Participants:
Series Code: 09GYC
Program Code: 09GYC000010
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00:10 I would like to welcome you to an interesting new idea
00:15 that we have come up with. 00:17 The church has always been about growth. 00:21 You would agree, yes or no? 00:23 The church has always been about growth, at its core, 00:27 it's mission, it's growth that comes from Revelation 14. 00:30 Teaching, training, and General Youth Conference has always 00:34 seen itself helping and aiding in that. 00:37 We teach young people, we train young people, we want to 00:40 be the church of today that can aid our church. 00:45 So what we have done is, we have always worked with 00:49 Church leadership, Amen? 00:52 We have Godly leaders in our church and we wanted to 00:55 bring them forward for a moment for some real 00:59 interaction, we want the panel to, some of you are 01:02 evangelist, some of you are trainers, some of you are 01:05 teachers, some of you are preachers. 01:08 We want to dispel that this morning. 01:10 In a very real way we want to get to know you, 01:13 to get to know who you are, what makes you tick, 01:16 why you serve the church. 01:18 We've had the privilege to work with church members 01:22 and church leadership for quite some time. 01:25 I think of Dr. Ratsara, Dr. Pippin, I think of Elder 01:29 Gallimore, all along the way Godly church leaders 01:33 have be helping us and mentoring us. 01:36 So what we have done this morning, we have taken 01:38 questions from you, we have taken questions from young 01:41 people around the world and we distilled them down to very 01:44 specific questions that we want answered. 01:47 Because we want them to be relevant people. 01:49 Just like us, they are real people, and so for a moment 01:53 we want to sit here with you at this table. 01:56 Like a child would inquisit their parents and we want to 02:02 be very real, and we want real answers from 02:04 real people this morning. 02:06 We have assembled questions from around the world. 02:09 You will get a pulse, you will get a sense of what the 02:11 young people here in this auditorium, 02:13 and literally around the world, how they are thinking 02:16 and what they struggle with. 02:18 And we want to do that and we want to launch into that 02:21 if you will allow us. 02:23 I want to first of all thank you for being here. 02:25 Thank you for your support, I know some of you had other 02:29 things that you changed your schedule to be here. 02:32 It means a lot to us that you are here supporting us. 02:36 I think in my presidency, at GYC, two highlights stick 02:40 out on my mind, this conference because it has been such 02:44 a spiritual blessing and such a GC representation. 02:48 The other is, some of you, actually I think all of you, 02:53 voted me to serve as a GYC voice in Atlanta at the upcoming 02:58 session and I am just ecstatic that us here, as young 03:02 people, have a voice at the General Conference session. 03:06 For the that I thank you, I appreciate that, and I 03:10 humbly and honorably take that and serve as a voice. 03:14 So thank you very much for that. 03:16 So if you will allow me, we will get started. 03:18 If I can, actually I should introduce you to who we have 03:23 here, we have Elder Mike Ryan, Dr. Ted Wilson, 03:28 Dr. Ratsara, Dr. Mark Finley, 03:32 although it's Pastor Mark Finley for me I think. 03:35 Dr. Ella Simmons, Dr. Bill Knot, Dr. Don Schneider, each 03:41 serve as General Conference Vice Presidents, Elder Knots serves 03:46 as the communication piece, specifically of the GC. 03:50 Elder Schneider an Elder Ratsara served as Division Presidents, 03:54 which are branches of the General Conference. 03:55 We might get into that a little bit later, 03:57 but that is who we have here. 03:58 We have Israel and we have Amy, Israel because GYC all 04:02 along the way has had support from the church and it has 04:06 seeked the Council of the church and we have him to show 04:10 that, and we have Amy. 04:11 This morning also there is an unwritten thing that will 04:15 happen, there is a proper way to associate with church 04:19 leadership, and we want to show that in a very real, 04:23 practical way this morning. 04:25 So if I could ask the first question to get us started. 04:29 We have had a conference and focused on being unashamed. 04:34 We have focused on commitment to spiritual things in a 04:38 practical way, we have talked about creation, we have 04:43 talked about being unashamed of the gospel. 04:45 I think this question fits within that. 04:47 I will open it up to anyone, as leaders of the General 04:51 Conference, would you speak to the commitment level of 04:54 the GC leadership as well as the global leadership to 04:58 the authority of Scripture, even when it cuts 05:02 across cultural practices. 05:09 Dr. Mark: Culture should never dictate Scripture. 05:12 John 17:17 Jesus says, Thy word is truth. 05:15 The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventist is 05:18 clear on the authority of Scripture. 05:21 Scripture always transcends culture. 05:24 Now there can be cultural aspects in which Paul says, 05:28 "I become of all things to all men. " 05:31 So methods can be adapted, not theology. 05:37 Israel: Thank you, I wish Elder Finley I would have asked 05:39 that question because I was suppose to have a 05:41 follow-up question to you, but here it goes anyway. 05:46 Recently most of us are aware of, recently there have 05:50 been some public criticisms on the Internet regarding 05:53 the amounts of money spent on public evangelism in the 05:56 form of net type campaigns. 05:58 Are there other successful methods that are more cost- 06:02 effective in public evangelism? 06:05 Dr. Mark: Well most the people who are criticizing public 06:08 evangelism are not doing it. Audience: Amen! Amen! 06:12 And there is a lot of critics, and if they had a better 06:14 method at winning more souls, praise the Lord. 06:18 But when you look at Net Evangelism, we already have 06:21 the airtime on 3ABN or Hope Channel. 06:23 If you uplink one series, you might have 5000, 3000, 06:29 2000 churches and groups in their homes participating. 06:37 I would ask Jesus, what is the worth of a soul? 06:41 I would ask the young people here, how many of you have 06:44 ever attended a Net Evangelistic Event? 