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Richard Myers

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Annual Council Has Begun
« on: October 05, 2017, 11:37:56 PM »
The Seventh-day Adventist Annual Council began today, October 5. 

The agenda for the meetings can be found here  Agenda

The meetings of the Annual Council of the General Conference Executive Committee may be seen here at the following scheduled times:

    Friday, October 6, 2017, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
    Sabbath, October 7, 2017, 8:45 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.
    Sabbath, October 7, 2017, 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
    Sunday, October 8, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
    Sunday, October 8, 2017, 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    Monday, October 9, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
    Tuesday, October 10, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
    Tuesday, October 10, 2017, 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    Wednesday, October 11, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

All times are EDT (UTC-04:00)


Let us pray earnestly for the Holy Spirit to be poured out in large measure.


 Watch live now




Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2017, 10:02:20 AM »
Elder Wilson's Sabbath sermon at Annual Council.


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Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2017, 10:28:32 AM »
Annual Council will address the issue of rebellion in the church tomorrow, Monday, October 9. Follow the business session live.  Click here to watch

Monday, October 9, 2017, 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Monday, October 9, 2017, 1:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. 
      All times are EDT (UTC-04:00)

In August, 2015 the General Conference Secretariat published "UNIONS AND ORDINATION TO THE GOSPEL MINISTRY". It was an overview of the General Conference working policy regarding women's ordination. It was necessary because the rebellion had been misrepresenting the constitution and bylaws by which they operate and exist.

The following year a 78 member General Conference committee  approved “Unity in Mission: Procedures in Church Reconciliation” to be presented at the 2016 Annual Council meeting. Here is the Adventist News Network's report on the action:

Press Release: Recommendation on Non-Compliance to Go to Annual Council
A General Conference committee votes on “Unity in Mission” document.
Oct 06, 2016 | Silver Spring, Maryland | General Conference communication staff
Press Release: Recommendation on Non-Compliance to Go to Annual Council

The Seventh-day Adventist Church world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Brandan Roberts / ANN)

A high-level committee consisting of world and regional officers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church voted on Oct. 6 for a document detailing actions to be taken in response to certain entities of the world church that are not in compliance with an action voted on by more than 2,000 representatives of the 19.5 million-member denomination at its most recent General Conference Session held in San Antonio, Texas from July 2-11, 2015.

In a vote of 1,381 to 977, the delegates from more than 200 countries and territories rejected a proposal that would have allowed for regional variance in ordination practices. Currently, only males are ordained within this Protestant denomination. However, in some regional areas of the world, church entities have gone outside of voted church policy by ordaining women.

The recommendation — titled “Unity in Mission: Procedures in Church Reconciliation” — that was approved by the 78-member General Conference and Division Officers Committee at the church’s world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, on the evening of Oct. 6  will be sent to the 343-member Executive Committee for discussion and a vote on Oct. 11. The Executive Committee is the highest governing authority outside of a General Conference Session and meets every October for its Annual Council.

If passed, the action will address the non-compliance issue in a two-step process that begins with multiple consultations at various levels of church structures, followed by pastoral letters urging compliance with voted church actions, and much prayer. If the matter is not resolved and relates to the Fundamental Beliefs or voted actions and policies of the world church, then phase two, which will be developed by the General Conference to be brought to the 2017 Annual Council, will then be implemented subject to its vote.

The preamble to the recommendation underscores the importance of unity for mission.

“When any one entity decides to ‘go it alone,’ the whole church body suffers and is diminished,” it says. “If not addressed, these actions can lead to charges of unfairness, and can undermine the church’s united mission.”

The goal of the process is to be redemptive, Adventist Church president Ted N.C. Wilson said.

“It is our fervent hope that all entities of the church will recognize the sacred importance of being united in mission as well as the policies that guide us toward that goal,” Wilson said. “We should always be engaged in a redemptive process, seeking for the unity that Christ longed for in John 17:21.”

This year’s Annual Council will also review the church’s finances, consider church membership trends, and hear reports about the church’s work in each of its 13 world divisions and the Middle East and North Africa region. A major three-day conference on Adventist education took place immediately before Annual Council.

