A great kerfuffle has been made over the Village SDA Church supposedly making a “public outcry” and “airing its dirty laundry” over what is happening in our church.
We are accused of creating division and hatred. We are accused of battling the church. But we did not seek this quarrel. This conflict was brought to us, and now we must respond.
Furthermore, there is already a deep division within the church over a mountain of issues, from women’s ordination to the GC vaccine statements, to the alliances with the United Nations to support for illegal immigration. The picture is bleak.
The church is already broken, so the question is, how can it be mended? No matter which course of action we take, there will be those who are unhappy.
So how do we decide? I know not what others may choose, but I believe leaders are held to a higher standard and must be held accountable, otherwise our claims of being Bible-believing people who stand for Truth ring hollow.
Asking for transparency, accountability, and an opportunity to discuss and review what has transpired in Michigan is not divisive, it is not hateful, it is not un-Christian. It is what is required when we are trying to be responsible, faithful, and true.
Asking for constituency meetings, asking for votes of no confidence, or censure are all part of the proper church process; it is not operating outside the bounds of the church. They are tools to be used and were put in place for a reason. It is terribly sad we are in this situation and great effort was made to avoid this process, but that does not mean using the tools within the Church Manual makes us hateful or divisive.
When you hold a leadership position over a large assembly of people, you are accountable to them, plain and simple. There is nothing to debate here. This is the burden of leadership. I alone, or another member of my church, cannot walk up to our MISDA Conference President and say, “You’re fired,” or, “Sir, your actions prove that you are not fit to serve in this capacity, I am calling for censure or for your resignation.” Well, I can say it, but it amounts to nothing but words, unless many others are willing to say it also. No, one person cannot make this change. There has to be an evaluation made by the church body and a decision made by the church body. That is why this has to be public; we cannot handle such weighty matters behind closed doors with just a few selected people. Leadership is accountable to the body. And the Conference is not more important than the individual churches and individual members. In fact, are not the conferences meant to be a support system for the churches, not the other way around?
Illustration
Just imagine this: You run your household with your spouse and your children. You earn wages and pay all your own bills. You prayerfully plan and prepare for how to manage your home. Each member of the family knows their responsibilities and works harmoniously to run the home. Now, the mayor of your town swoops in and says, “The man of this house is guilty of insubordination and bullying, we are going to remove him and banish him from your home and this city.” The rest of the family cries out, “No, that’s not the case, we all work together in harmony to achieve our family goals. We do not want him banished. In fact, we are in the process of building something new with our own monies.”
But the mayor is unyielding and stops at nothing. The man of the house is banished, the assets seized, and the family left trying to pick up the pieces. How absurd is this?? Can you imagine the arrogance of such a mayor? Such an over-reach of power and authority? (Lurkers and haters go ahead pick apart this analogy, but I think even you can understand the point being made.)
Many of us (but not all) call into question whether our leaders are fit to serve their office. Remember, this is not a wholesale indictment upon the character of these men, nor their value in the eyes of God. This is just an evaluation on their job performance. (Enter formal disclaimer for lurkers and haters: yes, all church leaders are beloved by God and He freely offers each of them His love and redemption. And yes, I am sure they are loved by many and have done some wonderful things in their lives.) But do we have confidence in their ability to hold the office in which they serve? We call into question whether they are being guided by arrogance and an unholy agenda, or are they guided by a true and sincere desire to share the Good News? That is a question that needs a thorough review so we can have real answers and real solutions.
Some are advocating for peace – peace and forgiveness no matter what has transpired. But what measure of immoral behavior are we willing to accept in the name of peace? Is a little bit of coercion and blackmail okay, as long as it wasn’t too much blackmail? Is it okay to tell a few little white lies to church members? Is it okay for managers who carry the name of Almighty God on their lips to go unquestioned when decisions are evidently authoritarian? Some say we need to unite, no matter what has transpired. But how can we unite with disparate values and disparate goals? Clearly the goal is not to speak God’s truth of liberty and redemption, of His Saving Grace, no matter how badly you’ve messed up your life— as VSDA was already doing that, and MISDA stopped it.