06:47 May I see your hands? 06:48 How many of you have ever been blessed by it? 06:50 How many of you have been baptized as the result of a 06:53 Net Event, may I see your hands? 06:56 Was it too expensive for you? Certainly not! 06:59 So do we look for better methods of evangelism? 07:02 Definitely, should we find better methods? Certainly! 07:06 But Jesus words in Mark 16:16, "go preach the gospel" 07:10 still ring with relevance. 07:14 Dr. Bill: There are some of us here who owe an immense 07:16 amount to public evangelism. 07:18 I spent a moment a while back thinking about the fact 07:21 that my paternal grandfather came into the Adventist 07:24 church through the Ministry of HMJ Richards, 07:27 the father of HMS senior. 07:29 My maternal grandmother, and my mother, through the 07:32 Ministry of Glenn Kuhn. 07:33 My wife through the Ministry of Mark Finley, I owe an 07:37 amazing amount to public evangelism and I always will. 07:42 Dr. Ella: May I just add just a note? 07:45 I just wonder why we always feel that there must be an 07:50 either or, as opposed to using all of the methods that 07:55 are available to us. 07:56 I believe that is the example that we receive from Jesus. 08:00 Amy: Elder Ratsara, I think with you being a Division 08:03 President, you might be able to help us answer this question. 08:06 Many young adults are ignorant of how the church works 08:08 beyond their local church and pastor. 08:11 Can you help us to understand the necessity of our 08:13 system of church structure which includes local church, 08:16 conference, union, division, and the General conference? 08:18 Ratsara Thank you so much, our God is a God of order. 08:23 And He has given us a wonderful structure to support 08:28 the mission of the church. 08:30 When it comes to the structure of the church, we have 08:35 four levels, four levels of our structure. 08:40 Which one of them, one of the levels is divided actually 08:44 into two, we will know that later on. 08:46 We have first the local church, the local churches are 08:51 made of all the individual members of the church. 08:56 And then we have the local conferences, or local 09:01 missions, or field of section depending where they are talking 09:07 But it is the same level. 09:10 So the local conference is made up of local churches. 09:16 We have many, many conferences all around the world. 09:22 Then we have the union, the union is a union that is 09:28 made up of local conferences. 09:31 The union is called the building block of the General 09:36 Conference, and then the fourth level from the top is 09:41 the General Conference, which is divided into 13 divisions. 09:50 A division is a branch of the General Conference, 09:55 so you can see it is well structured to push 10:00 forward for our mission to go forward. 10:03 This is a wonderful structure that the Lord has given us. 10:08 Justin: Thank you, it is always good and interesting for us to 10:11 understand that structure, because I think it exists 10:14 for a reason and a purpose. 10:16 If I can set the tone on the panel a little bit and get 10:20 real with you guys for second, and gal, we understand 10:24 that the church exists to protect our fundamental beliefs, 10:29 and I just want to read a question and 10:31 we have many that came in because I think it is 10:33 on the hearts of people. 10:34 Some, not all of our colleges and universities 10:37 continue to hire and protect professors who do not believe 10:41 in our core beliefs, such as creation. 10:44 Many youths have lost their faith under such teachers. 10:49 How can this be stopped? 10:52 Audience shouting Amen! 10:56 Dr. Ella: I tend to think that comes to me. 10:58 Justin: It was open to anyone. 11:01 There is of course not enough time to deal adequately 11:05 with that question, yet I believe we can lay some 11:10 fundamental blocks of understanding here. 11:14 First of all, my personal stand, and the stand of the church is 11:19 is that Seventh-day Adventist schools at all levels, including 11:24 colleges and universities exist for one purpose. 11:29 In most countries of the world today there are excellent 11:33 systems of education, but we operate Seventh-day 11:38 Adventist education institutions to pass on, 11:42 to teach Seventh-day Adventist world perspective, spiritual 11:48 understanding, Scriptural knowledge and so forth. 11:52 Ellen White said, and we must hold on to this, that 11:57 education and redemption are one. 12:01 If our schools are not thoroughly and uniquely Seventh- 12:08 day Adventist, they should not exist. 12:11 We have no reason for them other than that they are 12:14 thoroughly Seventh-day Adventist. 12:17 Then that indicates that in order to get a Seventh-day 12:21 Adventist education, we need, we have an imperative for 12:26 Seventh day Adventist, committed practicing Seventh-day 12:31 Adventist faculty, leadership, and staff. 12:36 We have all been in a position in which individuals have 12:39 been hired into our schools who have not been Seventh- 12:42 day Adventist and we appreciate our colleagues, but 12:46 either they will betray themselves as good Christians 12:50 by teaching what we believe, if they are not Seventh-day 12:53 Adventist, or they betray us by teaching something other 12:57 than Seventh-day Adventist beliefs in our schools. 13:01 It is clear from Genesis to Revelation that academics 13:06 and spirituality are one. 13:09 The divisions that you hear about, that we read about, 13:13 are false, they are a work, a tool of the devil. 13:17 Clearly, I could go on and on, but maybe I should let 13:20 someone else have a point on this. 13:22 We have a responsibility to make our schools, all of 13:26 them everywhere, thoroughly Seventh-day Adventist. 13:29 Justin: Yeah I really appreciate that, I think the key for me 13:33 is that you responded to it that if they are not teaching, they 13:36 essentially are not Adventist institutions as we know it. 13:39 If I could go with a follow-up question on that, 13:43 actually go ahead Mike. 13:45 Dr. Mike: I just wanted to make a quick comment that sometimes 13:48 when you are addressing this issue, it is important to 13:50 keep in mind that it is not just church leadership that 13:53 addresses it, but it is laypeople and church leadership 13:56 working together, and that is what will provide a 13:59 solution that will be of a permanent nature and one that 14:03 is progressive for the kingdom. 