Twenty-Seventh Meeting by George A. Irwin; William A. Spicer

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Jun 1, 1905

Twenty-Seventh Meeting

By George A. Irwin; William A. Spicer

THE twenty-seventh meeting was called at 2:30 P. M., May 26; G. A. Irwin in the chair.

Prayer was offered by C. Santee.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

It was voted to take up the report of the finance committee, tabled at the last meeting. The report was further considered, amended and adopted, as follows:—

Your committee on finance would respectfully make the following partial report:—

1. Whereas, The Word of God declares that the third angel’s message is to be proclaimed to the world in this generation; and,—

Whereas, The same Word teaches that this work is to be supported by tithes and offerings; and,—

Whereas, The Lord charges with robbery those who neglect to thus honor the Lord by rendering to him his own and by withholding suitable tokens of thanksgiving; therefore,—

The General Conference in its thirty-sixth session recommends:—

(a) That local conference officers take special pains to see that such executive officers only are chosen as will faithfully impress upon all conference employees, not only the duty to be conscientious themselves in rendering to the Lord his own, but to be faithful also in giving instruction along these lines to all within their spheres of influence.

(b) That the officers of all churches make themselves ensamples to their flocks in the payment of tithes and offerings, in order that they may consistently exhort others to faithfulness in this respect.

(c) That in view of the dearth of men and means for the foreign work, the local conferences freely share their laborers and tithes with the General Conference.

(d) That suitable envelopes of uniform size and quality, with texts and other reading similar to the attached copy, be provided by the General Conference at small expense, for use in all the churches, these envelopes to be furnished free to the churches for the purpose of securing regularity and uniformity in taking up the weekly offerings and in the collection of the tithe weekly.

TITHES AND WEEKLY OFFERINGS

“YE SHALL CELEBRATE MY SABBATHS”

“O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.”

“Bring an offering and come into his courts.”

For God hath said, “They shall not appear before the Lord empty. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God.”

“Bring ye all the tithe into the store-house . . . and prove me. . . . I will pour you out a blessing, saith the Lord.” “Will a man rob God?”

Tithe ........................$

Foreign Missions ............$

Literature in Home Fields...$

For Needy Poor ..............$

Church Expense ..............$

“God loveth a cheerful giver.”

“Honor the Lord with thy substance.”

“There is that which scattereth yet increaseth.”

“Well done. . . . Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.”

Name ................................

Address ............................

(e) That while it is only meet that adequate support should be cheerfully provided for laborers who have grown old and worn in the cause, we recommend that able-bodied men who for a series of years have produced little or no fruit as the result of their connection with the message, be advised to take up some line of self-supporting work.

(f) Whereas, There is a tendency to divert the tithe from its specific object,—

We recommend, That all our conferences sacredly guard the tithe, that this fund be not used for building purposes, the maintenance of church-schools, or for church expenses, but that it be devoted entirely to the support of evangelistic work and Bible teachers.

2. Whereas, There has been committed to this people the threefold message of Revelation 14, to be carried to all the world, and that in this generation; and,—

Whereas, The weekly and annual offerings have been largely depended upon for the furtherance of this work; and,—

Whereas, It has seemed necessary to our Mission Board to cut down the appropriations made for the present year about twenty-two thousand dollars, which can only result in discouragement to many in our needy mission fields, we therefore recommend the following:—

(a) That the second Sabbath in each month be set apart by all our people everywhere, as “missionary day,” for the special consideration of our missions.

(b) That the General Conference Committee appoint a committee to prepare readings for each missionary day, with a program and suitable songs for the occasion; that the readings be so divided that where convenient two or three can take part in the service, thus breaking up the monotony.

(c) That each one to take part in the service, make a study of the field considered, that he may be able to make the subject of special interest.

(d) That a map of the world be provided, so that the different fields may be located, thus educating our people regarding the extent and progress of the message.

(e) That the Sabbath-schools be encouraged to participate in these exercises, that thus the interest of the children may be enlisted in the work of foreign missions.

(f) That our conference laborers and church officers keep constantly before all our people the importance of the weekly offerings for missions, and that we put forth a united effort to raise the offerings for missions, from all sources, to an amount averaging at least ten cents a week per capita.

3. We recommend, That five general annual collections be taken, as follows, at such times as shall be designated by the General Conference Committee, and that the funds received be disbursed as the said conference committee shall direct:—

(a) Two offerings for the foreign missionary work.