So what is the goal of MISDA? What is their agenda? Is it to uphold illegal immigration? The Lake Union Conference is holding a vigil for just this purpose on Sunday, April 20. Is it to champion the blessings of being united with the United Nations and having NGO status? Is to praise the use of vaccines and peer-reviewed science? Is that the real agenda?
The criticism has been made that the conflict that is happening within our church is causing us to lose focus on the mission. I agree; but again, not our choice. How sad that our church has had our mission completely interrupted and disrupted by the actions and inactions of the Lake Union President, the General Conference President, and the Michigan Conference President and its Executive Committee. To put this in simple language – we were minding our own business as a church, going about with missions and outreach, and the Michigan Conference (at the behest of who….?) pulled out all the stops and halted everything.
Now, as a church, we are disillusioned. Our trust in the system has been broken. Our legs have been cut off from beneath us and we are struggling to re-group. Some have left our church. Some have left the faith. Others say they will leave the church if we pursue a Constituency Meeting. Everyone is hurting and there is no perfect answer or solution. We have lost two faithful men, who stand for God’s Truth, and their families from our church family.
How have the actions of the MISDA conference benefited anyone? Have they saved some poor soul from having to hear another sermon by Drs. Kelly or Vine (please note the sarcasm)? How do you think Drs. Kelly and Vine and their friends and family feel? How has it impacted their faith and trust? Have the actions of the MISDA helped advance the gospel message from our church? Have they supported our medical missionary work? No, I do not believe that cancelling Drs. Kelly and Vine has achieved anything but heartache. But because God is able to bring good out of all circumstances, this situation can afford us the opportunity to correct errors and make things better; to realign to what our true mission is meant to be as a Bible-believing, faithful church.
Although the Conference does have the power and authority to move pastors, it is an abuse of power to remove a pastor who is in good standing, who has not been disciplined according to procedure, who is preaching and teaching the Good News, and is faithfully executing his duties as pastor. A pastor who has not violated the Bible, who has not spoken heresy, who has not committed a grave moral failing cannot be willy-nilly fired because the Conference does not like him, or because the General Conference is afraid of Covid-related lawsuits, or because it steps on the toes of people who no longer believe in the authority of the Bible. It is an abuse of power to coerce a church in order to have one congregant removed and disciplined. It is an abuse of power to silence someone merely for disagreeing with the GC policy statements.
We have the right to question our leaders. We have the right to question whether or not their actions are a faithful, Christ-like representation for how a conference president and executive officers should behave and conduct church business. We have power when we press together as a group. Too many people, I among them, have neglected our duty to pay attention to church business meetings and church elections.
One of us, two of us, or even 800 of us, did not have the power to influence the decisions made by MISDA Conference. We tried to conduct business privately, but to no avail. Now, we must insist on an unbiased, thoughtful, prayerful, evaluation of the decisions made by a handful of church administrators. This evaluation must include regular members and not cherry-picked conference employees who are beholden to said powers for their source of income. Nor cherry-picked individuals put in place to do the bidding of one man.
We know that God is in control and He can create something beautiful out of the ashes. We know that Pastor Kelly will continue to speak Truth in Love. We know Pastor Vine will also continue to be the watchman on the wall. We know that God’s mission will move forward. But we also know that injustice and wrong-doing cannot be swept under the rug. Who will be the next pastor to be removed from our ranks for boldly standing for God’s Truth and liberty of conscience?
An opinion from a church member,
Michelle Proctor-Stembridge
Village SDA Church Member
P.S. Just a question to think and pray about: Why do we need so many Conferences and why do we need so many Conference employees? Are we faithfully using our tithe in the most efficient way? How often is there an unbiased financial review of our institutions? Trigger alert for the lurkers and the haters: perhaps it is time to DOGE the GC, the NAD, and all the Conferences.
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“They are blind guides of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit" (Matthew 15:14).
