What Has Been Done All Along

As mentioned previously, a new edition of the Church Manual was decided on by the General Conference Session which met in Atlanta a couple weeks ago. A transcript of the discussions and votes of each change item can be found on the Adventist Review website. We would like to highlight a couple of these exchanges on items of particular significance to Takoma Park and the Potomac Conference. Each item was introduced by the secretary of the General Conference Church Manual Committee, Homer Trecartin.

HOMER TRECARTIN: Mr. Chairman, there is an addition highlighting the interconnected relationship of church organizations…
“There are several organizational levels within the Church leading from the individual believer to the worldwide organization of the work. Membership units in each of these levels periodically convene formal business sessions known as constituency meetings or sessions. (The constituency meeting or session of a local church is generally referred to as a business meeting.) In Seventh-day Adventist Church structure, no organization determines its own status nor does it function as if it had no obligations to the Church family beyond its boundaries.”

This addition was officially moved and seconded, and the floor opened for discussion.

[Commenting Delegate #1]: I have a question on the last portion of this particular item. It says, "In Seventh-day Adventist Church structure, no organization determines its own status nor does it function as if it had no obligations to the Church family beyond its boundaries."
Can you explain why we need that? Have things changed? If so, how?

HOMER TRECARTIN: Mr. Chairman, I’m not sure that it’s because anything has changed, except that there have been several issues that have been dealt with in different areas where it needed to be clear that a local church does not vote itself to be a local church as part of that conference sisterhood of churches. That is voted by the conference. Just as a local conference can’t vote itself into existence, and say we are now part of the sisterhood of unions. Or a local union can’t vote itself into the sisterhood of unions in a division. And so there have been several issues, and it was felt that this clarification was needed to say that no organization in the Seventh-day Adventist Church votes its own status, but also to remind everyone that they have a responsibility to the world church and not just to their own territory.

At this point a delegate expressed the opinion that this statement was too broad and moved that it be referred back to the Church Manual Committee to have the language constricted. That motion was defeated and the discussion continued.

[Commenting Delegate #2]: This section that we are trying to add here is very important for the church. I am coming from a place where we have people who are trying to become [congregational], and this statement solves that problem of local churches usurping their authority of their conference session. Local churches are trying to work as though they operate without the entire church. They are on their own. In other words, this would protect the church from congregationalism, which some churches in parts of the world would like to assume.

After this comment the paragraph was voted on and approved for inclusion in the Church Manual.

The other significant item we would like to highlight was discussed a while later. Again, the item was introduced by Homer Trecartin.

HOMER TRECARTIN: On page 13, lines 4-11, are some additions further explaining the role of the General Conference session and the General Conference Executive Committee. Let me read that paragraph: "The General Conference in Session
determines the fundamental beliefs of the Church, authorizes establishment of unions and the attachment of field units, revises the Church Manual, elects General Conference and division leadership, performs other functions as outlined
in its Constitution and Bylaws, and considers items referred to it by its Executive Committee. The General Conference Executive Committee between Sessions is empowered by the Constitution and Bylaws to act on behalf of the constituents. Thus Church organizations around the world recognize the General
Conference as the voice of the Church." I would move approval of that addition.

The motion was seconded and discussion began. Some concern was voiced that the relationship between the General Conference and the fundamental beliefs needed to be more clearly stated. Specifically, it needed to be clear that our beliefs come from the Scriptures; the General Conference simply makes formal recognition of biblical tenets that have been identified. This item was eventually referred back to the Church Manual Committee for rewording to clarify this point, but not before the following unrelated and significant exchange took place.

[Commenting delegate #3]: The motion changes the church structure from being largely federal to being central and giving importance to the General Conference. This is being done now in the fifty-ninth session. I just want to know if there is anything that led to this thinking.

HOMER TRECARTIN: There is no intention of changing the structure of the church. The practice all along has been that our stated fundamental beliefs are approved by the General Conference in session. But the Church Manual didn’t say that. The General Conference session has always elected division leadership and some of these other things, but the Church Manual didn’t say that. And because of various situations that have been arising, we felt it was important that those be clearly stated. It’s not changing anything; it’s just writing down what has been done all along.

The Church Manual Committee met during Session to consider items that had been referred back to it by the delegates. They then reported back to the business meeting with any changes made as a result of the consultation. The following is the final form of this paragraph, which was reintroduced to the delegates and approved for inclusion in the new edition of the Manual.

The Bible is the foundation and source of belief and practice; on this basis, the General Conference in Session determines the stated fundamental beliefs of the Church. The General Conference in Session also authorizes establishment of unions and the attachment of field units, revises the Church Manual, elects General Conference and division leadership, performs other functions as outlined in its Constitution and Bylaws, and considers items referred to it by its Executive Committee. The General Conference Executive Committee between Sessions is empowered by the Constitution and Bylaws to act on behalf of the constituents. Thus Church organizations around the world recognize the General Conference in Session as the voice of the Church.

“In Seventh-day Adventist Church structure, no organization determines its own status nor does it function as if it had no obligations to the Church family beyond its boundaries.” This statement flies in the face of the interpretation maintained by the Takoma Park pastors and Potomac Conference leadership regarding the local church business meeting’s authority. To paraphrase an old saying, no church entity is an island. Each has relationships and obligations to other entities which are spelled out, among other places, in the Church Manual. We offer the caveat “among other places” because the Manual primarily addresses the relationship between the conference and the local church. Other relationships are described in the Working Policy, etc. All of these policy documents have a common source: the General Conference. “Thus Church organizations around the world recognize the General Conference in Session as the voice of the Church.” And, as Elder Trecartin pointed out, none of this is really new. This is the way the Church has always been understood to operate. The only difference is that these understandings are now being formally articulated to address efforts by some to operate outside the common understanding that has existed all along.