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Students to talk on TV with church president
- Brenton Stacey

Avondale College students will appear with the president of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church on the church's Hope Channel next week.
The broadcast is called Let's Talk . . . Avondale. Twenty-two students appear on the program with host Andrew Robartson in a live, unscripted and unedited conversation with Pastor Jan Paulsen. Adventist Media taped the program live at its studio in Wahroonga on September 5.
The program, although similar to other Let's Talk broadcasts, is more of a give-and-take between the students and Pastor Paulsen, with questions and responses moving between each side.
Theology major Clansi Roy and physics major Lachlan Rogers raised questions about the church's fundamental beliefs. "At what point do we say, 'You're not really an Adventist because you don't believe what we believe?'" asked Miss Roy. Mr Rogers followed Pastor Paulsen's response with this: "Given our understanding of present truth, is there any capacity for removing fundamentals if they're no longer as fundamental as they once were?"
Theology major Kimanh Briden asked Pastor Paulsen about whether he follows-up what he hears during a Let's Talk broadcast. "He danced around the question a little, but what he said was fair. It's unfortunate we can't continue the discussion, but I guess Let's Talk is a starting point."
Pastor Paulsen's wife, Kari, answered questions and spoke with participants during the broadcast. Theology major Chris Stanley asked her about the ordination of women. "Is this an issue of cultural relativity, or is it an issue of women's rights?" Pastor Paulsen also answered the question.
"I didn't want to come across as a young know-it-all trying to stump the pres," says Mr Stanley. "I was asking for others as much as myself."
"I respect Pastor Paulsen, he's got guts," says communication major Calvin Chuang. "He took the time to listen to us, and to ask us questions. But I thought some of his response were a bit vague."
Science and teaching major Clinton Jackson says Pastor Paulsen's answers reflect the challenges of leading such a diverse church. "I think he is making a genuine effort to listen to young adults, but Let's Talk shows other church members Pastor Paulsen is listening to young adults. The underlying message is, 'Young adults are worth listening to.' That's an important cultural change."
Pastor Paulsen begins the broadcast by speaking of the size of the Adventist family, at more than 20 million with two-thirds under the age of 30. "It is important for me to hear the voice of young people, to sense the things about which they feel strongly," he says. "And I feel it's important for you to speak to the Adventist Church. So, let's talk."
This broadcast will mark the sixth episode in the Let's Talk series. Earlier broadcasts have come from the United States and Germany, with an impromptu session at the church's five-yearly business meeting, in St Louis, Missouri USA, in July this year. Pastor Paulsen will continue the dialogue next year with broadcasts from Oakwood College in Alabama, USA, Uganda, Cameroon and Brazil.

Let's Talk . . . Avondale will air on Monday, November 21, at 7 pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time).


Clinton Jackson asks a question of worldwide Adventist Church president Pastor Jan Paulsen during the Let's Talk . . . Avondale broadcast.
Photograph credit: Mykol Heath