On March 16, 2024, the Potomac Conference ordained Joanne Cortes at the BeLove SDA Church in Washington DC. She is the wife of Jose Cortes Jr., a ministerial director for evangelism in the North American Division of SDA.
Presiding over the ordination was Potomac Conference president Charles Tapp, Rick Labate, VP for pastoral ministries, Potomac Conference, and Jose Vasquez, VP of administration for Potomac Conference.
Among those present and giving their approval were Henry Wright, Heather Crews, Hyveth Williams (Andrews University), Michael Campbell (NAD), Ivan Williams (NAD VP for leadership, (on screen)), Ruben Ramos (Columbia Union), Tim Madding (NAD evangelism director), and others.
Observations
Since 1995, rebellious church entities, influenced by feminism, have openly violated the decisions of the Seventh-day Adventist Church regarding biblical male leadership. The Potomac Conference was the first conference to violate the world church by ordaining a woman in 1995. Now they are at it again in 2024 and there is plenty of blame to go around.
The Potomac Conference is to blame for ordaining a woman. The Columbia Union is to blame for authorizing this unlawful ordination. The North American Division is to blame for promoting and instigating unlawful ordinations, and for shirking their duty to bring wayward unions into harmony with the world church. The church members who voted Charles Tapp into office at their Constituency meeting are partly to blame, as are the executive committees on up the food chain. The General Conference Executive Committee is complicit for not dealing with these rebellious Unions.
Many church members want to know what is being done to unions who violate the decisions of the world church.
Questions
What was the purpose of the Compliance Document that was voted and passed in October 2018? (hint, to address rebellion in the church).
Is the in-your-face-ordination of Joanne Cortes last Sabbath another act of rebellion?
What is the reason for the General Conference’s abdication of leadership in dealing with these insubordinate ordinations? Is it a matter of can’t or won’t?
Why is there a veil of silence from the General Conference on how these problems will be resolved?
Church members have a right to know what steps are being taken to resolve this ongoing rebellion towards duly voted Session decisions. Why aren’t they being informed? This is their church.
Failure to deal with these rebellious church entities contributes to feelings of general unease and loss of protection among faithful church members. What is being done to restore church members’ trust in the decisions and beliefs of the church?
Who will demonstrate leadership in a time when leadership is desperately needed?
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“But they rebelled against him and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he became their enemy and fought against them” (Isaiah 63:10).
