We ask the key questions.
Most victims of domestic violence and sexual assault that I spoke to for this series in the Seventh-day Adventist Church are aware by their own experience of how ill-equipped the Church is to deal with their trauma. They, however, aren’t prepared for the vast army of church lawyers and self-serving administrators to deny them any […]
by Mike Manea In Adventist circles, the debate over the ordination of women to gospel ministry has involved many different topics, ranging from biblical hermeneutics (interpretation,) to headship/complementarian theology, to ecclesiology (doctrine of the church,) etc. At its core, however, the issue is primarily a question of what a biblical theology of ordination is. The […]
There are two sets of “rights” and authoritative powers that are enmeshed in every constitutional document for every level of the church. They are 1)Ecclesiastical authority 2)State authority. When the PUC General Counsel gave advice to the constituents, he was giving advice regarding the rights under the State of California not ecclesiastical authority. States rights […]
Download the PDF here The GC Working Policy [B95-05-15] asks that every effort be made to reconcile the unions before their removal and dissolution. It leaves unspecified as to what the reconciliation would look like. To that end, the following questions need to be asked on the floor of the Annual Council. Q1: When will […]
(This is article 9 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) Every year denominations that have irreconcilable differences over doctrine and practice end up in the United States Court system. Here the courts wrestle over the apportioning of the assets and property of the church either to the breakaway faction or the denomination. The […]
(This is article 8 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) General Conference Session Vote We looked at the Pacific Union Constituency vote and at the perspectives and arguments raised about the constitutionality of the proceedings. We know the three positions that emerged from the Theology of Ordination Study Committee (TOSC). Barry Oliver had […]
(This is article 7 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) Pacific Union Constituency Session Union v. GC NOTE: The text below is a transcription, made by the court reporter who was present at the Pacific Union Conference special session. Page numbers are from that document. I have edited and presented the most common […]
(This is article 6 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) Introduction In this article, we build all the conceptual legal elements that are the building blocks for the current debate over the role of unions. After examining relevant policy language, legal precedent, administrative precedent, and dissolution scenarios we will be able to see […]
(This is article 5 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) This article critiques the constitutional theory and historical arguments regarding the expansionist role of Unions and the limitations of scope of authority of the General Conference in Session. As we saw from the first article, the Adventist church derives its structure from its […]
(This is article 4 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) Introduction After 1888, Ellen White determined that the church’s structure that was formed in 1863, was unable to handle the demands of a growing church that had a presence on four continents. It needed a new “organization principle” as she put it. […]
(This is article 3 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) Introduction: When the Sabbatarian Adventists organized the General Conference on May 21, 1863, the almost two decades-long debate over the issue of whether to organize or not, died a quiet death. From here on out, the ‘fights’ shifted to the scope of the […]
(This is article 2 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) When we read history books, it seems as if time moves at the speed of our turning of the page. This can be both exhilarating and frustrating as we compare the heroes in the books to our own ‘mundane’ lives. It is easy […]
(This is article 1 in a 9 article series by Adrian Zahid) At the last Annual Council, the General Conference executive committee gave a “Year of Grace” to the Unions that are currently at variance from General Conference Policy. During this year, discussions took place at levels of the church in the form of conferences, […]
The GC Administration’s proposed solution document* was debated and voted 184-114 to send it back to committee for review today, October 9, 2017. After some preliminaries and discussion regarding the process for the pivotal vote and length of time for the debate the discussion began. General Conference committee members from the Global North immediately took […]