(b) An offering for the religious liberty work.

(d) An offering for the orphans of the Haskell Home and similar institutions.

Whereas, In most of the mission fields abroad union conferences or mission organizations have been formed able to hold properties; and,—

Whereas, The General Conference Committee is now the operating Mission Board of the denomination; therefore,—

4. Resolved, That we instruct the trustees of the legal Foreign Mission Board of Seventh-day Adventists, a corporation of the city of New York, to close up its corporate existence, transferring any properties which it may still hold for the denomination, either to union or conference organizations having charge of the fields where such properties are situated, or to the General Conference Corporation, of Washington, D. C., as may be advised by the executive committee of the General Conference.

Whereas, The General Conference has

removed its headquarters from Battle Creek, Mich., to Washington, D. C.; and,—

Whereas, The General Conference Association is a corporation organized under, and existing by virtue of, the laws of the State of Michigan, thus making difficult, on account of this removal, the transaction of business; therefore be it,—

5. Resolved, (a) That we approve of the organization of the corporation known as the General Conference Corporation of Seventh-day Adventists.

(b) That we advise all future business of the General Conference to be done in its name as far as practicable.

(c) That the business of the General Conference Association be transferred to the General Conference Corporation on such conditions and as rapidly as the executive committees of the respective corporations shall deem wise.

The committee on plans made a further report, which was read by L. A. Hoopes. The first recommendation regarding a department of work for foreign-speaking peoples in America was referred back to the committee for further preparation.

Other recommendations were considered, as follows:—

Constitution Amended

50. Resolved, That the constitution be amended as follows:—

(a) By changing subsection “c,” section 3, article III, to read as follows: “Such members of departmental committees and representatives of missions of the General Conference as shall receive credentials from its executive committee.”

(b) By substituting the word “quadrennial” for “biennial” and the word “four” for “two” in section 6, article V.

Annual Reports

51. We recommend, That the Year-book be published during November of each year, and that revisions for the same be sent directly to the General Conference office by each local and union conference and each organization and institution throughout the world, to be received by the General Conference not later than November 1. A failure to receive any report at the time stated shall not be held to be sufficient reason to delay the publication of the Year-book, thus vitiating all other reports received, and unnecessarily increasing the cost of publication.

52. We recommend, That the annual statistical reports of conferences and missions be collected, collated, and forwarded by union conference secretaries, as at present.

53. We recommend, That the fiscal year of all conferences, institutions, and departments of our work end on the thirty-first of December.

On Young People’s Work

Realizing the definite call of God to our young people to organize for service, and believing that the good work already begun in this direction should be encouraged and strengthened throughout the entire field; therefore,—

54. We recommend, That the Sabbath-school Department of the General Conference give special attention to this branch of the work in calling the attention of the various union and State conferences to the need of the appointment of suitable persons who can devote a part or the whole of their time to this branch of the cause, as circumstances demand.

55. We recommend, That so far as possible, the young people’s meetings at camp-meetings and other general gatherings be made more practically missionary in character: first, by introducing live missionary studies; second, by actually enlisting the young people in evangelistic effort for themselves and for others.

56. We recommend, That there be prepared at an early date a series of Sabbath-school lessons on the subject of practical missionary effort, calling the attention of the church, both old and young, to the work to which God has called them.

57. We recommend, That superintendents and secretaries of local conference Sabbath-school and young people’s departments seek to encourage the young people’s societies under their supervision to unite in the support of one or more laborers in some mission field.

Whereas, There is great need of such instruction and careful planning concerning this work,—

58. Resolved, That a vigorous educational campaign be carried on throughout the union and State conferences by means of missionary conventions, articles in our papers, and the preparation and circulation of leaflets on the salient points of this work.

59. We urge our ministers and laborers to thoroughly study and present to the churches the divine principles of church organization, department, and discipline as set forth in the Scriptures and in the Testimonies of the Spirit of God.

Foreign Publications

Whereas, The third angel’s message is to go to every nation, tongue, and people; and,—

Whereas, There is a constantly increasing stream of people of various nationalities coming into the United States; and,—

Whereas, We have no thoroughly organized method of reaching them; and,—

Whereas, Greater New York City is the natural headquarters for effort on their behalf; therefore,—

60. Resolved, That we look with favor upon the establishment of a foreign publication depository in that city, the object of which would be—

(a) The circulation of foreign literature among the millions of other tongues of the great Eastern cities.

