News Feature: Total Member Involvement, Does It Mean What It Says?
By Reinder Bruinsma, August 18, 2016: Through the years the leaders of the worldwide Adventist denomination have invented many slogans to encourage the members to get actively involved in the recruitment of new members. I remember some of them: Win one soul … Double our Membership … Harvest 90 … 1000 Days of Reaping. I do not recollect in which sequence they came. Recently a new mantra is being promoted: Total Member Involvement (with its inevitable acronym TMI).
Once again this motto is inspired by a desire for explosive numerical growth. The recent baptismal results in Rwanda of 100,000 new converts within a month is touted as a spectacular result of the involvement of every member in this nationwide evangelistic crusade. It is presented as an example for the entire church to follow.
In my mind this Total Member Involvement concept raises a number of important questions. What are the overarching aims in this appeal to get “totally” involved? The emphasis is clearly on numerical growth. Without denying that measuring results in term of numbers of people who find their way into the church is legitimate, it would seem that there is a significant danger that the one-sided emphasis on growth in numbers may pose serious dangers for the long-term well-being of the church. I would suggest that total member involvement must be a much broader concept, where not only the size of the church, but also the many other aspects of the long-term wellbeing of the church are highlighted. It is often too easily assumed that, if we just start running we will automatically arrive where we want to be. If we just become active in public and personal evangelism, all other issues will somehow sort themselves out!
But there is another, possibly even more pregnant, question. Total Member Involvement presupposes that all members may get involved on equal terms. Here, we must note some serious problems.
What about women? Are they allowed to be involved as fully equal to their brothers? Or must their involvement remain partial, and at a different level?
What about the younger generation? Can they be involved in ways that are relevant to them and that speak in meaningful ways to the Millennials around them? How can they become totally involved as long as that is not the case?
What about the LGBTI community—our brothers and sisters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex? Can they be totally involved, or are they, at best, tolerated as long as they keep quiet and stay in the shadow?
And what about the large segment in the church (especially in the West) of people who have gradually moved to the margins—those who have doubts about aspects of their faith and/or Adventist doctrine, and those who worry about some current trends in the church? Are they also welcome to somehow be involved, or are they rather seen as a problem that obstructs this Total Member Involvement?
Total Member Involvement must mean what it says. If this “total” is qualified and excludes parts of our Adventist community, this new slogan is no more than a shallow promotional gimmick and basically meaningless.
Dr. Reinder Bruinsma is a writer and theologian based in Europe who has served the Adventist denomination as a pastor, missionary, academic and church administrator. He is a regular contributor to Adventist Today. This article was first published on his blog at https://reinderbruinsma.com/ on August 11 and republished here with his permission.
Setting goals and encouraging members to grow the church is at once great, foolish and greatly foolish. It is great because there are leaders and followers and it is the job of leaders to encourage and guide their followers in the achievement of their purpose. It is foolish to imagine that everyone will get involved. It is greatly foolish to imagine every achieving the objective without first nurturing dependence on the Holy Spirit, who is our source of guidance and power. Since the SDA Church has traditionally given little more than lip service to the Holy Spirit our greater challenge is not to set goals and hope they will be achieved, it is to begin really focusing on our relationships with the Holy Spirit so we can individually become empowered to do the work God has for each of us to do and collectively achieve His objectives, which need no campaign slogans or titles.
Leaders and followers. Yep. In a church Jesus said was to have no master, no teacher, other than Himself “and all ye are brethren”, which included women at the time. 🙁
Otherwise I so agree with the assessment we need to follow the HS. The bible does He added to the church.
Could TMI effectively means all those who are still true to the baptismal vow? If TMI means anything to anyone, then there would be much confusion in the church, as there would be no unifying standard to aim for. Jesus set a standard for us to follow. There is no ambiguity here.
What “ambiguity” are you speaking about?
As an example, there should be no ambiguity in “You must not commit adultery.” We all should know the clear meaning of that. Yet some may seek to rationalise the obvious and end up wrongly practicing their rationalise product
rationalised
TMI is a gimmick for those who desperately need to believe they came make Jesus come quickly. If the numbers are accurate in Rwanda, you’d see a consistent, growing uptick in tithes and offerings. TMI is to Share Him what Hope Channel is to 3ABN except with Folkenberg’s death, perhaps the current administration saw his death coming and brought in the players to capture those donors and tourists.
TMI? They give you a script that you are required to follow. There is no moving of the Spirit or inspiration. We are herded in, do the act, and smile for the PR pieces.
With the church in dire financial straits, why would be spending all that extra money (some expense reports are upwards of $15K/month) for events that are size without substance. The little boy they featured in the AR story? He was dismissed from school for stealing, baptized just in time to make it for the meetings and coached all through; his mother works for the department; it was a staged story. All these gimmicks and we wonder why the church loses thinking members.
