Betraying Sacred Trusts

“God has promised that where the shepherds are not true He will take charge of the flock Himself. God has never made the flock wholly dependent upon human instrumentalities...Those who have proved themselves unfaithful will not then be entrusted with the flock. In the last solemn work few great men will be engaged. They are self-sufficient, independent of God, and He cannot use them.” Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 80.

Today we stand 161 years removed from the prophetic period of 1844, and still the preaching of the present truth, the three angel’s messages, an exceedingly simple request by God, is not being done by the church at large.  God is having to raise up faithful layman to carry on with this work.  In fact, on several occasions, the church’s new approach of evangelism seems to deliberately omit any reference to the present truth. 

 Impact St. Louis 2005

Take for example the 2005 General Conference Session in St. Louis, Missouri. The General Conference Communication Department sponsored an outreach ministry in St. Louis which was broadcast to the entire world during the 58th Adventist Church World Session.  “Impact St. Louis 2005” was the name given to this “evangelistic” campaign which was made up mostly of musical performances, dramatizations, and puppet shows.  Impact St. Louis 2005 performances were conducted at Kiener Plaza located in the historic downtown area of St. Louis and also at the World’s Fair Pavilion in Forest Park. These free concerts were sponsored by the GC, they were held in conjunction with the GC Sessions, and were held during the noon lunch hour to attract people who work in the city’s downtown area. The purpose of Impact St. Louis 2005 was to raise awareness and introduce the world to Seventh-day Adventism. 

This new style of evangelism within Adventism is an alarming development that has led to the sudden disappearance of our distinctive truths and of our work of calling people of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people to embrace them.  Instead many have fallen under the influence of this new evangelism with its vague presentations of truth, generated by certain leaders in the church. The leaders of this new sinister movement have clothed themselves with ecclesiastical authority, legitimacy, and respectability, thus persuading the faithful that they speak the mind of the Church and ought to be followed.

The Neo-Modernist Assault of the Faith

“When Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary [1844] to perform the closing work of the atonement, He committed to His servants the last message of mercy to be given to the world.”  Great Controversy, p. 433.

This “last message of mercy” has been under attack by a modern movement within Adventism whose aim is to break away from the fundamental truths and historical principles by replacing them with new modern ideas, new methods, new styles, and a new thinking. And no one has been more successful in overthrowing the work of God than the “neo-modernists” which pay lip service to the Seventh-day Adventist faith while attempting to undermine it completely.

This new movement’s purposes are directly opposed to the very existence of the original faith which was incorporated in the early days of Adventism during the 1840’s.  Neo-modernists are like a cancer that works within the church and attempts to eliminate every trace of its former history.  This new movement’s objective is to undermine the precious Adventist message either through blatant heresies that are easily identified or through more subtle techniques that eventually lead to the overthrow of our mission and message. By these means, today’s neo-modernists have caused many to lose sight of the true work that God wants to accomplish in this world through His people.

The Spirit of Prophecy has warned us regarding this modern assault on the historical, foundational Seventh-day Adventist truths:

“The burden of the warning now to come to the people of God, nigh and afar off, is the third angel’s message. And those who are seeking to understand this message will not be led by the Lord to make an application of the Word that will undermine the foundation and remove the pillars of the faith that has made Seventh-day Adventists what they are today.”  Selected Messages, vol. 2, p. 103.

“I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps—the first, second, and third angels’ messages. Said my accompanying angel, ‘Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages.’ The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance.”  Early Writings, p. 258.

The three angels’ messages are foundational.  The Spirit of Prophecy cautions anyone who would dare undermine the foundation that God has established.  We have been forbidden from tampering with the pillars of the faith or from stepping off the foundation.

“God had led them along step by step, until He had placed them upon a solid, immovable platform. I saw individuals approach the platform and examine the foundation. Some with rejoicing immediately stepped upon it. Others commenced to find fault with the foundation. They wished improvements made, and then the platform would be more perfect, and the people much happier. Some stepped off the platform to examine it and declared it to be laid wrong.”  Ibid., p. 259.

