W. A. Spicer, C. P. Bollman, C. C. Crisler, T. E. Bowen, H. E. Rogers, J. N. Anderson
June 1, 10 A. M.
I. H. Evans in the chair. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.12
N. Z. Town offered prayer. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.13
Chas. Thompson: Two delegates from the Northern Union, Dr. C. W. Heald and J. W. McComas, have had to return home. Our committee has taken action substituting as delegates B. A. Wolcott, educational secretary of Iowa, and Sister J. W. Dorcas, of Iowa. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.14
The Conference voted to seat these delegates. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.15
The report of the committee on plans (page 217 of the BULLETIN) was called up, and recommendation 19 was discussed. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.16
H. W. Carr: Item 4, under recommendation 19, reads: “That candidates for the ministry be encouraged to take a course of study in one of our training-schools, as a necessary preparation for their work.” Do we understand that any candidate for the ministry shall be instructed that it is necessary for him to take a course in one of our training-schools before he will be encouraged to enter the ministry? GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.17
In brief discussion of the wording of the recommendation, it was agreed that the wording of two items should be as follows:— GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.18
(1) That those who are ordained to preach the word devote themselves as fully as possible to the work of the gospel ministry. GCB June 2, 1913, page 228.19
(4) That candidates for the ministry be encouraged to take a course of study in one of our training schools, for a better preparation for their work. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.1
A. G. Daniells: I think it ought to be made plain, in our advocacy of the ministry devoting itself to the ministry, that the work of a conference president is the work of the gospel ministry. When we have our conference work outlined so that the conference is a great evangelical board, and that is the aim and purpose,—then it is just as proper for the minister to act as president of the conference as anything else; and while doing that work he can advance the work of the ministry, preaching the fairs. gospel and doing all that he is called to do in the supervising way. Now, we must all admit that if today we had laymen, business men trained for the work, to take the chairmanship of our institutional boards, it would be far better to have matters so arranged than to tie our ministers up on the detail administrative work on those boards. That is my conviction. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.2
PHOTO-A PREACHER OF THE WORD
Luther preached the Word, and the Word wrought the Reformation. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.3
I do not think that we can make this change suddenly. But there is one thing certain the messages that have come to us through the spirit of prophecy urge us to train business men, men of business talent and ability, to look after the business interests of this denomination, so that ministers shall not be called away from the preaching and from the ministry to attend so largely to business affairs. I understand that is what section five looks to. Surely that is a proper thing for this denomination to begin now to do. We are full late enough in passing an emphatic recommendation of this sort. It must be understood that this change can not be made fully this year, nor the next year. But we have business men on the General Conference Committee who are not ordained ministers, but are earnest Christians, men of sound business ability, and they are managing business affairs, and it is far better to have these men doing the work than to place these detail administrative burdens upon ministers. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.4
God has given us hundreds of men of good talent and ability for business affairs and administration, who are not gifted for public speaking, but they are thinkers, they are plodders, they are splendid, hard-working men at the desk, and they can get around quickly and look after business interests. The strength of the denomination lies in the ministry giving itself to the work of the ministry, and drawing in this great, splendid body of laymen of business acumen to look after our institutional administrative affairs. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.5
I may say that during the last quadrennial period this matter has been forcibly brought to my personal attention. Four years ago Sister White, who was here, carried a very heavy burden with reference to what we call our city work, and there was a call made for greater effort in behalf of our populous cities. During the Conference I could not understand what was meant exactly, and for a long time afterward I did not know what was meant. I favored voting more money to the city work; I favored calling some more preachers from the west’ to these large cities. But that did not meet the necessities of the work. The messages still kept coming to me with reference to this city work, and reproving me for not doing more. I did not know how to do more. I did not know just what was meant. But the message kept coming closer and closer, and finally I came to the place where I did not see what more I could do unless I should go into city work myself. Now, as we counseled and planned, the matter opened up like this, and word came from Sister White that helped to make the matter plain. It was to entrust to others a greater amount of the administrative work of the General Conference, and turn my attention in a large measure to problems connected with the evangelical work in our cities. I accepted it. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.6
