He was born in 1935 in Narvik, Norway, beyond the Arctic Circle, at a time when the clouds of war were gathering. In 1940, in the space of a few months, Narvik was controlled by Germany, conquered by the Allies, and then left to the Germans.
After the war, Jan’s family was so destitute that his father sent him to a shepherd to work for food. And that wasn’t the only obstacle to Jan’s development.
However, obstacles became gateways to success on a long and upward path: pastor in Norway, professor in Ghana, university president in Nigeria and England, president of Adventist organisations with territories in Europe, Africa, and Asia, vice-president and Adventist Church world president. Jan Paulsen was the third non-American to lead the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the first Adventist Church world president with a doctorate (from the University of Tübingen). On 2 June 2012, he was appointed Commander of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit by King Harald V in recognition of his “meritorious” humanitarian work.
Jan Paulsen’s life is proof that achieving high goals and fulfilment in life is not reserved only for those who have a good start, whose path to success is predictable from the start. A large dose of hard work, perseverance and faith can change a person’s life in the most unexpected and amazing ways. Jan Paulsen is just such a person.
Adrian Bocaneanu (interviewer): Please share some of your earliest memories of your starting point in life, in faith.
Jan: I was brought up in a Christian family. I lived in an environment that gave me security and warmth. However, religious convictions did not develop on their own. I came to a personal faith through a special experience. I was about 14 years old when my mother and I went to a normal meeting, a prayer meeting, in one of the church halls. There were 12-15 people there. I was the only young person there. We prayed, we read. There was no one to preach, no one to touch our hearts. But I gained confidence that Jesus Christ wanted to lead my life. I remember to this day that I began to cry for no particular reason. Nobody had said anything to me. It was just the strong assurance that Jesus Christ wanted to lead my life. That’s how it all began.
A few months later I felt that I had to become a pastor. At the time it seemed unlikely that I would be able to do it. I remember the elder of the church. When I told him I was going to be a pastor, he looked at me, laughed and said, “Who, you?” Because I stuttered so much. I had this speech impediment. He said, “You can’t be a pastor. You can’t say a sentence without stuttering.”
AB: And yet today you have come to speak to millions and millions of people all over the world.
JP: Shortly after I got married—we were very young, only 20—my wife had to explain to someone why her name was Paulsen. “I am Jan Paulsen’s wife,” she replied. “No way!” they replied. “I don’t think Jan was able to finish the sentence asking you to marry him!” Everyone knew I stuttered badly.
AB: Was it difficult for you to overcome this speech impediment?
JP: It’s a long story. I found that if I prepared what I had to say, I could speak without stuttering. When I was 15, I went to a church service and had to give a 7-minute speech. I prepared it carefully, reread it, thought about it and found that I could speak without any problem. I also discovered that I stuttered less during holidays and more during school. I thought it must be because I was afraid of making mistakes at school. Then I said to myself, “You can beat this.”
AB: Could it be that God used this speech problem to make you organised, prepared, and systematic?
JP: It’s true that I think a lot about some things before I communicate them to others.
AB: That’s fascinating! Where and how did you prepare to become a pastor?
JP: I went to an Adventist college in Denmark. At first it seemed like a waste of time, but then I understood that education leads to a good discipline of the mind. It’s not just about knowledge, but what we do with it, what we do with other people’s ideas, how we communicate, how we listen, and how we understand the development of ideas. Education became very important to me. Then I worked as a pastor in Norway for three years until we were asked to go to West Africa to a school in Ghana to teach religion and Bible classes.
AB: What made you believe that this was your calling?
JP: I trusted the people who called me. Our church has always stressed the importance of education. The Adventist Church has over 7,000 educational institutions around the world. Many of them are in Africa. They needed well-trained teachers. So they asked us to go to Ghana. We were there for only two years. A university level college was then established in Africa, the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa, in Nigeria. It was then known as the Adventist College of West Africa. Today, 50 years later—yes, it’s only 50 years—that institution is the largest we have as a church. It has about 10,000 students. Now it’s called Babcock University. I was one of the founders of that institution.
AB: I think that gives you a lot of satisfaction. How many years have you worked in Africa?
JP: Six years. In the 1960s, the situation in Nigeria was very difficult because of the civil war, the Biafran war. Many innocent people were killed, as happens in all wars. Our college was in the west of Nigeria. Students from the Ebu tribe in the east were hunted down. We had many Ebu students and we had to protect them.
