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Pacific Union College Preserves Redwoods with Land Sale Creating Conservation Easement. Pacific Union College wants to sell the development rights to its 856-acre redwood forest near Angwin, California, by establishing a conservation easement, a common land preservation tool. PUC would still own the land, but neither it nor any future owner could cut down the forest. Community members are being asked  to help out with the last fundraising push. Another $2.7 million is needed to finish establishing an $8 million conservation easement and $1 million endowment to manage the forest. The college will use money from the conservation easement to build its endowment for tuition and scholarships, Walter Collins, vice president for advancement at PUC, said. From Napa Valley Register, “Effort underway to protect 856-acre forest in Angwin.”

La Sierra University Ranked among Best Universities for Value. U.S. News and World Report has named La Sierra University among the top ten western regional universities for value. The ranking, 9th among western region schools, is based on academic quality and the net cost of attendance last school year for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. La Sierra was the only Seventh-day Adventist school to make any of the best value lists and the only western regional university in California's Inland Empire to make the cut. From La Sierra University, “La Sierra University moves up in Best Colleges rankings, 9th for best value.”

Andrews University President Andrea Luxton Among "A Journey to Healing" Speakers. Andrews University’s newly-appointed President Andrea Luxton will serve as one of the speakers for "A Journey to Healing and Understanding," an event co-sponsored by the Lake Union Conference and Andrews University. Last year, Lake Union Conference President Don Livesay apologized for the racism that led to the formation of regional conferences in the Adventist denomination. Livesay announced the "Journey to Healing and Understanding" as a way to promote listening and conversation. The event takes place October 1 at the Village Seventh-day Adventist Church in Berrien Springs. More from Andrews University.

Adventist University of Health Sciences Focuses on Faith and Loss. The Adventist University of Health Sciences in Orlando, Florida, has announced its 2016 - 2017 University Colloquium Series Public seminars, which will focus on the theme “Faith and Loss.” The series is designed to engage the community in conversation around a chosen theme. Five speakers will address the topic, most notably acclaimed author Philip Yancey, whose presentation “The Question That Never Goes Away: Why?” will take place April 6, 2017. More from PR Newswire here.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org. Pam Dietrich contributed to this report.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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Leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina have been detained for allegedly smuggling some $15,000,000 Argentine Pesos ($991,000 USD) worth of goods into the country. A sting operation ordered by federal judge Adrián González Charvay targeted eight locations, apprehending six suspects, including leaders from the Argentina Union Conference.

According to a report in La Nación, Argentina’s leading conservative daily newspaper, crates came into Argentina from the United States said to be containing donated medical equipment and hand tools. Customs authorities instead discovered millions of Pesos worth of modern televisions, computers, tablets, smartphones, professional film equipment, music consoles and drones.

Judge González Charvay, who presided over a two-month investigation of the contraband, ordered an appraisal of the smuggled goods. Experts who examined the containers found expired hospital supplies in poor condition (some apparently used and potentially infectious) along with undeclared electronic merchandise totaling an estimated fifteen million Pesos. The smuggled goods represented a value of some $6,000,000 Pesos ($396,400 USD) in unpaid import fees.

Screen capture from Argentine news broadcast. The headline reads, "Raids on the Adventist Church: Donations from the USA Investigated."

On Thursday detectives from the Federal Crimes Department of the Argentine Federal Police conducted eight raids and apprehended six individuals, including as yet unnamed leaders of the Adventist Church in Argentina. The Argentina Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists was the named recipient of the shipment, according to media reports.

Spectrum received an anonymous tip on August 10 about the Adventist Church’s involvement in international smuggling. An email from uapleaks@gmail.com, signed by “John Doe” provided the following:

Dear Mr. Wright,

I write to you regarding something that is going on at River Plate Adventist University (UAP, for its Spanish acronym), the Church's university in Argentina. For years, the UAP's authorities (the president, and two or three of his closest collaborators) have been committing smuggling on behalf of the UAP. The procedure is simple: they import some real donations from the US, but in the same container they add some purchases that get into our country without paying the due taxes (quite expensive over here). Over the last years, they have been becoming more and more dared. Last time, the CIO of the university (a systems engineer) travelled to the US for a couple of weeks just to buy electronic products. All of this could be just anecdotal, amid a general corrupt environment (both inside and outside the Church), if the media had not crossed on the road. A few days ago one container coming from the US was intercepted by Argentine custom officials. It supposedly contained donations, but inside the container there were all kind of products (mainly electronics) valued in about $400,000 USD.

The information provided in that email and subsequent correspondence from the same source correlated with initial reports of contraband seizure, published in La Nacion, but could not be independently verified by Spectrum. There was nothing in media reports confirming the involvement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church until today.

When asked whether there were documentation of the involvement of personnel at River Plate Adventist University with the Argentina Adventist Union, “John Doe” stated,

“There is no emails related to the issue; at least none that I have seen. The Argentine Conference (Unión Argentina, UA) order to the UAP leaders was keep a strict public silence regarding the issue. They are doing so. However, there have been some personal meetings to share information with a list of middle managers.”

Later, in response to questions about which leaders might be involved, John Doe wrote the following:

Despite some information shared with the collegial government bodies, the importation operation were managed by a reduced group of people. The university president, Oscar Ramos, is the main (and in many cases, the only) decisor. Nothing is done without his knowledge and approval. He takes this issue under his personal care. Jorge De Sousa is the Vice President for Institutional Development. He is on charge of fundraising. Therefore, he spends several months every year in the US, he gets the donations, and he is the responsible for introducing them into Argentina. Nestor Pereyra is the university CIO, and one of the closer advisors of the president Ramos even in matters beyond the IT. He decides over the technology purchasing, and in the particular case of the containers he traveled to the US for a couple of weeks to buy technology items. Then those items were loaded into the containers and introduced to the country as donations. Now, as they manage this issue with secrecy, is difficult to know what is the specific participation of each one in the case. On the other hand, the importation were made using the name of the Church's legal entity in Argentina (Asociación Argentina de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día, AAASD), and not the university's legal entity (Asociación Colegio Adventista del Plata, ACAP). So the [person legally] responsible is the president of AAASD, Pastor Carlos Gill. I have no way to tell how much the president Gill knew about this. Of course he is now aware of everything.

Those claims concerning potential complicity have not been independently verified; no names of Adventist leaders have been reported as of this article's publication. However, all information provided by the anonymous source corresponds with what has so far been made public.

Late Thursday, the Argentina Union Conference issued a press release on Facebook with the text, “Official Communiqué of the Adventist Church in Argentina,” denying any wrongdoing:

Press Release
In relation to the facts that are public knowledge, the Argentina Association of Seventh-day Adventists (AAASD) said that its executives will be present before the judge in charge of the investigation in the next few hours. There actually exists a donation from the Adventist Church in the United States. Our entity is entitled to a court case and its managers and employees have attended and participated in the preliminary evidence gathering jointly with customs personnel. The unexpected judicial measure became impossible, as they were at the time of the procedures in their respective administrative offices, for their usual routines locked outside the office.

The donation included a wide variety of items, whose diversity pertains to its use in The River Plate Adventist University for training students from various departments which integrate those items--particularly in the department of health sciences, with careers such as medicine and others.

Concerning our commitment to receiving the contents, it was in accordance with a letter that in no way falls outside the laws for imports or any other activity. For these reasons, at present we are primarily interested in collaborating with the justice system to clarify this situation.

We will supply more information to the media and the public here as necessary.

Contact: Mr. Santiago Lopez Blasco - Director of Communication.
(Translated from Spanish)

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates as the story unfolds.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

Inline Images: 

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Jorge De Sousa Matías, Vice President for International Development at River Plate Adventist University (Universidad Adventista del Plata), has been arrested by Argentina’s Policía Federal in a raid on the university campus, Spectrum has confirmed.

The court-ordered raid was one of eight conducted Thursday, apprehending six suspects in an alleged smuggling enterprise involving leaders in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina. Two large crates, reported to customs officials as containing medical supplies for use in River Plate’s medical training programs, were found to be filled with some $15,000,000 Argentine Pesos worth of undeclared electronic goods in addition to some expired medical materials. The shipment was assessed to be worth $6,000,000 Pesos ($396,400 USD) in unpaid import fees.

The Argentina Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (la Asociación Argentina de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día), the named recipient of the shipment, issued a press release saying the shipment contained a variety of goods intended for the training of students from various departments at River Plate--particularly in the department of health sciences, which trains students for medical careers. The Church denied wrongdoing and stated that it was cooperating with authorities.

Media reports from outlets in Argentina did not provide names of those arrested.

According to a student of River Plate Adventist University who asked not to be named, University President Oscar Ramos held an official meeting with students at 6:30 p.m. on Friday afternoon. At least 800 students attended. President Ramos confirmed that Jorge De Sousa Matías was arrested and remains in police custody. Ramos reiterated the church’s willingness to cooperate with the Justice Department and to rectify (Sp: “enmendar”) any wrong. The student noted that while Ramos didn't say it, his tone gave the impression that a crime had indeed been committed.

Ramos also asked students to pray for the situation and to help preserve a spiritual climate on campus as Week of Prayer began that evening with featured guest, Pastor Efraín Velázquez.

