Book: Clarence Creager Crisler, Organization: Its Character, Purpose, Place, and Development in the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1938). HTML, PDF.
[p. 187]
Chapter 18: Prosperity Through Concerted Action
Perhaps the severest and most practical test that has come to the system of organization adopted in the early days of the third angel’s message, is the use Seventh-day Adventists have been able to make of it in their efforts to extend a knowledge of the gospel throughout the world. On this point James White bore witness a decade after the formation of the General Conference, in these words:
“As numbers have increased, and missionary fields have opened before us, we have all come to prize our simple, and, to human view, complete organization. The history of our cause bears a decided testimony in favor of our system of organization. The men who framed it, and introduced it, felt the importance of their work. The Guiding Hand was with them, which is the reason why the lapse of more than ten years has not revealed defects demanding changes. We unhesitatingly express our firm convictions that organization with us was by the direct providence of God.”—An Earnest Appeal to the General Conference Committee, p. 12 (published in 1873).
On this same point, Mrs. White has also borne testimony. Thirty years after the General Conference was organized for the purpose of bringing about concerted action in all parts of the Master’s vineyard, she addressed the 1893 General Conference thus:
“We engaged in the work of organization, and marked prosperity attended this advance movement. As the development [p. 188] of the work called us to engage in new enterprises, we were prepared to enter upon them. … We have moved under the order of the Captain of our salvation. God has blessed our united efforts. The truth has spread and flourished. Institutions have multiplied. … The body has been ‘compacted by that which every joint supplieth.’ Eph. 4:16. As we have advanced, our system of organization has still proved effectual. …
“In reviewing our past history, having traveled over every step of advance to our present standing, I can say, Praise God! As I see what God has wrought, I am filled with astonishment and with confidence in Christ as leader. We have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history.”—General Conference Bulletin, 1893, p. 24.
Early Conceptions
The system of organization adopted in 1861-63 was not chosen because of its special value in the conduct of a world-wide work; for in those times none of the brethren had any clear conception of the future development of the cause of God into an all-embracing, world-wide movement.
At times in the earlier years of Seventh-day Adventist history, those who planned for the extension of the gospel into unentered fields caught glimpses of a broadening work which would embrace many nationalities. (See, for example, Review and Herald, May 27, 1858, p. 13.) But it was not until the early 70’s that the leaders of the advent movement began to comprehend that theirs was a mission to the whole world. Even as late as in 1872, the scripture, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the [p. 189] world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come,” was regarded simply as a “prominent sign of the last day,” meeting fulfillment in the extension of Protestant missions. Its complete fulfillment was in no way associated with the spread of the advent movement throughout the world. (See Review and Herald, April 16 and July 16, 1872.) But in 1873 a marked change of sentiment began to appear in the utterances of leaders among Seventh-day Adventists regarding their duty to warn the world. (See Id., Aug. 26, 1873.) By the close of the year 1874, this transformation of sentiment seems to have been effected almost completely.
Overruling Providences
One of the most potent of the contributing causes of this change of view was the successful propagation of the truths of the third angel’s message among the foreign-speaking peoples in the United States. Through a series of remarkable providences, the message was spreading rapidly at that time among the Danes in America, and was being received by some from among other nationalities. The Sabbath truth had also been carried into Central Europe, where some had accepted it.
It was at this time that the brethren in responsibility were impressed with the importance of providing facilities for the training of consecrated young men and young women, and others who were older in years and experience, as gospel workers for mission fields at home and abroad. “Shall we have a denominational school,” they inquired in their first announcement of the project, “the object of which shall be, in the shortest, most thorough and practicable way, to qualify young men and women to act some [p. 190] part, more or less public, in the cause of God?”—Review and Herald, April 16, 1872.
