The Speech You Didn’t Get to Hear
This is the Presidential Acceptance Speech
You Didn’t Get to Hear
By Jack Hoehn: This is the acceptance speech you didn’t get to hear …..
“I was thinking perhaps an Angel clothed in white raiment with a trumpet in his hand had blown the trumpet loudly in each man’s ear, and then said, ‘Hear ye, Hear ye, my people, Ted meant well, but God likes Dr. Hoehn a lot and Jack’s promise to resign as soon as elected, a lot more.”
Much to the overwhelming surprise of no one, I was not elected president of the General Conference on Friday July 3, 2015. My congratulations to Elder Ted Wilson for such a hard fought and well financed campaign. I can only admire the timing of his pre-election world tours, and the powerful well-orchestrated speech he offered to the delegates just as soon as the nominating committee had been chosen on Thursday evening July 2, before he was nominated by acclaim the next day.
This, added to the fact that I am only known to you, my faithful readers, and the 500 babies and their mothers I saved by emergency Cesarean sections at our Mwami Adventist Hospital during my 9 years serving in Zambia, sort of reduced the chances of my last minute “exploratory campaign” for the GC presidency. Then there is the fact that although a Licensed Minister of the Seventh-day Adventist Church at that time, I was not any more ordained than if I had been a mere woman.
That technicality aside, I did think that if each and every one of the 218 men on the nominating committee (I wasn’t worried about the 34 women; either they already knew who not to vote for, or else they would just go along with the men if that was their view of their job) had had the identical vision the night before[1], I might have had an outside chance. So I prepared a draft acceptance speech that sadly I will not be able to give, but I can at least share it with you my readers.
DEAR SISTERS OF THE ADVENTIST WORLD,
and the lesser number of men who have decided to participate in God’s service as Adventists, I would like to start by thanking Nancy Wilson for her kind and loving care of my predecessor, her husband Ted. I realize that neither Nancy nor her husband, nor anyone else anticipated this outcome. And as my own dear wife Deanne told me, “Are you crazy, Jack?”
This is what Adventists who should be leading our church look like, in case you haven’t seen any recently.
But since all of the men on the nominating committee had the same Angelic trumpet blast in their ear, and the identical strange and puzzling message, I stand before you tonight, very proud that God loves me, and that He is not too upset over my plan to immediately resign and return leadership of our church to our children, to those younger, stronger, and brighter than all of us over 50 years of age.[2]
BUT BEFORE I RESIGN,
I want to tell you what Pastor Wilbur Alexander once told a graduating class at our Pacific Union College, and I paraphrase:
We are gathered here at great expense to feel good about ourselves and that we must now go from this place with renewed energy and zeal to conquer the world for Christ. But the truth is that the world is a mess, and you are a mess, and what we have been doing isn’t working and will not work in the future.
Hidden in the statistics presented to you this week is the fact that Seventh-day Adventists who once were a progressive and influential voice in the world, are now becoming inconsequential. We are losing members who are educated and thoughtful and gaining members who grasp at any glimmer of hope.
GOD LOVES THE WORLD AND WE ARE PLAYING CHURCH
Opening hymns, taking an offering, preaching a sermon, paying tithe, voting a list of doctrines, holding to past understandings while ignoring the facts staring us in the face, are irrelevant to the real needs of the world today. With the best of motives, but in ignorance, we have made the Bible look like a book for fools. When we refuse to treat it as the introduction to Truth, but not a limit on Truth.
We have likewise destroyed the usefulness of Ellen White as a messenger of Truth by the idolatry of considering her infallible.
EACH GENERATION NEEDS GOD’S TRUTH REAPPLIED
Our teenage founders had it correct. They preached Present Truth, not past truth. Our church was known as the Great Advent Movement, and it did move, leaving behind partial or incomplete ideas about Truth, and following the Spirit of God into new understandings and applications to meet the minds and hearts of men in this age, not in past ages.