De Sousa Matías started at River Plate in March, 2008. Before that, he served as director of the Uruguay Adventist Academy (Instituto Adventista del Uruguay) with prior experience as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor. In 2009, he was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree from Andrews University. His thesis was "Analisis de Razones por las que los Jovenes Abandonan la Iglesia Adventista Del Septimo Dia en Argentina" ("Analysis of Reasons the Youth Abandon the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina").

His alleged participation in smuggling goods into Argentina was not a surprise to one Argentine expatriate living in the United States for two reasons: First, Argentina places notoriously high tariffs on goods coming into the country. Former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who left office in 2015, heavily restricted foreign imports in order to boost Argentina’s own businesses and to prop up the value of the Peso. The expat with whom I spoke, who also asked that her name be withheld, stated that as far back as she can remember, goods coming into the country were subject to steep import fees. She added, “The way taxes work when bringing electronics in Argentina is ridiculous. They almost make you pay for the content itself in fines. You have to pay twice--when purchasing outside the country and when bringing it in.” Argentine people at all levels of society have gotten inventive in terms of getting goods and cash into the country. Second, it seems that the school’s purported participation in bringing in undeclared goods is something of an open secret--not spoken about publicly, but known to many who have attended River Plate.

The Adventist Church’s involvement in smuggling continues to be the subject of intensifying media scrutiny in Argentina. With the bright spotlight now shone directly on the church, it is very likely that more details of the Argentina Union Conference’s involvement and the names of more suspects will emerge.

“The list of people involved is still huge,” the ex pat said.

De Sousa Matías is expected to be held in police custody until Thursday or Friday at earliest.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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The Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina (la Asociación Argentina de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día - AAASD) has issued a second press release concerning allegations that administrators at River Plate Adventist University (Universidad Adventista del Plata) smuggled undeclared electronic goods into the country to avoid import fees. In the release, the church denies any wrongdoing, and argues that it had paperwork in place to cover all imports in large shipping containers coming from the United States. Federal Police carried out eight raids and arrested six individuals. Among them was Jorge De Sousa Matías, Vice President for International Development at River Plate Adventist University (Universidad Adventista del Plata). De Sousa Matias has since been released from police custody. Leaders of the Adventist Church stand accused of smuggling over $15,000,000 Argentine Pesos ($991,000 USD) of goods into the country, worth an estimated $6,000,000 Pesos ($396,400 USD) in unpaid import fees. In the press release, the church counters those assertions. 

In this new release, we provide information on some important aspects of information in the public that is of concern to us:

An official of the River Plate Adventist University was brought to testify in court. Other authorities of the Church that were cited are willing to provide statements. At the time of the raids, they were not in their offices, being engaged in church-related activities in various locations.

Regarding the content of donations, disposable medical supplies that were not previously used in the country of origin were received. Some were expired. These items were bound for the Interdisciplinary Center for Simulation in Healthcare, under the Faculty of Health Sciences at River Plate Adventist University. Students use medical dummies to practice and develop their skills. They do not practice on patients. It is for this purpose that disposable materials would be used, of which only some were expired. Our sanitarium and our clinic had no connection with these products. There are also other elements that are under investigation.

Concerning taxes and customs, all the necessary arrangements were made for receit of the items. A letter of donation is now in the possession of Justice Department. We had an endorsement to receive donations as reflected in this letter, but we learned that there were items exceeding what we expcted when the delivery arrived in the country. As a Church we are first and foremost interested in collaborating with the Justice Department to clarify this situation.

To determine responsibility, the Church is working in two ways: working closely with Justice Department and conducting our own internal investigation of the case. In accordance with the legal process, all emphasis will be placed on identifying how the alleged irregularities occurred and identifying any action contrary to our standards. The Adventist Church and its institutions do not work by means of irregular processes of any kind.

We deeply regret this situation. We understand the pain and concern of our faithful members, friends and society in general. But we trust that the Lord Jesus goes ahead, we cling to Him in prayer asking for this to be resolved soon. We pray for the competent authorities and the church. We invite everyone to join in raising their prayers to God.

Communication Department prensa.ua@adventistas.org.ar www.adventistas.org.ar

Meanwhile, River Plate Adventist University has posted security guards at each of the four the entrances and exits of campus in order to ensure that only students and faculty enter campus. This is ostensibly to prevent press from entering campus, according to students who attend the university. One female journalist with local news station NotiVilla was able to enter the campus and interviewed Darío Maldonado, one of the university's chaplains.

Others have taken to social media to offer their thoughts on the situation. On Saturday River Plate Adventist University's former Vice President of Academic Affairs, Víctor Armenteros shared a lengthy note. Laurentiu Ionescu, a Professor of Old Testament and friend of Armenteros posted the text on Facebook on Armenteros' behalf.

“I know the people being accused better than many and I assure you that they are very good people. Perhaps someone unconsciously (things over the years) or consciously (because they took advantage/because they were opportunist) committed a specific mistake (I don’t think that it was more than two or three persons). But this is not the Argentine Church. It is a Church of people of faith, good people who do not deserve either our irony or our sarcasm...Argentine friend, I encourage you to trust in the Lord. And everyone else, I encourage you to live in the True Spirit, the One who saves."

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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The Secretary’s Office of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (GC) has released a sweeping document on church governance and authority in advance of the 2017 Annual Council of the GC Executive Committee. The 50-page document, “A Study of Church Governance and Unity,” was prepared by the executive officers of the General Conference with research and writing from the General Conference’s Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research.

The document combines snippets of biblical material, excerpts from the writings of Ellen White, and accounts of Seventh-day Adventist history. Its stated intent is to “inform and guide the church regarding policies concerning the ordaining and credentialing of Seventh-day Adventist pastors.” The document has drawn strong criticism for its literal demonizing of several territories of the world church.

General Conference Secretariat circulated the document and a shorter companion summary document to Executive Committee members, who will be asked to approve the document at the Committee’s second meeting since the 2015 General Conference Session in San Antonio Texas. During that session, delegates voted down a motion to allow divisions to make provision to ordain women in their territories. Since then a spate of diverse practices on credentialing pastors, particularly women, has drawn the concern of the General Conference’s top leaders. The two documents are a response.

The longer document may be summarized by twenty key assertions made within the text:

1. The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is God’s highest authority on earth.

2. Christ has given the Church “plenary power,” and when it is the expression of the entire Church rather than an individual, there is no justification for resisting the authority of the whole body of believers.

3. Unity is one of the most important doctrines of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, ultimately achieved through deference to the body with the highest organizational authority, the General Conference.

4. Seventh-day Adventists are united by their commitment to Christ, common biblical beliefs, shared mission, joint weekly study of the Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, interdependent worldwide organizational structure, and mutually agreed practices and policies

5. The General Conference Working Policy is the Church’s vehicle for promoting unity and mission (ever more so since the 2015 ordination vote at General Conference Session).

6. Statements or other actions approved by a GC Session or the GC Executive Committee are considered an expression of Church policy.

7. The GC Executive Committee has delegated to unions responsibility for selecting candidates for ordination, based on the criteria set by the world Church.

8. The world Church (i.e. the General Conference) has set ordination criteria since 1879.

9. Diversity of practice can be allowed, but only after a representative body has agreed to allow some variation.

10. Organizational units and church-member representatives have input into the decisions of organizations at higher levels of structure. However, having had input, reciprocity means that there must be acceptance of the collective decision.

11. Strict adherence to Policy is required of “all organizations in every part of the world field."

12. No world field may depart from decisions taken by units at higher levels of structure with wider authority. The status of local fields “is not self-generated, automatic, or perpetual,” but “is granted to a constituency as a trust.”

13. Unilateral action on important matters is contrary to the biblical model and to longstanding Adventist practice. Further, it is a satanic distraction.

14. Ordination is qualitatively different than commissioning or credentialing.

15. The ordination of women has been explicitly disallowed by a GC Session action, a decision reinforced by two other GC Session votes.

16. Ministerial credentials are temporary; ordination is permanent (except in cases of discipline).

17. Recent moves to exclusively license (commission) pastors are contrary to policies voted both by the GC Executive Committee and by GC Sessions.

18. Because ordination is the Church’s recognition of a divine calling, it cannot be given up on individual impulse.

19. Ordained pastors cannot be turned, retrospectively, into commissioned pastors or licensed pastors, and if they qualify for a ministerial credential, then they must receive it, rather than another credential or license. GC Working Policy excludes any other possibility.

20. GC Working Policy can be amended, and its provisions can be waived in certain circumstances, but either requires consultation and consensus.

The document contains 88 references to biblical passages. Of those references, there are twelve unabridged, direct quotes of Scripture verses. Several more references excerpt small portions of biblical texts. Most instances are parenthetical references to books, chapters, and verses without textual material supplied. Of the 88 scriptural references, there are no full passages in their biblical contexts.

Ellen G. White receives 189 references by name in the document. Of the paper’s 187 endnotes, 118 cite or pertain to the writings of Ellen White. Extended quotations from her writings permeate the document.