Prompt action was taken. The management was soon placed in the hands of the General Conference Committee, and June 3, 1872, was set as the time of opening the school. “The chief object,” they reiterated, is to “aid those who contemplate becoming public laborers in the cause of truth.”—Id., May 14, 1872. “A mighty field is opening before us,” wrote George I. Butler, who was then the president of the General Conference. May God “give us as a people a proper sense of the importance of His work, and a will to do our part of that work faithfully.” Elder Butler further urged that the school enterprise be conducted along liberal lines. “This, like other institutions among us,” he declared, “must be started and grow up to the position God has designed for it.”—Id., June 4, 1872. In a later article he suggested that in this school some of the modern languages be taught; for “this truth must go to all the nations around us, and to those who come among us, especially.”—Id., July 30, 1872.
James White urged that the guardians of the institutions at Battle Creek should be “men and women of experience, firmness, and zeal;” and it was at this time that he proposed to encourage earnest, faithful men to move to Battle Creek, there to stand as “picked men” sharing the responsibilities of management. (See Id., Aug. 6, 1872.)
A World-Wide Movement
This was a time of changing conceptions regarding the heralding of the third angel’s message in broadening fields. James White, in his inspiring address delivered early in the General Conference session held in the spring of 1873, [p. 191] defined anew the position and work of Seventh-day Adventists. Carefully reviewing the scope of the three angels’ messages, he declared of the final proclamation of gospel truth symbolized by the third angel, that it is “a world-wide message.” The angel was seen flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Rev. 14:6.
“When I see how God is raising up men of different nations,” the speaker continued, “who are coming together in harmony on the truth, their hearts all in sweet union with those who were the pioneers of the cause, and who labored in the English alone for nearly a score of years, my heart is quickened, and I say to myself, We are treading hard upon the very borders of the period of the loud cry of this last message, which is to ripen the harvest of the earth!
“Is this our position? My soul says, It is! I look at the simple facts relative to its being the truth, I look over the ground on which the evidence rests, and I say, My soul is satisfied. And then I look at the providence of God that has favored this work, as it has been proclaimed in the English language, and I say again, This certainly must be the work of God! And then when I look and see what has been done almost without our efforts, certainly with but little effort on our part, and what is now being done to reach people of other tongues, my soul says, We have the truth! This is the work of God! …
“The time is come, my brethren, not merely for this work to be carried on by accident and special providences, but for those whom God has made the guardians of His truth to take immediate action; and all I plead for here is [p. 192] that we may act consistently and harmoniously with the solemn and awful position that we take, namely, that we are far advanced in the last merciful message, which is to ripen the harvest of the earth. …
“When we consider the small beginning, and in how obscure a manner this work commenced, the rapidity and soundness of our growth, the perfection and efficiency of our organization, the great work it has already accomplished, … in bringing out men and women of other tongues, qualified to teach it to their countrymen; when we see in what union we stand, and the means we have at our command, such as our publishing facilities, our system of supporting the cause, and our organization, which experience has shown to be so complete, but which was an experiment only about a dozen years since (for this meeting is only the eleventh annual session since we became an organized body);—when we look at all these things, and see how God has prospered us, we that are connected with the work can say, ‘What hath God wrought!’ We can say that He, in His providence, has given us all we want.”—Id., May 20, 1873.
Facing a Stupendous Task
In the 70’s, the task of extending a knowledge of the third angel’s message into all the unentered regions of the habitable globe, appeared to the brethren in responsibility as something almost beyond their ability to accomplish. They realized that such a task could never be undertaken and carried forward successfully to completion, in cooperation with heavenly agencies, without the most thorough organization of all the working forces in the church. Would the simple principles of gospel order that had been adopted [p. 193] for the purpose of facilitating the progress of the cause of God in the United States and Canada, prove adequate for the greater and more complicated problems of the future?
