October 6, 2017
Dear General Conference Church leaders,
I know that you have no kingly authority, as some say.
In our Church decisions are made -- have always been -- even in EXCOM and ADCOM, whatever -- in a council of leaders and members, by majority's consensus. We have no other way of decision-making.
The dissidents in our Church know this very well too, but they deliberately continue to misinform the members and bystanders.
Things have started to seriously get out of track by the NAD YEM action in 2009. And things began to go worse by the proposal of three officers at AC 2011, backed by some influential retirees.
The rebels in the Church were not reproved by measures but allowed to consolidate their positions, and have brought God's Church, our Church, my Church, to the point of wreckage!
All can see today how this sin has matured.
When looking back into our history, there were persons, pastors (lay members have no means to bring in dissidence) who have found it difficult to abide by adopted consensus resolutions -- doctrinal as well as structural -- and they were rightfully met with severe actions.
There have been and are misleading people in high positions in the Church, in our educating institutions, universities who are left alone to do damage to the SDA cause, while having no record of service. How could things have gone this wrong?
Where were the porters?
How could the leaders in my Church, who were entrusted with a sacred trust, been so lenient and indifferent?
At this moment we see retirees and ex-GC leaders stretching their hands towards the sacred things, and before the eyes of the world they behave in a most horrible, disgraceful and disrespectful manner!
I am simply abhorred! I scream for my Church; pull my hairs out, for inwardly I know this situation will not be normalized until Jesus comes.
The damage is beyond repair!
The trust among brethren is gone!
The innocence is gone!
The inner peace I had, knowing that I have embarked on God's holy ship, is gone!
How can we go and tell the world that God had send Jesus, if the mind of Jesus is absent among us?
O, Dear God, how we have killed the testimony of our faith!
Dear elder Wilson, during these past years I have admired your patience and inner strength.
No public reproving of or debate with the rebels; you have structurally answered expressed and often emotional concerns by members with, 'Dear sister, brother, I have no kingly authority, God cares for His Church' and 'Be of good faith, Jesus is coming soon!' Often times I was rather frustrated with what I saw was a lack of action from you. Please forgive me! To me, beyond any discussion, you have conducted yourself in a manly manner, protecting what was entrusted to you - you have proven yourself a leader. The dissidents were behaving like spoiled children, whining and kicking against shins.
I wonder, how will the stray leaders and retirees that are currently misbehaving, be able to reprove lay members who step down from their sacred trust? Or will from now on any misconduct by anyone in our Church be permissible?
I want to encourage you, dear elder Wilson, to STAND.
To use your influence to bring to the front the scenario that will arise from this mess, if the GC fails to act.
If we fail to act, we implement minority's decisions, and that will make us cult-like.
The Bible is clear on gender roles, Creation, and marriage to name the three major topics at hand.
If the sacred ship must be damaged, let it be damaged by the truth and not by error!
God can only do repairs if it is by truth; the Holy Spirit can only lead in truth on this last stretch to eternity.
Having the rebels get away with their vicious attacks would be for you as a captain to abandon the ship, while the Lord has put you to stand beside Him. I implore you, stay on your post!
You see, if the GC Annual Council fails to act in a most decisive manner, Jesus might as well come on the 12th of October.
If te rebellion prevails, God's cause will be damaged beyond repair. The minority will have a free pass in our Church to damage it even further, to coerce and persecute and smear and black label, as their intentions have proved in the past years.
But if there will be a proposal to act, that must not be only against the pro-WO advocators, who have been left to misbehave themselves during the past 10 years (and stealthily preparing their cause from GC Utrecht 1995). This is for the whole breath of the Church constellation - educators, pastors, administrators, former administrators, retirees, otherwise anointed persons have themselves made void their sacred call and have had it coming.
The Church of Jesus does not consist in high numbers (of membership), but of stewards of all the mysteries of God, who have proved themselves faithful.
I will be praying and fasting for the whole Autumn Council, that the Church leadership will come to its senses.
God's mercies over you,
Ingrid A. Wijngaarde is a biologist and a member of Groningen SDA Church in The Netherlands.