14:05 Justin: So what can we do as young people? 14:08 Dr. Ted: There is a very practical way in which church 14:12 members can address the needs and the confusing situation, 14:18 at times, on campuses and that is to work through the 14:22 system, it is so important to have leadership at 14:26 colleges and universities who are absolutely committed 14:30 the 28 fundamentals beliefs. 14:32 To the word of God, to the three Angels messages. 14:35 There are many of our administrators who are like 14:39 that, but it is important that you work through them and 14:43 through the board of trustees. 14:45 Those people are responsible for those institutions 14:48 and that is where you, in a practical way, can actually 14:52 influence the people by simply talking to them, 14:55 calling them, e-mailing them, dialoguing with them. 14:59 It will make a difference, you need to make your voice known. 15:03 Dr. Ella: May I just add a point? 15:06 You said as young people, and I'm thinking as young 15:10 people, as students you have a responsibility to stand 15:14 for truth in these institutions. 15:18 In the classrooms, if you stand and you are honest in 15:22 your communication of what is happening, those who have 15:26 responsibilities and the desire to make a difference, 15:30 will have, shall we say, the foundation from which to 15:34 operate to make the difference. 15:36 Often those of us who travel around the world, 15:39 who sit in various offices who are not out of touch 15:43 with the church, but who are focused in different 15:46 places, at different times, really do not know exactly 15:50 what is happening in a given class room. 15:53 But if you stand for truth, if you stand for what is 15:58 right, everyone here will stand behind you. 16:03 Israel: Thank you, we appreciate that. 16:04 When you say stand for truth we hear make your voice 16:08 heard, stand for truth, all these things are very 16:12 positive and encouraging for us. 16:13 Working through the system, I think the bottom-line 16:17 question is what does that mean? 16:19 How do we do that? 16:21 How do we work through the system in a proper way? 16:23 Does it mean in a classroom setting, if my professor is 16:26 saying something that is clearly not in line with what 16:29 I understand the Bible to be, do I stand in class and 16:32 say something, to write him a letter? 16:33 What are the ways in which we can stand for truth and 16:36 work through the system, and how does this all tie into, it 16:40 is like the question asked regarding church structure. 16:43 We don't understand the church structure. 16:45 Can I write a letter to the GC president or any 16:48 president, what would be working through the system? 16:51 Dr. Ella: I want to start with a personal example, and then 16:54 anyone here can answer this specific question. 16:57 I want to say welcome to Louisville everyone, 17:01 this is my town, this is my hometown. 17:04 I grew up here and my family was not Seventh-day 17:06 Adventist, I joined the Seventh-day Adventist church 17:10 at age 16, so I made a decision as a young person. 17:14 I did not have the blessing of Seventh-day Adventist 17:17 education, I attended universities right here. 17:21 Indiana University, the University of Louisville. 17:24 I did get Andrews in later on. 17:27 But right here in this town I did my doctoral work. 17:32 First of all you must always conduct yourself as Jesus 17:37 would, you do not need to attack the professor in class. 17:42 I had to deal with this in a real situation. 17:47 For example, I can remember I would always say when 17:50 called upon to answer those questions, evolution, 17:54 let's go right there. 17:55 I believed that as a scholar I need to know the theories 17:59 of evolution, but never to accept it as fact. 18:03 So I would always have to say in class, and all my test 18:08 papers, according to you this is what has happened, 18:13 although I still believe it is six days, God created 18:18 the heaven and earth and so forth. 18:19 So there is a way to do it without creating a problem. 18:23 People will respect you even while they continue to 18:26 disagree with you. 18:28 Dr. Mark: To follow up on what Ella has said, there is a 18:33 difference between a teacher who makes a comment in 18:38 class that I may not fully understand, and they may have 18:42 a different perception of truth than I do, and a blatant 18:47 open statement that violates the tenets of Scripture 18:53 in the Adventist church. 18:55 The comment on academic freedom, in a sense academic 19:00 freedom is a myth and here is why. 19:03 When I agree to teach in a Seventh day Adventist 19:10 College, by that very agreement I agree to be supported 19:16 by seventh day Adventist tuition dollars, from Seventh- 19:20 day Adventist parents who want a Seventh-day Adventist 19:24 education. Audience: Amen! 19:27 So I voluntarily, by choice, I give up freedom to teach 19:35 contrary to Seventh-day Adventist values, and if 19:39 I can't do that, the thing to do; and be intellectually 19:43 honest, is to say, I no longer believe that, and go teach 19:47 someplace else, where that can be accepted. 19:51 So academic freedom, there are Catholic universities, whose 19:55 boards meet; who dismissed recently, teachers because they 19:58 weren't teaching Catholic theology in their University. 20:02 Presbyterian boards and Lutheran Boards who meet, 20:08 so the issue is, yes as Adventist we work together, 20:13 we work in harmony and love, but the intellectually 20:17 honest thing to do, for somebody who may no longer 20:21 believe Adventist theology, is to find a place where 20:24 they can teach in harmony with what they believe. 20:27 Amy: Elder Schneider I would like to ask you a question that 20:30 is related to that, for those professors who may not 20:34 take that integrity position and remove themselves, 20:37 I think this question is directed that way. 20:40 Recently there has been an online petition asking the 20:43 General Conference to tolerate monogamous 20:46 homosexual relationships. 20:48 Some of those signers were ministers and professors 20:51 of our schools. 