"We preach a message that is distinct, but if it is not relevant it will not be perceived as part of my personal identity, which means when I am faced with a crisis it won't help me," declared Dr. Paul Petersen, field secretary for the Seventh-day Adventist Church's South Pacific region and coordinator of a recent four-day Bible conference that examined the question of Adventist identity.

Representatives from the South Pacific church region gathered at Avondale College in Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia to explore unique aspects of Seventh-day Adventist belief at the conference held January 30 to February 2. Drawing 160 invited delegates from various entities of the church in the South Pacific, the purpose of the conference was "to help raise the awareness of the central theological pillars of our faith and to reflect on how to present them to church members and the world in a Christ-centered manner," said Dr. Petersen.

"Our identity is an ongoing issue," explained Petersen. "Every generation has to look at it again. As circumstances and culture changes, people develop their identity in various ways and we have to renew our acquaintance with the great truths of salvation."

The Bible conference featured presentations from Adventist scholars from Andrews University in the United States, Newbold College in the United Kingdom, Avondale College and elsewhere. Among the presenters was Dr. Niels-Erik Andreasen, president of Andrews University, who presented an overview of major trends in Adventism around the world.

"The century doesn't change our faith but it changes the environment in which we live," said Andreasen. "We are becoming aware of a number of big trends that may impact upon how we live and work and believe in the world today."

But Andreasen is positive about the continuing opportunities for the church.

"My instinct when asked to evaluate changes in the present and into the future is to look back and see how changes have effected the Christian church," he says. "When I do that, I see remarkable stability in our Christian faith, the core of our belief in Christ."

He adds, however, "there is also growing acceptance within the wider Christian community of Sabbath and the Second Advent. So even the Adventist faith, which we sometimes think is quite far out, is not so far removed from the core of Christianity. It is more our mission that is unique -- not so much our faith."

Andreasen suggested the church reassess how it defines Adventist faith, particularly in light of the dramatic growth of the church in such different cultures around the world.

"We have enormous membership growth and our habits are being adapted differently in Botswana, India or Norway," he said. "We may have to put up fewer expectations as far as the Adventist habits of faith. But I have high expectations of the Adventist Christian faith; it's the ways in which we do our faith that are changing."

A simple definition of an Adventist could be "a Christian who waits for Jesus to come, " Andreasen told conference delegates but he admitted there are challenges in working out what that means in practice.

Petersen also acknowledged the different challenges to Adventist identity, even among those areas represented by conference participants. "The challenges vary enormously within the [South Pacific region]," he said. "Issues of identity would be theological to some, to young people it might be standards, and in the island territories it would be facing cultural change. It is a matter of relevancy."

Petersen admitted the sometimes complicated theological discussions can feel removed from the experience of the local church but that the purpose of the Bible conference is to connect these parts of the church. "There is always a gap between academics and the local church, in all denominations," he said.

"The challenge is to bring the scholarly studies in contact with those who are in the front line of outreach and worship -- the basic functions of the church. It's important that the scholars in the church interact with those involved in those activities. It's easy for scholars to answer questions no one is asking, but we want to address questions that impact our mission. Theology must be a tool in the mission of the church," Petersen concluded. [Editor: Nathan Brown for ANN/APD]