The false misleading appearances made by the neo-modernists is what makes them so dangerous to the faith.  The enemies of our faith are many.  Some do not hesitate to openly and explicitly proclaim their contradicting views [heresy] against the Seventh-day Adventist faith, and by doing so we can easily choose to exclude them from our fellowship.  However, many neo-modernists are far more clever.  They endeavor to remain inside the fellowship of the church while attempting to bring her in line with their distorted views, passed off under the guise of “Adventist” terminology.

The end result by the “Jesuit” infiltrators, the neo-modernists, the new theology, and the ecumenicals will all be the same:

“Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust...”  Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 41.

Just like the Pharisees of old, while claiming obedience and loyalty to God and His truth, this movement has completely emptied the truth of its true meaning by replacing it with corrupted human interpretations and human ideas.  Today, this new religion of “ecumenism” and “inter-religious dialogue” has far removed God’s people from the great truths given to us by Christ regarding the closing work.

God has outlined the course in which His people must follow up until the close of probation.

“We stand as the remnant people in these last days to promulgate the truth and swell the cry of the third angel’s wonderful distinct message, giving the trumpet a certain sound. Eternal truth, which we have adhered to from the beginning, is to be maintained in all its increasing importance to the close of probation.” Manuscript Releases Volume Nine, p. 291.

A Simple Request Unheeded

It has been more than 160 years since God has given a special work for Seventh-day Adventists to do.  Like the prophet Nathan who was not sidetracked from his mission plainly bore his message to King David when he declared, “Thou art the man” (II Sam. 12:7), we too must faithfully declare “every word” that God has given us in spite of difficulty or opposition. And here we are today, still struggling to understand the first angel’s message.  Here we are today refusing to give the second angel’s message to the popular churches.  Here we are today reexamining to see whether or not the third angel’s message is suitable to give to the sin-loving multitudes of this “modern world.” Adventists today are reexamining the foundation that God Himself has laid! What kind of erroneous, deceptive, mindset has taken over our thinking? Who is poisoning our minds?  Why do we tolerate these outrageous opinions? Why can’t we see that all this work is part of the devil’s assault against the Seventh-day Adventists faith and his final attempt to completely take over the Seventh-day Adventists movement?

“The third angel’s message,” the modernist/ecumenicals argues, “is so out of harmony with the new progresses that this world is making and it has too much ‘shock value;’ therefore, it’s just not the best way to gain influence over others.”  This class of neo-Adventists believes that we need to find better ways to reach souls, such as puppet shows, rap/hip-hop concerts, and fancy dramas, instead of the straight preaching of the first, second, and third angel’s message.  They reason that we just can’t straightforwardly tell people the truth because they wouldn’t be able to handle it.  Their solution is to overwhelm the peoples’ senses with light shows, musical concerts, programs, and other activities so that we can somehow slip in the gospel without them noticing.  The failure to boldly preach the testing truths to the world for fear of offending them is only the result of this modernism/ecumenism/liberalism that has entered the church.  These new disastrous ideas of human origin have crept into our thinking ever since we’ve opened our doors to the world through ecumenism.  The preaching of the final warning message has been impeded by the falsehoods of “ecumenism” and “dialogue” which suddenly appeared in the Church during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Too late did we realize that when we opened the doors to ecumenism that this would result in the invasion of the church by worldly thinking.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that our traditional/historical evangelistic activities are virtually at a standstill and the missions are practically extinct.

Refusing to Abandon God’s Call

“Christ has made His people the depositaries of His law. They are to keep and to teach the commandments of God, and to show their binding obligations upon men. Christ has promised that to those who obey His commandments He will be as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, guiding them in and lighting them along the pathway cast up for the ransomed of the Lord, that they may enter in at the gate of the eternal city.” The Signs of the Times, January 24, 1895.

Christ’s entrance into the most holy place in 1844 and the work which has begun since that time was not so that we could simply entertain sinners through performances or enter into ecumenism with them.  Christ has entered the most holy place to “perform the closing work” (GC 433) of His atonement.  In the most holy place stands the law of God, and “in the very bosom of the Decalogue is the fourth commandment.”  (Ibid. 434).  This law is a revelation of God’s will and a transcript of His perfect character, which will forever endure.  And as God tested Adam and Eve in the garden to see if man would obey, so will His law, particularly the Sabbath, be a test to the entire world before probation closes. God himself has decreed through the Spirit of Prophecy that our historic messages are precisely what this world needs today.  And Heaven’s own affirmation to our historical truths should be a sufficient reason for us to affirm those truths the same.

