The General Conference

[M. T. Cross]

I have read it said here that the General Conference is the highest authority on earth.

It leads me to a couple of questions, as in the years I spent in the SDA church, I never was exposed to that line of thought.

So:

1. Is it a - The highest SPIRITUAL authority on Earth

or

b - The highest spiritual and LEGAL authority on Earth

2. If b, what about if the GC's stance on and issue conflicts with your national/state/provincial/local law?

3. Is this not very similiar to the Vaticans stance on their authority?

4. By what method does the GC decide the will of God on current ploitical, social and spiritual issues any better than your local pastor, yourself etc?

[Kountzer]

I don't put much stock in what is read and said here.

[Stan]

I believe, and perhaps someone could clarify, that when they say General Conference, they mean the 5 year annual meetings, that is where any changes are made, in structure and any positions statements that are put out there and voted.

[M. T. Cross]

I believe, and perhaps someone could clarify, that when they say General Conference, they mean the 5 year annual meetings, that is where any changes are made, in structure and any positions statements that are put out there and voted.

That could be as well!

I took it to mean Mr. Wilson and the current leaders of the World Church. I am certainly open to being wrong about that though.

[ClubV12]

The G.C. has no authority outside the body of believers, the church. There authority concerns church law (the church manual in effect), not civil or government law. Church law is essentially applying the principles in the bible as interpreted by that body of leaders into doctrinal points and lifestyle guidelines for the membership. Things like the 28 fundamental beliefs. Bear in mind, the G.C. speaks for the WORLD church and therefore only offers the most basic guidelines in many areas. What works in America won't work in Europe. So individual "rules" are left to the Conferences working with the guidelines the G.C. has established.

CURRENT political, social and spiritual issues, outside the fundamental provisions of the 28 and the church manual, are handled locally. By the Conference or even the Pastor at a local church. Paul, Peter, John the rest of the early church leaders did not give specific guidelines to each and every church. They presented basic doctrinal ideas that all could/should agree to adhere to.

I've never had a problem with the many and varied folks that compare the G.C. organization to the Roman Catholic organization structure. So what? You could compare any organizations basic structure to any other organizations basic structure and arrive at all kinds of "interesting" but non relevant things.

I agree Stan, the "highest authority on earth" would only apply every five years or so during an assembly of General Conference men/women representing the world church body of believers.

[Tom Wetmore]

Here is a quote from an article published at the last Session that explains the idea:

Quote:

Expressing the authority of the church. The authority that Christ gave to His church as a community of believers is diffused throughout it. In order for that authority to find its fullest expression in the global church, the church entrusts authority to some of its members.

When church delegates gather together at a General Conference Session, the Session itself is constituted into the highest authority of the church on earth on the foundation of the Scriptures, under the headship of Christ, and in the power of the Spirit. It is the highest authority in that through the Session the global church speaks with one voice to its local expressions and on their behalf to the world at large.

In this task the Session transcends individualism and regionalism and reaffirms the church as a global community of faith. Consequently, it is necessary for the delegates to use the authority of the Session with circumspection, always aiming at the well-being of the universal church in a spirit of love and humility. In the process, regional concerns should be explored and analyzed from the perspective of the global church. One could even suggest that the Session calls all the delegates to work in humility when seeking to use and implement the authority of the church.

http://www.gcsession.org/2010/04/the-general-conference-session-delegates-and-theology.html

Sometimes the General Conference Committee is referred to as the highest authority of the Church between Sessions. Under the General Conference Constitution its authority is limited since certain things can only be acted upon at a Session.

[Tom Wetmore]

Originally Posted By: Stan

I believe, and perhaps someone could clarify, that when they say General Conference, they mean the 5 year annual meetings, that is where any changes are made, in structure and any positions statements that are put out there and voted.

That could be as well!

I took it to mean Mr. Wilson and the current leaders of the World Church. I am certainly open to being wrong about that though.

Any individual leader's authority, including that of the President, is very limited and subsumed in that of the body. Very little is done without some committee action.

[CoAspen]

Your quoted statement has legalese written all over it! So....could you put that in everyday layman's terminology???

[BobRyan]

Originally Posted By: Stan

I believe, and perhaps someone could clarify, that when they say General Conference, they mean the 5 year annual meetings, that is where any changes are made, in structure and any positions statements that are put out there and voted.

That could be as well!

I took it to mean Mr. Wilson and the current leaders of the World Church. I am certainly open to being wrong about that though.

By definition - our church is not organized around a papal model. We have no kings, no popes etc deciding doctrine for us.

