The Development of Organizational and Leadership Paradigms in the Seventh-day Adventist Church

Abstract

The. history. of. the. Seventhday.Adventist.Church.has.seen. two major periods of organizational reform. The first occurred in. the.years.1860-1863,.beginning. just. sixteen. years. after. the. bitter. disappointment. of. 1844. At that time the fledgling denomination. had. only. 3,500. members.scattered.in.125.local. churches. and. six. local. conferences.in.the.eastern.part.of.the. United. States.. Representatives. from.those.conferences.gathered. in Battle Creek, Michigan, and despite.considerable.opposition. chose.a.denominational.name.in. 1860.and.adopted.an.organizational.form.in.1863. The. second. major. period. of. organizational. reform. occurred. in. the. years. 1901-1903.. In. many ways these were very difficult years for the denomination..Although.the.membership. had grown considerably since the.initial.organization.in.1863,. there were still only 75,000 members.. Yet. these. members. were becoming increasingly scattered and it was realized that other. organizational. structures. were needed which could more adequately deal with the administrative.needs.of.the.church..In. fact, a major reorganization was needed. to. the. extent. that. had. the. church. not. reorganized. its. administrative.structures.at.that. time,.its.future.could.have.been. somewhat dubious. There.have.been.many.other. structural. and. administrative. adjustments which have modified the manner in which the church. is. organized. and. administered. Subsequent to the reorganization.of.1901-1903,.for. example,.the.General.Conference. was divided into a number of divisions which were given specific responsibility. for. administering. large.areas.of.the.globe,.e.g.,.the. South Pacific Division, the North American.Division,.etc. It. is. the. purpose. of. this. article. to. investigate. the. context. Barry Oliver is the General Secretary of the South Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He holds a Ph.D. in Mission and Ministry from Andrews University.