I met with the committee, and laid before them this matter. They accepted it, and they endeavored to relieve me of some of the details I had been carrying, and they withdrew some of my appointments to go abroad, and arranged for me to go spend the summer in New York City and Boston. So we endeavored to carry out the counsel that came to let the men in the General Conference whose business it was to look after the details, take part of my work, and they did it; and I went to New York City. And I want to tell you, my brethen, from the day I turned my face toward New York, I received a new blessing of God in my heart and my mind; and I want to say that the past three years have been the most precious to me of the twelve years I have been in General Conference administration. I want to bear that testimony, and I want to tell you that it has impressed my mind that I must steadily Press toward this thing of passing on to other brethren these details of administration that they can do as well as I can, and yoke up with my brethren in the ministry in lifting our ministry to a higher plane of efficiency and to the point of becoming stronger preachers. GCB June 2, 1913, page 229.7
I tell you, brethren, you presidents of conferences, you are in danger of losing the real refreshing, life-giving power as ministers, because you are so wrapped up with administrative business details. I have gone over the ground myself in the local conference and the union conference and the General Conference. I do not say that the preachers should not be presidents of conferences. I believe in it; but I believe, my brethren, that just as fast as as you can, you should entrust all that pertains to business,—the buying and selling and the care of tents and the details of administration—put these things into the hands of treasurers and secretaries, and helpers, and give yourselves more fully to the work of the ministry. [Voices: Amen! Amen!] I stand for this, that the presidents of conferences should, above all things, be leaders among the preachers of the conference in evangelistic, soul-winning labor. And if there is anybody at the camp-meeting who ought to step in at the revival, who ought to encourage the discouraged, and the suffering, and to lift the people up spiritually, it is the president of the conference. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.1
I know that you must have time for Bible study and prayer. One cannot go from the wearing consideration of business perplexities, and in an instant jump right into good evangelistic preaching work. What this recommendation means, as I understand it, is to distribute these things, so as to give our conference presidents more time to devote to the ministry. And I believe there is a reformation for us to make. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.2
E. E. Andross: I want to say to the delegates that I am in full accord with the plan proposed in this resolution, and have been personally trying to labor to this end. I have labored earnestly to build up the ministry. I believe a minister is ordained to preach the word, and not to go off on a farm or engage in other matters part of the time. But, further, I believe that the minister is called to stand at the head of the conference just as much as he is called to preach the word, and in doing so he is not cutting himself off from the ministry or the preaching of the word. I fully believe that the Lord would have at least a fair representation of ministers on the conference committee. I believe none are so well fitted to direct the minister in his work as those engaged in the ministry. I think we ought to lift the standard higher, until we can have an efficient corps of ministers all over the land. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.3
W. J. Fitzgerald: When I first was called to the presidency of a conference, I considered that my part was to manage matters so as to keep myself busy coming in contact with the workers, visiting the churches, and doing administrative work. That idea clung to me until five years ago, when I went to the British Union. Coming in contact with our brethren in committee work, I found that the European Union Conference presidents and local conference presidents considered that it was their business to manage their church work and direct the companies of workers so that they might be able to conduct public efforts. I considered it my first duty, however, to leave all this, until I had become thoroughly acquainted with the working of things. I was very reticent about the matter of engaging in public effort. I was rather afraid of adding to my duties that kind of work. But I found that when we had companies of workers together and I talked to them about doing things more vigorously along certain lines, now and then I would hear a gentle whisper, “You may have held public meetings before you were president of a conference in America, but you do not know how it is done here. You can not give us suggestions.” When I heard Brother Conradi say repeatedly that the presidents in the British field ought also to conduct public efforts, I made up my mind that was the only right policy. It has been my privilege during the five years connected with that work to conduct three public efforts. Since conducting those efforts, I am sure that the ministers and workers in the conference have had more confidence in what I said to them concerning public work. Now I have come to the conclusion that it would work a marvelous reformation throughout our conferences if the presidents of the conferences would conduct at least one or two public efforts annually. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.4
