Seventh-day Adventist Church world president Pastor Jan Paulsen gave a resounding endorsement of Adventist young people on Saturday - even offering a "yeah mon!" in Jamaican slang - during Let's Talk Caribbean, the 17th programme in a series of unscripted, unedited conversations between the church president and its under-30 crowd. - Contributor

"You don't have to be elected to an office to own the church. You don't have to be a local elder to own the church. The church is a place of mutual ownership - we're in this together," Paulsen told nearly 40 eager young people during the conversation, based at Adventist-owned Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville, Manchester, and broadcast on the church's Hope Channel.

Paulsen anchored his remarks during the hour-long broadcast - as he often does during Let's Talk - on empowerment and church ownership. While it is a key message worldwide, he said, it is particularly important in the church's West Indies region where young people make up some two-thirds of the Adventist Church's membership.

Opinions

Early on in the broadcast, Paulsen turned briefly to the camera for remarks meant largely to amend some of the church's older generations' opinions of young people.

"I'm more preaching - and I am preaching - to those who are watching. You need to make sure that you trust those who are young with responsibility. It is an indisputable fact that if you do not engage those who are young, they will walk away from the church."

Following a question on civil engagement, Paulsen said Chris-tians should not only ask what they can contribute to the church, but also what they can contribute to the communities where they live. One way to impact society is to hold political office, Paulsen said. But, he cautioned, someone considering candidacy must ask, "Is this something I can do without compromising who I am and my loyalty to God?"

Personal spirituality

Let's Talk Caribbean again touched on protecting personal spirituality when one young delegate asked what the church was doing to shield young people from the 'ill effects' of the media. Paulsen reminded the group of both the 'colossal' good media can do, and its potential to propagate vice. "The church is not going to make the choice you will have to make," said Paulsen, who often advocates private rather than corporate responsibility while answering Let's Talk questions.

Entertainment choices, he said, are inherently a matter of conscience. "When you switch on the set, it's not, 'What does the church say on this one?' It's 'Is this going to make [me] a better person?'"

- Taken from Adventist News Network