WHAT YOU CAN’T DO IS NOT GOD’S TRUTH
God’s Truth is what you can do. When we slip into what you can’t do we become accusers of the brethren. “Judge not that you be not judged” is not my opinion; it is God’s commandment.
Our message is not to tell gay people what they cannot do. Our message is not to tell geologists what they cannot see in nature. Our message is not to tell women what they are not permitted to do for God. Or what tattoos and piercings people may not have. It is not to apply 19th century health advice to 21st century health problems. And we do not please God when we tell others what kind of music, what kind of instruments, and what kind of rhythms they can use to worship God.
HERE IS WHAT WE NEED TO SAY
We believe the Bible is God’s rule for life, and presents the ideals for all behavior. But we also believe that all are sinners and the Bible strongly condemns idolatry of worshiping things (money, cars, clothes, food, success, pride, power) and it calls God’s enemy the accuser. When the church specializes in accusing people of their sins, ignoring their own wealth, education, prosperity, and excess, the Bible says that we are ignoring the log in our eye, while trying to remove the mote in others eyes.
Until a sinner asks us for advice, we should never point out other’s sins; our message is Christ Jesus came to forgive sinners, of whom I am chief.
The Adventist church should be the last people in the world to point out other’s sins. And the first people in the world to welcome and encourage, and love sinners–gay people, prostitutes, addicted people, fat people, rich people, divorced people, unmarried couples of any gender, Democrats and Republicans.
Judging drives people away, Jesus attracted people, even though he was the one sinless person on the planet. We should seek to increase the number of Gay people attending in our churches, and tell them God loves them, and God will teach them how to live. The rest of us should love them and shut up, until they learn to trust us and our love for them, and they personally ask us for advice.
WE SUPPORT TRUTH NOT OPINIONS
Adventists need to tell all that Jesus is coming, and say nothing about when and how.
Adventist need to tell all that Christ is the Creator, and keep personal ideas about the science of when and how.
Adventists need invite all to Sabbath, and encourage each person to have God tell them how to keep the Sabbath.
Adventists need to have all Worship, and not limit the type of worship or the music used.
Adventist need to have all Pray, and not tell people if they have to kneel, open or close their eyes, or meditate.
Adventist need to help people honor God with their bodies, and not enforce their personal opinion on mustard, cheese, pickles, tea and coffee. We can share information, not share conclusions. We should have smoking areas in all our churches, where addicts can go when learning of God’s love for them and his desire to purify their bodies of all pollution.
WE ARE SERVANTS OF THE WORLD, NOT ITS RULING PARTY
Finally we need to remember that Jesus has many sheep not of this fold. Our job as Seventh-day Adventists is to be servants of all. We are to serve Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, Baptists, Pentecostals, Evangelicals, and Atheists. We are to serve Islam, Buddhists, Shintoists, and Animists.
We are to care for them in our hospitals, welcome them in our schools and churches, dialogue with them, and learn from them. Our job is not to baptize them, it is the Lord who will add to his church, those he wishes to have joint us. Our job is to serve them, to help them, to love them.
In no city, state, or nation should Adventists be known as those people who are against….anybody or anything. They should be known in every nation on earth as the most helpful, most friendly, most supporting, most kind, most loving people on earth. “If you need help, no matter what you believe, go to the Adventists and there you will find help, love, and encouragement.”
We must weed out of our publications any anti-Catholic, anti-Sunday keeper, anti-Islam, anti-Gay sentiments, and replace them with pro-Jesus, pro-Love, pro-Life messages.
Our course we must be ecumenical, not to lose our beliefs, but to help others wherever we can without compromising our faith. We should say yes, whenever we can, and be the first in cooperation with other Christians for common goals. And with governments and politicians and secular organizations in all their actions for the common good and welfare of their peoples.
This “holier than thou attitude” that has characterized some of our relationships in the past is to be repented of, not perpetuated.