— The Editors

 Photos from the 2005 General Conference Sessions

An almost naked, unidentified Seventh-day Adventist dressed like the Aborigines, a pagan indigenous tribe from Australia.  

Adventist Youth trying to “Impact Your World” with Christian Rock music through one of the many festive musical concerts sponsored by the outreach ministries of “Impact St. Louis 2005.”

Minister Fred (Fred Whitlow) of Louisiana, right, performs Christian rap at a Sabbath concert in Kiener Plaza, St. Louis. The concert was part of the church’s outreach ministry during the world session.

Children’s drama during the GC world session.

Youth prepare to Impact St. Louis—Kay Blaklock from Riverside, CA; Greg Nakashima from Portland, OR; Michael Polite from St. Louis, MO; Ruth Lisa Paul from Montreal, Canada; and Joel Vaiti from Martinique.

The Impact St. Louis 2005 puppet team demonstrates one of the programs they have been putting on around the city of St. Louis. During the Youth on Parade report, which details the activities of Adventist youth, the puppet team performed before world session in St. Louis, Mo.

Shirtless Polynesians played seashells and sang.

Debra Claymore and Fred Rogers directors of the North American Division Native Ministries. 

“Blessed Hands,” from the North American Division, performed for the Saturday evening music program on July 2, 2005.

Street Art Ministry leader Manny Cruz, from California, instructs six-year-old Shaniya Bryant on the intricate details of graffiti art during Impact St. Louis 2005.

An unidentified Catholic clergymen sponsoring an exhibition booth at the 2005 GC Session.

Back from the dead? A. G. Daniells, president of the General Conference from 1901 to 1922, portrayed by Richard Stenbakken, recently retired director of the General Conference Chaplaincy Department, talks about the advances of Adventist Health ministry around the globe during the 58th Session of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Mike Curzon of North American Division Adventist-Jewish Relations and Temple of the Advent Hope pastor in Hollywood, Florida, plays a Jewish instrument called a shofar.

A spectacular array of lights dazzled the spectators.

Pastor Giovanni Leonardi, a SDA minister born in Italy and a graduate of Andrews University, dressed as a member of the Sovereign Military Order of the Knights of Malta during the 2005 Parade of Nations at the GC Sessions in St. Louis. Next to him stands an unidentified young girl dressed in red carrying the flag of Malta.

Eric Winter, retired pastor from Sydney, Australia, helps assemble the ark, where he will play Noah during the 58th Adventist Church world session. The exhibit is sponsored by the Adventist Church world headquarters Ministerial Association.

The Vatican Flag [standard] being flown at the 2005 General Conference World Session. “When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight.” The Great Controversy, p. 26. 

Federal Probe Rocks Adventist Church

Lake Region Conference accused of financial irregularities, immigration violations

South Bend Tribune, July 25, 2005

By CAROL DRAEGER

Tribune Staff Writer

BERRIEN SPRINGS—The Lake Region Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is under federal investigation in connection with misuse of funds and illegal immigration activities, which could threaten the organization's nonprofit status.

The revelations shocked many of the estimated 730 delegates who attended a special meeting Sunday at Andrews University.  “There’s been a lot of instances of lying and a case of personal enrichment,” Walter Wright, president of the Lake Union Conference, told delegates.

Most delegates knew about the financial crisis and poor internal audit. That news was relayed to about 25,000 churchgoers in 109 worship centers in the Midwest on July 16.

Many knew that the conference’s vice president of multicultural ministries, a treasurer and four pastors were on paid administrative leave in the wake of the Lake Region Conference audit. But the harsh reality, voiced by Wright, silenced many delegates who earlier in the morning raised serious objections about the competency of conference leaders and lack of input they have in selecting leaders.