When one considers the specific language employed to make the assertions the document makes, one gets the sense that submission to authority is viewed as paramount. Those entities running afoul of the document's ideal are also characterized as influenced by evil. Below, some of the document’s terms (and cognates in some cases) are listed by frequency of occurrence:

Policy - 127
General Conference - 122
Authority - 109
Christ - 108
Executive Committee - 78
Private judgment vs. corporate judgment - 54
Mission of the Church - 30
Gospel - 29 (16 instances of policy concerning “gospel ministry”; 7 references to book or article titles; 1 reference to “everlasting gospel”)
Unilateral - 27
Govern (and governing power) - 21
Surrender - 14
Submission - 14
Satan - 12
Require (including “require adherence”) - 10
Binding - 6
Obliged - 6
Mandate - 5
Compliance - 4
Obey - 2
Defer - 2
Evil forces - 2
Yield - 1

The document has drawn many reactions, among them, strong condemnation for its literal demonization of many church entities. Page 33 of the document delves deep into statements from Ellen White on what she saw as evil forces and extrapolates to those church entities that have ordained women: “Ellen White makes it plain,” the document states, “that unilateralism can arise not just from independent-mindedness, but sometimes from the influence of evil forces.”

The document pointedly and repeatedly refers to Californian Adventists in the 1870s and 1880s who demonstrated independent-mindedness and suggests that they were influenced by satanic powers. (In August 2012, the Pacific Union Conference based in California voted to authorize the ordination of women despite an in-person appeal from General Conference President Ted N. C. Wilson not to do so.)

Speaking of the Adventists in 19th century California, the document cites Ellen White’s admonition:

She warns that “those who . . . do not labor to have harmony of purpose and action are verily doing the work of Satan, not the work of God” and continues in similar vein: “It is a delusion of the enemy for anyone to feel that he can disconnect from the body and work on an independent scale of his own and think he is doing God’s work.

The thinly-veiled accusation that those organizational units that have ordained women are under satanic influence elicited criticism from one contemporary California pastor.

“It is never appropriate to suggest someone who behaves or thinks differently than yourself is under satanic influence,” wrote Trevan Osborn, an associate pastor at the Azure Hills Church in California.

Osborn called the language “toxic, manipulative, coercive, and horrifying on every level.”

He called for wholesale rejection of vilifying language. “[Let’s] wholly embrace one another as God's children just trying to do what we think is right,” he said.

For some, the document called to mind the presidential campaign in the United States. Writing in a Facebook group created to support the ordination of women in Adventism, Cherry Ashlock wrote,

GC says: We are following the will of God to purge and protect the church. What I hear: [To borrow language from a current great mind and rising global political star], 'Believe us! We are the only ones who can save the church and make it great again. It's a beautiful thing'!"

Among some who approved of the document, the question was what next steps the church would take. Richard P. Mendoza, a pastor in the Michigan Conference, wrote in response to the document's publication on the Adventist Review's website,

We just need to impliment the process and call the disenters (sic) into account and give them the choice of copplying (sic) with the WILL of the Body express in General Conference Session 2015 or dissfellowship (sic) or dissolve those members or churches, replace church leaders who will not comply and be supportive of the World Chuch's decision."

The 2016 Annual Council, October 8-15 at the General Conference Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, will put the document before the GC Executive Committee for approval, including language that accuses many Adventists of being swayed by Satan.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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Members of the faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University have called on the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists to engage the Adventist Church in wider dialogue concerning the recently released "unity" document. On September 25, the Office of the Secretary of the General Conference circulated the document, "A Study of Church Governance and Unity," to members of the General Conference Executive Committee and published the document on the website of the General Conference Office of Archives, Statistics, and Research which helped prepare the document for publication.

The document contends that on the matter of women's ordination church territories in all parts of the worldwide Seventh-day Adventist Church, particularly the church's unions, should "defer,""submit,""yield"—the document uses several synonyms—to what it characterizes as the higher authority of the General Conference because of that body's wider representation. Many have objected to the document's seeming move to consolidate the General Conference's governing power, which in turn could be used to take over some union conferences being characterized as "rebellious." Others have objected to the document's demonizing language that implies that the many territories in the Seventh-day Adventist Church that have moved toward ordaining women may be exhibiting a spirit indicative of satanic influence.

Andrews University Seminary faculty members object on different a basis—that the document must be discussed more widely with broader input before being put before the General Conference Executive Committee for approval. In a joint statement released on Friday, September 30, the Seminary Faculty members called on the General Conference to engage the wider body:

We the faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, affirm the biblical truth of church unity grounded in our worship of God, our common faith, our shared community, and our sense of mission. We have serious concerns about the recent document “A Study of Church Governance and Unity” released by the General Conference and its portrayal of the nature and authority of the church. Further discussion by the church at large on this important ecclesiological issue is needed before such a document is adopted.”
Voted September 30, 2016.

It is not the first time that the General Conference and the Seminary faculty have staked out different ground over the question of ordaining women. In October, 2015, only months after the General Conference rejected a measure that would have given jurisdiction of ordination to the church's thirteen divisions, nine seminary faculty members petitioned the General Conference to return their ordained minister credentials in favor of commissioned minister credentials. The General Conference rejected the request, using an argument that is now contained in the "unity" document: 

Because ordination is the Church’s recognition of a divine calling, it cannot be given up on individual impulse. Thus, what would have to be repudiated would be a pastor’s entire vocation and his calling to ministry. Even if one were to accept such a process as theoretically permissible, however, presently no pastor with ministerial credentials has denied his call to ministry; and it seems highly unlikely that any pastor would do that. Repudiation is not actively prohibited, but certainly GC Working Policy does not countenance such a course of action" (page 38).

The Seminary faculty released a joint statement called "On The Unique Headship of Christ in the Church," repudiating male headship in advance of the 2015 General Conference Session as well.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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In response to the General Conference document, “A Study of Church Governance and Unity,” the Loma Linda University School of Religion faculty today voted their unanimous support to the statement released by the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary on September 30, 2016.

That statement reads as follows:

We, the faculty of the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, affirm the biblical truth of church unity grounded in our worship of God, our common faith, our shared community, and our sense of mission. We have serious concerns about the recent document ‘A Study of Church Governance and Unity’ released by the General Conference and its portrayal of the nature and authority of the church. Further discussion by the church at large on this important ecclesiological issue is needed before such a document is adopted.”
Voted October 4, 2016, Loma Linda, California

Both Andrews University and Loma Linda University operate under the auspices of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. 

If you respond to this article, please: 

Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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The communication staff of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists have released a document detailing a proposed plan of action for denominational entities characterized as having "gone outside of voted church policy by ordaining women." In the news release on the Adventist Review website, the General Conference Communication Department stated:

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 document follows in its entirety:

EOM/PRE/GCDO16AC/PREXAD/GCDO16AC to MLR-16AC(DIV)

114-16G UNITY IN MISSION: PROCEDURES IN CHURCH RECONCILIATION

This document has not been voted by the General Conference Executive Committee. 

UNITY IN MISSION: PROCEDURES IN CHURCH RECONCILIATION

The Seventh-day Adventist Church continues to grow with members coming from “every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.” These believers have the privilege of working and praying for the unity in faith and mission for which Jesus so earnestly prayed (John 17:11, 20-23). At times, such unity can be a challenge for a local church—how much more for a worldwide family of nearly 20 million people consisting of many different languages, cultures, and backgrounds. And yet this is the high ideal to which we have been called! 

This is why it’s so important to come together to pray, plan, and vote formal policies and guidelines. These provide a framework which helps to hold us together as one people, united in one prophetic mission and message. It is not something we should treat lightly or ignore. Rather, it represents our best effort as a world body to be faithful to God, and move together.

In order for any organization to function effectively, members will at times have to put aside personal opinions and preferences for the mutual good and health of the larger body. As imperfect human beings, we can expect that mistakes will be made. God is our infallible Leader, but His followers won’t always get it right. At times individuals or organizations will operate outside the Church’s voted policies. Sometimes this happens by accident; sometimes on purpose (and maybe even with very good intentions). But policy has well-defined procedures to follow when an individual or entity feels the need of an exemption to a policy or other voted action of the Church. When any one entity decides to “go it alone,” the whole Church body suffers and is diminished. If not addressed, these actions can lead to charges of unfairness, and can undermine the Church’s united mission.

So what should the Church family do when this happens? Ignore the situation, praying that the problem will just go away? Move in immediately and demand compliance? Or is there some other balanced path that we can take to hold each other accountable and to work together for our mutual good?