20:52 Some sits on boards of organizations that teach very 20:55 divergent doctrines, what should be done when church 20:58 employees, receiving a check from the church, openly 21:00 seeks to undermine the very teachings they endorse? 21:03 Audience: Amen! Amen! Amen! 21:08 All the people, that we talk about, are people. 21:14 We need to deal with all the people in a Christian way. 21:20 Even people that are very, very different in their way 21:25 of thinking than we might be. 21:28 If I am given an opportunity to deal with an issue like 21:34 that, I really want to deal with it by talking with the 21:41 person in a setting where that person and I can visit 21:47 back-and-forth as opposed to a trial setting. 21:52 It seems to me like a trial setting causes a conflict 21:58 that may not be necessary. 22:01 Since I have been in the jobs I have been in for the 22:07 last 30 years or so, it has been my job to deal with 22:12 people, some of them I have asked to quit. 22:17 Very rarely, almost always as we visit, I can find a 22:23 time to ask a question, are you having a lot of fun 22:29 doing what you are doing? 22:31 People who are not supportive of this church are by in 22:36 large not having fun either. 22:39 And people who are not enjoying what they are doing, 22:45 are not doing a good job supporting this church often. 22:52 That leads me to another point then. 22:54 I say, if you are not having fun, and you are not 22:59 really into the mission of this church, would you want 23:03 me to help you find something else? 23:07 Almost always, that has taken care of the issue for me. 23:13 Almost never have I said, okay next Tuesday we go to 23:18 trial, be ready because were coming at you. 23:21 That just has not been necessary in my experience. 23:26 Justin: Thank you, I guess to sum these questions up 23:30 in a sense, we asked them as young people because there 23:35 is a sense of concern. 23:36 We love the church, we love creation, we love God 23:41 creating man and woman to marry and all these things, 23:46 to do with the homosexuality thing. 23:48 Sometimes we get a sense that these things are not being 23:53 dealt with quickly, or quickly enough. 23:57 I think it goes with young people, if this is happening, 24:00 let's do something right now. 24:03 But we also asked that question from our mentors. 24:07 Why is there a sense from young people that it doesn't 24:09 feel like it is happening quick enough? 24:11 Why isn't, we talked about creation, homosexuality, 24:15 why is this something being done quicker? 24:17 Dr. Ted: Probably one of the basic reasons, touching on this, 24:23 touching on creation and many other subjects has to do 24:27 with something we started out with, and that is the 24:31 authority of Scripture. 24:33 As society has permeated the church, as we have become 24:40 more quotes sophisticated, we have lost a sense of the 24:46 word of God in a literal understanding as being 24:50 authoritative in our lives, and in our institutions. 24:55 I think as we address these situations, they have to be 25:00 done within the light of Scripture. 25:03 The Scripture is very clear on homosexuality, 25:06 it doesn't mean that we cannot deal with the 25:10 situation in a Christ-like manner, as Elder Schneider 25:13 has said and others. 25:15 It needs to be done carefully, but society should not 25:20 impact the way we view truth. 25:24 Scripture has to be presented first and I think more 25:28 and more administrators need to understand that. 25:32 When they do, and when they fully accept that, things 25:36 will move a little more quickly than you are seeing 25:39 at the present time. 25:41 The conference that took place at Andrews University 25:45 in October is a prime example of how some individuals 25:49 who are very interested in the area of marriage and 25:52 homosexuality, were able to put together a very profound 25:58 conference they came down very strongly on the word 26:01 of God, but with care and with love. 26:04 But it is very clear what God says. 26:07 Israel: Maybe just to follow up from Elder Ryan. 26:11 The Seventh-day Adventist church doesn't come to this 26:14 subject in neutral, we have a position and it is 26:17 Biblical, we know what it is. 26:18 I think Elder Schneider's counsel is very, very good. 26:22 I wonder what the disciples thought? 26:24 There have to be some of them that were just a little 26:28 suspicious about Judas, and yet Christ went year after 26:31 year and didn't take care of it. 26:36 I wonder if we can't learn something from that. 26:39 I think Elder Schneider, counsel is very good. 26:42 The fact that let's deal with people as Christ would 26:46 deal with them, it doesn't change the truth. 26:49 We have a position and we know what it is, but I think 26:53 our first responsibility is when we finished is to say, 26:56 did I act like Jesus? 26:59 Dr. Paul: I would like to also add, I really believe that we 27:06 are the church, we need to take a firm stand and we have 27:10 done that as a corporate, we have statements that are 27:16 written on top of what we need to do as leaders and as 27:21 members as we have already stated, Elder Schneider and 27:26 Doctor Ryan said. 27:27 I do believe we need to apply this principle. 27:33 The best way to combat error is to emphasize the truth. 27:39 So I feel the need, that we need to do more emphasizing 27:46 the truth, we need to spend more time and I would say 27:53 study more, talk about this and gradually, while we emphasize 27:59 truth, then we are bringing to light and gradually darkness, 28:05 it will go away. 28:07 On top of the administrative approach that we are doing 28:11 and by the way you know in the division, that is the 28:16 approach we are doing. 28:17 On top of that, we need to emphasize the truth, 28:21 and the truth will triumph. 28:23 Dr. Mark: There is an example from early Adventist history 28:26 that is very instructive, although the Seventh-day 28:30 Adventist church today faces, at times, the introduction of 28:34 doctoral heresies, this is not new in the church. 28:39 Over 100 years ago, John Harvey Kellogg introduced into 28:44 the Adventist church pantheistic theories. 28:47 When they came in, they came in subtly at first and 28:51 there were those Adventist leaders that said meet this, 28:56 hit it head on, purge the church. 