PH: What is your vision for the church? What do you want to see happen in this church under your leadership?

TW: One of the greatest challenges that we face is to try to humble ourselves before the Lord. We must ask the Lord to bring us into a condition where we are revived and then allow a true reformation in our lives to set the stage for the latter rain. The Spirit of Prophecy has told us that our greatest need is a revival of true godliness. That’s our greatest need! So I think that probably is highest on my agenda for the church itself.

When it comes to the way we do our mission outreach, one of the greatest challenges that we face is the use of media. How do we reach the millions of people in areas that are very difficult to penetrate? How do we use the Internet? How do we use television, radio, print media, and all these various facets of technical outreach? How do we reach—and this is one of the greatest challenges that we have—the 50 percent of the population of this world who now live in the large cities? How do we break into those cities? We’re going to be giving strong emphasis to urban evangelism, urban ministry, and how to work in these great cities.

We also need to utilize the tremendous resource of our young people. I’m not just talking about putting them on committees and that kind of thing, which has been a source of concern on the floor and, certainly, there is a place for that. But you don’t necessarily accomplish things in committees. The committees can help to guide, but you accomplish things out where the people are. And that’s where young people shine the most. They are just full of energy and they are willing to dedicate their lives and we’ve got to harness that power in an even greater way. There are a lot of things we’re going to be looking at. I have a long list, but I really hope that with a spiritual approach the Holy Spirit will be able to set free the creative ideas that young people have, that women have, that men have, that everybody has, so that [together] we can finish this great work that God has entrusted to His people.

PH: What are some of the other major challenges we are facing as the Seventh-day Adventist Church today?

TW: I think in the area of an attack on truth, I would say that one of the biggest challenges we’re going to have is the discussion and dispute that is occurring now, and that will occur, on the authoritative voice of God in Scripture. [Dealing with the question of] Is the Word of God truly an authoritative source? Unfortunately, the tendency in much of the world theologically and, gladly, not that much in Adventist circles, is the tendency to use what is called higher criticism, where the individual is the arbiter as to what is inspired and what is not. Whereas the Spirit of Prophecy tells us that we are to read the Scripture as it is. When the Lord says He created the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, that is a literal understanding and not some allegorical, figurative allusion. So I think attacks on the credibility of Scripture—the authoritative aspect of Scripture—is probably one of the most important situations that we will face.

Another thing is the Spirit of Prophecy, which, I believe, is one of the greatest gifts God has given to the Seventh-day Adventist Church. We would not be a people as we are today if it were not for the Spirit of Prophecy. I would just appeal to people—because obviously, I am a great believer in the Spirit of Prophecy —to, rather than to criticize it or to ignore it, I would just urge them to read it and let the Holy Spirit speak to them as they read it. Read the Testimonies, books on health and education, and you will see that it is God-inspired. And it’s a blessing to the church.

PH: What kind of progress are we making as a church in resolving some of the concerns people have expressed? Such issues as the role of women and youth in the church and Creation?

TW: I think we’re making progress. Obviously, there will always be differences of opinion. And I would hope we would not get into highly divisive fractious fighting that will make people bitter, because that is counterproductive. I think one has to simply use the Word of God as the first line of understanding and defense. Let me put it this way. Our church started out with people coming together who had divergent views about various doctrinal ideas and they simply prayed together, they knelt, they agonized with the Lord and as they did that, the Lord revealed, either through the ministry of Ellen White or the impact of the Holy Spirit, a more general consensus about a particular doctrine. And when we come together in a prayerful, respectful way, I believe the Holy Sprit, as Scripture says, will lead us into all truth.  It doesn’t mean, I suppose, that we will always all agree, but I just have the hope that as Jesus prayed in John 17 that His people might be one, that we will submit ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit so that truly we can become one. 

PH: How did you feel when you were asked to take the helm of the world church? Tell me about your leadership style and your philosophy of leadership. 

TW: Obviously, when I was told, I just felt this heaviness that almost smothers you. You realize that this is a job beyond any human ability, and fortunately, this is not a job that is only focused on the president. We have a committee system in our church. We do not have a presidential system. It is not just the “CEO” who “calls all the shots.” We work together in a collegial way. That responsibility is shared with other leaders and with other individuals who can help shoulder the burden. You don’t know how reassuring it’s been for me. I’ve received scores and scores and scores of e-mails, and practically the one thing that I hear from almost everybody is, “We are praying for you.” And let me tell you, that is so reassuring and I need prayers more than anything else. I need the wisdom of God. I try to claim James 1:5 every morning to ask God for wisdom, because I don’t have it. It’s an incredible, humbling experience and I cannot do it on my own and I covet your prayers. 

In terms of leadership style, I like to be rather informal. I like to get participation. I like to hear people’s views. I like to come to a consensus. I believe in servant leadership. I like for people to feel that I’m accessible and that other leaders are accessible. I like to have a balanced approach in which we listen carefully to people, we are fair with people, and we don’t brush people off. Leadership involves a lot of listening, a lot of praying, and then careful analysis and asking the Lord to guide us in the right way. And if we make a mistake, we shouldn’t be too proud to say, “Well, maybe we ought to try this way.” You need to be flexible and open, and in the long run, to realize that leadership really is to depend wholly on the Lord. I absolutely believe that. He will not leave us without direction. This is the object of His supreme regard—this precious church—and I have every confidence that God will give us the answers to the challenges we face.

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