 After much prayer, consultation, and discussion, it is RECOMMENDED, 

1. To adopt the following steps of reconciliation with entities that appear to have overlooked or ignored the biblical principles as expressed in the Fundamental Beliefs, voted actions, or working policies of the Church:
   1. Listen and pray.
      1. This step begins when the executive officers or governing body become aware of an apparent reason for concern regarding a subsidiary entity’s actions. The executive officers should then meet with the leaders of the subsidiary entity. This will provide an opportunity to pray together, and listen to each other.
   2. Consultation with wider groups.
      1. If it is found that there is reason for further discussion, the executive officers of the next higher organization should, after consulting with the entity, establish a wider group to discuss the concern. This group—including lay people, pastors, and administrators from the entity and the broader Church—should meet at least twice over a period of six months. This will provide an opportunity to listen to each other, pray together, and study God’s will from His Word and the Spirit of Prophecy. Every effort should be made and sufficient time be given, for personal visits, open consultations, meetings, and forums for dialogue.
      2. If the matter is one with critical time sensitivity (such as an entity preparing to take out an unauthorized loan that could not then be reversed), the executive committee, in consultation with their next higher organization, could authorize an amended timeframe.
      3. The executive officers who established the larger group should provide regular updates on the discussions to their governing body and to the executive officers of their next higher organization.
   3. Write pastoral letters.
      1. If after six months of discussion the matter has not been resolved, the executive officers of the next higher organization should write pastoral letters encouraging the executive officers and the governing body of the entity to lead their organization to be faithful to the biblical principles as expressed in the Fundamental Beliefs, voted actions, and working policies of the Church.
   4. Listen and pray again.
      1. If these letters still don’t resolve the matter, the executive officers of the next higher organization should again meet with the executive officers and the governing body of the entity concerned to urge and encourage them to reconsider (unless an amended timeframe has been approved in step b. above). They should also request an opportunity to meet again with the group that has been addressing the matter.
   5. Start phase two of reconciliation.
      1. If, for some reason, the above process of prayer and consultation does not resolve the matter, the executive committee of the next higher organization will need to consider the conflict resolution procedures referred to in recommendation 2. below.
      2. For the biblical principles as expressed in the Fundamental Beliefs or voted actions and policies of a worldwide nature, the General Conference will become involved.

RECOMMENDED, 2. To request the General Conference Administrative Committee to recommend to 2017 Annual Council procedural steps to be followed in the event that a resolution of the conflict is not achieved under procedures identified above. 

Even though conflict resolution will be necessary from time to time, the Seventh-day Adventist family and organizational units are all called to be part of a prophetic end-time movement reaching out with a message of hope and salvation to all nations, languages, creeds, and castes around the world. What a privilege to be part of a Church family that bears “one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2), that is “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” (Eph 4:32), and that strives to work together “that the world may believe” (John 17:21).

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev 22:20).

All Bible references are from the New King James Version.

________________

Photo Credit: Brent Hardinge / Adventist News Network

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The faculty of the Walla Walla University School of Theology have issued a statement concerning the General Conference's "unity" document. The statement echoes statements issued by the faculty of the Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University and the faculty of the Loma Linda University School of Religion.

We the faculty of the School of Theology at Walla Walla University strongly affirm the biblical concept of the unity of the church grounded in our worship of God, in our common faith, our shared community life, and in our shared sense of mission. At the same time, we have very serious concerns about the recent document titled “A Study of Church Governance and Unity” recently released by the General Conference and its portrayal of the nature and authority of the church. We share the concern voiced by other theologians and scholars that there needs to be a significant amount of further discussion on this very important ecclesiological issue before it is adopted in a general and binding way. We further register our concerns over the concept of ordination that is laid out in the document, a concept that seems to borrow a lot more from tradition than from biblical evidence. It is our sincere hope that more discussion and deliberation will take place before the elements of this document become church policy.”

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Amid an ongoing smuggling scandal involving administrators at River Plate Adventist University (Universidad Adventista del Plata) in Entre Rios Argentina, University President Oscar Ramos has resigned his position, Spectrum has learned. In a meeting of the Argentina Union Conference's leadership on Sunday, October 9, the news of Ramos' resignation was announced. Current Vice President for Academic Affairs Gabriel Schultz has been named acting president and a committee has been established to select a new president. 

On September 22 news broke in Argentine media that Argentina's Policia Federal carried out raids on eight locations and apprehended six leaders of the Adventist Church involved in allegedly smuggling some $15,000,000 Argentine Pesos ($991,000 USD) worth of electronic goods into the country, disguised as a shipment of medical supplies from the United States. Customs officials discovered a wide array of purportedly undeclared electronics worth some $6,000,000 Pesos ($396,400 USD) in unpaid import fees.

Argentina charges steep import fees that have led many to attempt to circumvent official channels in bringing goods into the country. The Argentine government has sharply cracked down on illegal imports.

We now know that only one Adventist leader, Jorge De Sousa Matías, Vice President for International Development at River Plate, was detained by police. Other leaders were given citations, requiring that they make depositions before Argentina's judiciary. Those leaders' names have still not been confirmed.

The Argentina Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (la Asociación Argentina de los Adventistas del Séptimo Día), to which the shipment was addressed, issued two statements indicating that the Adventist Church was cooperating fully with authorities and had the proper documentation for the shipment received. 

The resignation of the university president indicates that all is not well for the church in Argentina, despite insistence that the church has done no wrong.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Paul Charles, who for several months has been denying charges of fraud concerning his academic qualifications (earned degrees), has reported to his superiors that he has completed a Bachelor of Theology degree from the South African Theological Seminary (SATS) in less than six months. According to the seminary, which provides degrees exclusively online, the BTh program normally takes anywhere from three to seven years to complete. Charles serves as Director of Communication and Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division of Seventh-day Adventists (SID).

In a letter to SID President Solomon Maphosa, Charles credited divine blessing for his ability to complete his BTh degree in less than six months while serving as director of several departments and traveling for speaking engagements and meetings:

Dear Pastor Maphosa (SID EXCOM Chairperson)

 

Greetings in Jesus’ name.  

 

Please receive the attached official letter from the South African Theological Seminary which confirms that I have completed ALL requirements for my BTh. degree and will graduate at their next graduation date.

 

The question was raised before (with reference to me) as to how a person could complete their qualifications in a such a short space of time? I believe that the fact that I completed ALL the requirements for this Accredited BTh in less than 6 months (through the grace of God) instead of 1 year (as I asserted) or two years (as others thought) should provide proof in favour of my integrity that I can support what I claim. I want to humbly state again that my others degrees are not illegal and I have not done any illegal or unethical acts to acquire them.  

 

Please note that I state the above, not as a matter of pride or arrogance, but as relief that there is tangible, verifiable, current evidence about the gift of learning that God has blessed me with and that while others may not believe that a person can do two years work in less than 6 months or acquire a Masters degree in one year or PhD degree in less than 3 years - it is possible! What is impossible with man is possible with God.

 

To view the Accreditation status of the Institution, please visit: www.sats.edu.za

 

At this point I wish to place on record that I have, by God’s grace served His church faithfully for the past 16 years (in full time employment) and having preached the gospel and the three angels’ message, in the Adventist church, for the past 29 years, since the age of 14 - my faith in the church is unshaken. I believe that this is God’s church and we will be triumphant, in the strength of Christ, our Supreme leader. I wish to now concentrate ALL my energies and gifts in the work of Lord, and hopefully, without hindrance or attempts to negate, nullify, or belittle my calling.

 

God bless, Maranatha.

Paul Charles

A letter from SATS, dated 21 October, 2016, states that “Dr Paul Charles...has completed all requirements for the Bachelor of Theology (360 credits). Dr Charles’ degree will be issued in April 2017.” The statement was signed by SATS registrar Jane Meyer.

The SATS Bachelor of Theology program requires 360 credit hours for completion (30 courses of 12 credits each). SATS allows the transfer of credits from accredited and non-accredited institutions for a fee and also provides “credits for life experience.” Charles would likely be able to transfer some credits for his brief time of study at what is now Spicer Adventist University and for his life experience as an administrator in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. An informational video linked from the SATS FAQ page provides timeframes for completing the BTh degree. The video states that the University of South Africa expects its students to take at least five courses a year. At that rate of study, student enrolled in the SATS BTh program should expect to receive an academic qualification (degree) in six years. A student studying at a full-time rate of ten courses a year could expect to complete a BTh in three years, the video says.

Paul Charles did not respond to request for comment on the specifics of his BTh coursework completion.

Longstanding Allegations of Academic Fraud
For many years, Charles has presented himself as the holder of a Master’s degree and two doctoral degrees with a third doctorate in progress. However, after scrutiny from church members and media reports exposing the extraordinary nature of his claims and questioning the legitimacy of the qualifications, division leaders eventually required that Charles complete his bachelor’s degree and stop presenting himself as the holder of doctoral degrees.

During the SID mid-year executive committee meeting from May 13-17, 2016, an investigative committee was constituted to look into Paul Charles’ academic qualifications. The committee included SID executive committee members and independent legal investigators. The committee was given three months to investigate and bring recommendations back to the SID executive committee. The same was done for Division President Paul Ratsara who was also accused of presenting a fraudulent doctoral qualification.

(SID initially responded to media reports that two leaders of the Adventist Church were being investigated for academic fraud with a strongly worded defense of Charles and Ratsara published on the SID website.)

An Emergency Meeting and Reversal
A change of course came at a hastily convened “SID Extraordinary Executive Committee Meeting” held on May 24, a week after the regularly-scheduled executive committee meeting had finished. The emergency meeting was called by General Conference President Ted N. C. Wilson, and the agenda was addressing the findings of the committees that investigated Charles' and Ratsara’s academic qualifications. Elder Wilson had been conducting a Total Member Involvement evangelistic series in Rwanda which he left to convene the emergency SID meeting.

