NEWS STORY: First European named Seventh-day Adventist head

c. 1999 Religion News Service SILVER SPRING, Md. _ A vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has been elected the denomination’s new president, replacing Robert S. Folkenberg, who resigned in February amid allegations he was involved in fraudulent business dealings. Jan Paulsen, the first European to head the worldwide church, said Tuesday […]

c. 1999 Religion News Service

SILVER SPRING, Md. _ A vice president of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has been elected the denomination’s new president, replacing Robert S. Folkenberg, who resigned in February amid allegations he was involved in fraudulent business dealings.

Jan Paulsen, the first European to head the worldwide church, said Tuesday (March 2) he would focus solely on spiritual matters in his new post as head of the 10-million-member international church.”I will not be engaged in any business _ any business _ other than the Lord’s spiritual business,”he said at a news conference at the world headquarters of the church.”That is a stance which I know my associates in the (denomination) share and with that we shall move forward.” Church spokesman Ray Dabrowski said the executive committee, which held a special meeting, in part, to elect a new president, considered more than 10 nominations before choosing Paulsen on Monday. In the end Paulsen, 64, won”an overwhelming vote”by acclamation, Dabrowski said.


The vote came after the 244 committee members accepted the resignation of Folkenberg, who addressed the group.

In his remarks, Folkenberg highlighted the accomplishments of the church during his more than eight years as president _ including the establishment of more than 12,000 new congregations, streamlining of the church’s administration and a membership increase from 6 million to more than 10 million people.

He also voiced regret for his association with James E. Moore. Moore, a Sacramento, Calif., businessman, filed suit against Folkenberg, the church and others, seeking $8 million. Moore alleged that the defendants were involved in a fraudulent land deal.

An ad hoc panel voiced ethical concerns about Folkenberg, including what it said were inappropriate business associations and conflicts of interest. He subsequently decided to resign.

Folkenberg said in his remarks that he had reached a settlement with Moore, but church officials could not confirm a settlement had been reached. Moore also could not be reached for comment.”Only the Lord knows (the) hundreds of hours I have spent with Him in prayer, weeping and pleading with him to protect His church during the process of my disassociation from Mr. Moore,”Folkenberg said, according to a transcript provided by the church.”As the man that you elected in 1990 and 1995 to lead this church, I must tell you I am deeply repentant that I did not disassociate myself from him much earlier.” Folkenberg added that he resigned to prevent further pain to the church and his family.”Some erroneously have concluded that my resignation was an admission of egregious misconduct or moral failure,”he said.”That is simply not true.” Speaking with reporters, Paulsen said he hopes the church will learn from past mistakes.”We, the church, also learn by things that may not have been done as effectively as one would have wished, but as we go into the future, the challenges of such a large, dynamic community as the one of which we are a part is really an all-consuming focus,”he said.”I will do my very best to make sure that as we move forward, both the openness and the integrity of the church and its leadership remain strong.” Paulsen, a native of Norway, voiced his commitment to missions, a longtime global focus of the denomination.”It’s a constant challenge that the church faces everywhere _ how to communicate the gospel attractively and how to demonstrate both by what is being said and by what is being offered in services how Christ’s presence in one’s life brings richness,”he said.”That’s a challenge we face whether in western Europe or in the developing world.” As the denomination’s 16th president, he’ll also be challenged by the wide range of membership.”The cultural and ethnic diversity of the church is both a huge blessing and a gift to the church, but it’s also an enormous challenge,”he said.”How do you hold such a large international community together as one? … The task of maintaining the family as one and supporting the family, all believers in all cultures, … to grow and be strong _ that, I think, is probably the biggest challenge that I will have.” Paulsen will serve until July 2000, when the next presidential election will take place. He declined to predict if he would be a candidate at that time for the five-year post.”I serve at the pleasure of the church,”he said.

Paulsen, who has a doctorate in theology from the prestigious Tubingen University in Germany, has been a vice president of the General Conference since 1995 and was president of the church’s Trans-European Division from 1983 to 1995.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church, which has about 900,000 U.S. members, is known especially for its belief that the Advent, or Second Coming, of Jesus Christ will occur soon and its observance of the Sabbath on Saturday, the seventh day of the week.


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