Next Gen at GC, Part 2: Experiencing Session as a Young Adult

Nicole Brown-Dominguez
Jul 16
4 min read

Updated: Jul 17

[Nathaniel Sebastian Reid] / AME (CC BY 4.0)

This article is a part of a series exploring the General Conference Session in St. Louis, July 3-12, in order to inspire and inform members of the Illinois Conference about how the global church works.

GUEST AUTHOR:

Nicole Brown-Dominguez

Member, Hinsdale SDA Church

Read Part One

For young people watching the floor discussions of the 62nd General Conference Session, listening to the second hour of the delegates discussing the amendment to the amendment, we cannot help but ask: “Is this the church?” The answer is yes and no. The constant administrative slog can feel disappointing. To untrained ears, we can be left straining to follow the dry business motions. The experience can feel especially disappointing if the expectation is that the session will be one big reunion, a time of endless worship where we collaborate on how to make the church a brighter reflection of the character of God.

The dry and dull henpecking on where we put a specific phrase for a church manual that seems to only be consulted when someone is trying to win an argument in the local church can feel like a misuse of our time. It can seem like the squabbles of our local churches have been brought to the large-scale meetings, with the big picture being lost. But is it? We want our voices to be heard, and we want to be aware of the changes in documents that can make or break a conflict. If this is all the GC Session offered, the conference, seen through young eyes, would believe the church was once again inaccessible to them, barred by management language and office jargon akin to “We’ll circle back to it later, so let's put a pin in it to ensure heightened optimization.” If the arena of delegates and men in charcoal suits were a microcosm of the church, then the Seventh-day Adventist Church is just a business, and this is a quarterly meeting to oversee our stats for success. But blessedly, that's not all it is. The center arena, with its colossal space, concrete walls, and dozens of mics, has its place; its formalities and administration provide structure to a global church. However, let's not forget the rest of the conference. Surrounded by that big, imposing delegate floor, or perhaps supporting it, are prayer rooms, women’s meetings, young adult meetings, and an extensive exhibit hall where a pinprick of the thousands of ministries from around the world are on full display.

For young believers who are longing for the assurance that their church is more than administration, we must look past the delegate hall and see the broader story. We must observe each aspect in context. The decisions made by dedicated delegates, chairmen, and nominating committee members are working to ensure the flow of the church. We cannot have thousands of voices vying for their say, or else it would bottleneck to a grinding halt. We cannot ignore the motions made or the followed protocol and dismiss them as irrelevant. Yet, we’re required to know when and why we must speak up. We cannot be passive consumers of our church, but remember we are active participants. The language can feel isolating, as though the “adult matters” of the church are irrelevant to young believers. But we must remember that we’re not “inheriting” the church once the leaders retire, but are active participants in the here and now.

Part of this participation means acknowledging the church is not perfect. There are points where we trip over ourselves, cling to processes that do not serve a modern church, and can become lost in our denomination to where we forget we’re serving a savior. However, we must recognize the effort and the intent behind what happens inside and outside the delegate hall. The actions taken in both arenas do not counter each other but depend on each other in the push and pull that comes with a world organization. If we stayed in the delegate hall, pontificating on whether to use the term “pastor” or “church leader,” then we would be stagnant, trapped in a closed loop of dialogue that leads us nowhere. Equally, if we stayed in the exhibit hall, youth meetings, and concerts, the weight of a world church would buckle under its lack of structure, isolated in its own silos and floundering for a universal standard to which all churches must rise.

Young people are not small floaters on the periphery of a “grown-up church.” We are active participants in the faith we claim and the church where we belong, and part of that participation is observing the Seventh-day Adventist Church as a structure, as an institution, as a body, and as a whole. As we look at the business meetings and tour the exhibit halls, we must learn to note where we missed the mark, practicing necessary criticism to draw attention back to Christ. To be a young believer is to engage in the diagnosis and the treatment of a church trying its best. When we become disappointed, lost in the slog, we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us with discernment, separating bone from marrow, religious clutter from theological truth, and remember that we, as young people, have a hope that burns within our hearts.

NEXT STEPS

🗞️ Other articles in our 62nd GC Session coverage:
📹 Watch GC Time Machine Videos
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Please send any news items of what God is doing around the Illinois Conference to communication@ilcsda.org.