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An Act of ImaginationTry this experiment:Imagine for a moment that all of yourrelationships with fellow Adventists weresuddenly erased, leaving no residue of memoryor comfort.Imagine that no familiar smiles greetedyou at church, no one spoke your name, andno one put an arm around your shoulderwith affection.Imagine that no one invited you to sharea meal, or asked about your family, orlaughed with you at life’s little oddities.You are now beginning to see the church asthe newly baptized sometimes see it—a formidablestructure of vital truth but thin relationships,a “fellowship” organized around highideals and even higher expectations, but onetheir hearts find difficult to love. Little wonder,then, that a painfully large number of thosewho follow Jesus into the waters of baptismare somewhere else within a year—convincedof truth, but missing the human warmth thatmakes church more than doctrine.Now try this experiment.Imagine for a moment that you are standingat the doorway of your church, standingwhere Jesus would stand, wrapping all whomGod is calling into the warmth of His embrace.Imagine giving your name—and yourheart—to “strangers,” asking them to share ameal in your home, listening to their storiesof how grace conquers pain.Imagine introducing them to yourfriends, opening doors that someone onceopened for you, building networks of bothprayer and playfulness.This month’s cover feature opens up oneof Adventism’s most challenging dilemmas—howto welcome and hold the manywhom the Spirit is moving into this endtimeremnant faith. Like me, you’ll probablywince a bit as you read, for this is one placewe still are falling far short of the Savior’sexpectations for His people.And if you’re one of those who didn’t findthe companionship you needed on thefirst try, give us at least one morechance to get it right. We’vealready imagined doing amuch better job of welcomingyou next time we see you.PHOTOS BY ANSEL OLIVERWORLD REPORTAfter Debate,Annual Council VotesStatement on Church PolityLeft: OFFICIAL READING: GeneralConference vice president LowellCooper reads the statement.Right: READING STATEMENT:Annual Council delegates read the statement read the statementon church polity, procedures, and resolution of disagreements.■ Following three hours of respectful study and discussion, worldleaders of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists voted toapprove a “Statement on Church Polity, Procedures, and Resolutionof Disagreements in the Light of Recent Union Actions on MinisterialOrdination” on October 16, 2012, during the Annual Council of worldchurch leaders held in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States.The vote was 264 in favor and 25 opposed.The move comes after three local union conferences—the NorthGerman Union in the Inter-European Division, and the ColumbiaUnion and Pacific Union in the North American Division—separatelyvoted this year to permit ordination “without respect to gender,” somethingthe Adventist Church as a whole has twice rejected in votes at themovement’s quinquennial General Conference sessions.The voted statement expresses disapproval of the independentactions of the union conferences, appeals for all church units “to considerthoughtfully the impact and implications of decisions” made independentlyof the world community, and affirms the role of women in thechurch’s life and ministry. The document also points toward continuingstudies on the theology of ordination, the results of which are expectedto be ready in 2014, ahead of the following year’s sixtieth General Conferencesession. No sanctions are applied, or suggested, in the document.“This statement deals with church structure and procedures. It doesnot address the question of ministerial ordination practices per se,” theContinued on next pageDecember 2012 | Adventist World 3