I. H. Evans: I would like to call attention to a man who has done this kind of work, who, as president of a conference, has conducted public efforts. I would like to hear Elder Geo. I. Butler speak on this question, because I know he has had some experience. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.5
G. I. Butler: I do not know what spirit brought this into my brother’s mind to think of me, but I was thinking of this thing quite seriously myself. I want to refer to an interesting item connected with the history of our people. It was the Snook-Brinkerhoof rebellion in Iowa. When these two men left the truth, they took with them a number of our people. I was put in as the successor of Mr. Snook, but had had no experience as a preacher. I had been a farmer for two years previous to the time I was elected to this office. But it seemed to me that it was a sensible thing for a man occupying a leading position to do all he could to bring souls to the truth. I remained president of that conference for eight years, and was then called to the General Conference. During that time we had been blessed by God in our conference work; and my experience in public work dates back to this great pullback we had from the apostasy of these two men. These men and their followers had discarded the testimonies. But God blessed us greatly, and we labored successfully in getting the people to return to the testimonies. I think there was the most rapid growth in that conference that I have ever seen in any conference in my experience. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.6
After the early spring meetings, which were conducted in May, we had to plan for the summer. I had a fellow laborer with me, Elder Canright. We labored in several places, and scarcely ever failed to leave a church where we labored. I became very much interested in this kind of work, and preferred to engage in public work rather than do anything else in the field. Of course, I tried to discharge my other duties the best I could along with the public work. I would say in closing that I am getting to be pretty old, seventy-eight, but I have a longing in my heart to give myself wholly to lecturing in the field. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.7
I. H. Evans: Elder Haskell has been called for. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.8
S. N. Haskell: I do not know how I can help the discussion very much. I will only say this, that I was not licensed until I had gone around and labored continually, and we came up to 1869. The first camp-meeting was held in New England. There were no ministers in the Vermont and Maine Conferences, only a First-day Adventist preacher who later embraced the truth. This man, Rodman, and I had made up our minds we would go into the field. But we had no money with which to purchase a tent. So we decided we would buy a tent and pay for it after we had raised up a company of Sabbath-keepers. We were allowed three months to pay for it, and we believed that we would have enough church members to help pay for it by that time. However, when I got around to this camp-meeting, to my surprise, they recommended that I be ordained to the ministry and elected to the presidency of the conference. But here we had our tent on our hands. Both Brother Rodman and I agreed that we would not give up our tent, but would continue to preach. So we pitched the tent in Westerly, R. I.; and as a result, a company was brought out, and the child of one of those families has been president of conferences since that time. The Lord surely blessed us in our work there. And I believe it is the spirit of the message; it is to get the truth to the people, to win souls; and any minister or president of a conference, or any person professing to be a minister, who loses that spirit, has lost his message, and he had better quit, and get the message again, or go to some other work. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.9
E. W. Farnsworth: I believe all that has been said on this subject this morning; but it has not all been said yet, in behalf of the presidents of our conferences. If a man is going to be president of a conference, he has got to do some visiting; he must visit his churches, at least I have always found it so. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.10
Geo. I. Butler: We used to do that in the winter, when we could not get out with the tent, you know. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.11
E. W. Farnsworth: Yes; but when you have a conference with sixty or seventy churches or more on your hands, and you have twelve or thirteen weeks in the winter to visit them, you cannot get around. If you hold a series of meetings or two, you will find that you will have to delegate the visiting of churches to somebody else. Generally speaking, the churches want to see the president of their conference at least as often as once a year. The most severe criticism I have ever had in regard to my labor as president of a conference was that I did not get around frequently enough to visit the churches. They demand that we shall visit them. But when most of the president’s time is taken up in carrying on tent-meetings, it is an absolute impossibility for him to visit his churches, if he has a conference of any size. Further than that, there are many of our churches in later times that have got so that they actually demand a pastor to be with them all the time. I suppose we have half a dozen or more churches in our California Conference that think they can hardly get along without a pastor. And they bring tremendous pressure to bear. They talk of the great number of inhabitants they have these are city churches, mostly and that it is a great mission field. GCB June 2, 1913, page 230.12
