Tuesday Morning Business Session, Presided by Billy Biaggi, General Conference Vice President Selected Voted Action: The vote about deleting the paragraph below, which was tabled on Sunday was reopened and voted up with 170 (yes) to 65 (no). As a result, conference presidents from the division in which the annual meetings are held will not have voi
I have roughly about 3600 words to share this diabolical plot. That isn’t a lot. As I write this urgent message, our church is at a crossroads. With controversy surrounding the last General Conference session and Annual Council, the church appears to be on the verge of an inevitable split. Something ominous this way comes. I am reminded of Paul Rev
COLUMBIA, MARYLAND — On Nov. 4, 2018, the morning business session of the North American Division Year-End Meeting (NAD YEM) was devoted to a discussion on the voted General Conference (GC) document titled “Regard for and Practice of General Conference Session and General Conference Executive Committee Actions.” The GC Executive Committee, at its A
Purpose of the Article: As I perused the comments on social media after the vote was taken on the General Conference Compliance Document, “Regard for and Practice of General Conference Session and General Conference Executive Committee Actions,” it became readily apparent that not all reactions were based on sound biblical principles as the church
I remember the General Conference vote in San Antonio, Texas—the 1,381 No votes to the 977 Yes votes. I remember my friends and I prayerfully awaiting the church’s reaction to the Women’s Ordination decision—especially considering how much emotion had been invested in it. We had friends and family who fell on both sides of the debate, and much pray
The last day of the 2017 Annual Council was filled with inspiration. It truly brought this year’s meetings to an end in a positive and uplifting way. Elder Wilson's introduction to the morning worship set the tone for the day. He informed the delegates that Wayne Blakely, the speaker from Coming Out Ministries, was uniquely positioned to help the c
The third day of the 2017 Annual Council began rather anticlimactically. There were looks of joy and looks of sorrow, looks of defeat and looks of gloating. All in all, however, the atmosphere was one of peace. The morning's business session focused around nurture & retention of members within the Adventist church. Dr. David Trim, with his dry
Monday was the day—the big day. This was the day when Annual Council was to discuss proposals for church unity and reconciliation. It was a day that was expected to be volatile and filled with anger—a day that could split the Church. What happened was not what was expected. The morning began with a worship from Heidi Carpenter and Ranela Kaligithi,
For several months prior to the opening of this year’s Annual Council, there has been a general concern about the atmosphere and possible ramifications of the upcoming non-compliance disciplinary vote. However, over Sabbath, there was a sweet spirit and an overall atmosphere of unity. The day began with a wonderful worship message by Dr. Mic
On September 15, 2017, Elder Dan Jackson, President of the North American Division, held a live webinar with ministerial directors and church administrators from across the NAD. The webinar centered around a number of topics, including the issue of union/division compliance with the General Conference (in the context of the 2015 women’s ordination