The Oct.7-12 Annual Council is not only business meetings. The church will release a film depicting its history. On the afternoon of Oct. 8, Wilson and other church leaders will visit homes around the church’s headquarters to pray with residents and distribute religious literature.

Wilson said church leaders were setting an example for members to follow. “We long for everyone to be involved in God’s mission of reaching the world for Him,” he said.

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has a presence in 215 countries and territories, and operates more than 8,200 schools, colleges and universities, and hundreds of hospitals, clinics and other health-care institutions worldwide.

Download a PDF of the document: “Unity in Mission: Procedures in Church Reconciliation”


The 2016 Annual Council approved a document that detailed steps on how to deal with Seventh-day Adventist Church entities not adhering to voted actions of the Adventist world church.

"The one-year process, which several delegates described as conciliatory in approach, envisages multiple consultations at various levels of the church’s structure, pastoral letters urging compliance with voted church actions, and much prayer. If the matter relates to Fundamental Beliefs or voted actions and policies of the world church and remains unresolved, the next step of action is to take place. The document calls for the General Conference Administrative Committee to draft a proposal on the next course of action and submit it to the 2017 Annual Council for approval." ANN.

As the 2017 Annual Council approaches, we are saddened that the rebellion has not ended, but has gained steam with their meeting in London in June. Rebellion is often incurable. We lament the division in the church, but have known through prophecy that it would exist. We are encouraged that the truth will cause a "shaking" and those who rise up against it will be shaken out of the church. Revival and reformation will come to God's church. Let us pray for the leadership of God's church.


Here is the discussion on the subject at the 2016 Annual Council 

October 11, 2016 (2:00pm - 5:30pm)   


Video will start 2 hrs and 18 mins into the video
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

LindaRS

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2017, 10:48:07 AM »
The meetings are archived on the ANN YouTube channel. Those who missed this morning's session (Sunday) of Elder Ng's Adventist 911 report should make an effort to see it before tomorrow afternoon's session.
O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Jeremiah  10:23-24

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #4 on: October 08, 2017, 11:28:37 AM »
Thank you, Linda. We will post the videos as they become available.  What did Elder Ng share?
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #5 on: October 08, 2017, 11:29:01 AM »
Annual Council Meetings










Friday   October 6, 2017 (6:45pm to 8:30pm)








Sabbath      October 7, 2017 (10:30am to 12:30pm)




Sabbath      October 7, 2017 (2:00pm to 4:00pm)




Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #6 on: October 08, 2017, 11:40:23 AM »
Annual Council Meetings


   October 8, 2017 (8:00am to 12:00pm)








   October 8, 2017 (2:00pm to 5:30pm)



    



Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #7 on: October 09, 2017, 08:00:50 AM »
Annual Council Meetings         
Monday Oct 9






   Today  Live   Morning Meeting    (8:00am-12:00pm)






It is my understanding, the meeting to discuss what to do when conferences rebel is on the agenda for discussion at 10:30am PDT (1:30pm EDT).

That is 2 1/2 hours from this post
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2017, 04:09:59 PM »
Annual Council Meeting         
Monday Oct 9-Discussion and Vote on Non-compliance Document






   Today  Live   Afternoon Meeting    (1:30-6:00)




At 5:08 Elder Wilson makes a very pointed statement about there being a serious problem of non-compliance. The issue remains as what to do with those who will not heed the decisions of the World Church in Session.


Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #9 on: October 09, 2017, 04:13:14 PM »
After presenting the GC proposal to the Executive Committee, they have voted on a measure to return it to committee. They are presently counting the votes.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #10 on: October 09, 2017, 04:28:00 PM »
The Executive Committee has voted by a majority 184 to 114  to return the compliance document to the committee which prepared it. Elder Wilson stated that he did not foresee any plausible way it will come back to the Executive Committee before the next Annual Council.

Before closing the meeting with singing We Have This Hope and prayer, Elder Wilson shared this truth:

In a special sense Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.  9T 19.