According to meeting minutes obtained by Spectrum, after a devotional by Elder Wilson, votes were taken to “to rescind the EXCOM Action (Action # 16-040 – Allegations on Paul Charles’s Qualifications)” and “to express the EXCOM’s displeasure to Paul Ratsara for the manner in which he acquired his ThD qualification.”

Executive Committee members in attendance have reported that a motion to call for Ratsara’s resignation was put forward during the meeting, then rescinded, and that Charles was instructed to complete his bachelor’s degree. Neither action showed up in the meeting minutes. Ratsara attempted to offer his resignation at the end of the meeting but was told by Wilson to sleep on it and pray about it. Wilson purportedly said that the GC might not accept his resignation. One week later on May 31, Ratsara tendered his official resignation which was accepted by the General Conference.

All statements pertaining to Paul Charles' and Paul Ratsara’s academic qualifications have been removed from the SID website where they were initially released. The report on the Adventist News Network website of Paul Ratsara’s resignation has also been removed from that website.

Despite Paul Charles’ being required to complete his bachelor’s degree and stop presenting himself as holder of doctoral qualifications in speaking appointments as recently as this month, he continues to be introduced as “Dr. Charles.” The letter from the SATS registrar also calls him “Dr. Paul Charles."

Revocation of Paul Charles’ Ordination
Pressure to deal with what many characterize as Paul Charles’ defiant dishonesty has also come from the Southern Africa Union Conference (SAU) where Paul Charles worked prior to his appointment to the division office, and where he was ordained in 2002.

The union created an ad-hoc committee to look into the matter of Paul Charles’ moral and ethical conduct because many union leaders perceived that Paul Charles gained employment and ordination based on deceit. After the union committee escalated its investigation to the SID for information-gathering purposes, union leaders placed the issue of Charles’ ordination on the agenda for a special SID Executive Committee meeting called to appoint a new division president after Paul Ratsara resigned. The June 21 meeting was chaired by Ted Wilson.

During that special SID Executive Committee meeting, Wilson quashed discussion of Paul Charles’ ordination and its revocation, according to sources in attendance. Wilson asserted that “ordination is in the hands of whoever currently manages the person’s credentials.” Because Charles was employed by the division, Wilson contended that the union, which ordained Charles, did not have the ability to revoke Charles’ ordination.

SAU leaders took the question of revoking an ordination to General Conference legal counsel in order to determine whether Elder Wilson was correct in his assertion that the union lacked jurisdiction concerning Paul Charles’ ordination.

A letter of response from General Conference legal counsel dated 27 June, 2016 pointed to General Conference Working Policy section L60 25, which dictates that credentials pertain to the organization that employs a worker, but ordination pertains to the entity that carried out the ordination. While only SID could nullify the credentials Charles currently holds, his ordination can be revoked by the union that ordained him, according to Working Policy.

Spectrum’s requests for comment from the office of the General Conference president have gone unanswered, as have requests for comment from the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division.

In early September, the union subcommittee that investigated Paul Charles’ conduct issued a report to the union administrative committee, which in turn approved a recommendation to the union executive committee: that the decision to ordain Paul Charles in 2002 be rescinded based on the fact that his ordination by the Southern Africa Union Conference was premised on fraud, deception, and lies. Union leaders have reported significant pressure from leaders of the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division not to take such an action. The union executive committee meets in two weeks for year-end meetings and is slated to vote on the recommendation from the administrative committee then.

Meanwhile, Paul Charles has used social media to hit back at those who have raised questions about his honesty and integrity. On July 19 Charles posted the following on Facebook along with a screenshot of the dictionary definition for “Kangaroo Court”:

Through the death of Christ - you hold a divine credential to heaven. No accusation of satan to diminish that credential is ever entertained without our advocate Christ defending us. Thank God that Christ is our Defender!

The next day, he posted an image with the text: “All the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has ordained. Isaiah 14:27”

Legal Proceedings Against Paul Charles
Lay members within SID have sent numerous requests to leaders of the division and of the General Conference for intervention. However, the many calls for accountability have been met with silence most of the time and hostility at other times.

In the face of intransigence at the division and General Conference levels, some lay members have sought the interposition of civil authorities. 

South African law makes academic fraud a criminal offense.

Dr. Shaheeda Essack, Director of Private Higher Education Institutions for the South African Department of Higher Education and Training, wrote a letter to church members in April 2016 addressing Paul Charles’ supposed doctorate from Freedom Institute (a degree-mill in India with no physical address). Dr. Essack noted that the South African government would not recognize the qualification, and anyone purporting to hold a fake doctoral qualification would be in violation of section 66(2) of the Higher Education Act (1997), which states:

Any person who pretends that a qualification has been awarded to him or her by a higher education institution, whereas in fact no such qualification has been so awarded, is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to a sentence which may be imposed for fraud.”

Charles is now under investigation by the South African Department of Higher Education and the National Prosecuting Authority of South Africa for charges including “educational fraud, fraudulent utterances, and one count of fraud for each month PQA was paid to Mr Charles amongst others for the last 16 years.”

General Conference legal counsel has been notified of the proceedings.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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SILVER SPRING - During a lengthy and emotional discussion of the General Conference's "Unity in Mission" document, voted at the 2016 General Conference Annual Council meeting two weeks ago, the North American Division (NAD) voted a statement asking the General Conference to officially recognize Dr. Sandra Roberts, president of the Southeastern California Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The vote was taken on day two of the 2016 NAD Year-end Meeting.

The discussion of the GC "Unity in Mission" document was characterized by many impassioned statements by division leaders in favor of equality in pastoral ministry.

As the 5:00 hour approached, well after the scheduled 3:30 p.m end of the meeting, Dr. Randal Wisbey, president of La Sierra University in Southeastern California Conference, stood at the microphone and read from a prepared statement that ended with a motion asking the General Conference to recognize Dr. Roberts. 

I want to thank you, Elder Jackson, for your leadership and personal commitment on guiding us in a way that embraces our deep commitment to women in ministry. 

I am speaking as a member of the SECC.  This is illustrative of what we are discussing this afternoon.

I am deeply concerned that the General Conference continues to be dismissive of our conference president, Dr Sandra Roberts, by not including her name in the SDA Yearbook.  This would be troubling if this happened to any of our conferences--yet this has occurred to the duly-elected president of the largest conference in our division.

This was compounded at the recent Annual Council when Elder Roberts was not provided a badge that would grant her the ability to attend and to speak as was provided to every one of her fellow presidential colleagues.

The reason for this, I am told, is that, as the GC does not recognize her ordination, they do not recognize her presidency. 

Elder Jackson, when something occurs that hurts and diminishes one of us, all of us are diminished and hurt.  When we allow something to occur that we know, deep in our hearts, is unjust, we participate in this injustice. 

I implore this body to find an appropriate response that enables us to move from talk to action.  So many in our church are today watching to see if we will truly live our convictions.

For these reasons, I would recommend that we forward to the General Conference the following statement:

The attendees of the North American Division Year-end Meeting respectfully request that the General Conference provide Elder Sandra Roberts, President of Southeastern California Conference, the same respect, rights, and privileges of office as any other conference president within the North America Division who has been duly elected by an official and legal constituency meeting of that conference.  This will include inclusion in the Seventh-day Adventist Yearbook as president of Southeastern California Conference, and being provided with regular and official credentials at General Conference meetings, such as Annual Council, etc., the same as any other North American Division conference president.

After brief comment on the motion, a vote was taken. The results of the vote: 141 yes, 32 no, 5 in abstention. Discussion of the "Unity in Mission" document ended after the vote and will resume on Sunday. Spectrum will be providing live updates on Twitter @spectrummag throughout the meetings.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for a full report of days one and two from the North American Division Year-end Meeting. 

Image Credit: Pieter Damsteegt / NAD.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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The North American Division Year-end Meeting began Thursday afternoon with a message of inclusion from Division President Daniel R. Jackson. The “Collaboration 2.0” meeting spans six days - October 27 through November 1, 2016.

After orienting new executive committee members President Jackson welcomed a group of young delegates under 30, student leaders from Adventist college campuses throughout the North American Division (NAD).

Of the fourteen student leaders who will have voice and vote, two were appointed to serve as interveners with authority to call for times of prayer if committee members "begin creating more heat than light” during deliberations.

Student body leaders from North American Division colleges and universities - committee members with voice and vote.

In the president's report, Jackson returned often to the refrain “All are needed; all are wanted.” The inclusive message set the tone for the week.

Jackson emphasized the importance of mission, saying that the role of leaders in NAD is to facilitate outward-focused mission. The mission of the division is “to reach the North American Division and the world with the distinctive, Christ-centered, Seventh-day Adventist message of hope and wholeness.”

The president told the audience that Jesus is the center of Adventist mission, saying “If you don’t preach Jesus, you’re wasting your time.”

Jackson took a moment to recognize newly-inaugurated president of Andrews University Andrea Luxton. The audience responded with hearty applause.

