GC Delegation Session 2019—Bulletin Day One
On September 4, 2019, the 23rd General Conference Session of the Seventh Day Adventist Reform Movement began with morning worship led by Brother Dragan Ivanov of Serbia. Brother Dragan presented a message entitled "Health to Body and Soul." He emphasized the importance of our spiritual connection with God and drew a relationship between the modern Wi-Fi technology and our spiritual connection with God. He emphasized that it is up to us whether we are connected to God’s network of communication or not. He also made an appeal that throughout the 23rd General Conference Session all delegates should switch their “spiritual Wi-Fi on” and let God lead in the decisions and plans.
At 8:50 a.m. after a delicious breakfast, the session started with a short message given by the outgoing General Conference President, Brother Davi P. Silva. A beautiful song was sung entitled "Chief of Sinners." Brother Silva's appeal message concluded with the statement that we are all sinners and, if we realize this and ask God for help, He is able and willing to save us. He invited God’s presence to the ongoing meetings, and asked all the brethren to strive for the unity that Jesus prayed for—“that they may be one.”
After the roll call and acceptance of all credential certificates of the delegates, the business of the 23rd GC Session began. The delegates elected a temporary Chairman, Brother Peter Lausevic, the temporary Assistant Chairman, Brother Rolly Dumaguit, and the temporary Secretary, Brother Eli Tenorio.
The Chairman thanked the Lord and all the members of the previous administration for their support and efforts put forth during the past four years.
Several Bible verses were read aloud by many delegates showing their gratitude to the Lord for His help during the past four years.
A special appreciation was given to Brother Duraisamy Sureshkumar who has served the General Conference in various capacities over so many years; but due to health reasons, he was unable to attend this session. Brother Sureshkumar has also officially retired on January 1, 2019. Prayers were offered for his full recovery and nowadays he is doing quite well.
Special mention was made of several brethren who had served in the Lord's vineyard, but during this last quadrennial have gone to their rest and are now awaiting the voice of God to be raised up from their dusty beds to live with Him forever.
The Temporary Nominating Committee was elected consisting of 23 delegates from Unions and Fields around the world. This committee will be in charge of selecting candidates for various GC offices for the next term. Their names will be presented to the full delegation session for voting.
The Temporary Doctrinal Committee was also elected. This committee will discuss doctrinal points and prepare recommendations to be presented to the full delegation for voting.
The session adjourned for this first day of business. The evening worship time was presented by Brother Daniel Lee with a message about "Knowing God." All of us have knowledge about God, but do we really know Him? How do we know that our connection reaches God and He reaches us? If we believe in Him and get to know Him, this knowledge gives us eternal life. From the very beginning, Satan’s studied plan was to lead men to cherish a false conception of God. The true knowledge of God is obtained by the fervent study of His Word. In conclusion, Brother Lee made the following appeal: "God wants to prepare a people." May He help us to not only perform activities and baptize souls but to help purify a church for Him.
