years," said Bob Lemon, church treasurer and ARM board chair.
Each department and institution directly affiliated with the General Conference reports to the Executive Committee once every five years.
Committee members also received a brief update of the Middle East and Mediterranean Survey Commission, which is examining a possible realignment of the work in that territory. The commission has met three times since it was formed last year and is reviewing a historical research paper on the work of the church in the region and the effects of the many organizational changes during the last century. The commission will meet again next month and a more extensive report is expected at Annual Council in October.
"Please keep the people of the greater Middle East in your prayers as we move through this careful examination of our current work and our preparedness for the future," said Undersecretary Homer Trecartin.
Leaders also reported on upcoming International Bible and Mission Conferences. The Biblical Research Institute has received some 55 requests for the proposed regional meetings during the next four years. "Our goal is to present the beauty of our beliefs. They will be the engine for mission," said Artur Stele, a general vice president, who as been designated as the next BRI director.
Also at Spring Meeting, delegates approved the 2011 expense cap for operation of the denomination's world headquarters, which operates under the expense cap of 2 percent of gross world tithe. Gross world tithe in 2010 was slightly over $2 billion.
In 2010, operation of headquarters cost nearly $35.8 million, more than $4 million under its expense cap of $40 million.
The committee also approved the appointment of former Undersecretary Larry Evans as associate Stewardship Ministries director at the world headquarters.
In interviews with several first-time Executive Committee lay members, all said they were appreciative for the chance to serve on the committee. Some said they enjoyed the spiritual aspect, including time spent in prayer and worship lead by Oakwood University Church. Some felt much of the one and a half days of business could have been conducted by video conferencing technology.
Dawn Sackmann, a lay member from St. Louis Missouri, said she enjoyed the chance to meet top church leaders and "see their dedication."
"I was impressed with the spirituality and the organization and the amount of time spent in prayer. It was just what I hoped for," Sackmann said.
Ron Oliver, a lay member from Battle Ground, Washington, said he enjoyed meeting leaders from Africa and Asia and hearing reports on mission, himself a missionary's kid and a frequent participant in short-term mission trips. He said he wishes more information was presented in advance and that reports were made available online.
"I'd like to share some of those back at my church, but I don't have that good of a memory," Oliver said.
Ricardo Flores, a lay member from Burtonsville, Maryland, said he enjoyed the Sabbath worship experience but expected more business. "I think most of that was done ahead of time," he said.
Flores said Oakwood University "pulled out all the stops" with its hospitality. "They made us feel not only at home but part of the family," he said.
This year's Oakwood location for Spring Meeting was initially scheduled for last year but was postponed due to economic conditions. The Executive Committee periodically holds one of its two major annual meetings at a site away from the church's Silver Spring, Maryland world headquarters. In 2008, Annual Council was held in Manila, Philippines.
Click here to listen to Oakwood University President Leslie N. Pollard's Spring Meeting devotional.