John,
There is much more to TMI than “Share Him” and Hope Channel. Duane McKey, who heads TMI, was at the Your Best Pathway to Health mega-clinic in Beckley, WV and I had the chance to visit with him one-on-one for a few minutes. The sense I got from him was that, instead of pushing programs in the hope of getting members involved, they are now promoting programs that work, things that people are embracing because they see God working and an opportunity to work with Him to do meaningful things that grow the Kingdom of God. That’s a very different attitude than the programs you and I remember so well. Yes, the objective is spreading the gospel so that Jesus can come, but I’ve heard not a single person before you express a word about the idea of what they are doing somehow hastening the return of Jesus. What I heard was a sense of urgency that Jesus is coming so we need to work and get as many as possible ready to meet Him. So the bottom-line question is this: What are YOU doing to spread the Gospel so Jesus can return? If all you’re doing is complaining about church leaders doing things wrong, you’re about as useful to God as fungus on a fallen tree. But if you’re doing something that produces results, you’re involved and you have the opportunity to discover the incredible power of the Holy Spirit working through you to draw others to Him.
William,
I have only met Duane McKey once very briefly. From what I know from people who know him, he is a genuinely good guy and doubtless has the best of intentions. I truly wish him success in his latest endeavor.
To the extent that Duane views TMI as a means to encourage every member to exercise their God-given spiritual gifts this is a good thing.
I do wonder what will happen when he is inevitably called upon to report on the “results” of TMI to the higher-ups who control his budget? How do you quantify your results? How do you evaluate your results? Heaven only can tell.
William,
Finding best practices within a large organization, and then trying to replicate them in other parts of the organization, is a very good idea. Working for the CTO of a multi-national 10s of $billions electronics company, that was one of my jobs. And I did achieve some successes.
In the end, it is very difficult to quantify results. You are basically trying to change parts of a corporate culture that is as diverse as the various parts of the world where it operates. What works in one place may have to be modified to work elsewhere, or may not work at all. I well recall the day my boss told me “I want you to go do in China what you just did in India”. I didn’t know how to tell him that what I had successfully done in India (over the course of 2-3 years), I probably would not be able to do in China. Basically I would have to learn their corporate culture and figure-out what would work there.
Not to mention that if you want people to commit to doing something different, you need to convince them that you are committed to supporting them all the way to completion. And if you have integrity, then you need to be prepared to honor that commitment. And in any large organization, we seldom have that luxury. And even when we have the best of intentions, circumstances can and do change. And the commitments change.
(continued)
In other words, we need to do it like Jesus (and later Paul) it. Not just an itinerant evangelist (or prominent GC official) preaching a few sermons and baptizing a bunch of people (few or many as the case may be), then declaring victory and leaving the aftermath to someone else.
Jesus invested more than 3 years in His mission (not counting preparation time). He didn’t leave until the job was done. And most of the results were not seen until after he left. And Paul stayed in some places for 2 years, rather than 2 months. And their method works when we are willing to follow it. But it takes a lot of time – 2,000 years and counting.
I am glad that we staged health fairs in California and West Virginia and wherever. Did we leave any infrastructure in-place to continue to minister to the needs of the people we had helped? Were we able to do in a few days or weeks, what took Jesus and Paul years to do?
I understand this is an enormously impossible task. We cannot hope to begin to accomplish anything without the Holy Spirit empowering our labors.
Rwanda, The place where people rested from their genocide on the Sabbath, and then resumed their butchery on the first day. The place that saw two church leaders convicted of crimes against humanity [genocide]. The place that used an SDA hospital compound as a slaughter house.
It’s incredible that this place should be hailed as a model of Adventism’s success. It was a country before the genocide with a high per capita number of Christians and SDA [“the most SDA country in the world”] but what kind of religion turns its members against each other in genocide?
Earlier this year, Rwandan SDA sang songs, prayed, and testified in memory of their brethren slaughtered during the campaign of terror. How many of the people who murdered their own brethren are active church members today, Sabbath school teachers, church elders? The number of people killed in the time span exceeded the Nazi regime’s systematic annihilation of Jewry.
A few years ago, a group of people, who as high school students, murdered their teacher during the cultural revolution in China, found the teacher’s husband and apologized, confessed their crime and asked for forgiveness. His response “~ What? You murdered my wife who loved and served you and now you want my forgiveness? “What I want is for you all to be prosecuted for the crime of murder, up to and including execution.”
That incident put a damper on “truth and reconciliation” in China, but Rwanda is a model of Adventism’s triumph?
