The 11th Global Leadership Summit, sponsored by the General Conference (GC) of Seventh-day Adventists, was held in Lisbon, Portugal, from February 6 to 8, 2018. Portugal is part of the Inter-European Division, which has 340 million people and 180,000 Adventist members in 20 different countries.
Approximately 50 leaders from the GC and the 13 Divisions gathered and discussed the advancement of leadership in church organizations and institutions with the theme of “The Spiritual Necessity of Church Unity and Biblical Authority to Accomplish God’s Mission.”
As usual, the leadership training team from the GC made presentations about church unity and authority, and each Division representative reported what they did in 2017 and what they are planning to do in 2018 in terms of leadership training. GC president Ted N. C. Wilson addressed all leaders with the necessity of unity. He quoted the Church Manual, saying “It is the purpose of God that His children shall blend in unity. Do they not expect to live together in the same heaven? …Those who refuse to work in harmony greatly dishonor God (8T, 240). The church should discourage actions that threaten harmony among its members and should consistently encourage unity” (Church Manual, 59). He also mentioned the Working Policy for full harmony within the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
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Mark Finley, GC assistant to the president, also emphasized church unity by mentioning Jesus’ prayer for His disciples in John 17. He analyzed John 17 and categorized the unity into three parts: unity in Christ, unity in the message of Christ, and unity in the mission of Christ. GC vice president Artur Stele presented the seven pillars of authority. He stressed that all authority belongs to God and His word, and human authority is a delegated authority for common good. GC executive secretary G. T. Ng stated that he had made mistakes by emphasizing leadership competence rather than leadership foundation in his teaching. Then he made suggestions about leadership curriculum as a foundation. Guillermo Biaggi, GC Leadership Training chair, emphasized the training of church elders and youth leaders for unity.
From the Northern Asia-Pacific Division (NSD), Kim SiYoung, president, and Joo MinHo, assistant to the president who is also in charge of Leadership Development, attended the 11th Global Leadership Summit and reported on NSD leadership training programs, such as CLAP (Communication Leadership Advancement Program), Jeju Leadership Training Program, and Field School of Evangelism for pastors and lay leaders. Dr. Joo also introduced the International Mission Congress as one of the main mission events to encourage pastors and lay leaders to have the mission spirit. The International Mission Congress will be held from August 8 to 11, 2018, with the theme, “Go Forward.” He also reported on All Japan 2018 Maranatha, when evangelistic meetings will be held at the same time in 165 sites throughout Japan, and simultaneous evangelistic meetings will be held in 240 cities in Korea at the end of May 2018.
The 12th Global Leadership Summit is scheduled to be held in Mexico from February 5 to 7 in 2019.
Article by Joo, MinHo, NSD Assistant to the President, AM/PMM Director