On the necessity of “concerted action” and “organized effort,” Uriah Smith wrote in the fall of 1874, soon after the sending out of J. N. Andrews as our first missionary to Europe:
“We profess to believe that the burden of the work of proclaiming to the world the last message of mercy is committed to our hands. How much is involved in this? This world, though small in comparison with other worlds, is nevertheless to human beings quite a large place. Though three fourths of it is under water, there is still a vast expanse of territory left. Its inhabitants are numbered by the hundreds of millions. How much labor will it take to convey instruction on the present truth to all of these who are entitled to receive it? How many men will be wanted? What kind of men? The world’s talent will be arrayed against the truth. Somebody must be prepared to meet it. How many books will be required? How many thousand tons of periodicals? How much means to carry on the work? Can it be done without concerted action? without organized effort? Can it be accomplished by individual or shortsighted labors that are calculated only for the day? …
“What more will be needed, we perhaps do not now clearly see. We only know that this work is the cause of God, and it will be accomplished. It cannot go back. The omnipotent hand of the God and Christ of our blessed hope is behind it. We know that that cause which represents in the earth the closing truths of the word of God, and the finishing of the work of salvation among men, is [p. 194] no sham and slipshod affair, and will not be done in a corner. There are thousands of localities to be lightened with its presence, which do not yet so much as know of its existence. There are thousands of men to be raised up for the work of the harvest. There are tons of books to be produced. There are hundreds of thousands of dollars to be expended. Perhaps our present facilities must be doubled or quadrupled.”—Id., Dec. 15, 1874.
The Test of Time
The system of organization adopted in the early days of the third angel’s message has not brought disappointment to those who have entered into the labors of the pioneers. In 1877 James White expressed his faith in the overruling providence of God, thus: “When we take a view of the past, the present, and the future, as far as we can look forward through the prophetic word, we are impressed that God has been leading in the preparation for our great work, and that we are now entering upon it in its length and breadth.”—Id., June 7, 1877.
Concerning the application of the principles of organization adopted as the divinely appointed means for bringing about concerted action, W. A. Spicer testified in 1907, in his pamphlet on Gospel Order:
“As was shown John in the Revelation, Christ Himself walks among the seven candlesticks, the churches, and holds the seven stars, the messengers of the churches, in His own right hand. His presence and guidance are promised ‘even unto the end of the world.’
“He has been the leader in this advent movement, and by the counsels of His word and through the Spirit of prophecy the divine principles of order and organization [p. 195] have been developed and applied to present-day needs and conditions. Every principle in the organization of our work today is found in the word of God. As one united people, let us devote all our powers to the world-wide proclamation of the everlasting gospel and the finishing of the work.”—Gospel Order: A Brief Outline of the Bible Principles of Organization, p. 32.
“With our lines extending throughout the whole earth, and the enemy ever watching to break up the forces and weaken the hands of the workers, more than ever at any time in the history of God’s work is there need for such thorough organization as will enable the whole body of believers to strengthen one another’s hands in the service. It is one world-wide work, and a united people is to do it. The Old Testament prophets, who in vision saw the final triumph of the church, bear witness to this. ‘Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion.’ Isa. 52:8.”—Id., p. 12.
“In the extending growth of our work,” declared O. A. Olsen during the eleventh council meeting of the 1893 General Conference, “we must cherish organization. The first object of our organization was to connect every member of the church with active work. Can we afford to drop organization now, when the work is so widely extending, and the demand for all to engage in active work is so steadily increasing?”—General Conference Bulletin, 1893, p. 211.
In 1907 S. N. Haskell wrote:
“God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The old ship Zion is sure to enter the port. But he who thinks some other craft has a better appearance will find that it [p. 196] is rotten in its essential timber. One may trust and be true to the form of the organization, and not have a well-grounded faith in the truth. This will not save any; but the one who walks in the full counsel of the Lord will acknowledge the Lord’s organization as revealed in His word.”—Review and Herald, May 30, 1907.
J. S. Washburn has witnessed to his faith in an organized movement, thus:
“General organization, organized unity, is God’s plan and purpose. The whole principle is laid out in what we know of the order of heaven, in the order of Israel, and in the order of the apostolic church. But God has given men brains and common sense to apply the principles of His word to their daily life and the daily perplexities and difficulties which they meet.
“Through much labor and perplexity there has been formed among the people who believe in the near coming of the Lord an organization which has been endorsed from beginning to end by the Spirit of prophecy. Whoever seeks to overthrow it is doing the work of the enemy who sought to bring an independent organization into the family of heaven. No man liveth unto himself; neither does any church live unto itself, or any conference. We are all one, members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. Let us abide in the body. Let us stay on board the ship.