29:00 They came to Ellen White and Ellen White said, not yet. 29:06 Why? Her heart was Pastoral, she wanted to save as 29:11 many people as possible. 29:13 The apostasy was not fully developed and she recognized 29:17 that if church leadership moved too quickly, people 29:21 along the way would be lost. 29:24 Many people may grasp the fringes of an idea, but it 29:29 takes time to work with them, as Elder Schneider has 29:33 mentioned, in kindness and love. 29:36 So why doesn't the church move more quickly at times? 29:41 It is because the loving heart of Christ longs to redeem 29:46 everybody possible and to work with people. 29:50 But there was a point where the pantheistic heresy was 29:55 affecting so many young people that the church had to 29:58 meet it and Ellen White said, that she was given a 30:02 dream by God, and He said meet the apostasy. 30:06 Meet it head-on! 30:08 So there comes a blend, and I know we are dealing with 30:12 young people who want us to be real. 30:14 We are real leaders, we love this church, we believe in 30:20 the supremacy of the word of God. 30:23 But we also have hearts of pastors. 30:25 We want to see our teachers, many of whom, a vast 30:29 majority of whom love Jesus and are committed to this 30:34 church, there may be some who teach some things that are 30:37 not totally in harmony with the fundamentals, but even 30:42 they have hearts to be redeemed for God's kingdom. 30:47 So we have that delicate balance, of walking that tight 30:50 rope between the Pastoral love that reaches out to 30:54 redeem and protecting the church from apostasy. 30:57 Please pray that as leaders we will know when to be 31:00 tender and went to meet it. 31:02 Israel: I would like to follow up that question Elder Finley. 31:07 I think it is great and it's enlightening to us. 31:10 To me somewhat assuring that there is a Pastoral 31:14 approach rather than just oversight, which is what the 31:17 fear of the young people sometimes is. 31:20 As a follow up question, sometimes there is a 31:23 perception; some, not all, church leaders seem to be 31:26 negative towards supporting ministries that have a track 31:29 record for upholding the teachings, policies, and 31:31 leadership of our church. 31:33 While other entities, and even workers who undermine our 31:36 teachings seem to have lost a lot of affirmation. 31:39 Then, how can this be? What can be done to call everyone 31:42 to the same accountability? 31:44 Sometimes it seems as though we're Pastoral in situations 31:48 where, as you just mentioned, while at the same time not 31:51 showing the same type of Pastoral ministry toward other 31:55 ministries that might in some way try to support the church 31:59 in its distinctive teachings. 32:01 Dr. Ted: I think one of the most important things, and we get 32:04 back to practical counsel, Israel is what you're asking 32:07 about, how do we make a difference when a school, or 32:11 whatever and the same thing has to do with any kind of 32:16 supporting ministry activity. 32:18 You have to let people know what you are doing, 32:22 who you are, you have to make contact. 32:24 Leaders are people, like you're trying to prove today. 32:28 You simply have to get closer to people and explain it. 32:33 Let me just say it is absolutely wonderful to be at 32:37 GYC, I have been here since Wednesday night and I have 32:41 been thrilled, I have been so encouraged by the 32:45 commitment of the young people to the church, 32:48 and to the principles of the church, and to Scripture, 32:52 and to what the advent movement is really about. 32:57 Now once people get a flavor of that, all doubts are 33:00 going to be dismissed, and you have publicly stated from 33:04 this platform, that GYC supports the Seventh-day 33:09 Adventist church and always will. 33:10 Once people understand that, they are not going to be as 33:14 hesitant and it is the same with many other 33:17 supporting ministries. 33:18 People simply don't know exactly what you are doing. 33:23 Some people, unfortunately, are opposed simply because 33:27 their world view is completely different. 33:31 And you just have to accept that. 33:33 But I would highly encourage supporting ministries, 33:36 and GYC has already proven it, that you are so loyal 33:40 to the church and its values and its mission, people 33:44 shouldn't have a question. 33:46 Israel: I appreciate that, but I want to make sure that we are 33:48 also addressing the other part of the question which is 33:52 in some cases I know we seek to be Pastoral, and I 33:56 believe that is great. 33:57 I think it is great, we need to win our brothers and 34:01 sisters and sometimes as young people we overlook that. 34:04 So we appreciate you bringing it to our attention Elder Finley 34:08 which sometimes causes us a little bit of self reflection. 34:12 I guess the part of the question that strikes me more 34:16 than anything is, sometimes ministries are given 34:20 affirmation by certain parts of church leadership. 34:22 That is a perception that we sometimes receive. 34:25 That there is not just a Pastoral treatment of the 34:28 situation but actually affirmation is given to people 34:31 who are divergent or ministries or situations that are divergent 34:33 from our fundamental beliefs. 34:35 Dr. Mark: You have to distinguish Israel between 34:40 the affirmation given by an individual and the endorsement 34:44 given by the church. 34:47 The Seventh-day Adventist church at the General 34:50 Conference does not mussel its leadership. 34:53 So you are going to have people who may give individual 34:58 affirmation, but the Seventh-day Adventist church of the 35:04 General Conference gives endorsement to supporting 35:07 ministries through the ASI organization. 35:10 The reason we are here today is to give 35:13 endorsement to this ministry. 35:15 Now there are two other aspects of this I want to 35:18 discuss, what is a supporting ministry? 35:21 How do you define a supporting ministry? 35:24 A supporting ministry is a ministry that is in harmony 35:28 with the mission message and organization of the Seventh- 35:31 day Adventist church, but generates its own 35:35 financial support, so there is no difference in loyalty 35:39 to mission message and organization. 35:42 The only difference is that it generates its own 35:44 financial support. 