HISTORY OF THE OFFICE OF HUMAN RELATIONS, NAD, FROM 1978 THROUGH APRIL 30, 1989

By handling racial, cultural, and employment disputes, the General Conference office builds bridges throughout the church.

Elder Warren Banfield

In 1978 the Annual Council voted to establish the Office of Human Relations at the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This office was given the responsibility of dealing with specific social problems confronting the Adventist Church. Warren Banfield was elected as director of the Office.

In an interview conducted by Carlos Medley, news editor of the Adventist Review, and Owen Troy, communications director for the North American Division at the time of Banfield's retirement on April 30, 1988, the following description was given of the work of this Office and reported in the Adventist Review.

Troy: What types of conflicts does your Office deal with?

BANFIELD: We have been called on by the church to resolve racial and cultural conflicts, employer and employee problems, and issues regarding the role of women. The new conciliation and grievance process is one method used to effect resolutions in such cases.

During its first year the Office received eight formal complaints, plus many informal ones. These days we receive, on the average, two complaints per week.

Yvonne Vanderhorst, our office secretary, informed me that there were four calls yesterday and two before noon today requesting assistance.

Troy: Do you see any trend in the types of complaints you receive?

BANFIELD: We have witnessed a dramatic change over the past 10 years. When we started the Office, 80 percent of the complaints dealt with racial and cultural issues. Today 80 percent of the complaints deal with employer-employee relations.

Medley: In many instances there are no routine performance evaluations of supervisory personnel, but only of non supervisory personnel. Does this create problems?

BANFIELD: Unless supervisory personnel are evaluated, blame will generally be placed on the non supervisory people.

If we're going to have maximum efficiency and harmony, we must evaluate the performance of those at the top as well as those at the bottom of the ladder.

Medley: Why has this condition been allowed to go on for so long?

BANFIELD: Supervisors often resist such evaluations. However, more and more church administrators are becoming aware of the need for this. Eventually it will happen. It is a slow process, since breaking with tradition is not an easy thing to do.

I might say that Elder Charles Bradford, the North American Division president, and Elder Neal Wilson, the General Conference president, have set the example and have been evaluated. Some union and local conference presidents and their office staffs have also been evaluated.

Medley: Is there any movement in this direction now?

BANFIELD: Yes, there is a growing awareness that these evaluations are necessary and that until both supervisory and non supervisory personnel are evaluated, we will never arrive at the level of efficiency and fairness that the church needs. It is being worked on.

Troy: Are racial problems continuing to decline?

BANFIELD: For four or five years there was a lull in racial conflicts, but during the past two years we have seen a gradual rise in these problems.

Troy: To what do you attribute this rise?

BANFIELD: It results partially from the perceived stance of the Reagan administration and also from the changing political atmosphere in this country. We have seen a rapid growth in minority populations in the United States. A huge influx of minority converts has impacted on the church. Heterogeneous groups are more difficult to deal with than homogeneous groups in that they tend to create tensions not usually found in homogeneous groups.

The church must develop more cosmopolitan leaders, leaders whose thinking has moved from a monocultural frame of reference to a multicultural one. Leaders must understand that our North American membership is moving from a monolithic culture to diversified cultures that include Black, Hispanic, Asian, and South Pacific groups.

Troy: What are some causes of racial and cultural problems?

BANFIELD: There are a number. First, we all have a racial and cultural identity. Second, each culture has different needs. Third, in some cases language barriers make communication difficult. Fourth, socio-economic differences aggravate many situations. Problems usually develop as a result of several of these factors working together.

We can celebrate cultural differences, but at the same time we should refrain from cultural exclusiveness. The melting pot idea is no longer accepted as reality.

Troy: Do you think a person's culture should determine the way he or she acts?

BANFIELD: Every culture has its vices and virtues. None has a monopoly on goodness or badness. While various cultures have a place in the church, each should be subjected to the refining process of the Holy Spirit.

Troy: Has the church taken any stand on race and culture:

BANFIELD: In the North American Division Working Policy, page 51, C 50, you will find an excellent statement on human relations, voted at the 1985 General Conference session in New Orleans. The fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists contain a doctrine on Christian relationships. The Adventist Review and other church journals periodically publish articles on such relationships.

Troy: What can the Office of Human Relations do to help resolve these racial and cultural differences?

BANFIELD: We offer workshops and seminars for better racial and cultural understanding. The Center for Human Relations, located at Andrews University, serves as the right arm of our department. Carole Kilcher, director of the center, develops agendas and assembles personnel for seminars. This center also develops resource and educational materials and does our research. It forms a part of the Institute of Church Ministry.