And they can produce an argument that is hard to answer by any means, because they say that it is just as good a mission field as anywhere. And there is an argument in it. While there has been a good deal said on the other side, I would like to have somebody tell me how a man can visit seventy-five churches during a year, and spend a Sabbath with each, and at the same time carry on two or three tent-meetings. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.1
Geo. I. Butler: He cannot do it. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.2
E. W. Farnsworth: No, sir; he cannot do it. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.3
V. O. Cole: Is it the mind of the framers of this recommendation that now all business be left to the business members of the committee? GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.4
I. H. Evans: I suppose that bringing about this change would be a gradual process. They could not make these changes at once. We would not have the business men. Then you will understand that these recommendations provide for training. They are not only to be selected, but they are to be trained. Just how long that will take, I suppose we hardly know. The plan is evidently that the policy shall be changed, so that ministers shall not be giving their time to business all the while; but we want business men to take these business enterprises, while the ministry give themselves to the preaching of the gospel. I do not think anybody would understand this to mean a radical change immediately, but a definite policy to work to, to bring about just as rapidly and as quickly as changes can be safely made. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.5
G. B. Starr: There is one feature of the matter that seems to have been overlooked a little, and that is, that the evident design of God in bringing in intelligent business men, and connecting them with the management of institutions and conferences, is that he sees that some will yet become strong evangelistic laborers in the cause, as in the case of our Brother Butler, and others who have been mentioned. These men are very modest. They do not see a place for them in the ministry. But it may work out, as in the case of Philip the evangelist, called as one of the deacons, but becoming a great laborer. Some of us feel that instead of working harm to the conferences, this will bring not only support and relief to the present laborers, but will add greatly to the force of laborers in the field. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.6
C. L. Taggart: Would it not be well to put in this recommendation a suggestion to the ministers of the conference as to their duties in reference to aggressive work in the matter of a tent effort or two or more? GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.7
I. H. Evans: Is not the discussion just about as effective as a resolution? GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.8
E. L. Maxwell: I have found the same difficulty that Brother Farnsworth mentions. I am heartily in favor of all our conference presidents holding public meetings at least once a year; but as I have found times when I could not do that, I have endeavored to have the churches where I have visited, arrange the work in such a way that I could conduct an effort with them for a week or so. Even though we may not be able to go out and hold tent-meetings, yet we can in this way make our meetings of an evangelical nature. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.9
F. W. Stray: I started in and worked on the plan of doing evangelical work. I could not give up the evangelical effort to which the Lord has called me, and for which I have been ordained. Now I realize that there are presidents and there are presidents. Some of us may like to do work among the churches and office work better than we do evangelical work. I do not believe this can be made so sweeping as to compel everybody to be an evangelist. But I am heartily in favor of this recommendation, and am going to try to live up to it. But is not this an answer to Brother Farnsworth’s question: If it is carried out will it not result in smaller conferences? GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.10
E. K. Slade: I am in perfect harmony with the recommendation. I feel it is timely. But I do believe we ought to avoid extremes. I think as a denomination we have made mistakes in going from one extreme to another. It would be absolutely impossible for a conference executive to carry out some of the ideas advanced in the discussion as our work stands today in some of the larger conferences. The greatest demand made upon me at the present moment is to get out to the churches, where they need ministerial help; and the demand is such that it seems to me it will require more than twelve months to meet it; and to attempt to carry on a tent effort, or to enter into two or three tent efforts, would be an impossibility. I do believe, however, that it is perfectly proper for the details of administrative affairs, business propositions, to be placed just as the recommendation requires; so that a minister of the gospel, a conference president, shall not have his time taken up with these matters. And I think that is being done, and will be done more fully, as the recommendation calls for, in the future. But if some of the remarks that have been made go on record in the BULLETIN, and our people feel that that is the thing the conference president ought to do, I am inclined to think several conference presidents will be pretty much inclined to retire from their positions, and go out and preach the word entirely, and let the administrative work pass to some one else. That is the way it seems to me. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.11
