The Kansas-Nebraska Conference is attempting to make several illegal and unwise moves in attempting to change its Constitution and Bylaws at its Constituency Meeting to be held this Sunday, August 29. Specifically, some of the changes include:
1. Changing the conference constitution and bylaws to differ from the required model conference constitution and bylaws in several aspects, including allowing the conference president to be either ordained or commissioned (a man or a woman).
2. Adding a sentence to Article III of the constitution that would allow the conference executive committee to make changes to the conference constitution and bylaws. These changes are supposed to be made only at a conference constituency meeting. This change would place this power in the hands of a select few men and women and is unheard of anywhere else throughout the North American Division or other areas of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
3. Removing language that the education policies of the General Conference should be applied at the conference level.
In short, these changes are unwise, unconstitutional, and in fact, illegal, and we urge the constituents, the pastors, and the leaders of the Kansas-Nebraska Conference to prayerfully resist any such attempted changes. And for those not in this conference, please pray for this meeting.
Compare the proposed changes with the local conference model constitution below.
Article. III-Relationships
The ______ Conference is a member unit of the ______ Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is located in the territory of the ______ Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The purposes, policies, and procedures of this conference shall be in harmony with the working policies and procedures
enacted by the executive committee of the ______ Division or the
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. This conference shall pursue the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in harmony with the Fundamental Beliefs, programs, initiatives, and actions adopted and approved by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists at its sessions.
a. President: The president, who shall be an ordained minister of experience, is the first officer and shall report to the executive committee of the conference in consultation with the secretary and the treasurer/chief financial officer. He shall act as chair of the constituency meetings and the executive committee and serve in the general interests of the conference as the constituency and the executive committee shall determine. In his leadership he shall adhere to the policies, of the ______ Union, the _____ Division, and the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, work in harmony with the union executive committee and in close counsel with the union officers.
To help members and delegates be more informed, all of the bold text must be exactly reproduced in the conference constitution and bylaws. We are providing here copies of the latest Model Constitutions from the General Conference Working Policy 2020-2021, as voted by the world church in session and by its representatives at its Executive Committee meetings during Annual Councils. You can rest assured that any variation from these model constitutions did not come from the world church. May the Lord help us each to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matt. 10:16)
What Can Be Done?
So, what can be done to help the NAD, and more specifically, its unions and local conferences, stay united with the world church?
First, we can pray earnestly for the leaders, asking God to guide and to influence them along right paths. Secondly, we can pray for the delegates at this very important constituency meeting--that they will speak up and resist changes that are out of harmony with the world church.
Delegates—if you are a delegate, ask for the material for the constituency meeting ahead of time. Review it with your church board or church in business session. Ask for their input. As a delegate from your church, they are trusting you to represent them and the spiritual and evangelistic mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Learn to speak up with clarity and grace. Your vote, voice, and influence count.
We are are told that Tom Lemon will be presiding over this meeting. Ask him if these changes are in harmony with the General Conference and world church? [Correction. Lemon was in attendance, but did not chair any portion of the meeting.]
Kansas-Nebraska Conference delegates, please vote these rebellious changes down, which seek to divide our world church into fragmented pockets of rebellion. They are unethical changes proposed by unethical leaders who think they are smarter than you.
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“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan” (Proverbs 29:2).