LIFT HIM UP
“I, if I be lifted up, will draw all unto me,” Jesus promises. You, if you be lifted up will drive all from him.
Not I, but Christ, be honored, loved, exalted; Not I, but Christ, in every thought and word.
Sisters and Brothers, I have no ideas for your, no goals for you, no money for you.
Except to urge you to ask the Lord to give you your orders, discuss it with sisters and brothers in your own area of the world, and then go forward to fulfill not my dream, but Christ’s dream for his church.
But whatever you do, let it be different from what you have been doing before; we have a long ways to go back to the ideal God would have for his church.
And of course you should all pay tithe, some of you should triple tithe! But mostly for the work God gives you to do in your area, with occasional sharing with needs in impoverished fields of those second and third tithers. And no, I would not advise you to pay tithe to any organization that does not practice racial, social, and gender equality in their policies. That is so obvious to the world, I don’t understand why it is not yet obvious in the church.
AND NOW TO MY GENERAL CONFERENCE OFFICERS
The church under the direction of God, has asked me to direct you.
- My first direction is to make the General Conference and its Divisions a facilitating, coordinating organization, and stop acting to try and control Adventist thought and practice. Your job is to say Yes, we will help you accomplish what God is asking you to do. We must openly admit we have no doctrinal function except to assist Adventists in communicating and discussing questions of belief and practice.
- My next direction is that all over 50 years of age, need to offer me a letter of resignation, and a plan to turning over leadership of your department to someone between the ages of 25 and 50 years of age. Please submit me a list of possible candidates you have met in this age group, remembering to suggest women and men, and proportional suggestions from countries of origin for our world membership.
- Our legal counsel are to be directed to draft a new constitution and working policy making it clear that the local church is the fundamental authoritative unit of the church, and the local Conference is the highest authority. The Unions and Divisions of the General Conference are to function as coordinators and facilitators. These offices are not to have any title like Director or President. Chief Servant would be suitable title for my job.
- Control of Adventist publications is to be removed from the General Conference and returned to Divisions and Conferences for their areas of the world.
- Auditing and Risk Management is to be removed from the General Conference and returned to professional corporations meeting national standards in every area of the world.
- All denominational treasurers beyond the local church level must be CPA or equivalent degree qualified in their country of service.
- I would turn over the function of the Biblical Research Committee to our Universities and Colleges and our Seminary.
- I would turn over the function of the Geo-Science Institute to our Universities and Colleges and Medical Institutions
And I now turn over my resignation from this Job, based on the understanding that I will be replaced by an Adventist man or woman over age 25 and under age 50 of the Nominating Committee’s choice, affirmed by secret ballot of this convention, to be chief facilitator of our forward movements.
Thank you for the kindness of listening to READING this speech.
Your Brother in Christ,
Jack
Failed Candidate Hoehn, now devotes his time to nurturing Adventist church leadership for tomorrow.
________________________________________________________
FOOTNOTES:
[1] I was thinking perhaps an Angel clothed in white raiment with a trumpet in his hand had blown the trumpet loudly in each man’s ear, and then said “Hear ye, Hear ye, my people, Ted meant well, but God likes Dr. Hoehn a lot and Jack’s plan to resign as soon as elected, a lot more.”
[2] (If any of you have questions about this, please go back to that little website scattered like the leaves of Autumn at www.Atoday.org or on Facebook at Adventist Today, all written by Adventists who are not paid to tell you what I want you to hear. There you can read my campaign piece, “Vote for Jack” where my platform is clearly explained along with supporting Bible texts.)
COMMENTS:
Positive Comments are welcome.
All Critical and Negative comments I will delete
due to my Executive Authority as the President of the GC for One Day,
so don’t bother writing them!
( Don’t worry, I’ll let you complain again next time.)
And then I woke up and realized that I was only dreaming: Ted is still the president and everything is still the same.
But then I realized again that Ted is also dreaming, actually day-dreaming and so the dreaming goes on.
