At the October 2001 Business Meeting of the Avondale College Church in Australia many church members expressed their convictions about relationship problems in the church. After much discussion the congregation set initiatives in motion that have resulted in the expenditure of a great deal of time and energy by members not only of the local church but others far beyond it. After twelve months this initiative seems worthy of careful evaluation. Essentially it has two aspects. First, it has become an attempt to define from substantive church publications a sustainable theological center for Seventh-day Adventists in an Australian context. Second, it recognizes and encourages the church's pervasive desire to invite all Adventists, including former and potential members, to focus on Scripture as a way to build commitment, fellowship, unity and mission.

The main factor precipitating this twofold initiative was an administrative decision communicated throughout Australia during June 2001, regarding the relationship the church should hold with a popular Adventist minister, Dr. Desmond Ford, who had recently returned to his homeland from the United States. This well-intended decision was interpreted in a variety of ways, but for many Adventists it indicated that tensions which began in Australia during the 1950s and climaxed in the 1980s were still a continuing reality. One perceived result in the South Pacific Division during the 1980s was the loss to the church of more than a hundred ministers, perhaps a similar number of teachers and a far greater number of members. Those who heard "the full range of perspectives" within the College Church came to realize that there was both a need for the church to normalize continuing tensions and an opportunity for it to do so. Both the administrative decision mentioned above and the attempt of the College Church to offer viable pastoral care to its members during the past year have elicited from afar critical as well as approving responses in letters and printed and electronic communications. As a result, people have seen a substantial clarification of the issues and now feel there is a realistic hope that the tensions of the past can be relegated to the past. An important question remains about what may yet be useful in terms of this initiative.

If the patterns of the September Being Adventist conference are accepted by people widely as sustainable in view of all the evidence, the situation should improve greatly. The tensions that were evident within Australia a couple of decades ago centered around four issues in particular: the perceived threat of schism, Righteousness by Faith, the ministry of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary, and the understanding church members had of Ellen White's writings. Time has relieved the intensity of the issue of schism. Further research has developed unifying perspectives on Righteousness by Faith and Ellen White. Enormous progress has been made in our understanding of the biblical doctrine of the sanctuary and its focus on the saving acts of Jesus Christ, including His role in the judgment of both believers and unbelievers.

The progress of the past year leads me to hope that any remaining local tensions relating to Daniel 8 and Hebrews 6-10 may be resolved within a further two years of prayerful Bible study. The present seems an opportune time to foster realistic, sustainable ways for Adventists to experience stronger unity and a clearer focus on their identity and mission in terms of "the truth as it is in Jesus.