A. G. Daniells: Now I want to make a word of explanation. This says the work of the ministry. Is not all this good help that is done for the churches the work of the ministry?—Surely. And every conference president must see that the churches are receiving the help necessary to keep them strong and vigorous and active in the work. It may not be necessary for the president to do all that work. He may divide the conference up, and arrange for different ministers to do this revival work in the churches, and this work of the ministry. But I could not think that a minister was missing his calling or his duty if he was giving himself earnestly to the revival of the churches, and to additions in places where there is an interest, and all that. I think Brother Slade has expressed the idea that we shall turn our institutional affairs and business details over as far as possible to other men, leaving our ministers free for this church work, and tent work, so far as the size of the conference makes it possible. I would not swing to an extreme. But surely, brethren, we cannot make a mistake to head in this direction, and avoid extremes. I do not think the people should be encouraged to feel that a conference president is of no account if he fails to hold a series of sent-meetings each year. Let him be governed by the size of his conference, and the conditions surrounding him, and then, as he engages in evangelical work, and tent-meetings if he can get the opportunity, he will enjoy it, and the people will be encouraged. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.12
H. C. Hartwell: I am in favor of the spirit of the resolution. But I must confess that I fear there will be a tendency to run to extremes in order to avoid a good deal of criticism that may come to a president in the carrying out of this recommendation, if we are to stick strictly to the letter of it. Now I wish to speak from the standpoint of a conference president. I desire to state that when I started in on this line of work, I did not have the idea of a president’s work that Elder Fitzgerald suggested that he had. I was living in Boston at the time, and I decided to remain in the city and conduct a tent effort instead of moving to the conference headquarters. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.13
I must confess that I had a most unsatisfactory time as a result of that attempt. I was continually being called off to attend boards and committees and to look after this and that and the other, and to arrange for matters in the field, so that I could not bind off the effort. I made up my mind that I would not attempt to carry on another tent effort, under circumstances so unfavorable. Then I thought I would hold winter meetings, and so conducted a hall effort in Boston in the winter, but with the same results. I was called here and there, to attend board meetings, or to visit churches; and I said, “I have about enough of this.” GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.14
The way we have attempted to carry on the work since that has been to spend all the time possible in the field preaching, and I think our laborers will bear me out in the statement that personally I am out preaching in tent meetings, in hall meetings, among the churches, a great deal of the time; but not to attempt to take the responsibility of conducting any particular effort. I do not feel able to give the necessary time and attention to it. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.15
I want to say further that one of the important things that comes to officials in conferences is the responsibility of doing our share toward the support of missions in less favored lands; and this responsibility we have of keeping up on the Fifteen-cent-a-week Fund or some other fund, is continually being set before us by our brethren at the Washington headquarters, and we must necessarily give some time and careful thought to this matter of keeping up our finances; and the man that does not do this,—woe unto him! It takes some time to attend to this, and I have noticed that in conferences—at least some conferences—where this matter has been neglected, and the man has given himself to other lines, and has failed to attend to his administrative work, he has lost rich blessings, and has made a failure to his work. Now I do not propose to do too many things. Personally, I was ordained to the ministry and propose to give my time to that as much as I am able; but I am a man that believes in trying to do what I do right, doing it well, without trying to do things I cannot possibly accomplish. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.16
I am in harmony with the spirit of this recommendation, but I want to say, brethren, that I am not promising to go out this summer and conduct a tent effort. Some of us have not got the physical endurance to undertake everything, and if we do one thing well it is about all we can do. But I am in harmony with the spirit of this recommendation, and shall work toward it. I believe we will have to mix a little common sense with this, and work the thing out the best we can according to the circumstances. GCB June 2, 1913, page 231.17