Dreams, dreams, dreams…
This is a speech I would LOVE to have heard. Dr. Hoehn’s speech should be required reading for every member of our church! He has the right ideas!
I loved it!
Jack, some voices of support may be more harmful than helpful, as well mine might be considering my platform of observation. Nevertheless, congratulations on as clear an exposition and application of Christ’s teachings I have ever seen expressed as a proposal for a church institution.
Thanks, Jack. Your platform for leadership in the Seventh-day Adventist Church is inspired. Looking forward to 2020. Maybe our vision will be considerably clearer at that time. Keep the faith!
No finer proposal for the church has ever been presented; how sad that so few will read and heed.
If only—this had been church policy from the beginning!
Read and weep for what might have been; what could have been.
I read it, I loved it !
You continue to inspire me, Jack!
Well said, Jack.
Believers are the church. As clear as your presentation was, perhaps it will be clearer still if or when you manage to avoid referring to an organization as “the church”.
Or did I misunderstand that part?
Amen, Jack! I guess there have to be a few “Republicans” in every group, but you can safely turn your hearing aid off when they speak! I’ll be if you had been in SA you could even have gotten the voting devices to work properly!
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. 2 Cor. 4:5 (KJV).
When our IDENTITY as Adventists surpasses our IDENTITY in Jesus Christ, are we not in danger of repeating the issues that led to the crucifixion of Jesus, which were all about control?
Control has many faces: force, fear, threat, coercion, intimidation, manipulation, domination, silencing the opposition, political pressures, and the attitude of a few leaders…“we have been appointed to tell you that we know what is best for you.”
I look forward to the day (and may it come soon), when SDAs everywhere will have more to say about the Lamb than about the beast, and more to say about the beast ‘within’ than about the historical beast.
Did not EGW say that…
• “we have far more to fear from within than from without. The hindrances to strength and success are far greater from the church itself than from the world.”? “Selected Messages, vol. 1, 1887) 122.
• “There is nothing so offensive to God or so dangerous to the human soul as pride and self-sufficiency. Of all sins it is the most hopeless, the most incurable.” Christ’s Object Lessons (1900 edition), p. 155.
• Of all professing Christians, Seventh-day Adventists should be foremost in uplifting Christ before the world. Gospel Workers, p. 156. (1915).
Let’s start majoring in what Ellen G. White majored in, Jesus Christ, and Him crucified, and His imputed righteousness placed to…
Amen, brother!
Pastor Thomson,
Your question: “Looking forward to the day (and may it come soon), when SDAs everywhere will have more to say about the Lamb than about the beast”: I found many beautiful answers during my study about the few words of God within the first chapters of Genesis. It has changed my belief and my love to God. We need te restudy this again and I believe that these founding parts would support the three angels message.
I will send you these 4 studies to your Healing Org.
Applause but sadly vegan turkeys do not vote for Christmas. Since smoking is banned in public places that suggestion gets the legal thumbs down lol We will continue to have white American presidents because the colonial mindset reigns in some parts of the world
Such personal attacks should never be written by Christians. Are all other Adventists and Christians your enemies? The inability to discuss the subject and revert to ad hominem only demonstrates a paucity of legitimate objections.
The following verses say it all!
But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.
16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any [man]; for they were afraid.
16:9 Now when [Jesus] was risen early the first [day] of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
16:10 [And] she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
16:11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
16:12 After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
16:13 And they went and told [it] unto the residue: neither believed they them.
16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Right on!
If Jack’s proposal was enacted in Adventism there might be a growth of shocking proportions.
Holy minded Christians of today, guardians of the status quo, would probably have been offended when hanging out with Christ in his day. His contacts were the “losers” of his time. He is said to have healed them, he ate with them, defended them and spent time in their homes. His choice of disciples were uncouth, commonly foul method, fishermen. He was born in a smelly manger, in a village notorious for its bad reputation of which it was mused that not much good could come from it where he was employed as a common handyman.