Noting that the North American Division was founded in 1991 (Dan Jackson is its 4th president), Jackson said that the move out of the General Conference building into a new headquarters is part of the division’s growing up. “We must not be afraid to keep developing,” he said. He stated that it is the division’s goal to develop a culture of safe, open dialogue with room for all.

The North American Division has set itself a goal of planting at least 200 new congregations each year. So far this year, 203 have been planted already, Jackson reported.

He raised the topic of women pastors, a topic that has generated significant discussion in the Adventist Church of late. Telling delegates that their views on women’s ordination “are between God and you,” he stated emphatically, “if you have heard we are in a state of rebellion, that is simply not true.” He noted that the division plans to bring more women into pastoral ministry and pointed out that the move is solidly within General Conference working policy.

Jackson called for prayer on behalf of pastors, young people, Adventist education, and appealed to young people to lead the movement.

Talking about Adventist education, Jackson stated that within the last 10-15 years, the NAD has lost some 250 schools, and that some 20,000 young people no longer attend Adventist schools. Adventist education needs to be made more affordable, he said.

Jackson ended his remarks with a statement from Ellen White’s Acts of the Apostles: “The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ and through the church will eventually be manifested, even to the principalities and powers in the Heavenly places, the final and the full display of God” (page 1).

Executive Secretary G. Alexander Bryant followed Jackson with a report that focused on membership statistics. The report brought some troubling news, but Bryant had an encouraging message to follow the tough numerical analysis.

As of September 30, 2016, NAD is comprised of 1,231,006 members, 5,493 churches and 858 companies. In 2015, net growth for the division was 17,031 members (1.42%), which is slightly higher than the five-year net-growth average. The Pacific Union Conference continues to lead all NAD unions in membership.

Women make up more than half the membership of the North American Division, Bryant said--52.6%, approximately. The membership disparity by gender is wide when members of unknown gender are factored in. Men make up only 40.5% of membership whose gender is known, with 6.9% of members’ gendership unknown.

Seventh-day Adventists in North America are older than the populations of both the United States and Canada by large margins (see graphic below).

Graphic: Ages of Seventh-day Adventists in North America compared with populations of U.S. and Canada.

Bryant provided an age breakdown of members who have left the Adventist Church. Over the last eight years, 33.4% of members have left. Those under 50 are leaving in greatest numbers, led by those in their 30s. Those over 60 are both the largest cohort of North American Adventist and the least likely to leave the denomination.

When asked why they left the Adventist Church, the largest group (28% who responded) cited no particular reason--they simply “drifted away.” The second largest group cited lack of compassion for those who are hurting (25%).

Among those who quit attending services, 40% said no one contacted them to inquire why they were no longer attending. Bryant repeated the number several times.

Over the last four years, 36,222 men have been baptized into the Adventist Church in North America. During that same time, women baptized totalled 57,294 (62% of those whose gender was known).

Bryant skipped over many of the slides in his presentation, but some of the things he omitted because of time merited consideration. For instance, Adventist congregations have far lower incomes than congregations of all faiths in North America. On average, Adventist congregations bring in $50,000 a year, where for congregations of all faiths, the yearly average is $151,000. For Adventist congregations, the number is down from 2008, when the average was $60,000.

Nearing the end of his prepared remarks, Bryant shared a YouTube video of an elderly woman who has been a longsuffering and longtime fan of the Chicago Cubs, who are currently playing in Major League Baseball's World Series. She talked about her years of sticking with the Cubs when their performances, year after year, were miserably disappointing. "If people could hang with the Cubs all those years, I can hang with the church," Bryant said. "I still believe the Seventh-day Adventist Church is God's Church," Bryant said to loud applause.

For Bryant’s full presentation, this link provides download of his PowerPoint slides.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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SILVER SPRING - During Sabbath worship at the North American Division Year-end Meeting, Division President Daniel R. Jackson drew on the Old Testament story of Elisha in his sermon “Opened Eyes.”

Rousing music punctuated the Divine Worship service. Pianist Bryard Huggins played twice in arrangements that ranged from bombastic classical music to tight jazz and brought down the house. The Union College Singers and Unionaires provided the offertory, and Jennifer LaMountain, one of Adventism’s most recognized female vocalists, preceded and followed Elder Jackson.

Introducing the morning’s speaker, NAD Executive Secretary G. Alexander Bryant called Dan Jackson a man appointed for such a time as this.

“We often call him ‘Dan’ but we forget his name is Daniel,” Bryant said. Murmurs rippled through the audience. “And Daniel went to the lion’s den,” Bryant continued. He invoked the song "Dare to be a Daniel."“Dare to stand alone,” the song goes. “But,” Bryant said, “there are many in the North American Division who stand with you. Even if it means going into the lion’s den, we stand with you,” Bryant said to loud amens. “Now, you’re the president, and you have to go first,” Bryant went on. “Let us know the appetite of the lions,” he said to laughter and applause. Then Dan Jackson stood to speak.

“My name is Dan Jackson; I am a broken human being.”

Jackson began his sermon with a confession and a call to placing Jesus at the center of the Adventist faith and preaching. If Jesus is not the center of our preaching, “I’m going to join the Kiwanis club,” Jackson said. “Young people, don’t believe us old guys if we are not preaching about Jesus.” Then, he turned to the Old Testament.

Jackson recounted the 2 Kings 6: 8-23 pericope of the King of Aram who was at war with Israel.

“The king brought in all his men,” Jackson continued. “He was furious that whenever he made a maneuver, he was psyched out.” The king of Israel anticipated all his moves. “He demanded of his officers, tell me which one is on the side of the king of Israel. Sheepishly one said, ‘none of us.’” It was Elisha, the man of God, who provided information to the king of Israel, thwarting the moves of the king of Aram. The king was furious and called for the head of the prophet. The prophet of God was holed up in a walled city. His enemies were in pursuit. They wanted to annihilate the people of God. “That is the historical context of the story,” Jackson said. "He knew he was being pursued."

Jackson continued narrating: When the servant of the man of God went out next morning, an army with chariots had surrounded city. Elisha looked at messenger and said, “Don’t be afraid. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

Elisha prayed three prayers, Jackson noted:

1. “Open his eyes so that he can see.” The Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he saw the hills full of chariots of fire surrounding Elisha.

2. “Strike these men with blindness.” When they were struck blind, the prophet said “you’re in the wrong place.” He led then from Dothan to Samaria, a trip of eight miles, and took them them into the city. Once they were in the city with army of Israel around them, he prayed,

3. Open their eyes so they can see. They saw the sun gleaming off the armour of the army of Israel.

The servant said to Elisha: shall I kill them? Elisha said, “No, feed them a potluck!” Jackson said. “He fed them tofu, and the armies of Aram never came back,” Jackson quipped. “I wouldn’t either.”

He offered three observations on the text:

First, it is only a miracle of God’s power and intervention that allows us to see into the spiritual realm, Jackson said. Based upon the apparent ineptness of Israel’s armies, the servant Gehazi concluded that all was lost.

Second, God’s realities are different from our realities. God opened Gehazi’s eyes, and he saw horses and chariots of fire. Jackson described Elisha’s servant as “confined by his eyesight.” But God’s reality provided opportunity to extend grace and salvation, Jackson said.

God’s reality, as Jackson described it, is a salvific reality. “God sees us at the victory banquet.” He quoted Revelation 7:9-14, which envisions a great, countless multitude “from every nation, tribe, people, and language.”

“Listen, when it says, ‘no man could count,’ it means it was more than 144,000,” Jackson said, departing from his notes for a moment. “Sometimes we get the idea that we’re going to purge the church and there’s only going to be 144,000 left and we’re going to have a ‘holy hoot.’”

He continued, “God is exceedingly and abundantly able to do for us way more than we’re able to do or think.”

Jackson spoke to the young adults present: “Young people, we’re relying on you. We need every single one of you.”

He quoted Ellen White, saying “The church is the repository of God’s riches of the grace of Christ.” He added, “It doesn’t always look that way, does it?”

But he stated emphatically that he believed it. “The church is the repository of God’s riches of the grace of Christ and, through the church, will eventually be made manifest final and full display of love of God.”

“God’s realities are different from my realities,” he said.

Jackson’s third observation was this: “When we submit to God’s reality and place ourselves in the center of that reality, we place ourselves into the place of power, spiritually.”

“The servant thought the only ally he had was Elisha. Spirit of God came into his mind, his eyes were opened and he saw the truth.”

Jackson said the present reality seems to be that, sometimes, those who are with us can be counted on one hand.

“As we submit our lives to God and enter into his reality--no matter how daunting the circumstance, no matter the odds, whether outclassed or out-strategized--those who are with us are more than those with them,” Jackson said. “If we put our trust in God, he will surprise us with joy.”

Jackson shared an account of a whale-watching trip with former North American Division President Don Schneider. They saw many whales and late in the trip, the two stayed on deck. Jackson noted that Schneider was weeping. “A few weeks ago I was going blind and never thought I’d be able to see such a beautiful sight,” Schneider said.

“When we put our hands in the hand of God, he will surprise us with joy,” Jackson said again.

“This is God’s church, and it always will be. Enfeebled and defective as it may be, it is still the object of God’s supreme regard, his sole regard, on planet earth.”

