The Oregon Conference invited Russell Burrill to speak about the priesthood of all believers at eight locations throughout the conference during one whirlwind week in March. Burrill has authored 19 books on evangelism and church growth including, Revolution in the Church and How to Grow an Adventist Church.
The tagline "Members in Ministry" came full circle in Burrill's message as he showed listeners how, throughout the Bible, the "members" are told how important it is to God that they be in ministry, in addition to the profession of their pastor. God's plan is explained in Exodus 19:6: "And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy nation ... ."
Burrill went on to explain that the governing verb of the Old Testament was "come" — come and see God's plan for humanity in the nation of Israel. The governing verb of the New Testament is "go" — go into all the world and preach this good news. This is the "Missional Model" of church. Jesus proclaimed that every member today is a priest before God. In 1 Peter 2:9, Peter applies Exodus 19:6 to the church today.
Ministry does not only belong to the pastor, as Ellen White points out. "The work of God in the earth can never be finished until the men and women comprising our church membership rally to the work and unite their efforts with those of ministers and church officers" (Gospel Workers, p. 351–352 pp).
Pictured here: Russell Burrill spends a week speaking throughout the Oregon Conference on the importance of ordinary members participating in ministry. (Gary McLain)