Amen!!
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #11 on: October 09, 2017, 04:54:33 PM »
After hearing much of the discussion, I was impressed with the leadership the church has in Elder Wilson. He has an intelligent and Christian grasp of the situation. And, not only that, he has patience with a Laodicean Church. There were some problems with the document, but he did not allow the committee to think it was going to help to send it back, especially the Constitution and bylaws committee. He did his very best as the chairman of the committee meeting.

I was not able to concentrate on the meeting for much of it, we have many fires in the area and my son needed my help. A very strong wind came up last night and caused many power poles to come down causing many fires and the destruction of many homes. We continue to see the fulfillment of end-time prophecy.

Let us pray that the church will soon see her condition and why it is that we are still here. There are many faithful, but there are also many blind who do not see their continual need of Jesus in order to do any good thing. Do not be discouraged that the rebellion continues on. Too many do not yet see that it is rebellion indeed. And, they still reverence their blind leaders. Jesus is coming soon, therefore the shaking is at hand. No matter how much many want the church to be united without a shaking, it will not happen. There are those who hearts will not be fully surrendered and they will be shaken out of the church....for her good.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

colporteur

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #12 on: October 09, 2017, 05:29:30 PM »
Perhaps the part of the document that turned more middle ground or moderate people back than anything else was the requirement of a signature. That did not set well with many. For the strong pro WO people the document would not have been acceptable no matter what it said but there seemed to be a lot of moderate people there. Some are considering that the signature mandate was put in the document in order to purposely forfeit  the vote so the GC would not have to take any action. We do not know if this is the case but one day we will know. Then there was the amendment of the amendment. Even Ted Wilson got turned around several times trying to explain it. I suspect that if this was somewhat confusing for those who's first language is English it was doubly confusing for those of another language and it makes one wonder how much was lost in translation.  A friend and I were talking the other day and both said that the GC would give lip service to conservatism but not put any teeth into action. We will not know now if they would have put any teeth into the document or not as it was voted down. Even if the document would have been voted through there was a great deal of time and room for implementation or the lack there of. Words are one thing but actions are another. It's just like all the liberal people that said they support church policy. That's a misleading statement.
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Glen McCluskey

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #13 on: October 09, 2017, 06:45:17 PM »
It's hard for the GC to discipline others when they themselves are involved in things like ecumenism, trademark lawsuits, health care system fiascos, QOD, and so on.

This is a problem that goes back many years.  One good discussion of the issue can be found in the story of Achan in Joshua 7 and 3T 270.

Beyond this, I thought that the mechanics were bad, and the committee members basically got lost at some point during the six hours.  Handing out a complex 14-page document at the last minute, to people whose first language is not English, seems like an undesirable approach.

colporteur

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #14 on: October 10, 2017, 06:03:18 AM »
 One pastor last night made comment that when his daughter was about to marry a young Catholic man he about freaked that his daughter would do such. He told the young man that he would give his blessing if the young man would study with him. Then he said that later he baptized this young man into the SDA church. This was an obvious attempt to make a parallel. The intended implication is that if we just give our blessing to those who are going ahead and ordaining women as pastors and then study with them they will come around. This is a false parallel that is no parallel for the following reasons.

#1 How can one equate a young man in Babylon, a Catholic man who may have scarcely even heard of the SDA church with conference presidents, divisions leaders, pastors and lifelong SDAs ?

#2 We are to assume that this Catholic man had never before studied these things. Can we say that SDA church leaders have not studied through the WO subject when the conflict has been brewing for several decades?

#3 It is implied as much that the Catholic man is "saved" because he is now a baptized SDA. While it is not for us to attempt to judge whether or not a person is saved the same is true for the pastor. We do not know why the young man was baptized. He may well have given his heart to God and was converted. If so, praise the Lord ! However, we also know that all too often a person will join our church because this may be necessary and expected of them before their prospective spouse would consider marrying them. This pastor is taking great liberty in his proposed assumptions and false comparisions.
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Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #15 on: October 10, 2017, 09:04:28 PM »
Handing out a complex 14-page document at the last minute, to people whose first language is not English, seems like an undesirable approach.