Many, such as a woman from a church in Cassopolis, said they felt disenfranchised. Late in the afternoon the gymnasium where delegates met fell silent when Wright began talking about federal authorities being on the doorstep of Lake Region Conference leaders. He noted that the ramifications of the inquiries could affect the entire church.

“The effect can be devastating,” Wright said. “If the church loses its tax-exempt status because of things in our conference, that is a real possibility,” he told delegates. According to an internal audit of the conference in 2003 about $18 million in assets were understated or not reported to the government.

The conference also did not report financial statements of “at least six charitable gift annuity agreements” in 2003 and 2004. The result means that in those two years auditors could not “reasonably determine” the conference's total assets and liabilities, according to a memo dated February 2005 to the executive committee of the Lake Region Conference.

Wright also told delegates the church's employment of immigrants who may be in the country illegally has raised eyebrows of federal officials. “What if the Department of Homeland Security comes into our offices and says we’re going to close you down because you’re not reporting illegal aliens and they threaten our national security?” Wright asked.

Then he answered his own question. “That can happen because of our conference,” he said. Wright made it clear the conference is “cooperating with all federal entities” while the investigation continues. In a separate interview, Gary Burns, director of communication for the Seventh-day Adventist Church Lake Union headquarters, could not elaborate about alleged illegal immigration practices of the church. Burns said the Seventh-day Adventist church is a world church, headquartered in Maryland, with operations in 200 countries. Wright’s Lake Union Conference is the parent organization of the Lake Region Conference and four other conferences.

Only the Lake Region Conference, which is championed as a multicultural ministry with growing Hispanic membership, is embroiled in the financial irregularities and alleged immigration violations. The Chicago-based Lake Region Conference was organized in 1945. Wright remained optimistic that the conference would survive. “Look at our dear friends, the Catholics,” he said. “We can’t shuffle people. They didn’t act when they should’ve,” he said referring to Catholic leaders who sometimes moved priests to new parishes instead of punishing them for sexual misconduct. “We won’t do that,” he said.

The following changes were made at the Lake Region Conference Headquarters as a result of corruption charges:

Norman Miles, president, resigned

Hugo Gambetta, vice president, terminated

Greg Baker, treasurer, resigned

Leroy B. Hampton, treasurer, resigned

Lillian Williamson, treasurer, terminated

Vernice Shorey, accountant, suspended

The following pastors were placed on administrative leave of absence, pending further action by the conference executive committee:

Pastor Ciro Aviles

Pastor  Osmin Hernandez

Pastor William Rojas

Pastor Alfredo Solis

Adventists Settle Sex-abuse Suits for $3.5 Million

June 4, 2005—San Jose Mercury News, by David L. Beck

The Seventh-day Adventist Church has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle lawsuits brought by five men who say they were molested by teachers at the church’s Monterey Bay Academy during the 1980s. The church has also agreed to alter school policies to become more responsive to reports of sexual abuse.

“I refused to discuss money with them,” said one of the victims, Michael Weston, “until they could prove to me that radical changes in policy have been made, and that they would provide free counseling to victims of sexual abuse in their churches and schools.”

The church’s Maryland attorney, Victor Elliott, confirms that has happened. “What you had here,” said Elliott, “was something that went back 20 years. The circumstances of screening of teachers and supervision are not up to current-day standards.”

“Well, I sure hope so,” said Albert Tilstra, the father of one of the victims and himself an Adventist pastor, after hearing a new set of standards had been put in place. “Sometimes something like this needs to happen in order to wake up individuals and see what’s really going on.”

“As a denomination,” he said, “we are just beginning to develop a policy as to how to deal with pedophiles in the church. . . . It’s something we have never really dealt with.”

Four of the lawsuits were brought in Los Angeles County and one in Santa Cruz County, where the exclusive school is located. Under the settlement, all five will be dismissed, with no admission of liability on the part of the church.

Caron Oswald, a spokesman for the Central California Conference of the Adventist Church, said in a prepared statement that the church was “deeply saddened since we learned of these allegations” and expressed the hope that “these settlements will help bring closure for those involved.”

Dominican Republic Campmeeting