He didn’t present a high and holy message, only a simple one, that you love each other like I love you, because that is what God is like. His message was that God sees past human blemishes without condemnation.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a perfect message for every level of society. No holiness required!
Amen again.
Amen, Bugs/Larry Boshell! Simple but obviously hard to carry out!
“Adventists need invite all to Sabbath, and encourage each person to have God tell them how to keep the Sabbath.”
What does the Fourth Commandment say?
Bravo Jack! You’ve articulated well what many of us are feeling about our church and it’s pretensions to godliness and mission. While not totally surprised by the “landslide” reelection of Ted Wildon, I’m quite dejected that our church has not grown to become a more transparent and democratic institution. I suspect that the lack of growth seen here in NA for close to thirty years has a lot to do with the heavy hand of politics in the body. Like a cancer it needs to be excised before it kills our church and its mission. But who will bell the cat? Meanwhile our sincere members and pastors continue to drink the koolaid in San Antonio. Ichabod!
Oh *****, did you not understand that all negative comments would be deleted? Get some positivity and try to get your intention and spirit in harmony with the gospel of God for our ailing planet.
****’s comment still not deleted. Something’s wrong with the page admin…
Any pastor who attempts to be even partially as inclusive as Jack suggests and encourages his/her church to be the same will experience serious repercussions. I know whereof I speak.
Jack, if this is the way the Adventist church would be run and treat people, I, my husband (20 years as an Adventist trained ordained pastor), and my two children would still be Adventists. I agree 100% with everything you say. Fortunately our eyes were opened many years ago and we pastored and worshiped with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) who’s only invitation to membership is: do you love God and believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins. Very freeing to be able to think for one’s self after not being able to do since childhood. The changes we made brought about a closer relationship with God than we ever had in the Adventist Church because of all the rules we were so busy following while there.
Well Done Jack. To God be the glory.
A powerful speech, Indeed. Much of which I agree with, wholeheartedly. Such a shame that you weren’t able to deliver it in real life, as our new “Chief Servant”.
Matthew 12:36&37
2Timothy3:1-5
Jack, it’s been a long time. Hugest of high fives. Well articulated perspective on the organization we have served and try to love. It’s ironic how “Christian” the dissenters above aren’t being. #977
GOD speed in your journey.
Go Jack!! Thanks for sharing
Wow! Thank God that speech wasn’t delivered! Jack, remember, God sets man up and he puts them down. God,’s vote was heard and done.
Stop feeling sorry for yourself and encourage the brethren to remain faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
He’s coming soon and I don’t think he’s looking for a church with a smoking station but a church without a spot or wrinkle. He’s not coming to fix us, He’s coming to reward the faithful.
Faithful of what? The faithful to His commandments. God does not change, just because man has. Why did He destroy Sodom & Gomorrah?
Why did he destroy the earth in Noah’s days? Why is He going to destroy it in our day?
However what we need today is a willing, yielding heart to follow Jesus wherever He leads.
We should not try to make God accept our sins, but wash us clean of them. Yes, Let’s tell everybody that God loves them, but yes He has expectations of us all and they are the same for all. That we confess and repent. I pray this world church stay strong, although that might not happen because we have been warned about a falling away. I just pray that I am not one of them because I still think it’s safer in the boat.
And that picture does not fully reflect what Adventist leadership should look like anymore than it reflecting a picture of what today’s government should look like. Get real, don’t hate, celebrate.