J. H. Behrens: First of all, I wish to say that I am in hearty sympathy with the resolution. I believe we are heading in the right direction in calling the conference officials to turn their attention toward the evangelical work. It may not be possible to arrange conference affairs so that we can conduct two or three series of meetings this summer; but I believe that in the smaller conferences we can shape matters so that this will be possible, and personally I shall rejoice in it. In the second place, so far as the churches are concerned, it is a fact that they do like to see the conference president. And, as Brother Farnsworth stated, it is impossible to visit from fifty to seventy-five churches during the year, giving personal attention and work and thought to each church, and do the administrative work, and hold meetings as well. Now I have a suggestion to make,—divide this church work with the ministry during the winter season. I have another thought to suggest,—instead of visiting every church personally, call a number of churches together, especially inviting your church officers; and make it a time to train your elders, your Sabbath-school superintendents, your church clerks, and your church treasurers. Then you will have less trouble with the Fifteen-cent-a-week Fund, brother. You will never accomplish it unless you get the local church, through its local officers, to take hold of the work. The burden of effort comes from Washington to the union, from the union to the local, and from the local conference to the church; and of all places, brethren, where we need to strengthen the work, it is in the church officers. [Voices: Amen.] And I believe general meetings, where two or three or four churches can be called together, will be much better. It will bring more results, be more effective, and build the churches up more than to visit the churches individually. I think the resolution is heading us in the right line, and I am in hearty sympathy with it. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.1
L. R. Conradi: I am very much pleased with this resolution, and I do not think it is as difficult to carry out as we think it is. By the grace of God, it has been my privilege to carry it out a number of years. I found that, the larger my field grows, there must be planning ahead to accomplish it. I have not the privilege at the present time, as Brother Daniells had, to labor in the cities, because our workers over there are city workers. With us the thing is turned about. All our work is city work at first; country work comes in later, and is much more difficult. But the union presidents now carry on the city efforts. Then what is my work?—We see some large problems in Mohammedan fields and heathen fields, and I have an interest in them. I do not know how to counsel the workers unless I go there for four or five months. Well, now, when I leave Europe, I leave it without the least concern. I know that the gospel ministry goes on; I know that the good boards go on, and that the conferences go on; and I am very happy to know that everything goes along well without me—that I can be spared. I believe we can do that; but I do admit that we plan from one to two years ahead, so I can get out that four or five months. I believe, brethren, by the grace of God, it can be done, and I find institutions are running successfully, the gospel work is going on, and we are getting thousands of people into the truth. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.2
A. G. Daniells: Who runs your institutions? GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.3
L. R. Conradi: Business men; they have all the detail work, and we find also that the work is going on in harmony. And I am thankful to the Lord that we can enlarge, and go out, and carry the gospel to the very ends of the world. A few years ago, when that testimony referred to was read, one good brother came to me and said, “Now, you men must all get off every board.” I am perfectly willing to get off every board, but, brethren, if I get off every board, I want to be rid of every responsibility concerning the institutions. But a president can be on a board, and yet have good business men looking after all the details. We need good judgment, brethren and sisters. Some one says we have so many churches. Now we divided our conferences into as many districts as we have ordained elders. The first thing I did in German East Africa was to form three districts, and to have three district elders, so the superintendent did not need to go into all the details. By planning, I know it can be carried out successfully, and we shall see many more souls brought into the kingdom of God, and our institutions running with less debt, too. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.4
G. F. Watson: I have not said a word in this Conference yet, but this subject nerves me up. I remember several years ago, when I was called to the presidency of the Colorado Conference. I hated to face what I had to face,—$7,600 in debt, and an overdraft on the tithe of twelve hundred dollars, with twenty-six workers. I begged to be relieved, but was not relieved. After we had our committee arranged, one of the men of the committee said to me, “Now, George, you must keep your hand on the treasury. You must stay in the office and see that the money is paid out very carefully.” “Well,” I said, “if you want me to sit in the office, I will not be there.” As Elder Daniells suggested, we divided our conference into divisions, and after visiting the churches, making my round as best I could, encouraging the churches, I took my tent and went into the field. I went into the mountains, forty miles from a railroad, and spent six weeks, holding a thorough tent-meeting in the mountains. I brought out there a company of people; and I want to tell you, our people from California, that the lady who stood at the head of the Paradise Valley Sanitarium for a number of years, I found over in the mountains forty miles from any railroad. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.5
Voice: Did your churches criticize you while you were gone up there? GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.6
