Responses to the GC Annual Council on the New Procedures for Church Reconciliation
October 14, 2016: Adventist Today has received many messages this week responding to the new document voted by the Seventh-day Adventist denomination’s annual meeting of the General Conference executive committee outlining procedures for reconciliation of differences between Adventist jurisdictions in various parts of the world. Five manuscripts specifically submitted for publication in our Commentary section have been published can be found by the links below. They are written by a student leader at Southern Adventist University, the leadership of the Trans-European Division of the denomination, a theologian on the faculty of Oakwood University, the pastor of one of the largest congregations in the denomination and a church layman in Latvia who is a well-known professional journalist in that country.
In addition to these thoughtful commentaries, one pastor simply sent us a paragraph written by Ellen G. White: “The church may pass resolution upon resolution to put down all disagreement of opinions, but we cannot force the mind and will, and thus root out disagreement. These resolutions may conceal the discord, but they cannot quench it and establish perfect agreement. Nothing can perfect unity in the church but the spirit of Christlike forbearance.” (Manuscript 24, 1892; Manuscript Release 898, published in Manuscript Releases, Volume 11, page 266)
Commentary by a young adult; the student body president at Southern Adventist University.
Response of the leadership of the Trans-European Division.
Appeal to the GC leadership by the pastor of Forest Lake Adventist Church in Florida.
Commentary by an Adventist Church member in Latvia.
Response from Oakwood University theologian.
Instead of commenting on individual commentaries, we ask that you post your comments and questions on this topic below. In order to permit a large number of individuals to comment, we ask that you limit your comments to one and only one on this topic.