General Conference Council by Arthur G. Daniells; H. E. Osborne

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 9, 1902

General Conference Council

By Arthur G. Daniells; H. E. Osborne

A MEETING of the General Conference Committee and other brethren in council was held in Battle Creek, November 10–25.

Nearly all of the presidents of the union conferences and members of the General Conference Committee in the United States were present, together with presidents of various State conferences and representatives of the publishing and medical missionary interests.

Questions of finance and administration, of the relation of various departments of the work to one another, of organization and methods, were considered. The following actions of general interest were taken by the council:—

Financial Policy

Whereas, The work of carrying on the third angel’s message is rapidly enlarging and extending into new fields; and,—

Whereas, Unless careful management be given to the operations in extending the message, large debts will be contracted; therefore,—

1. We recommend, That all evangelical and missionary enterprises carried on in the name of the denomination, or under the denomination’s support, be conducted on a strictly cash basis.

Whereas, Plans have already been adopted for distributing a portion of the assets and liabilities of the General Conference Association; and,—

Whereas, Most of our corporations have now been organized, and have accepted their assignment of liabilities and assets made at our last fall council; therefore,—

2. We hereby request the officers of the General Conference Association to proceed at once to carry into effect before Jan. 1, 1903, the divisions hitherto recommended, and to use every endeavor to liquidate the remaining liabilities as rapidly as possible.

Whereas, Most of our corporations and institutions are carrying large liabilities; therefore,—

3. We recommend, That said corporations and institutions be requested to give special attention to the rapid liquidation of their obligations.

4. We further recommend,—

(a) That the General Conference or Mission Board from this day be not held financially responsible for any obligations which they have not assumed by their own action.

(b) That the foregoing be the general policy of the union and State conferences and other organizations and institutions of the denomination.

(c) That all parties undertaking local enterprises, such as institutions, church buildings, and other undertakings in this country, secure their means in their respective local territories, and not by general call for means unless previously arranged.

The Message to the World

Whereas, The one great work of this people is to carry the third angel’s message in this generation to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people; and,—

Whereas, About four fifths of the laborers, and the means with which to support them, are now gathered in the United States, where there is only about one twentieth of the world’s population; therefore,—

1. We recommend, That a systematic and thorough campaign be entered upon and kept up to turn the attention of conference committees, ministers, and people to the needs of the fields outside of their respective conferences and outside of the United States; and that all conference resources of ministers and money be held open by the conference management to the needs and calls of the regions beyond, the same as within the bounds of local conferences.

2. We recommend, That conferences urge their laborers to move out into needy fields, especially into fields outside of the United States, and pledge to support them there, as their own laborers, until they have raised up a sufficient constituency to give them their support.

3. We recommend, That in all cases where laborers are sent into another field, as above suggested, they work under the direction of the committee into whose fields they are sent; that the committee under whose direction they labor audit their accounts; and that all appropriations for their support be sent to the treasury of the Mission Board.

4. We recommend, That the General Conference and union and State conferences give the internal workings and the expenses of administration careful study, to the end that all unnecessary expenses be eliminated, and the work put upon a sound basis.

5. We recommend, That we encourage the States that are able to do so, to set aside a definite per cent of the regular tithe as an appropriation to the general work of the Mission Board.

6. We recommend, That this forward movement in behalf of missions be placed clearly before our people, and that their responsibility to pay a full tithe into the Lord’s treasury be emphasized.

7. We recommend, That in addition to this devotion of conference resources to destitute fields, we urge all our laborers and people to agitate the matter of the regular weekly offerings to missions, known as the ten-cent-a-week plan, by which a large treasure may easily be turned to the evangelization of the world.

Educational Work

The subject of education occupied the attention of the council during two meetings, and the following recommendations, presented by a special committee, were adopted:—

Believing that the work of Christian education is inseparable from that of the gospel,—

We recommend, That the Mission Board be advised to encourage the establishment, in the larger mission fields, of training schools similar to those conducted in England and France, these schools to be both for the training of workers and for general education.

In view of the sentiment that the church-school teacher should be above local influences, and that church schools should be established wherever necessary,—

We recommend, That the Department of Education give special study to the question of the support of teachers and the maintenance of church schools, and report on the subject to the next General Conference.

We recommend, That the need of suitable text-books, adapted to our denominational school work, be brought to the attention of those interested in the educational work, and that they be invited to submit to the Department of Education suggestions (with or without manuscript) which they may feel may be of any assistance in meeting this need.

We recommend, That those who are prepared to do so, be encouraged to study the subject of Christian education with the churches.

Medical Missionary Work

It was voted,—

That this General Conference Committee and council renew our hearty co-operation with the Battle Creek Sanitarium Board and the Medical Missionary Association in their plans and work to recover from the effects of the fire, to renew the institution, and to promote their work as never before.

That this council approve of the Sanitarium getting money on bonds to satisfy its indebtedness, from whomsoever it may be able, at the lowest possible rate of interest.

That this council appoint Dr. S. P. S. Edwards as general field secretary for promoting an educational campaign among our people in behalf of the medical missionary work.

That each conference be requested to select a competent man to co-operate in this work in the local fields.

That an earnest and persevering effort be put forth by the General Conference Committee to raise,—

(1) Three thousand dollars remaining on the appropriation voted one year ago, for the London and Belfast treatment rooms.

(2) Twenty thousand dollars recommended at the Friedensau council for the establishment of a sanitarium in England; this sum to be expended under the direction of the British Union Conference Committee.

“Christ’s Object Lessons”

We recommend, That each Conference continue energetically the campaign on “Christ’s Object Lessons” until the full quota of books is sold.

Whereas, The author of “Christ’s Object Lessons” has donated the royalty on this book for the benefit of the schools, to enable them to liquidate their debts, and has signified her willingness to continue this gift as long as it is used for the advancement of education; therefore,—

Resolved, That we signify our approval of this plan of aiding our educational work, and we request the publishing houses to furnish us the books, boxed and F. O. B., at twenty-five cents per copy, as long as they are handled by our people without profit.

Whereas, Our brethren in Europe have requested that the proceeds from the sales of the German and Scandinavian editions of “Christ’s Object Lessons” in this country be used in aid of the German and Scandinavian training schools in Europe,—

Resolved, That we recognize the right of our German and Scandinavian brethren in America to use the proceeds from their sales of “Christ’s Object Lessons” in their own languages as they desire; but we would suggest to them the plan of dividing the proceeds, allowing one half to be sent to the European fields for the purpose mentioned.

Literature Campaign

It was voted,—

That the General Conference and union conference committees unite in an earnest campaign in behalf of the circulation of tracts dealing with the stirring issues of this message.

That our people be urged to use the experience and favor gained through the sale of “Christ’s Object Lessons” in selling our religious literature.

Appointments to the Field

While the council did not attempt to make detailed recommendations regarding workers for the mission fields, the following appointments were made during the session:—

That Dr. J. M. Keichline be invited to go to Egypt.

That Dr. V. Pampaian be invited to go to Egypt.

That J. A. Strickland and his wife, of Virginia, be invited to go to Jamaica, West Indies.

That H. Armstrong and his wife, of Scotland, be invited to go to India, in harmony with the recommendation of the European General Conference.

That B. E. Connerly and his wife, of Buffalo, be invited to go to Porto Rico.

That the Mission Board and the officers of the General Conference Publishing Department unite in an effort during the coming winter to secure a few good canvassers for the Southern Union Conference, South Africa, and Canada, in response to urgent calls from those fields.

That two ministers of experience be selected for the Australasian field.

A. G. DANIELLS, Chairman.

H. E. OSBORNE, Secretary.