G. F. Watson: No; we raised the tithe, so we caught up, raised every conference worker’s wages, and Elder Daniells will remember that at one of our conferences in Denver, we donated to the General Conference seven thousand dollars in one vote. I am a union conference president now, and my men in this assembly can testify whether I am in the chair very much. I shall be glad to be relieved of the chairmanship of our only institution in that union, the Keene Academy, if they will furnish us a business manager that will conduct the work. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.7
I believe, brethren, with all my heart that the spirit of this resolution is timely, and God speed the day when we as ordained ministers will have less to do along financial lines. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.8
C. F. McVagh: I am glad for all this good discussion on both sides of the question. I believe with others that we are heading in the right direction. I have no desire to repeat what my brethren have said. But there are a few points that I perhaps may add a little something to. We cannot lay down a general rule that will fit every conference and every situation. When I came to the West Michigan Conference, I found sixty-nine churches and companies in that field. Many of those churches wrote me that they had not had the privilege of a visit from the conference president for a long time, and they were very anxious to have me visit them, and I was very anxious to visit them and get acquainted, and get acquainted with the situation in the different churches. I saw at once that we could not visit sixty-nine churches in one year and remain over Sabbath with each church. So I hit upon this plan, of inviting three or four or five churches that were close together to plan for regular union meetings, not simply for a special meeting on the occasion of the president’s visit, but to plan for a union meeting as often as once in three months. I have endeavored to reach these union meetings and become acquainted with the church officers and with the people in the different companies. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.9
We have found this plan works admirably in West Michigan, and I believe the people have been greatly encouraged by it. We have also followed the plan of dividing the conference into districts, and making some tried laborer responsible in a way for the conditions of things in the different parts of the conference. There is one other thing I would like to say. I believe our people will be greatly encouraged when we as conference presidents get out and raise up churches, and new believers are added. I do not think that we can do anything that will more surely encourage them to faithfulness in paying their tithes and giving to missions, than to point to a new company or a new church. I am glad, too, that I had the privilege last summer of conducting a series of meetings. It was not altogether intentional, although I enjoyed it very much. The man who was appointed to head the tent company became ill and was unable to take the work, so I stepped in and helped to carry on the effort, and the Lord blessed, and souls were won to the truth; and I know it has been a blessing, an inspiration, and an encouragement to the people of the conference. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.10
W. T. Knox: I would like to call the question, and in doing so would crave the privilege, after the recommendations have been considered, to introduce a report of the joint committee on finance. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.11
I. H. Evans: The question is called. All in favor of adopting these manifest it by the uplifted hand. [Carried unanimously.] Brother Knox still has the floor. GCB June 2, 1913, page 232.12
W. T. Knox: The questions of finance are so related to the two conferences, that the two committees have been operating together, and the partial report that we desire to present this morning really affects both conferences, but if possible we would desire that they be considered and separated, as the discussion will reveal where they belong. Brother Parmele is secretary of the committee. GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.1
R. W. Parmele (reading): The joint-committee on finance of the General Conference and the North American Division Conference, would respectfully submit the following report:— GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.2
WASe
In harmony with the action of the General Conference Committee at Mountain View, in January, 1913,— GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.3
1. We recommend, The appointment of a finance commission of four members, one member to be appointed by the General Conference Committee, another member by the North American Division Conference Committee; these two to give their entire time to the work; the other two to be the treasurers of the General and the North American Division Conferences, and that the expenses of the commission be divided equally between the two conferences. GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.4
2. We recommend. The adoption of the actions of the General Conference Committee at Mountain View in January, 1913 (recorded on page 52 of the BULLETIN), regarding the relief of our institutions, with such revision as may be necessary to adapt them to the North American Division. GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.5
3. We recommend. That the North American Division Conference provide the necessary means for the building of the medical college hospital, by advancing the amount called for from its treasury, and replacing the amount by calling for donations from its constituency. GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.6
On motion to adopt, these recommendations were held over for consideration after being published in the BULLETIN. GCB June 2, 1913, page 233.7
Conference adjourned.
I. H. EVANS, Chairman;
W. A. SPICER, Secretary.