Dr. Sakae Kubo recently completed The God of Relations. In the works is Women in Society and the SDA Church, an anthology with each chapter written by a different Adventist woman.

Troy: You mentioned that the majority of your work deals with employer-employee conflicts. It seems strange that this type of conflict can exist in the church.

BANFIELD: It may seem so, but improper methods of disciplining and firing employees can lead to conflicts that are not easily resolved. Misunderstandings or a lack of knowledge concerning racial and cultural differences and needs can precipitate crises. Also, insensitivity and lack of fairness in administering policy, and lack of understanding of federal, state, and local labor laws, result in many conflicts.

Medley: I understand that some employees either have no job description or one that is inadequate.

BANFIELD: You would think that everyone who works for an organization would have a job description, but that is not always the case. A person may start out with one description and wind up doing a multitude of other things not in his description. This can create problems.

Medley: Is there an effort to correct this?

BANFIELD: The Personnel Department here at the General Conference is constantly encouraging leadership to see that everybody has a viable job description. The department maintains an administrative assistant who specializes in writing job descriptions. We can run into legal problems in this area if we don't. The job description is related to salary and evaluations, and when it changes, it could affect your salary.

Medley: Are many employees not told what their benefits are?

BANFIELD: When I came into the ministry you not only weren't told; you didn't ask. It's not like that today. If you ask, you will be told. In many conference institutions you will be told everything when you come on the job. But that is not yet true throughout the system. Benefits should be spelled out in every handbook, but sometimes conferences do not keep their handbooks current.

Troy: What procedures should one follow to resolve conflicts with other members of the church?

BANFIELD: The procedures used depend on the level at which the dispute arises. In the past you carried your complaint to the next higher organization. Conferences and institutions that have voted the new NAD conciliation and dispute resolution policy have three types of resolution: informal negotiation, mediation, and binding or non binding arbitration.

Troy: Please describe binding arbitration.

BANFIELD: If negotiation, mediation, and non binding arbitration fail to settle an issue, the last resort is binding arbitration. The secretary of the organization chooses a panel, whose members must be accepted by the disputants, with the understanding that the conflicting parties will abide by the decision of the arbitration panel.

On the union conference level a General Conference observer will attend.

Troy: Has arbitration been used in any of our conferences or institutions?

BANFIELD: Before the NAD conciliation and dispute resolution procedures can be used, they must be adopted by vote of the conference executive committee. So far we have used the arbitration process in four unions, with satisfactory results.

Most of our institutions have their own grievance process. Employees must follow the procedure of their institution.

Medley: Considering all these problems, how is morale among church employees?

BANFIELD: Overall, morale in the church is good, but there is always room for improvement. The Caring Church has to have meaning in the context of employer-employee relations. If employees don't feel that the church is dealing with them fairly, they will exhibit serious morale problems that sometimes result in legal threats and actions.

Medley: Have employees taken legal action when unfairly dismissed?

BANFIELD: According to General Conference policy, if a person has a problem and the supervisor is dissatisfied with his or her performance, the supervisor must document his efforts to persuade the person to perform adequately. If this is not done and all of a sudden he decides to dismiss that employee, the person may decide to take legal action. Sizeable sums have been paid in such cases.

Authorities may ask to review the individual's personnel file and review the job description. They want to know also if we are in compliance with our church policies.

Medley: There is an assumption that with separation of church and state, the church is not accountable to the state in these matters.

BANFIELD: For a long time many church leaders felt that because we are a church, we are exempt from federal and state laws in the way we run our operation. But the guidelines that apply to any business organization apply to the church. When it comes to our doctrine, our practice, our beliefs, we have a free hand. We may even have the right to employ only those who belong to our own organization. But fairness in employment is another matter.

Government regulations operate in the area of nondiscrimination regarding race or sex.

Troy: I understand that the Office of Human Relations has become involved in a new program for the handicapped. How is it involved?

BANFIELD: Recently we have been working with Dr. Robert Wilson, a blind ordained SDA minister who is in charge of pastoral care at the Review and Herald Publishing Association. Dr. Wilson is developing a program to raise the consciousness of church leaders in the area of employment opportunities for handicapped members of our church who have marketable skills.

Like other organizations, the Adventist Church must operate in an imperfect world, with imperfect people and imperfect laws. However, when Christian principles are applied in the workplace, many disputes and conflicts will subside and a new window of opportunity will open for those members who desire to serve the church.