Those of you who think that the issue of women’s ordination has been swallowed up by Covid, riots & looting, national elections and critical-theory wokeness might wanna think again. The issue of women’s ordination is a sacred cow to the militant left in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and they will not let it go until they get their way by any means possible.
Notice the 2021 blitzkrieg of (mostly liberal) conferences using their constituency sessions to advance the WO agenda.
On March 14, the Potomac Conference held an online constituency meeting. In that meeting, they proposed a change which stated if there is a disagreement or difference in policy between the Potomac Conference and the GC, the Potomac Standing Articles and Bylaws Committee has the authority to determine who is right. Potomac preceded this action by defiantly ordaining a woman in June of 2019. Fortunately, the Potomac bylaws change was soundly defeated by a vote of 83%. Praise God.
We wrote about Oklahoma and their attempt to change their Constitution last week. That went down in flames big time, last Sunday. Praise God!²
We wrote about Texas and their attempt to change their conference president qualifications to gender-neutral language. Their regular constituency meeting is on May 16th. Hopefully, that will go down in flames too.
Now, the Central States Conference is joining the blitzkrieg. On Sunday, April 18th, the CSC held their regular Constituency Session. This regional conference posed a question to their constituency:
The question was voted on, and it passed, 83% to 17%.
Observations
This is a straw vote. The CSC cannot legally and ethically enforce this vote.
By sending this straw vote to the Mid-American Union, the Conference will get their attention. The Mid America Union is already on record as being in support of WO, along with activist conference presidents in the Union. In fact, one of the churches in Missouri, the Kingsville SDA Church, wrote an open letter of rebuke to the overly emotional president of the Iowa-Missouri Conference, Dean Coridan, in late 2019. To our knowledge, Coridan received no rebuke for his untoward comments from the president of the Mid America Union.
Unions in the NAD are almost 100% aligned with the NAD on the issue of WO. Most conference leaders are as well. These progressive revolutionaries are the shock troops of the WO offensive.
By getting conferences to straw vote on issues that they cannot enforce, the Unions can then go to the NAD and say “Our conferences are demanding WO.” We have to help them get what they want.” The NAD is only too happy to oblige them, and they can feign “This is coming from the grassroots of the church.”
Dan Jackson is on record saying this “I WILL NEVER AGREE TO THAT DOCUMENT!” (referring to the Compliance Document that was voted in Battle Creek). Also “I will not enforce it on Unions and Conferences in our territory.” It’s good to know the spirit we are dealing with, friends. Conferences and Unions were given the green light of insurrection in this statement.
Regional conferences used to be somewhat nonchalant about WO. In the last four years they have come to view it as a social justice issue, and are becoming increasingly militant for WO.
Alexander Bryant used to be the president of the Central States Conference. Ponder that.
Hello blitzkrieg. Goodbye General Conference Session decisions.
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“Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle? Who may dwell in Your holy hill? He who walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He who does not backbite with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor does he take up a reproach against his friend” (Psalms 15:1—3).