On March 10, the Village Church called for a Special Constituency Meeting of the Michigan Conference. This was voted during yesterday’s board meeting.
This, in our opinion, is the only way to resolve the abuses of power that we have observed from the Michigan Conference managers in the last six months.
Commentary
The Village SDA Church in Berrien Springs, Michigan has been bullied, abused and mistreated since September 3 of last year. If this abuse is allowed to remain unchecked, the question in every church member, church board, pastor, and elder’s mind should be “Who will they come for next?”
This bullying saga has implications for every other conference in North America, and also the world church. It needs to be addressed.
The Village Church leaders have tried to reason with the MISDA managers and found them unreasonable. Millions of Seventh-day Adventists around the globe have watched this heavy-handed saga and object to it.
On July 3, 2010, Ted Wilson told the entire Seventh-day Adventist Church (at GC Session in Atlanta) “Hold your leaders accountable.” How do we do that? It rings hollow today. One way is to call conference constituency meetings and provide feedback to administrators, demanding answers from these under-seers who misrepresent the “Overseer of our souls” (1 Peter 2:25).
It is time to rein in these conference overlords. They need a reminder that they serve ONLY at the behest of the constituent members of the Michigan Conference. Failure to do this housecleaning will result in other abuses of authority throughout the conference, and indeed throughout the entire world church. It is an act of urgent spiritual hygiene.
It’s fairly simple. Church boards vote to call for a special constituency meeting, and they send that request to the conference. When enough requests come in, the conference is obligated to call a special constituency meeting. This is a good thing.
The result is improved communication, much-needed introspection from the administrators, and a halt to current bullying tactics. They are held accountable—as they should be, and the members, scattered by mismanagement, are rescued and fed by the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:11-16). New leaders and a new (more fair) balance of authority can then be implemented.
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“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).