Returning to the biblical story, Jackson said, “Elisha, surrounded in city of Dothan, found that when God puts on the eye salve, even the blind can see.”

The church said, “Amen.”

Image Credit: Dan Weber / NAD Communications

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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SILVER SPRING - The North American Division Executive Committee at its 2016 Year-end Meeting voted a response to the General Conference “Unity in Mission” document, authorizing the North American Division Administrative Committee (NADCOM) to create a path forward.

The statement was introduced by Randy Roberts, senior pastor of the Loma Linda University Church in the Southeastern California Conference. The discussion resumed after having been tabled on Friday after a lengthy and at times impassioned discussion.

The full statement is as follows:

The Seventh-day Adventist Church exists to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ as expressed in the Three Angels’ Messages. Nothing should impede this prophetic mission.

 

It is thus with grave concern that the members of the North American Division (NAD) Executive Committee witnessed the passing of the Unity in Mission document at the recent Annual Council. The implementation of this document will create--indeed, is already creating--a profoundly divisive and demoralizing reality in many parts of the NAD.
 

While we wish to register our vigorous disagreement with the intent of the document, we do not wish to respond impulsively. Therefore, in light of this document, we move to authorize NADCOM to appoint a subcommittee to craft a thoughtful path forward.

 

Furthermore, recognizing that the underlying focus and context of the Unity in Mission document was the ordination of women to ministry in two unions in our division, we wish to once again publicly affirm our unwavering support and steadfast intent to realize the full equality of women in ministry, in fulfillment of biblical principles, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. In light of these realities, we do not want the Unity in Mission document to be a deterrent to the ongoing, proactive progress toward the full equality of women in ministry in our Division.

 

We invite earnest prayer for the leading of the Holy Spirit as we engage in this process.

The motion carried, 163 in favor, 35 opposed, and 1 in abstention.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for a full report from Spectrum. Image credit: Pieter Damsteegt / NAD Communication

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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SILVER SPRING - In a conference room of the Courtyard by Mariott hotel across the highway from the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters, TEAM (Time for Equality in Adventist Ministry) hosted the premiere of the new documentary film, "Called," for a small group of Adventist pastors and leaders.

The film screening corresponded with the North American Division (NAD) Year-end Meeting, coming close on the heels of an NAD Executive Committee voted statement in strong support of women in ministry, which said in part, "we wish to once again publicly affirm our unwavering support and steadfast intent to realize the full equality of women in ministry, in fulfillment of biblical principles, in the Seventh-day Adventist Church."

See "North American Division Votes Response to Unity in Mission Document."

The "Called" film features four women who have answered the call to pastoral ministry, the stories of their becoming pastors, and the opposition they sometimes face. Rebecca Davis (pictured above) is a district pastor in Washington and Thomson, Georgia. Jessie Lopez is an associate pastor of the Atlanta North Seventh-day Adventist Church in Georgia. Heather Crews is a district pastor in Williamsburg, Virginia. Trudy Dunn is a district pastor in Moline and Galesburg, Illinois.

"Women who have been called by God face unending prejudice in many communities of faith," says the film's introductory statement. "'Called' is a brief exploration into four faith communities' stories as they, for the first time, intersect with women pastors." The film was produced by Brillhart Media for TEAM with the support of many Seventh-day Adventist conferences and church members.

WATCH: 

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, the United States of America selected as its next president a man who repeatedly, deliberately and unapologetically denigrated minority groups of every stripe, vilified immigrants, insulted women, mocked those with disabilities, and defamed all of his political rivals. A man who routinely cheated his workers out of payment and who joked about sexually assaulting people. A man who was unfaithful to all of his marital partners and who throughout his campaigns encouraged acts of violence (celebrating the violence when it erupted). A man who lied at every turn and who threatened any who exposed his lies.

That his general election rival made significant missteps (which she acknowledged and for which she apologized on multiple occasions) cannot diminish the utter moral bankruptcy of America’s president-elect.

We should be very clear about some things.

First, white supremacy is making its last stand in America. Exit polling demonstrates that among white voters over the age of 50, Donald Trump enjoyed wide margins of support. Trump did it in no small part by appealing to white voters’ demographic phobias. CNN commentator Van Jones called it a white lash against a changing country. White Americans are an irreversibly shrinking portion of the U. S. population, and this election portends the beginning of the end of white power. If people of color had been the only voters on Tuesday, Donald Trump would have lost all fifty states. Every. Single. One.

Second, the Christian Church in the United States, which overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, shares his moral bankruptcy. Tuesday saw the destitution of the American Church. White Evangelicals, in particular, formed the backbone of Trump’s support according to exit polls. With Trump as their chosen leader, Evangelical appeals to “family values” or posturing as moral leaders is thoroughly vacuous. Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Survey has documented the dropping off of religious adherence and the rise of those who profess no faith at all. By doubling down on the exclusionary and anti-scientific ethos that so many cite as the reason they have abandoned faith, the Church effectively signed its own death certificate though it may remain on life support for some time to come.

Third, the Seventh-day Adventist Church since its earliest days has cultivated the concept of a remnant -- a select people who “come out of her” (the corrupt and corrupting religio-political system symbolized by Babylon), who follow the Lamb wherever he goes, and who are faithful to the commands of God. The opportunity to be that remnant people has finally presented itself in the clearest terms.

Donald Trump’s campaign called into question the value of many groups of people, telling them they don’t belong. Today, those people rightly feel hurt and afraid. The Adventist Church in North America has an opportunity now to speak words of affirmation, inclusion, and love, but it might have to come out of Babylon.  

Donald Trump’s campaign disempowered people of color. The Adventist Church, the most racially diverse religious group in North America, has the opportunity to stand alongside the disempowered today, but it might have to come out of Babylon.

Donald Trump’s campaign encouraged violence against protesters and against foreign nations. The Adventist Church in North America can reclaim the legacy of Desmond Doss who refused to hold a weapon amid unspeakable violence; it can promote peacemaking in a world that wants to fight, but it might have to come out of Babylon.

Donald Trump’s campaign vowed to dismantle the legislation that brought healthcare coverage to millions who did not have it and to slash funding for nonprofits that promote reproductive rights and care for women. The Adventist Church in North America, which owns and operates some of the preeminent not for profit healthcare facilities in the world, can champion the causes of reproductive rights and access to health care, but it might have to come out of Babylon.

The Christian Church in North America has forfeited its moral voice by rejecting the values of the Kin-dom of Heaven. Those who believe that God calls a fragmentary people to come apart from the self-immolating Babylonian shambles, now is your time.

Demonstrate love, inclusion, solidarity. Now is your time.
Care for the widow, the orphan, the stranger among you. Now is your time.
Give voice to the voiceless, do justice, love mercy. Now is your time.

This morning I took my three-year-old son with me to the Planned Parenthood facility just blocks from my house. Unsure of what to do or say, I walked up to the counter and introduced myself as someone from the neighborhood who wanted to say thanks to the workers there. The receptionist teared up, thanked me, and asked me to wait for some staff members to come talk to me. I waited for a few minutes until two employees came out. I told them I live nearby and I appreciate them. We shared hugs and tears as they told me how they hear so often from people who oppose them and how seldom they hear appreciation. They told me how hard it has been for their entire staff to come to work this morning.

If we have affirmation and appreciation to give, now is the time.

I’ve made plans to visit an Islamic Center near my house during prayer time this afternoon. I made a card that I plan to deliver with some flowers. The note says simply, “I value you and respect you. You are a welcome part of this community. Love, your Christian neighbor.”

If we have the opportunity to extend healing and hope, now is the time.

I’ve often found the notion of a remnant people to be unnecessarily exclusivistic and self-congratulatory, but there is something deeply compelling about a people who stand apart, in faithful opposition to empire, in order to follow the enduring command to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

Love still trumps hate.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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Ben Carson has rejected a position in U. S. President-elect Donald Trump’s administration, according to media reports today. The Seventh-day Adventist retired neurosurgeon and former Republican rival endorsed Trump after dropping out of the presidential race. Many saw Carson as a likely head of Health and Human Services or as a candidate for Attorney General or the Education Department. Carson business manager and advisor Armstrong Williams said Tuesday that Carson will not fill any of those posts.

“It’s not an issue of him turning down anything” Williams told Politico. “It was clear that he had his pick of what he wanted to do.”

Speaking to a reporter for The Hill, Williams said Carson decided his lack of experience as an elected official made him better suited as an outside advisor than as Trump Administration appointee.

"Dr. Carson feels he has no government experience, he's never run a federal agency,” Williams told The Hill. “The last thing he would want to do was take a position that could cripple the presidency."

In an early indicator of voters’ discontent with the political establishment, Donald Trump and Ben Carson, the only two candidates to lead the crowded Republican field after July 2015, were the two GOP primary contenders who had no prior experience in elected office.

For a brief time, Carson overtook Trump as GOP frontrunner in national polling, but Carson’s popularity nosedived after Trump called into question Carson’s Seventh-day Adventist faith.

During a campaign stop in Jacksonville, Florida, Trump contrasted his professed faith and Carson’s:

"Can you believe it? Nobody believes I'm Presbyterian. I'm Presbyterian. I'm Presbyterian. I'm Presbyterian. Boy, that's down the middle of the road folks, in all fairness. I mean, Seventh-day Adventist, I don't know about. I just don't know about."