35:45 An independent ministry by definition is one who stands 35:49 outside of the church and becomes a corrective of the 35:52 church and criticizes the church. 35:54 So you have two ends of the spectrum, you have 35:57 independent ministries who see the church in apostasy 36:01 and who correct it, who attempt to correct it. 36:05 The fundamental issue there its unsanctified pride. 36:08 On the other end of the spectrum you have liberalism, 36:12 who believes it has grown beyond the church, that it's 36:15 positions are archaic and want to reform the church, 36:18 by getting it to deny its fundamental beliefs. 36:22 That also is pride, so whether you look at the ultra- 36:27 right, the critical independences, or the ultra-left 36:32 the liberals, the fundamental issue is pride. 36:35 We at the General Conference want to bring people 36:39 toward the center of the 28 fundamental beliefs that 36:42 support this church in the mission to take 36:45 the gospel to the world. 36:46 Dr. Bill: One of the ways in which those of us who work in 36:51 the General Conference-based ministries are learning to 36:54 think about our work is to identify what God is doing 36:58 in the church, and try to get in on it. 37:00 That means coming to GYC, that means listening 37:04 carefully, that means praying in the hall with young people, 37:07 that means letting our own hearts and minds be affected 37:09 by the movement and the phenomenon we are experiencing 37:13 here, in that we become supportive ministries of what 37:16 you are doing, and that is the definition 37:18 we intend to work with. 37:19 Dr. Mike: You know I have had an opportunity to work in a lot of 37:24 frontline mission projects. 37:26 Many people come to me and say, well we have a 37:30 supporting ministry that wants to come and help us, 37:32 is it okay? We don't know who they are. 37:34 Well there is a system that we have within the church 37:39 that gives approval to supporting ministries. 37:44 ASI is an organization we use to say look at them, 37:48 if you are part of ASI then we sometimes give a nod. 37:52 But actually there's a much more biblical explanation 37:56 in the end, in the very end. 37:58 Isaiah 8:20, to the law and to the testimony if they don't 38:01 speak according to this word, there is no light in them. 38:05 And many times a supporting ministry will prove itself 38:08 or not prove itself, based on that principle. 38:12 There is a reputation that begins to move forward. 38:15 I think there's no question that as people rally around 38:22 the mission, the message and they are interested 38:25 passionately and proclaiming Christ to the world. 38:28 If they take that up, they will become partners with the church. 38:32 Amy: Just as a follow up to that, are we sure that all the 38:35 ministries represented at the General Conference session 38:39 are supportive of the church mission? 38:41 Audience: Hardy Amen, chuckling. 38:47 Dr. Ted: Are you talking about ministries in the exhibit 38:51 session? Yes! 38:54 There is a committee that works carefully to try and 38:58 screen those who are there. 39:00 They do their best, and certainly the ASI standard is 39:05 held very high, there may be some things that slip in 39:10 here and there, they shouldn't, but by in large, 39:14 by God's grace we hope the committee does a good job. 39:17 It is very careful in the way things are planned for 39:21 the General Conference session. 39:22 Amy: I'm sure you choose Godly people to sit on that committee, 39:26 each of you are in that leader- ship position as Justin said, 39:29 and we look up to you as very Godly leaders. 39:32 I think I speak for the three of us, and many of the 39:35 young people here, we too desire to become Godly leaders 39:38 one day, what do you look for when you are hiring 39:41 someone? How can we develop into those Godly leaders? 39:43 How can we seek mentorship from people like yourselves, 39:46 from other people can help train us to be those people? 39:48 What would you suggest for us to do? 39:53 Yes, that is a very good question. 39:57 Dr. Paul: Because the future of the church is in Jesus Christ 40:03 through leadership, so that is for an example, 40:08 Southern African division, is a major portion of the 40:13 role of leadership to mentor young people and young 40:19 leaders because it's success without is a successor failure. 40:24 So what I have found, at least three qualities that we 40:33 want to develop for in leadership. 40:36 First of all, the church is a spiritual organization. 40:41 So the first qualification, the first quality we need 40:46 to develop is spirituality. 40:48 We need to be very close to the Lord. 40:51 We need to allow God to lead us so that we can lead 40:54 people, we don't want to mislead the church. 40:57 So spirituality is very important and vital aspect when 41:05 it comes to the quality of leadership. 41:07 Then, secondly, is love. We need to lead by love. 41:13 Jesus Christ is the top leader, He is the example and 41:18 that is why we are still worshiping Him now, because He 41:23 led by love, He sacrificed Himself. 41:26 So by the grace of God we need to develop this loving spirit, 41:30 because once people know that you love them, then they 41:36 will follow you, so love is very important. 41:41 Then thirdly, is excellence. 41:44 We need to ask God to help us to be effective and 41:50 efficient, getting things done, well organized. 41:55 So we can bring success to the work of the Lord because 42:01 you cannot debate success. 42:03 They are three things, spirituality, loving sacrifice, 42:08 and work hard. 42:10 Dr. Ted: Can I jump in on this? 42:13 I think God uses people who are humble. 42:18 He doesn't need people who have every kind of an answer 42:22 for everything, He can use people who are even less 42:26 educated than one might want to be able to accomplish 42:29 things, humility is one of the most important things. 42:33 Which means complete submission to God. 42:35 In addition to that, people who are good listeners. 42:42 People who don't just jump to conclusions. 42:45 People who don't just categorize things immediately, 42:49 but they listen carefully. 42:51 People who certainly love God and love human beings, 42:56 that is so important, integrity. 