Proposed Solution to the Problem of Member Retention for the South Sao Paulo Conference

Problem. The South São Paulo Conference loses an average of 32 percent of its members per year as a result of dissatisfaction with the church. According to the Office of Archives and Statistics of the Central Brazilian Union, the South São Paulo Conference baptized 2,057 people in 2004 and 797 dropped out of the church, resulting in a 38 percent church dropout rate in that year. In 2005, the conference baptized 2,516 people and 1,000 dropped out, for a disaffiliation rate of 39 percent. In 2006, 2,746 were baptized and 456 dropped out, for a disaffiliation rate of 19 percent. In 2007, the conference baptized 2,904 people and 1,010 dropped out, a disaffiliation rate of 35 percent. In 2008, the conference baptized 3,029 people and 927 dropped out, resulting in a disaffiliation rate of 31 percent. In 2009, the conference baptized 3,258 people and 844 dropped out, for a disaffiliation rate of 27 percent. The loss of membership in this conference is a problem that needs to be addressed. Method. The research method used to conduct this study was the quantitative survey approach, as presented by the Handbook of Research Design and Social Measurement. For the purpose of this study, 100 former Seventh-day Adventists from four congregations in the South São Paulo Conference were selected to participate in the survey. These former members voluntarily participated in the survey and answered questions regarding their reasons for leaving the church. Results. A discipleship seminar was created and implemented that produced an environment of spiritual acceptance among church members. Once the participants understood the meaning of discipleship, especially the new converts, they demonstrated confidence in the program and became engaged with it. They understood that this seminar was helpful to them as a significant spiritual tool to strengthen their faith. Conclusions. This document describes and records the development, implementation, and evaluation of a proposed solution to the problem of member retention for the South São Paulo Conference in Brazil. It has been evaluated as to its practicality and potential as a successful member retention program among the Seventh-day Adventist churches in the South São Paulo Conference. This model is an approach that complements rather than competes with other methods to retain members within the church

Courting the South: Lula’s Trade Diplomacy

Scholarly consensus regarding Brazil's Lula government characterizes its economic policy as surprisingly conservative but its foreign policy as roughly in line with the traditionally leftist principles of the Workers' Party. While broadly accurate, this perspective tells us little about trade diplomacy, which cuts across these two policy areas. In this article we explain why Lula's trade diplomacy has hewed much more closely to his broader foreign policy strategy than his economic model, despite the critical role of trade in Brazil's recent economic growth. We argue that two key factors have lowered the costs of adopting a combative, South-South orientation, allowing Lula to use trade diplomacy as a tool for appealing to party loyalists. One is the inherently muted short-term impact of trade diplomacy on key macro-economic outcomes. The other is the failure of the traditional trading powers to offer the incentives necessary to successfully conclude the major North-South trade talks they had initiated

The Political Economy of Productivity in Brazil

This paper explores the link between Brazil's political institutions and its disappointing productivity and growth in recent decades. Although political institutions provide the president with incentives and the instruments to pursue monetary stability and fiscal discipline they simultaneously raise the costs of achieving those very objectives. The insulation of certain expenditures from presidential discretion necessitates the use of other policy options, such as high taxation levels and cuts in unprotected expenditures, which put a drag on productivity and growth. In a context of robust checks and balances and interest group fragmentation, a state overburdened by constitutional entitlements has resorted to massive increases in taxation. The resulting environment possesses both essential elements for sustainable economic growth and distortions that conspire against its realization. While some improvements in productivity and growth have occurred in the past decade, the pace has been slow and incremental