Jack Hoehn, your drama skit sounds like more of the same warmed over ‘moral relativity’ soup that has ushered the SDA church into the declining spiritual state in which it finds itself today. Every one has become a law unto himself. The Bible to at least one third of SDA delegates who voted yes on WO proves that the Bible to them is only a collection of suggestions but not absolute commandments any longer. The SDA church richly deserves to experience a major split now as they have brought it on themselves with all of the liberal and humanistic teachings they have allowed into the church and its institutions over the past 30 to 40 years. Fence sitters is what the leadership is today with no real backbone. Ted Wilson and Mark Finley are much more like politicians than true gospel preachers. Speaking of politicians, Ben Carson because of his wishy washy theology and making ‘universal salvation’ like statements recently, he was DISinvited by a group of distinguished So. Baptist leaders who publicly denounced Carson for his statement, “we are all God’s children.” The Bible says that “people outside of Christ are children of the Devil.” Ye do err Ben, not knowing the scriptures. The Baptists are doubtless shocked by all of the mamby pamby amorphous voices coming out of SDA today. Baptists at least generally will stand up against what they know to be wrong like homosexuality and female pastors. What happened to you SDA? It’s a shame & it’s sickening. The Lord’s sword is…
Quite an amazing speech – thank you from the bottom of my heart! I’m sorry you are getting negative commenting, despite your clear indication of non-acceptance of negativity (and I applaud you for your patience with those who cannot seem to control themselves from criticizing).
Yes, I would have loved to have heard your acceptance speech. I believe new leadership would infuse our church right now with new blood to weather this storm. Our young people need to be heard and allowed to lead. Our young people need to be our priority not evangelistic meetings. Our schools are struggling and parents are more financially strapped, therefore, more are going outside our schools for education. Put money in our schools and make them The best wIth the best teachers. Our teachers need to be paid more with better benefits so we can get the very best teachers for our young people.
Dr. Hoehn, you sound like someone I’d love to get to know. There’s a lot I could learn from you. In broad strokes, we share some common ground. Some Adventists have sometimes majored in minors. At times, we have been too critical and judgmental without love, making our truth toxic and repellent to many. Yes, we are broken and we shouldn’t come across as a people who, at times, don’t struggle with sin or addictions just like everyone else. Like the Apostle Paul, we do the things we don’t want to and don’t do the things we know we should. Like Elijah and Peter, we are brave followers of God one day and running the next. Like Moses, we are loving and patient one minute and angry and short-tempered the next. Like Aaron and Miriam, we sometimes struggle with jealousy just like God’s other children. Like David, some of us struggle with sexual sin. Like Saul, some of us care too much about what other people think of us. Other people’s sins are not worse than ours and we, as Seventh-day Adventists, are not morally superior to them. And yes, while remaining faithful to scripture, there is much we can learn from other Christians. Surely, as followers of Christ, we share a lot of key beliefs. Instead of adding burdens to people like the Pharisees, we should be easing burdens as Christ did.
However Dr. Hoehn, as an addendum to my earlier post, there are some things that you wrote that sound “off” or that don’t ring true to me. At the beginning of your speech, it sounds like you are suggesting President Wilson is a cynical and calculating political operative. Might it not be too critical and judgmental to impute motives to President Wilson? I’ve probably misunderstood you.
“What you can’t do is not truth”? It may be true to say that we shouldn’t be dogmatic and draw a hard line about non-core or disputable matters (see Romans 14) but not on core teachings such as the Ten Commandments. The Golden Rule can also be understood as “Don’t do to people what you wouldn’t want done to yourself.” So as followers of Christ, I’m sure you would agree that there are hurtful things people can’t and shouldn’t do and that it’s not judgmental to stand up and say so. We should be against things like pride, arrogance, and unkindness, and much more so when we see it in ourselves. We should stand against human rights violations and racial discrimination. And yes, we should stand up for the dignity and human rights of God’s gay children but this does not mean we should allow secular society to override scripture. And, as we exegete scripture, although confident in our conclusions, we shouldn’t automatically impute insincerity or evil motives to those whose understanding, after careful Bible study, differs from ours.
Thank you for your honesty Your words of encouragement for the Church. Thank you from a Gay follower of Christ till I die.
Thank you so much. I am at peace . Praise be to God. Your will always be a President of our Church in my heart. Amen and amen