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Organized At Last
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May 30  Organized At Last

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And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they belived. Acts 14:23, RSV.

Although the concept of church structure that provides order across congregations is far from absent in the New Testment, it was not a favorite topic of many Adventists.

But the time had come. In April 1861 the Sabbatarians established a commitee that recommended that formation of district or state conferences to oversee church activities in their respective regions.

Reactions were forceful, espeically in the Eastern states. Jame White reported in August that "the brethren in Pennsylvania vote down organizations, and the cause in Ohio has been dreadfully shaken." He summed up the situation by writing that "on our eastern tour thus far we seem to be wading through the influence of a stupid uncertaintly upon the subject of organization. . .We are in may places but little better than broken fragments, still scattering and growing weaker."

Ellen White shared his opinion, declaring that same month that she was "shown that some have feared that our churches would become Babylon if they should organize; but those in central New York have been perfect Babylon, confusion. And now unless the churches are so organized that they can carry out and enforce order, they have nothing to hope for in the future; they must scatter into fragments." She deplored the lack of "moral courage" and the abundance of "cowardly silence" on the part of those ministers who believed in organization but had remained silent. Her words left no doubt that the time had come to "stand together" on the issue(1T 270-272).

The moment for action had arrived.
In the general meeting of the believers in October 1861 the first item of business was "the proper manner of organizing churches." And one of the central contributions of the session was the "recommendation" to the churches in teh state of Michigan that they unite under the name of the Michigan Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

James White was elated. To him it was "a sign of better days."
The next year saw seven more local conferences established.
The devil likes nothing better than to sow confusion. And he can do that more successfully in an unorganized group. Unfortunately, the value of organization is not fully appreciated until it is gone.

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Thank You, Lord, for what You have given us.
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