The President of the General Conference position is an administrative position. In fact he does not even have authority to fire the various department heads at the GC, nor to change one sentence in our voted Fundamental beliefs - nor even to amend the church manual.

I for one have great respect for Elder Wilson and wish he had more direct authority than he has - but our organizational structure does not allow it.

There is no "legal" authority in our church - defining or deciding laws. Lawyers working for the denomination appeal to secular courts on equal footing with any other lawyer in America today.

The "highest authority" statement is in regard to spiritual matters and internal denominational organizational matters. It refers to the GC "in session" - not to any one or two or handful of GC administrators.

in Christ,

Bob

[M. T. Cross]

Ok, that answers those questions.

It seems I read wrong or the way it was expressed was not clear earlier.

Thanks All.

[Kevin H]

When it comes to dealing with the role of the General Conference it is good to remember a sad event in history.

There was a time where the General Conference was composed of apostles, prophets and Bible writers. People who knew Jesus personally. What more perfect group could you possibly gather together. What group could possibly be a higher authority on earth. What group can give better guidance.

However even THIS General Conference encouraged Paul to do something, which lead to the death of Paul and the loss of his ministry. Read Ellen White's discription in Acts of the Apostels chapter 38 Paul a prisoner. Mrs. White was not as much interested in doing an exegesis of what was going on in Paul's day, but was using that to draw lessons on how we are to relate to the General Conference, and letting the General Conference leaders know about their position. There is the message that if you have a General Conference which is composed of Apostles, Prophets and Bible Writers, and they even they can make wrong choices, how much more people who are not Apostles, Prophets and Bible writers.

[ClubV12]

I believe the General Conference made a mistake when they asked Ellen White to go to Australia. She didn't want to go, but she humbled herself to that body of leadership and went anyway. Unity trumps just about everything is a recurring theme in Sister Whites counsel, it's importance should never be underestimated.

God did not give Sister White a divine revelation of some kind to show her what she should do in regards to Australia. In some aspects of bible study and interpretation there is also silence. Why is this? The Lord wants us to work together, to study these questions from the bible, to work, to dig, for the truth and for our life decisions. Not be handed everything on a silver platter.

The Jews made a mistake when they asked for a King, but the Lord honored their request, mistaken though they were. What is bound on earth, is bound in heaven, the rule of unity encompasses both heaven and earth.

Whatever the mistakes may be, and they will happen, God is ultimately in control. We should be extremely cautious in our declarations of leadership making mistakes. Protest with voice and pen, but do so carefully, lest you find yourself fighting against that which has been bound on earth and as a result also in heaven.

[Kevin H]

Yes ClubV, I think that she had her Australian trip on her mind when she wrote about Paul's expirence with the General Conference in AA chapter 38. It is interesting in how C. Mervin Maxwell said that when she was in Australia that the church there wanted her to spend all her time with them, but while she did what was necessary, he said that she spent most of her time on her own befriending people looking for people who did not know Jesus and teaching them about Jesus and encouraging them to give their hearts ot Jesus, but not necessarly pointing them towards any particular church. Others pointed out how after this Mrs. White did expand her minsitry beyond Seventh-day Adventism becoming a popular speaker in Sunday keeping churches as well as our Churches.

[Overaged]

Ok, that answers those questions.

It seems I read wrong or the way it was expressed was not clear earlier.

Thanks All.

For a few years, EC, after I had been baptized and joined the Church; I also thought the same as you about the general conference. Other posters here, I see, have already answered your questions, but I just thought I would comment that I had the same questions for a while too.

[ClubV12]

Kevin it might be a bit misleading to some readers to conclude that Ellen White "branched out" in her ministry as a result of being in Australia. I'm of the persuasion she simply continued to do there what she had been doing in America or where ever she found herself. Well before Australia she was deeply involved in the politics of the slavery issues for instance. Australia or not, she was certainly very politically active concerning Sunday law's. Along with that any issue dealing with public morals, like alcohol. Her work was always primarily that of an evangelist to the world, more so than a strict calling to the church. Her book "Great Controversy", was to reach the world, more so than Adventists, which is still true today. She never ministered a church in her entire lifetime! Her work was much larger than that, it always was.

[Kevin H]

Yes indeed ClubV. She went from a shut door Adventist to a popular speeker in Sunday keeping churches. But Dr. Maxwell points out that the church in Australia was expecting her do be as active for them as she was for the Adventist Churches in America, and while she was fairly active for the church in Austraila, that she was not nearly as active for the church there as she had been in America nor as active as the church there was hoping she would be.