We saw how God can take care of us. Let me tell you about one incident. The college had a bakery where they made the best bread you could find in Nigeria. We had a minibus that took the bread to Lagos every day and another to Ibadan. One morning at five o’clock, one of the drivers who was going to take the minibus to Ibadan came to me. He was from the Ebu tribe.
I was the president of the college. He said to me, “Pastor, I am afraid to go to Ibadan alone. Can you come with me?” I said, “Of course I can.”
We delivered the bread to the city. We went through many army checkpoints—they were official checkpoints. We delivered the bread then headed home. Around a bend I noticed about six people in uniform. It wasn’t the soldiers’ uniform. They stopped every car that came and wanted to see what tribe the people in the car were from. They spoke very little English and were drunk. They all had automatic weapons. They stopped us and asked the driver what tribe he was from. It was easy to see that he was from the Ebu tribe, so they told him to get out. We knew that if they took him out of the car, he wouldn’t come back. I had heard many stories. They would have taken him out of the car, shot him on the spot and thrown him in the ditch. I said, “Don’t get out.” I opened the door, but they closed it back. They didn’t want me to get out. I prayed. One of the men seemed to be in charge. I asked him to come to the door and started talking to him. I have no idea what I said. We talked for 15 minutes. Slowly, slowly, the other men came in. They put their guns down. These men didn’t understand any English. After 15 minutes they said to the driver, “You can go because your master spoke so well.”
AB: I imagine those years were very intense.
JP: I have rich memories. You know, in situations like that—there were others—you can discover how close God is. I came to love Africa. Africa became part of me. I’ve been to Africa many times. God works in a wonderful and powerful way. Today, 40% of the members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church are on the African continent. That’s when we started the first university, and today we have 14 such universities in Africa.
AB: How has it been for your wife?
JP: West Africa used to be known as the white man’s grave because of the many health threats. My wife came down with a very serious form of malaria. She was close to death. She survived, but her health was seriously affected. Since then she has had endocrine problems because of the malaria she had. It was very hard for her, but she supported me a lot in my service. She is a wonderful mother and partner in service.
AB: You don’t seem to regret or resent being sent to the “white man’s grave.”
JP: I don’t, because I see how God has led our lives. When we reflect on the past, my wife and I often say that it is incredible that God has used us the way He has in our 50 years of service. We are amazed, overwhelmed and grateful to have had this opportunity. We have many friends there now. Africa has become part of our family. My daughter-in-law is from the Congo. We have three grandchildren who are a blend of Africa and Europe. They are incredible. They fill my heart with joy.
AB: I would love to spend the rest of my time with you talking about Africa, but I have more questions. What are the things you remember most from your time as Adventist Church world president?
JP: One is the Hope Channel media project. Before I was elected, Hope Channel was called the Adventist Television Network. It ran occasionally. Churches would pick up the signal and watch the events. I said we need to make a change, we need to get these programmes into people’s homes. We started to develop Hope Channel TV. Today that organisation is successful and has spread around the world.
Another is the establishment of Adventist World magazine, a monthly magazine. Two million copies are sent around the world free of charge. It is a means of communication with the global family that contributes to unity, highlights our values, and strengthens our church identity. I am absolutely convinced that television and the Internet will be key tools in fulfilling the mission that Christ has left us. I know that this requires significant financial and human resources. But it will allow us to reach people we could not reach otherwise.
AB: When you were the Adventist Church world president, you were interviewed by Bloomberg TV. Tell us about that.
JP: They wanted to do a programme about the Adventist Church. I think the host had read about our work, especially in the area of education. The Adventist Church has the largest private education system after the Catholic Church. I was also asked about our health initiatives. Loma Linda University was becoming better known. It promoted the Adventist Church as a leader in health care. The presenter had a solid knowledge of us and appreciated what we are doing.
AB: How have the years since you were president been?
JP: It’s a time of learning. I’m learning what it means to slow down. I haven’t finished that lesson yet. I get a lot of invitations to speak, to write books. It keeps me busy. I’m trying to make time for my family, to keep a balance.
AB: I hope we get the chance to continue this conversation some day.
Note: This is an interview by Adrian Bocaneanu. The transcript of the interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.