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FEATUREin their lives. They desire a society that has stronger sexualstandards and clearer moral values. The overarching themeof the book is that Australia is gripped by a disease of affluenceand consumerism which has negatively impactedsociety physically, emotionally and mentally.As a Church we have the values that can supply thelongings of Aussie hearts.According to General Conference statistics, AustralianAdventists are among the most generous in the world.Does your experience confirm this report?Yes, I think they are. A recent report indicated that theChurch in Australia is the fourth largest national contributorto tithe in the world field. United States is first, followedby Brazil, Canada and then Australia. Apart from tithe andlocal church offerings, our people arevery generous to various ministriesand causes. Also, some time ago,I read a report that Adventists givemore to the Church per capita thanany other Christian denomination inAustralia.What contribution have AustralianAdventists made to the WorldChurch?We have made a huge contributionto the World Church in all kindsof ways. We are looked upon as enthusiastic, open, can-dosorts of people. We have served at all levels of the Church.We’ve gone to serve in all parts of the globe. If I listed allthe names of Australians and their contributions, it wouldbe a very long list! Perhaps just one example is the Australiancolporteur who, approximately 100 years ago, wasthe first Adventist in the Philippines and now there are overa million Adventists in that country. It’s a proud heritage ofservice we have to the World Church.Earlier this year the North German Union voted toordain women pastors, and three US Unions havemade noises about following them. What is the AUC’sperspective on this move?It is clear that the vast majority of Adventist theologiansfeel that there are no theological reasons why womenshould not be ordained. Here in Australia we have anincreasing number of women who are working in ministryand doing a wonderful work; at this time these ministersare “commissioned” rather than “ordained”, but their functionis largely analogous.As you know, the worldwide Church is engaged in amajor study on the theology of ordination and the findingsof this will be presented at the next General ConferenceSession in 2015. We are looking forward to the results ofthat study.Some of these issues are incredibly challenging for atruly worldwide Church such as ours. It would be fair to saythat in some parts of the world there is significant oppositionto the ordination of women, due predominately tocultural factors. This issue has the potential to threaten theunity of the Church.Interestingly, however, I was sitting next to a Divisionpresident from Africa at meetings in Washington and Iasked him if they had women elders in his Division. He saidthey have many of them, and that in most places womenelders are no longer an issue. I am sure that wouldn’t havebeen the case a few years ago, just as was the case here inAustralia. Perspectives are changing, but there is a need forpatience as it is only through patience that we can moveforward in unity.We should not underestimate how remarkable and preciousour global Adventist familyis—and how fragile it is.Australians arelonging to havemeaning in their lives.They desire a societythat has strongersexual standards andclearer moral values.There are a lot of Australianand American ministries thatraise money in Australia.What benefits and challengesdoes this bring?First, we should rememberthat when people join theAdventist Church in Australia,they become net givers to theWorld Church effort. A lopsidedgrowth that is focused only on poor nations createsa church family that is unable to care for itself and unableto promote further growth. It’s also critical to rememberAustralia is a mission field. What’s more, it’s a tough missionfield!So, from every angle, if we want to have a strong globalmission future at home and abroad, we have to support theAdventist Church in Australia.That said, I am glad that I belong to a Church that isgenerous to its mission. In terms of benefits, it means thatthere are a large numbers of ministries and projects aroundthe world that would not function were it not for the generosityof our members. Australian Adventists tend to havea big picture of the Church.In terms of the challenges, I’m happy for church membersto give to the many appeals from around the world forthe Australian Adventist dollar, but we have to be carefulnot to do so at the expense of the Church here at home.Sometimes the appeals for overseas projects or ministriesare very exciting and challenging. But all the hoopla sometimesobscures the breadth and depth of our organisedwork. We work with the kind of oversight necessary to ensureaccountability, and the kind of thoughtful planning toensure money isn’t wasted on a flash-in-the-pan here anda grand display there. Our goal is for substantial, sustainablegrowth that doesn’t merely count the baptisms, butalso is accountable for retention and nurture.10 JUNE 30, 2012 • record.net.auComment? Go to record.net.au/comment