42:59 I think of Micah 6:8 sums it up, it sums it up. 43:03 Do justly, be fair, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God. 43:10 Those are the kinds of leaders that God is going to use. 43:14 He is going to pull them out, and there are plenty 43:16 of them right here at GYC. 43:18 Dr. Bill: If I can add one more quality to what my brothers have 43:21 suggested, it's tenacity. 43:22 Many times as a young person, you may have a God driven 43:27 idea, a dream in your life, in your mind. 43:29 You may approach a church leader and may discover, 43:33 initially, not the overwhelming acceptance you are 43:35 seeking, or even an affirmation you think it deserves. 43:39 Be tenacious, come back a second time, and a third time 43:42 if necessary, pray with that individual, go back and 43:45 look at your idea and share with other Godly friends. 43:48 Don't stop with the first no you get. 43:52 The system works if we are tenacious, I have experienced 43:56 that in my own life as a young person working with 43:58 student government on Adventist campuses. 44:00 The system will work if we will go back and carefully 44:04 plan, re-draft, re-direct, come back a second and third 44:07 time, you will discover the success 44:09 God intended for your idea. 44:11 Let me put a little pretext to your response because I 44:14 want to direct a question in this realm specifically to 44:18 you Doctor Simmons because we have Godly women in our 44:22 leadership at GYC. 44:24 Our first president with a female, and I see you are 44:27 a female amongst men, on that side of the panel. 44:30 I wonder from your perspective, 44:32 can you address the female leadership? 44:35 Dr. Ella: Certainly, let me address this in 44:41 a general way first. 44:43 But perhaps this is really important, maybe more 44:47 important for women today, since you state the question 44:51 with that perspective. 44:53 Young people, when you have all the rich knowledge base 44:58 that you must have, all the professional and vocational 45:03 skills, all the dispositions of humility, and you are 45:08 tenacious, remember you must be committed 45:14 to your God and Him only. 45:18 We want to be real, we see in our church so often 45:21 individuals, male and female, clamoring for a position. 45:27 That is not of God. 45:30 There is a difference between your call and being 45:34 tenacious about staying on track, pursuing that which 45:38 God has called you to do. 45:40 Then setting your sights on a position and then 45:43 manipulating your way through the system, your network, 45:47 your contacts, what ever, to get there, that is not of God. 45:52 So I say to all, and particularly to women, 45:55 because I do have a burden for the young women 45:59 for whom I am simply a forerunner. 46:03 God has special things He wants to do through you for 46:09 this church and for this world. 46:12 Our system is not exactly structured to receive women 46:17 as openly as it receives men, that comes from tradition 46:23 and a comfort with the way things have been. 46:26 But our church is changing, and young women then, you must 46:31 be prepared to take up that work that God has set before you. 46:36 I love all the Paul says about the Christian existence, 46:42 but this is particularly applicable to coming into the 46:47 work, as we call it, working for the church. 46:51 Paul says for us to run the race, in Hebrews 12, 46:55 run the race that has been marked out for us. 46:59 We think about running the race, but in that he says 47:03 that has been marked out for you. 47:05 God has a specific plan for each one of us, including 47:10 for women, yes you must be tenacious women. 47:15 Do not allow the system, the systems of this world, 47:20 or the traditional systems of the church to deter you 47:24 from doing what God has called you to do. 47:28 And then please, do not act in unseemly ways in trying 47:33 to move into that which God has called you. 47:36 I remember in this country when women's liberation was 47:40 a big thing, women went out to the street and marched. 47:44 Voices have to be heard, but there is a way to do 47:48 things, particularly for Christian women. 47:51 I remember one of the foremost leaders, in this country, 47:55 make this statement, she said women, we have arrived. 48:00 We have now become the men that we wanted to marry. 48:05 If I ever hear an Adventist woman say that, I think it 48:10 is over for all of us. 48:12 Audience: laughing! 48:13 No, we do not want to become men, we don't want to 48:17 outdo men, we want to take our positions along side 48:22 the men of the church and do what God created women 48:26 in the beginning to do. 48:28 We are not to take over, but we are not to be dominated 48:33 either, we are to be equal partners in what God has 48:37 called every individual, in this church, to do. 48:41 So prepare yourself, but please remember to maintain 48:46 your feminine Christian dignity in doing that. 48:49 That does not mean you are weak, in fact it means you 48:53 must be tougher than the men and 48:56 Ellen White says this, there are times that the women 49:00 are stronger than the men, maybe because we start off 49:04 in a weaker position and God has to give us more. 49:08 I don't know, but we must be tough, but we must 49:11 remember who we are and whose we are. 49:17 Audience: Hardy Amen! 49:21 Israel: If I can, for a moment, Mr. President, say hi to my 49:23 wife who is watching us on TV right now. 49:28 I love you Judy, where is the camera? 49:29 Audience: Laughing 49:33 I have a question here for us. 49:36 Maybe our division presidents, I know some have served 49:38 in divisions and are no longer in division's but this 49:41 might be something appropriate for you to answer also. 49:43 In the light of the Catholic priest molestation, 49:46 televangelist dishonesty, and all the secular scandals 49:50 there have recently been on television; what can we do 49:54 as Adventists to improve and safeguard our own global church 49:58 system where transparencies and accountability 50:01 that reassures us as membership? 50:06 Dr. Paul: The church is like a family, and when we read the 50:11 Bible, the Bible says many times, family of God. 50:16 For a family not only to survive, but to thrive, 50:21 we need transparency and accountability. 50:26 So we need to take the church as a family with their 50:31 accountability and transparency are required. 