Hansen,
Since you seem hung-up on the failures of the past, let me give you a glimpse into the present reality of Rwanda, as reported to me just a few days ago by a close friend who just returned from a month visiting her family there. In a nutshell, major reconciliation is taking place there between the tribes that is driven by a sense that the old tribalism that divides must be abandoned and replaced by the “tribalism” of being God’s redeemed and one in Him.
William, You remind me of the conference people Becky Schmidt commented about on the “molestation” thread. Oh, he said he was sorry, went to prison, it’s all in the past. You obviously don’t know much about racist hatred.
Maybe Stephen can tell you how he and others are loved and accepted in the big tent of America, especially the South. Everything fine now, right, Stephen?
“You obviously don’t know much about racist hatred.”
Hansen,
What do you know about the power of God?
I have a prescription for overcoming racist hatred – live with someone of a different race or culture for 3 years, in the same room; work with someone of a different race or culture for 3 years, in the same room. By the Grace of God you will both learn a lot, if you are willing to open your hearts to one another.
Been there – done that – it works.
Maybe that’s your experience, Jim. What makes you think Adventism in Rwanda today will be any different now,than it was in the past? Or in China, either, for that matter. Jack Sequerra expressed his bewilderment that when in Ethiopia, he saw many SDA deny their faith, while Christian of other denominations, such as Church of the Nazarene, stood firm. Jack states that even with a BA and two master’s degrees from Andrews, he still didn’t understand the gospel. Incidentally,he joined the SDA church in Africa. Was he dumber than most pastors or just unlucky?
Glacier View made sure that the Adventism which produced a Genocidal church in Rwanda before, won’t change. And the son of the man who sealed that outcome at GV is now running the church, allegedly securing that position by virtue of the African brethren, from places like Rwanda, I guess.
“What about the LGBTI community—our brothers and sisters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex?”
I am not sure whether someone who is “TIQ” wants to be called “brother” or “sister” or simply “someone”?
This is not a simple question. There ARE people who struggle mightily with issues of “gender identification”.
There are some acronyms that should not be reused for a very long time. Three Mile Island was one of the worst nuclear disasters in the history of the United States. Or since this is the GC “acronym de jour” perhaps TMI is just another Trans-Mandibular Infusion?
So am I correctly imagining there are GC bureaucrats who are dreaming-up ways for each member to use whichever spiritual gifts they have received, to bless others? According to Paul different parts of the “body of Christ” have different gifts and different functions. Are we seeking to “involve” all of these gifts and functions, or only those that get one promoted within the hierarchy?
And how will we track our progress? What about the person whose “gift” is quietly cleaning-up after pot-lucks (aka “fellowship meals”)? Does this brother/sister/sibling get “TMI credit”?
When I was a child we used to report “Hours of Christian help-work” and “Persons helped”. Why am I getting a case of “deja vous all over again” (cf Yogi Berra)?
Yes, Jim, I was always number 1 in pieces of literature given and PROUD of it
What can jealousy and spite do in a retired minister! Bruinsma continually writes sour articles against the Church administration and the Adventist beliefs. He has blinded himself to see that he is sinning against the Holy Spirit. What, if the added numbers bring in more tithes? Wouldn’t his pension be secured? God did a good thing to instruct Moses that retired priests were forbidden to be involved in the temple services – they would impose their ways upon the ones in charge. How many did Bruinsma brought a the feet of Jesus and are they all still around?
What disrespectful comments!
Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit convinces unto conversion. Is Satan’s kingdom divided?
Jesus said that when the gospel is preached in the whole world, he will come back. He did not say, ‘when the people in the whole world are in good and general standing.’
Who are Bruinsma and commenters to judge the Rwandan people? Can you look into their hearts? Can you look into the hearts of the preachers – young or old? Matthew 7:1-5 applies.
Everyone is welcome to participate, so why bring up women?
How can persons who are not eligible for membership be involved? Does Bruinsma want to involve Roman Catholics? How can one play soccer on a tennis court? The conditions for membership are well defined. Bruinsma knows that too well.
Commenters, beware what you say – you might be speaking against the Spirit.
The signs are loud and clear, Jesus is coming! Will we rejoice with angels or with…
IAWH,
So, how well are the evangelistic methods you endorse working? How many souls has your ministry brought into the Kingdom of God? The growing body of evidence shows that the church is failing to reach large population groups and not going into all the world in the way we have imagined that it should. Are you suggesting that we continue doing what is producing negative church growth in four of the SDA church world divisions and extremely slow growth is several more where it once grew more quickly? Are you proposing that we lie to ourselves and continue believing we are fulfilling the Great Commission when we are not? You warn others about speaking against the Holy Spirit. Have you discovered the ministry He wants you doing so you can bring souls into the Kingdom of God? If you’re not bringing souls into the Kingdom, you’re a modern illustration of the hypocrisy Jesus condemned in those who required others to do what they were not doing.