(b) To supply its publications to its agents in the Atlantic Union Conference.

(c) To become the North American headquarters for all small denominational publications outside of the German, Swedish, Danish, and Spanish languages.

Subscription Books

In view of the urgent need of our subscription books being widely circulated, that this message may be speedily given, and the necessity of having able canvassers and leaders to do this; therefore,—

61. We recommend, That our conferences and training-schools give special attention to securing and developing promising persons for this work,—

(a) By providing courses of instruction especially adapted to their needs.

(b) By holding canvassers’ institutes and conventions in the conferences at suitable times.

62. That our large subscription books be bound in two or three styles of bindings, and that this change be brought about as rapidly as consistent with the disposition of the stock on hand.

Missionary Campaign

Realizing that multitudes are “in the valley of decision,” and that the time has fully come when the Master pleads with every child of his to “go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city” and “into the highways and hedges,” to bid the hungry and perishing to the marriage feast,—

63. We recommend, That the great missionary campaign entered upon last year be strengthened, deepened, and enlarged into a mighty movement for the promulgation of the third angel’s message.

To avoid confusion, and to economize effort, we recommend the following:—

GENERAL PLAN FOR NORTH AMERICA

(1) That the effort to place the REVIEW AND HERALD in every Sabbath-keeping home be continued, especially through the camp-meeting season and early fall.

(2) That a general campaign in North America for our missionary periodicals be entered upon about October 1.

(3) That beginning in early November, special efforts be made by conference workers and church officers to interest our people in the sale of forty-per-cent books.

(4) That the interest aroused by this work be developed by—

(a) The liberal use of message-filled tracts.

(b) Securing subscriptions for our periodicals.

(d) Missionary correspondence.

(5) That missionary conventions be held October 7 and November 18 in all our churches, to study local needs and to organize for service.

W. C. White urged on this resolution that the way, and the only way, to carry this message to all people in this generation, is for all our people to take up the work of carrying the message to the people. Let an agitation be begun, and kept up by ministers and church officers, to see literature placed in all homes.

C. H. Edwards felt that this activity in missionary work was the best plan of drawing the people away from the idea that a resident pastor is essential. A church working with literature keeps alert and alive by its own activities; and people who come into the truth through reading are usually active in working for others with reading-matter.

Supplies

64. We approve of the plan to publish four special numbers of The Signs of the Times and the Watchman, two special issues of Life and Health, and such issues of the foreign papers as their publishers may deem best.

65. We look with favor upon the plan of setting aside certain small, easy-selling books for the use of those who wish to canvass in their own neighborhoods.

66. We also approve of the steps being taken in the publication of the Signs of the Times Leaflets, to furnish our ministers and people with an inexpensive literature for general circulation.

Organization

67. We recommend, That the General Conference Committee appoint a missionary campaign committee to co-operate with conference officers in the carrying out of these recommendations.

By action on the entire report, it was unanimously adopted.

The Chair called upon G. I. Butler, president of the Southern Union Conference, to complete his report, which had been left unfinished at a former adjournment. A brief summary follows:—

Southern Union Conference

The importance of planting small sanitariums in great Southern cities has been urged by the spirit of prophecy. The first was begun at Graysville, on a beautiful site. The institution is not completed, and needs further funds. About sixteen thousand dollars has been expended thus far. It has been receiving a few patients. The Review and Herald publishing house donated their building at Atlanta to the South, for use as a sanitarium. It has prospects of a good patronage. At Nashville the work begun by L. A. Hansen and his wife has been turned into a sanitarium, Dr. Hayward in charge. A building of our own is much needed to save the enormous rents. The Nashville Sanitarium has not run behind the last year, but this has been achieved only because of the sacrifice

of the workers. Treatment rooms have been established in a number of cities.

The Southern Missionary Society has done good work for the colored people. It is impossible to emphasize the need of work for the colored race in the South in terms stronger than have been used by the spirit of prophecy. This is a burden belonging to all our people, and the great work to be done calls for greatly increased effort and flow of means toward this destitute field. There has been greater advancement in the colored work during the last two or three years than ever before. We have only begun this work. As we take hold to help the unfortunate, showers of blessing will fall. There is no discouraging note sounded in the Southern field. The battle is hard, but God is mighty; his truth will prevail.

Following this report, the committee on distribution of labor rendered a partial report, consideration of which was laid over to another meeting.

Adjourned.

G. A. IRWIN, Chairman, W. A. SPICER, Secretary.