To Millennial SDAs: Beyond Frustration

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” - Frederick Douglass

"Revisionist History" is a podcast produced by one of my favorite authors, Malcolm Gladwell. In it he reexamines something from the past and helps us listeners look again at an event, person or idea in light of something previously overlooked or misunderstood. 

As I saw the leaders of my denomination on stage this past weekend in cosplay at one of the church's most important gatherings, I was disgusted by the revisionist history on display. That they would have planned to glorify a time in history when the majority of the people who are currently members of our denomination were neither regarded as equals is terribly insensitive. It seems to demonstrate that despite the makeup of the church, there is insufficient credible representation at the level where decisions are made. Somebody in a planning session should have said, THIS is a bad idea!

They glorified a time when the majority of African-Americans were either enslaved or share-cropping. They glorified a time when European Imperialism was colonizing people of color all around the globe. 

I am insulted that "biblical" worship seems to be equated with 19th century White Northern New England worship styles and that the leader of the church tweets and preaches against "unbiblical" worship styles. That seems like dog whistle to traditional White Adventists to keep African-American and/or contemporary worship tradition out of "their" churches. (The word "resist" was actually used!)

Their staged and dramatized presentations were also revisionist history because our church was progressive, on the forefront of educating Blacks. It was entrepreneurial with its publishing work and at the forefront of healthy living. And when one of the early pioneers would preach on heaven Ellen White would get so excited that her shouting required people to tend to her. The early church, by all accounts, was fervent and avant-garde. What we saw this past weekend was cold and conservative. 

Talk about a great disappointment! 

I'm hearing a lot of young adults struggling with the idea of remaining a part of the church after the events of this past weekend. I get the frustration. But I'm going to grab a phrase I used to hear my Mama say often: "Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water." Don't walk away from the church that has shaped you into the person you are. Many of the young adults that have been raised in this denomination are leaders, professionals that stand head and shoulders above many others in their same age and race demographic. And I think that your Adventist upbringing has a lot to do with that. There is something hard to explain about this church that despite its flaws lifts people and positions them to walk through this life with unusual favor. Don't rob your children of that.

Don't walk away. And don’t just sit and take it. I’ll explain in a minute.

I learned a valuable lesson when I was a teenager. I was an influential member an organization and I didn’t like how something went down. So I quit. And then I had no more influence in the organization ... because I quit. 

So you’re mad. Good. Now use that righteous indignation as fuel to ENGAGE.

Pastor Japhet De Oliveira (@Pastorjaphet) says to all those who feel the church is unwilling to hand over leadership to the younger generation that the church really is receptive to millennials leading. I heard him respond to a millennial who said that they don't feel the church is "their" church. Pastor Oliveira gently replied that he doesn't think that millennials really want it [ownership of the church] because if you really want something, you take it. You can't wait on people to give it to you. No one is going to put a napkin around your neck like a bib and feed it to you. No, go grab leadership because this is your church. And once you do, realize that it cannot be on-off. You have to take it on. It's not a car that you can go sit in in a parking lot and turn on and then turn off again. No, you have to get behind the wheel and actually drive it. 

I agree with Pastor De Oliveira. This church was founded by young people. And the structure of the church is still of such that if young people would get actively engaged, they could take it back.

Ours is a representative form of church governance. Tweets and Facebook posts, social media rants don’t change policies. If you will change the policies of the church one has to understand how change happens. The people who get voted in at constituency sessions vote on the people and the policies that govern the church. That is how change happens. 

It is time for the youth and young adults who yet remain to engage and demand some changes. What changes?

First, attend those business meetings when your church is sending delegates to the conference organizing and constituency sessions. Stop declining when your name comes up. Encourage other youth and young adults to attend business meetings. Engage.

Second, when you get to those constituency sessions, don’t just attend. Prayerfully understand the issues. Meet with others who also understand the issues and decide what needs to be put before the people. Learn how to put forth a motion so that skilled chairpersons don't shut you down. Then speak up.

You all are major players in the marketplace. Some of you own your own businesses, practices, firms. Some of you are running departments of colleges, divisions of companies. Some of you serve as chief operating officers of non-profits, as administrators and teachers of schools. You all are leaders. Bring that skill and experience to the table. Your church needs it! Some people in power will not be comfortable. But don't allow people who will be retired in less than a decade to hamstring the church.

Remember that the church was founded by young people with less experience than you!

One of the critical areas where change is needed is around the leaders who are elected to serve over these conferences. No board of trustees would hire a CEO of a Fortune 500 company without having a firm grasp on that leader's skillsets. But the church does it all the time with conference administrators. Constituents often hand the proverbial keys to multimillion dollar conferences without knowing his positions on critical issues facing the local conference and the worldwide denomination. Ask more questions. Get on constitution and bylaws committees, which is where the rules of the game are set. 

Remember that this is a representative form of church governance. The outcomes are determined by the leaders you put in place. They are the ones who vote on the policies. It is absolutely critical that you know the thinking of the person you are sending to these meetings. If he or she is not going to fight for the issues you care about, you ought to know that.

And the only way you can have a reliable sense of how a person is going to vote on issues is to ask them BEFORE YOU ELECT THEM. I'll say it again in case you were reading too fast -- before you elect another officer you ought to know their positions on the critical issues that are facing not only your local conference, but also of the denomination because they are the ones who will be voting on your behalf.

We often elect people on likability, popularity, familiarity, legacy, charisma, etc. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of those factors. But they don’t give any indication of how he or she will vote to direct resources and set policies that affect our witness in the world.

In 2017 the regional conferences sent $182,117,152 to the North American Division (NAD) of the SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH. That means that regional conferences accounted for 17.9% of the NAD tithe. To put that another way, the regional conference tithe base would make it the largest union in the NAD if it were a union.

But it is not a union. 

And not one of the 9 presidents has a seat on the GC executive committee where these policies are made.

How do you contribute over $182 million to the organization and you have no seat at the table where policies are made that govern you?

My frustrated friends, things can change. Elections have consequences. The election of the current GC president has consequences that we can clearly see. But he got there because other elected leaders voted for him. (That’s another story altogether!) We need your brilliant minds and consecrated hearts to ENGAGE. Get an understanding of how the church works and then demand change because Frederick Douglass was right — “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”