“Many have arisen in days that are past, and are arising today, preaching independence and false liberty, which is license. The liberty of organized unity, wherein each feels definitely related to every other one of the church of the living God, is true liberty. He who is cut off can no more live, prosper, and bear fruit, than the branch severed [p. 197] from the vine. If ever there was a time when organization and unity were essential, it is today. A small people, united with God, and welded together as one, can face the divided interests of the world’s great Babylon, and win eternal victory.”—Id., June 6, 1907.
And J. N. Loughborough testified in 1913:
“As we met at Washington, D.C., in this jubilee year of the General Conference, and heard the reports from all parts of the world, demonstrating what order has accomplished, with God’s blessing, in the harmonious advancement of the message, we say this of itself is a proof that the Lord has led in the work. On this fiftieth anniversary year of the General Conference organization it is the unanimous sentiment of thousands of Seventh-day Adventists to push on the work under the same banner of systematic order.”—Id., June 26, 1913.
The Seal of Genuineness
R. F. Cottrell, the brother in western New York who in the early 60’s questioned the advisability of organizing the publishing association and forming churches and conferences, lived to see the work prosper in many lands. Over a score of years after the formation of the General Conference, he wrote an article for the Review, entitled, “Unity and Harmony Characterize the Work of God,” and in this he bore testimony to his personal conviction that the unity characterizing the work in all lands is an indisputable evidence of the genuineness of the movement and of the value of gospel order. He declared:
“There is harmony in all the work of God. What He has promised, He is sure to perform; and the work which He begins is sure to move onward to its completion. He [p. 198] chooses human instruments through which to carry forward His work, and always sustains the instruments of His choice as long as He sees best to use them. And if a change becomes necessary, it is made in a way to preserve the unity and harmony of the work. His work is never reversed or revolutionized in its course. No faction can arise and succeed in giving a new shape or direction to the work. Rebellions may arise in the camp, but they will always fail to establish a new lead. The rebellion will fail, and the work will move on. Being the work of the Lord, and not of men, He will preserve its unity and harmony to the end. …
“Let us make an application of these known principles to the work of God in our own time. … At several points in the brief history of this work, fanatical and factious ones, who claimed a part with us in the work, have attempted to correct the work and improve the plan of operation, by substituting other instrumentalities for those already in the work. They were evidently moved by the same motives which actuated Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; that is, to assume the leadership, and correct what they claimed to be errors and abuses. But each instance of rebellion has proved a failure. The cause has not suffered, but has been relieved, by their departure. The words of Gamaliel have proved true in each case: ‘If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought.’ Acts 5:38. These factions have come to nought; while the message from heaven has moved on without interruption, its divine origin becoming more and more apparent from the fact that it cannot be overthrown.
“As it has been in the past, so it may be in the future. Other factions and fanaticisms may arise, designed by Satan [p. 199] to impede the work, and bring our cause and name into disrepute. I write this for the benefit of honest souls who may not be aware of Satan’s devices. If the work in which we are engaged be the work of the Lord, of which I have no doubt, no attempt against it can prosper. Any faction which steps out and takes a lead against the united wisdom of the body, is not of God; and to join such a faction is to fall into the ranks of the enemy, and to be found fighting against God.
“In conclusion, I would express my gratitude to God for the unity of the work in which we are engaged. The work is one in all the world—throughout the United States, the countries of the Old World, and the islands of the sea. I do thank God for this seal of the genuineness of the work. The evident design of the third angel’s message is to bring the remnant of God’s people into that state of unity for which Jesus prayed. And He has given to His chosen servants that measure of wisdom and discernment in organizing the work and providing for its increase in all the world, which has secured this result in all nations where the truth has gone or may go. Jesus will return to a united church—such as He left on earth when He ascended to heaven.
“None have claimed infallibility. None have assumed the leadership of God’s heritage. The Lord has done the work in fulfillment of His word of promise; and He will finish it gloriously. Unity and harmony will still be more and more its characteristics, till it ends in the preparation of God’s people in the finishing touch of immortality, and translation to those mansions which Jesus has gone to prepare.”—Id., Nov. 18, 1884.
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