Over the last 30 days we have received a question from dozens if not hundreds of people. The question:
“What is going on with the Village Church and the Michigan Conference? And, is Conrad Vine still banned from speaking in the state of Michigan?”
The answers to these questions are trickling in. First some details,
Michigan is divided into 13 districts. Twelve districts have an ‘office’ in their local area. The Hispanic district is state wide. Each district has a superintendent, who is a pastor from that district. Ron Kelly is one of those superintendents (District 9). Each district has regular meetings and all the district superintendents have a meeting several times a year.
What We Know
This information has not come from Ron Kelly or Conrad Vine. It has come from numerous individuals (2 Corinthians 13:1). Some of this information was discussed by people at district meetings, some came from closely connected people in Michigan. Their stories agree.
On September 3, Jim Micheff sent a letter to all Michigan pastors stating that Conrad Vine was banned from speaking in their pulpits (although Vine is a member in good standing in the Village Church). Michigan did not follow the Church Manual (CM) in a transparent manner in this action. They also did not outline a process by which the ban would be removed.
Since October, Michigan is demanding that Vine be removed from his Village Church positions. This too is overstepping their authority.
To remove a person from church office, the church board has to recommend a business meeting to discuss the case (page 69-70, CM). A church business meeting must be held, and a majority vote to censure the individual. Censure lasts from 30-days to a maximum of a year. Censure automatically terminates all offices that the person holds in the local congregation. This hasn’t happened in the case of Conrad Vine.
Since last month, there have been numerous meetings between the Michigan Conference and the Village Church. These meetings have been alluded to in sermons, and observed by people in Berrien Springs. Prayer has been requested for these meetings. Village Church has many fine elders, I have met some of them. They have represented the church well.
The Village Church has an upcoming business meeting on December 15. This meeting is posted in their bulletin.
The Village Church has been deeply committed to mission work. Under Ron Kelly’s leadership, they have established a regular missionary effort in El Salvador. A couple youth from the West Salem Mission even participated in a mission trip in March this year, as well as the head elder of our local church, Leroy DeMange.
Last year, the Village Church purchased a property across the road, to establish a health clinic ministry. They paid for the property with cash in 60-days time, raised by generous SDA members who believe in the Village Church vision.
This was told to us by five credible individuals: When the Village Church sought to add the new property onto the conference liability insurance policy, they were told that unless they removed Conrad Vine from his church offices (Elder and Religious Liberty Leader), MISDA would not insure the building. This blows me away—this is how bullies operate. Ecclesiastical extortion, anyone? We reached out to the Michigan Conference for additional information, and haven’t received a response.
The Village Church has been an admirable model of leadership over the last decade, especially the last 4.5 years. They have regularly held symposiums on liberty of conscience and biblical sexuality, inspiring thousands. In my opinion, Ron Kelly has been a model of Christlike behavior and Godly leadership. Vine’s messages have resonated with millions of Adventists around the world.
The million dollar question is this (we’ve heard it from dozens of people): Is the Michigan Conference receiving any pressure from Silver Springs? We don’t know. It would not surprise us one bit, if so.
In the Anabaptist Church, we have a term for people who love the organization more than they love Jesus or His people. The term is ‘churchy.’
We don’t know if some of the administrators in Michigan are ‘churchy’ but it sure does look like it.
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Walk with the King and be a blessing!
