Heredity
As the Platinum Jubilee of Queen
Elizabeth II approaches, people in Britain look forward to a supplementary bank
holiday and various celebrations commemorating the rule of their monarch. As a
young woman, Elizabeth pledged to serve her country and the commonwealth for as
long as she lives and she has, indeed, become the longest-serving ruler in
British history, now marking seventy years as a queen. It was, however, not a
role that she had sought. Following in her father’s footsteps, the reluctant
king, she accepted her calling with all it involved out of a sense of duty. Becoming
the Queen changed the course of her whole life. And she is still at it at 96.
Many Seventh-day Adventists (SDA)
were born into their church and have accepted the faith, passed on from their
parents. Generations of Adventists have served their church out of a sense of
duty, instilled by the great missionary challenge. The same missionary spirit
that led the Apostle Paul to give priority to service and evangelism in his
life motivates them.[1]
Their lives have been impacted and changed because of their involvement in the
Adventist church. Many have given life-long service.
It is a coincidence that the Queen’s
Jubilee celebrations and the next session of the General Conference (GC)of
Seventh-day Adventists in St. Louis are only a couple of days apart at the
beginning of June 2022. Both have involved massive preparations and planning.
Both events are important to their followers. The General Conference Session is
a gathering of the leadership of a church that has a worldwide membership of
more than twenty million. It makes me wonder what it would be like to live in a
nation of that size, made up only of SDAs. It must be tempting for the leader
of such a church to consider himself the president of the world church, instead
of the elected leader of the organization (GC) made up of a worldwide
administrative network.
I have had the opportunity of
attending events where I have seen the Queen. Growing up in England certainly
influenced me so that I learned to appreciate her role as an impartial, non-political
Head of State. During her rule, she has had 14 British Prime Ministers and many
more political leaders in the Commonwealth of many political colors. She has
kept things together by not trying to dominate things. Of course, some people
want to abolish the monarchy, but so far it has served well, keeping the United
Kingdom together. However, the question of how relevant it is in modern days to
have a dynasty of monarchs will come up again once the pomp and circumstances
of the Platinum Jubilee have faded.
I have also had the opportunity of
attending a few GC sessions of the SDA church. It has been uplifting to worship
God together with many fellow believers. Such meetings have motivated me and
many others to serve God in this church. Seeing the GC President may not be as
thrilling as seeing the Queen, but it used to be something special to be able
to attend. However, more and more church members experience disillusionment and
question how relevant the church is in modern days. Particularly the restrictive
direction taken by the current president is making the GC more and more
irrelevant to church members at the grassroots level. He is not an impartial,
non-political head of the organization but rather someone who tries to keep
things united through domination.
I, like many Adventists who have
inherited our faith from past generations still believe in what God has
installed in my heart through his love and sacrifice. We have served God and
the church, but we are becoming disillusioned with the human side of the church
organization. We ask ourselves, “Was it all a wasted effort?” I believe that I
am one of many who are losing interest in what “those up there” are about. When
we start thinking about “them” and “us,” our identification with a movement has
lost its momentum. Participants and observers will be attending the GC session,
in person or online. Our involvement is identified by our choice of which of
these categories we see ourselves in. I think this should cause concern to
those in leadership.
It is time for the church to realize
that God has not placed the leadership of his church in the hands of one
dynasty. Church leadership should not be hereditary. God warned the Old
Testament people of Israel of the dangers and results of having a king. More
recently, God warned his church through a woman whom he used as his messenger,
that its leadership should not use “kingly power.”[2]
If we want the church to survive, it needs to become relevant to its members
and the world in which it is supposed to serve. It must again create the
feeling of “We, the people.”
The GC session will probably again
be a great celebration of the progress of the church, with the different
regions presenting reports of the great things that have been done. The church
will be celebrating itself as if there were no need for accountability of the
direction it is moving to. People will be elected into office and the Church
Manual will again be revised and tightened. The delegates will have the
opportunity to vote without the hope of making significant changes to current
policies. For now, I will be observing what happens in St. Louis, but no longer
really participating.
[1] For Christ’s love compels us,
because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 2
Cor 5:14 NIV
[2] Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the
Church (Mountain View, Calif.: Pacific Press Pub. Assn., 1948), vol. 8, p. 232.
“In the work of the Lord in these last days, there should be . . . no kingly power.”
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