Seventh-day Adventist Church Organizational Structure

84 Pages·2016·1.68 MB·English

Seventh-day Adventist Church
Organizational Structure
Many parts. One movement!
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General Conference of SDA, North American Division
March 28-29, 2016, Columbia, Maryland
Presenter: Lowell C Cooper
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1. To appreciate history of structural
development
2. To understand foundational principles for
structure
3. To survey present global structure
1. Sheep with a shepherd
(Isa 40:11, Jn 10:14-16)
2. Body of Christ
(Rom 12:5, 1Cor 12:27, Eph 1:23)
3. Vine and branches
(Jn 15:5)
4. Household of faith
(Eph 2:19, 1Tim 3:15)
5. Family of God
(Deut 14:2, Rom 8:15, Gal 4:5-6)
6. Children of God
(Matt 5:9, Rom 9:26, 1Jn 3:1-10)
7. Building
(Mt 16:18, 1Cor 3:10, Eph 2:21, 1Pet 2:5)
8. Bride
(Isa 62:5, 2Cor 11:2, Rev 19:7)
A particular group of believers in a town or city.
The larger family of faith, of which the local
church is a part.
One of many Christian denominations.
The universal family of God.
Dual reality divine and human
—
Invisible and visible boundaries
Incorporated and unincorporated
Participation is voluntary and yet obligatory
Global and local identities
Not-for-profit but growth-focused
1. SDA Church pioneers had an anti-organization
bias arising in part from their personal
experience of being disfellowshipped from
their denominations before and after 1844.
2.
O(cid:396)ga(cid:374)izatio(cid:374) (cid:449)as e(cid:395)uated (cid:449)ith (cid:862)Ba(cid:271)(cid:455)lo(cid:374)(cid:863)
3. Practical considerations prompted need for
organization:
a. Holding of property
b. Credentialing of ministers
c. Remuneration of ministers
1. Structure is necessary to fulfill mission
(cid:16894)The details of organization may vary according
to conditions and work, but ever as God has
called his church together there has appeared
in it the spiritual gift of order and of
government, the spirit that rules in heaven.(cid:16895)
W. A. Spicer, "The Divine Principle of Organization," Review and Herald, 25 March 1909, 5
1. Structure is necessary to fulfill mission
2. Bible contains principles not prescriptions