50:35 How are we doing that? 50:38 You see we have a system already, but many times we 50:43 don't really make good use of the system. 50:47 We have already a check and balance in our system. 50:52 Through the representative our form of governance is 50:57 represented from the local church, when we have a 51:01 conference session and we had the delegates from the 51:05 local churches, and then the union sessions. 51:08 So through the sessions that is already one. 51:11 Then through the boards and committees, that is a check 51:16 and balance already, but unfortunately sometimes we have 51:20 this system, but we don't really make good use of it. 51:24 So we need to look into the way we conduct our 51:29 businesses, that transparency is required. 51:33 That accountability is required, we have already an 51:38 auditing system in our church that all the organizations must 51:43 be audited, including the local church once a year according 51:48 to the church manual. 51:49 The conference's and up must be audited. 51:53 Then the last thing I want to emphasize and we are 51:58 trying to do this in SAD, Southern Africa division is 52:04 to be really intentional about the evaluation and 52:10 assessment, that is very important. 52:13 Sometimes you say whoa, this is a church don't 52:16 evaluate us, no, this is also a body. 52:20 We need to go into the evaluation 52:24 of the system strongly. 52:26 Lastly we need to be more open and sharing of 52:31 information, we need to allow the door to be opened 52:37 in a two-way communication. 52:39 That is where a leader must not be threatened by hard 52:42 questions, and actually we need to invite those 52:46 questions because we are together in this. 52:50 We are a family, if we foster that kind of spirit, 52:56 then transparency and accountability will be upheld. 53:01 Before you respond Elder Finley it is great that the church has 53:07 a system of accountability and we appreciate that system. 53:11 You mention sessions and boards and etc. 53:13 in some ways, I think those are great systems and 53:19 they are there for a reason. 53:22 I was just thinking, as you were mentioning these 53:25 things, Elder Ratsara, we are happy that Justin is 53:27 going to be at the GC session, but I was thinking to 53:30 myself, in Michigan Conference we have, our membership 53:33 will have maybe three delegates or so to the 53:36 General Conference session. 53:38 I think one of them, if I'm not mistaken, one might be 53:41 our President, Elder Gallimore. 53:44 Which means there is two an out of one of them is an 53:46 employee, and then all the criteria, so three people 53:49 have to divide that up. Like the reason I say that is 53:53 by the time you have the General Conference and from the 53:56 General Conference we get into the important meetings 53:59 even nominating committees, I'm thinking what is the 54:02 likelihood of anyone getting into a nominating 54:06 committee from just regular laity? 54:08 That might be an easy thing to happen, but from my 54:10 perspective, then someone to have a voice even in that 54:12 type of a large committee, 300 to 400 people. 54:14 I don't go how may sit in those committees. 54:16 I think it's great we have these checks and balances, 54:20 but are they really checks and balances? 54:21 I guess that's the question I'm really asking, is it really 54:25 a system of checks and balances as it is intended to be? 54:31 Dr. Mark: The General Conference session has just over 2000 54:35 delegates, many of those delegates are mandated by 54:40 the Constitution of the General Conference. 54:43 That Constitution is formulated by the 54:47 General Conference session and has been formulated 54:50 down through the years and can only be changed by 54:53 a General Conference session. 54:54 All the delegates who are representatives of the world 54:57 field, and when you think of the fact that Seventh-day 55:00 Adventists have a church of 16 million members 55:03 we have a representative form of government, 55:07 but although we have over 2000 delegates, 55:10 many of which are determined by the Constitution, there 55:16 are some delegates that are reserved to be appointed. 55:20 Over 300 of them by the General Conference themselves. 55:24 And it is a very interesting thing, our General 55:26 Conference President, Jan Paulsen recently meant with 55:30 each of the division presidents and urged them to look 55:34 at the delegates that were not assigned by position 55:39 mandated by the Constitution and consciously choose 55:43 youth to participate in the session. 55:46 So there are those numbers, which many people don't 55:50 realize, there is a certain number we can allocate 55:53 that the Constitution doesn't mandate and we are 55:56 looking specifically at young people because we want 55:58 them to participate in the process. 56:01 If I can draw us into a little bit of a conclusion here 56:07 and go back where we started. 56:09 We start with comments about the mission of the church. 56:12 Obviously we are all here for different reasons and 56:15 we all support the mission of the church and all these 56:18 things we spoke about our ways for us to do that. 56:21 You mentioned there are 16 million Adventists. 56:24 We are excited about that number, but it is weak 56:28 to be honest, there is a lot in the world. 56:32 There is a lot the United States that haven't heard 56:34 the name of Jesus because they don't have the 56:37 opportunity to hear the Seventh-day Adventist message. 56:39 I think in closing it would be good for you to 56:42 encourage us, what is being done? 56:45 It is not a good number, we don't like it 56:47 in closing what is being done, and specifically what 56:52 can we as young people do to help you finish this mission? 56:56 The Seventh-day Adventist church believes that it has been given 57:01 a mission mandated by God. 57:04 Matthew 24:14, Revelation 14:6, 7. 57:11 GYC can serve as a forum for young people urging, 57:18 encouraging, training to have one passion and one goal 57:23 and that is to preach the gospel to the world. 57:26 Amen, your participation in our conference, 57:29 your participation on this panel has meant a lot. 57:31 We hope you have sensed a pulse of the young people here at GYC. |
Revised 2014-12-17