Dear Pacific Union Member:
When we have problems we generally ask, “Who can I talk to? Who can help?” And few things are more exasperating than getting the runaround. Often we start at the top, only to be sent elsewhere. More frustration!
How it Works
Getting problems resolved in the church or church school can be just as difficult as anywhere else, so let me offer some tips about who to talk to first.
Always talk first to the person you believe caused the problem. Don’t say anything to your friends, relatives or fellow church members until you have talked with the one responsible.
Jesus advised in Matthew 18:15-17: "If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the fault. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. If that person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church” (NLT).
If you can’t resolve things with the person directly, move to the next level. In the church, that might be a church elder. If that person can’t help you, take it to the pastor. In a school, talk to the principal.
Then what?
When things aren’t solved at the first two or three levels in a church or school, you can go to other levels. But you need to understand the Adventist church’s structure, which is not the same as a business structure, or even the same as other churches. In the Adventist church, control is not top down. Often “lower” levels of organization have the final word, and no one at “higher” levels can override their decisions. Here is how it works:
The local church has final authority over who will be members, how local church funds are spent, and over most of the church programming. Don’t talk to the conference if you are unhappy in these three areas; talk to local church leaders, including board members.
The one exception is when you believe there is misconduct on the part of the pastor, who is employed by the conference. If there are problems with the pastor, talk to him/her first, then to an elder. If it is still not resolved, have your first elder take it to the conference ministerial director or president. Don’t go to the conference before you have processed concerns as far as possible locally.
The local school board is the final authority in all matters of school operation, except for teacher hiring and firing. That responsibility is shared with the conference board of education.
Although conference leaders have officer titles, even the president shares authority with the executive committee. At least half that committee’s members are laity from local churches. Between constituency sessions (every four or five years) the executive committee has the final authority in all matters of policy, budgets and personnel. It won’t help to appeal to the union, division, or General Conference in these areas. Local conference decisions are final.
The union conference advises local conferences and performs several services for the conferences, but does not control local conferences or churches. It is involved with all levels of education in a similar way. Also, local members and leaders are represented at the division and the General Conference by union leaders and the union committee.
I hope this brief explanation, along with your forgiving Christian spirit, will be helpful when you need to solve a problem.
Sincerely your friend,
Tom Mostert, President
Pacific Union Conference
P.O. Box 5005
Westlake Village, CA 91359