William and others,
I am reflecting on the disdainful demeanor presented in the article and the commenters. EVERY method is valid, and every believer can participate, if the perishing people must be reached for Jesus. HE will judge the work, not Bruinsma, me, nor others. The fruits are the evidence, and Gods Word is the root, which says that His words will not be preached in vain.
End credits or prerogatives do not count for wisdom. That the author and sour commenters cannot be happy with the angels in heaven, is pathetic. That there is no growth in the Western countries is because of arrogance – I don’t imagine members in the NAD, SPD or TED sharing 1 pair of shoes with another member to go colporting on alternate days. One can say, well for them it is only earning a living, but how can those sitting on high horses tell? We were told that the work will be finished with not less results than at the Pentecost in Acts 2, and indeed it is today — more than 3400 per say/ 144 every single hour. Be happy! If 100,000 got converted, surely more than 500,000 heard the good news in one way or other. We must indeed fear for the three “progressive, and civilized Divisions”. It would be better to come together and contemplating HOW to reach to perishing souls in their fields, instead of criticizing what is happening in Ruwanda. THAT is the point I am making… It is not ours to mark papers…
IAWH,
Is it working? Is it happening according to Acts 2? Those are the measurements we must make to know if we’re doing what God told us to do and the simple answer is a resounding “No.” Why, because we’re seeing people relying on methods that no longer work instead of seeking the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
William, have you been involved already? Do you know for a fact that the Spirit is being left out in TMI? Bruinsma begins very condescending, “Through the years the leaders of the worldwide Adventist denomination have invented many slogans… mantra…”. He forgets that he was also a leader at that time …. He lists the acronyms of the world campaigns – but in his country not one of those were even tried, how can he know that they do not bring fruit for the Kingdom? When he was president of the Dutch Union, they tried Billy Hybels and Rick Warrens method instead – speaking of going for big numbers … If one thing can be said, than it’s that TMI is not a “one-sided emphasis”. I suggest that Bruinsma and some of you enlist in the coming campaign in Eastern Europe. Only then you may say that it is done under a bad influence and that the people are but numbers … Besides, can someone define “relevance”? Is it , Jesus is coming?
Let’s not be counted as scoffers … I am happy for every soul who hears of Jesus; what he does after that is choice. Respect that too. I am glad the SDA church does not lure people in. Without Jesus and the Spirit we can do nothing. As far as I understand, nothing means NOTHING. If you are a pastor you know what Jesus meant with, No man can come to me, except the Father draws him; Satan will not draw people to a Bible believing church…. The suggestion alone is ridiculous…
Could it be that the church has misread the Gospel Commission given by Christ? He did not tell us to take the Adventist church to all the world, but the GOSPEL, which is that Christ wants to save all who come to him. “For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world would be saved THROUGH HIM.” (Not through the Adventist church).
Is the Gospel being preached or is it Adventism–and the necessity of becoming believers in all the man-made 28 FBs? Are new converts being baptized into Christ or into Adventism?
Billy Graham, i understand preached Jesus Christ and His
shed blood for the rescue of all sinners, even for me, even for one, making it a personal crime each sinner was responsible, leading his hearers to repentance. Billy, i understand, offered this truth every opportunity, and gave an altar call. This is the gospel message, Jesus died to save sinners.
Total member involvement in what??? The number of members who are actively involved in affective ministries outside of church life is minuscule. The notion that anyone involved in these boots-on-the-ground service out reaches would look at gender, race, or sexual orientation before welcoming with open arms anyone who is willing to be Christ’s hands and feet is risible.
Of course, when it comes to who can lead out in church life ministries, churches can often afford the “luxury” of discrimination and bias. But not on the battlefield. There isn’t a whole lot of discrimination against those who volunteer to be dishwashers and footwashers. If Brunisma sees discrimination being an obstacle to TMI, I suspect it is because insiders (those who are paid to be involved) have a misconception of TMI. They don’t realize that Gospel TMI puts you in places that Christians generally don’t go, doing work that Christians generally won’t do – whether they are LGBTI, female, or racial/ethnic minorities. Membership in politically privileged identity groups doesn’t make one eager to Participate in TMI which requires going into scary housing developments at night, getting fingernails dirty, callouses on your hands, or sore feet. It simply makes one more receptive to demanding and accepting the moral perks of victimhood that go along with the desire of Christian Progressives to have moral significance in the eyes of the world.
Those who are devoted to ministry and following the guidance of the Holy Spirit don’t see race, ethnicity, gender orientation, or whatever else as obstacles, but opportunities for ministering God’s love to others. But those who talk about those things as barriers are typically either ignorant of God’s power or looking for excuses to avoid ministry because they have a form of godliness but none of the power.