The document ought to have been prepared far in advance of the meeting, and given to the committee prior to the meeting to study and pray. Those who are pushing making women leaders of men are like Judas in influencing the disciples. The longer this goes on the worse it gets. But, God sees it all. It is a symptom of a much deeper problem. This will help some to see that many leaders are just not even close to walking in the light of Scripture and the Spirit of Prophecy.  Those who are in rebellion are also not even close to understanding the gospel of grace and many other basic doctrines.

Elder Wilson explained very well that there is a problem with some not following what the church has voted. He could not have made it any clearer. None could have. Yet, the princes continue as if Elder Wilson said nothing. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned. This is a good example of it. They just don't see it, or if they do, they are like the High Priest who condemned Christ.

Elder Wilson sees what is going on and has taken a correct position, and has done what he could do from what I have seen. He is one man and has many in the GC who are not supporting him. He and those who support him and have the same Spirit he has need our prayers and support. It is not a time to attack those who are trying to do what is right. We do not have a king, but a Christian brother who has kept Jesus at the center of this all. Elder Wilson is not an angel, He is not God, and he is an erring human. We need to be thankful he is leading this church. His character was revealed as he chaired this very difficult meeting. I would not want to have his job. He did an excellent job and rightly represented God's church.

I will say this. There are those who have his confidence that are unworthy of it. He does not see clearly the dangers that surround him. Let us pray that God will open his eyes to those who like Judas are not what they appear.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

John Erickson

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #16 on: October 11, 2017, 02:12:56 PM »
So catch me up to speed here...The document which would have given power to discipline WO rebellion was referred back to committee and now we have to endure another year of rebellion with no voted policy on how to deal with it?
"Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen" Matthew 28:20

colporteur

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #17 on: October 11, 2017, 06:33:18 PM »
So catch me up to speed here...The document which would have given power to discipline WO rebellion was referred back to committee and now we have to endure another year of rebellion with no voted policy on how to deal with it?

That's it, John. And even after a document like that is voted in, in another year, if it is voted in at all, there may be one to two years after that before one truly has to comply before experiencing any real ramifications. So  in reality it will be from two to three years before there is much change at all for the better.
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Richard Myers

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #18 on: October 13, 2017, 07:25:18 AM »
There ought to be a special session of the General Conference called to deal with this right now. Not the executive committee, but the whole GC Session from around the world. Not a week of meetings, but one day where the vote is taken to discipline the unions and GC officers who are in rebellion. The cost of the meeting can be paid by the offending unions. The document ought to be prepared and sent out at least 60 days prior to the meeting. This is a most serious crisis that has never before come upon the church. We have seen enough of the rebellion to know who it is that is involved and what they have said and done.

When God destroyed every living thing on the Earth, it was a matter of love for those who survived. Some will call it love for the deceased, but while it was a merciful act, it was a strange act for God. Removing the guilty from the church does not mean they cannot repent and be brought back. It is dependent upon their Spirit as to what happens in the future.

To preserve the unity of the church, the separation must occur. The longer it takes, the more who will be led away from the church of God, and the longer it will take to prepare the church for the multitudes who are waiting to come in.
Jesus receives His reward when we reflect His character, the fruits of the Spirit......We deny Jesus His reward when we do not.

colporteur

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Re: Annual Council Has Begun
« Reply #19 on: October 13, 2017, 08:12:39 AM »
 I received the "VISITOR" two days ago. This is the Columbia Union magazine. On the front cover is "PASTOR APPRECIATION MONTH Called   Meet 40 Women pastors Serving in the Columbia Union     Plus: See How God is Using Women in Leadership Around the Word "



It is interesting that this publication was printed before the vote was taken at the fall Annual Council. It is also interesting that West Virginia is part of the Columbia Union and there was not a single statement in the publication from WV regarding WO and very little of anything else. The WV conference president spoke out strongly at the Annual Council. While several others could not get their message in during the 2 minute time allotment the WV president said what he needed to say in 9 seconds. " This needs to be taken care of today!"
It is no surprise when we hear of stories where the CUC is trying to dismantle the WV conference. If they are not trying to dismantle the WV conference they are most certainly got giving them any press. This in itself speaks volumes.
It's easier to slow a fast horse down than to get a dead one going.