That missive from Trump provided the Adventist Church in North America a brief window to introduce Adventism to a watching public. Denominational leaders had issued a statement when Carson announced his candidacy reaffirming the church’s neutrality in political contests.

The Adventist Church has a longstanding position of not supporting or opposing any candidate for elected office. This position is based both on our historical position of separation of church and state and the applicable federal law relating to the church’s tax-exempt status.

Soon after Trump’s questioning the Adventist faith and a series of Carson gaffes, Carson’s poll numbers began a decline that saw him drop out of the race without winning a single state. Carson endorsed Trump one week later, fueling speculation that Carson might be aiming for the number two spot on the Republican ticket. However, after clinching the nomination, Trump chose Indiana Governor Mike Pence as his running mate.

After dropping out of the race for the White House, Carson was appointed chair of My Faith Votes, a Christian non-profit that targets Evangelical values voters to encourage their political participation. Carson continues to serve in that capacity.

His announcement today that he will not take a cabinet position ends months of conjecture over his future within the Trump Administration. It comes two days after President-elect Trump appointed white nationalist Stephen Bannon his chief strategist. The former head of alt-right news outlet Breitbart News, Bannon advised Trump in his successful campaign against Democratic rival Hillary Clinton. Bannon’s appointment elicited praise from the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, and other white nationalist groups.

Ben Carson has not publicly spoken out about the Bannon appointment.

UPDATE - Since this story was published, Ben Carson posted on his verified Facebook page the following:

My decision not to seek a cabinet position in the Trump administration has nothing to do with the complexity of the job as is being reported by some news outlets. I believe it is vitally important for the Trump administration to have many outspoken friends and advisers who are outside of the Washington bubble. It is vital to have independent voices of reason and reconciliation if our nation is to heal and regain its greatness. I will continue to work with the transition team and beyond as we build a dynamite executive branch of government.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.

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On September 22, leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Argentina were detained in connection with containers of electronic goods brought into the country without being declared. The alleged smuggling saw at least one leader of River Plate Adventist University arrested by Argentina's federal police.

The Argentina Union Conference issed a statement saying that the church was fully cooperating with an investigation into charges that Adventist leaders attempted to smuggle in $15,000,000 Argentine Pesos worth of undeclared electronic goods to avoid paying import tarrifs. The union is now conducting its own investigation with a commission established to look into what transpired. In a letter dated October 31st, Executive Secretary Roberto O. Gullón wrote to the staff members to outline the process:

Dear Members of the River Plate Adventist University (UAP) staff:

By this means I want to reach everyone with my personal greeting. We are all aware of the exceptional moment that our institution is going through. This situation is painful and saddens us and it leads us to reflect not only on what happened, but on what our actions and procedures should be.

Direct denunciations and indirect hints, from both the judiciary and the media, have been serious, and beyond the ongoing legal processes, as a Church we want this situation to be clarified internally in a clear and objective manner.

For this reason, the Board of the Argentine Union has established a commission whose objective is to investigate what happened, studying the internal administrative processes, in order to identify possible faults and / or possible culprits, if any.

With the objective that the task to be carried out is the most even possible, this commission will be composed of members from various fields. Those members are:

President of the Commission:  Secretary of the UA: Roberto O. Gullón
Secretary of the Commission:  UA Education Director: Gabriel Boleas
Members of the Commission:
1 retired pastor: Manuel Carlos Ramos
1 Lay brother: Rubén López (Treasurer Igl. Santa Fe Centro)
1 Institution administrator: Arnoldo Schlemper (SAP)
1 administrator of the ecclesiastical area: Ivan Heinze (AAC)
1 district minister of LSM: Ricardo Zambelli

For the work of this Commission will be of utmost importance the collaboration of you, as members of the staff of the UAP, because they know in depth the daily activity of the Institution. The personal contribution will be of great value in order to discern what is being done correctly of what will have to be changed and / or improved. For this reason, it is requested that those who have reliable information on the subject in question, can share it with the Commission.

In order to guarantee the confidentiality of shared information, contributions can be channeled in three ways:

1. In writing by e-mail addressed directly to the President or Secretary of the Commission. These emails are personal and non-institutional. 

Roberto Gullón: rogul59@gmail.com
Gabriel Boleas: gabrielboleas@gmail.com

2. Through personal interviews with the president and secretary of the Commission on days and times to be confirmed. These interviews will be carried out either by the individual initiative for being a member of the UAP staff, or by request of the Commission. To coordinate the interview, the communication will be through the above mentioned email addresses or through direct personal contact.

3. Through personal interviews with some of the members of the Commission residing in Libertador San Martín:

Ricardo Zambelli: ricardozambelli54@gmail.com
ManuelCarlosRamos: pastorcarlosramos@yahoo.com.ar
Arnoldo Schlemper: arnoldovictor@gmail.com

In this third way, the initiative to inform or coordinate an interview should come from the UAP staff member. From the reception of this letter, those who wish it and have something to contribute, can feel free to go through the means mentioned above, any of the members of the Commission. Everyone can be sure that what is shared, whether by e-mail or verbally, will be analyzed by the Commission, preserving the identity of the people.

The Commission's commitment is to work within a framework of transparency. And the results of such work will be informed in a timely and timely manner.

I am sure that with the help of all and with the guidance of our good God, the UAP will be able to continue with the extraordinary task that has been doing for more than 100 years.

Thank each of you for your prayers. I leave with you the following challenge from God with the ensuing promise: “Trust in the Lord and do good; Then you will live safely in the land and prosper” (Psalm 37:3).

With Christian appreciation,

 

Pr. Roberto O. Gullón
Executive Secretary
Argentine Union of the Seventh-day Adventist Church

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After being suspended by his employer, Paul Charles has resigned his position as Director of Communication, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty for the Southern Africa-Indian Ocean Division of Seventh-day Adventists (SID), according to correspondence obtained by Spectrum. Charles has been the subject of a seven months-long investigation into his claimed academic qualifications (earned degrees). His resignation follows that of SID president Paul Ratsara, who also resigned his office amid a cloud of scandal concerning his academic qualifications.

In April, 2016, news broke in South African print media that both Charles and Ratsara faced scrutiny from church members concerning alleged academic fraud, a crime in South Africa where they served the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

SEE: “Allegations of Fraudulent Degrees Raise Questions for General Conference Appointee.”

In a series of investigative reports, Spectrum revealed that Paul Charles had not completed his bachelor’s degree, though he claimed to have a master’s degree and two PhDs. Ratsara, it was discovered, completed his doctoral degree from the University of South Africa with the assistance of other SID leaders, who helped write his doctoral thesis. Ratsara has asked for reassignment as a pastor in his home union within SID.

SEE: “Facing Legal Proceedings, Paul Charles Works to Clear His Name.”

On November 15, SID President Solomon Maphosa, who replaced Paul Ratsara, confirmed in writing that Paul Charles had resigned and was no longer employed by SID. The resignation took place one week earlier and followed Charles’ suspension over his use of his SID email account to send a letter to many friends and colleagues to speak out against a lay member who called for accountability and transparency in the Charles academic qualifications case. The letter also named leadership of the Southern Africa Union Conference (SAUC). The union filed a formal letter of complaint to the SID on October 27, saying,

"Ps Charles on previous occasions, by expressing defamatory statements about the SAU, its employees and its duly appointed committees, made use of public media to seek and create sympathy for the position that he finds himself in due to his questionable study career. On public media Ps Charles not only insulted and belittled the name of the SAU, but implicitly attacked the integrity of the SAU, its leadership and its processes. We wish to state categorically that the SAU in all its dealings with Ps Charles has always acted within the boundaries of Policy and ethical standards and conducted our affairs to such an extent that the honour and reputation of the Church is safeguarded."

The subject of Paul Charles’ employment was discussed at the 2016 SID Year-end Meeting, attended by General Conference President Ted N. C. Wilson.

Spectrum has also confirmed that Charles was being examined for a potential conflict of interests for using his position as division communication director to funnel business to a company for which his wife worked.

The SID has not announced Charles’ resignation publicly, and has not responded to Spectrum’s requests for comment, as has been the case since this story first broke in April. So far, no replacement has been named for Paul Charles. His name still appears in the Adventist Yearbook, the online directory of Adventist Church’s world fields.

Though Charles has now ended his employment with the SID, he remains an ordained minister who can be assigned other positions within the Adventist Church. However, his ordination is now also under close scrutiny.

In a few days, the Southern Africa Union Conference (SAUC) begins its constituency meeting, during which the revocation of Paul Charles’ ordination will be on the agenda, Spectrum has learned. The results of those discussion will be reported as that news becomes available.

Jared Wright is Managing Editor of SpectrumMagazine.org.

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Make sure your comments are germane to the topic; be concise in your reply; demonstrate respect for people and ideas whether you agree or disagree with them; and limit yourself to one comment per article, unless the author of the article directly engages you in further conversation. Comments that meet these criteria are welcome on the Spectrum Website. Comments that fail to meet these criteria will be removed.