Crisis in the Seventh Day Adventist Church

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Dr. Cleghorne present a crisis that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is face with. The problem is there is a serious need for term limits within all levels of the organization. There are several levels of administration in Seventh-day Adventist Church: Local church, Conference, Union, Division, and General Conference. In the constitution and bylaws of the five levels of the church, each entity of the church, chooses at constituency meeting, the officers that will serve them for the duration of the term. Some have Trienniums (three years), Quadrennium (four years), and some Quinquennium (five years). All union and conference with its Divisions have Quinquennium.
There is a conflict between some constituencies; some choose to have open-ended terms, while others have chosen term limits. Dr. Cleghorne believes this inconsistency causes serious conflict because this creates the opportunity for some leaders to remain in office “ad infinitum” and will do anything to manipulate the process. Cleghorne examined the ecclesiastical operations at the constituent levels of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and recommended positive alternatives to this ongoing political problem. Below are a number of arguments Dr. Cleghorne presented in favor of term limits:

1. The need to avoid any man or woman feeling that they are indispensable, because of the length of time he/she would have served in a particular office.
2. The need to preserve the purity of its operation, ensuring credibility at all levels and integrating the involvement of many leaders in the direction and management of the organization.
3. Term limits does an excellent job at mentoring a cadre of possible successors. This provides and creates a healthier environment for the develop...

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...ith empowerment comes liberation. Liberation according to Dr. Cleghorne is “allowing the mentee to fight in his or her own armor.” Too long he says “we expect those we train to be exactly like us. “We are to be thinkers and a not mere reflector of other men’s thought” he warned.

Summary
Dr. Cleghorne pointed out that the greatest investment the Seventh-day Adventist Church has is not in the stock market, it’s not in industrial corporations, and it’s not in real estate nor is it in technology but rather in people. Cleghorne believes that however good or spiritual a leader might be, there are bound to be people, equally committed and spiritual, who’d find their leadership style unattractive, mundane, even cruel. And the thought of a seemingly endless term could become burdensome and discouraging. Term limits carry the hope that no administration would last forever.

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