The Bible says that God’s people are oppressed in three ways. By the devil, by the wickedness of the world around them, and by heavy-handed Pharaohs (Acts 7:19; 10:38; 2 Peter 2:7).
The Bible also says that one of the reasons that God sent His Son to earth was to relieve those who were experiencing oppression (Luke 4:18). God is watching us, and He cares. God cares when people who try to live according to the Bible are marginalized for it. That is what is happening in our Division, lately. Here’s why.
When questions of doctrine arise at General Conference Sessions, Seventh-day Adventist Christians should go to the Book (The Bible) for God’s direction and wisdom and decide according to what it says. After all, we have often been called the “People of the Book” by those outside the Church.
That’s what the Church did when the North American Division requested the authority to ordain female pastors at three General Conference Sessions (1990, 1995, 2015). Delegates looked in their Bibles and saw convincing evidence that leadership in the Church is supposed to be male. So they rejected the request(s) of the North American Division to ordain women pastors as shepherds of the flock—most recently in 2015. All praise to God! But pro-WO proponents in positions of authority in our Church didn’t like it, and immediately planned their reactions to the vote outcome,
Within a month of the 2015 General Conference decision, the editor of the Adventist Review (Bill Knott) wrote a cryptic editorial titled “A Time to Marginalize.” It was recognized by many in the Church as a coded signal for pro-WO subordinates in the NAD to begin marginalizing (or oppressing) people who opposed the ordination of women as pastors and shepherds. Within ten days, the Florida Conference instructed the Spring Meadows SDA Church to cancel a “Heroes of The Faith” series by Doug Batchelor—a series that had been planned for a year.
More recently, an AToday article by Jack Hoehn called for a “massive tithe boycott” against the current General Conference administration. The article also accused the Church of “occult violence” against women for warning six rebellious Unions at Annual Council.
Spectrum Magazine published an article by Courtney Ray titled “My Pain is Not Your Hashtag.” The author calls for Conferences to hire women as pastors, and refrain from hiring men who oppose female ordination. She claims that men who oppose the ordination of women create a hostile environment (liberal buzz words). She also calls for Conferences to ban evangelists and speakers who are opposed to female pastors, again claiming that these men create a “hostile environment.” She says ‘You wouldn’t invite a racist to speak, so it should be equally unacceptable to invite a “sexist” to speak in your Conference.’
In other words, It’s Time to Marginalize!!
Pastor Larry Kirkpatrick addresses these articles in an excellent nine-minute presentation. Give it a look!
Time to Marginalize? Time to oppress fellow believers? Time to indulge in sectarian revenge? No.
It’s time for the Movement to move towards God. It’s time to forgive people; time to confess wrongs; time to love one another fervently (1 Peter 1:22). It’s time to return to the amazing Word of God as the guide for our life and faith. It’s time to humble ourselves, and repent of our terrible pride—that God may lift us up (1 Peter 5:6). When we humble ourselves it is the opposite of fighting, oppressing and marginalizing.
And it brings grace, peace and wisdom into our lives (Proverbs 8:13; 11:2, 16:18; James 4:6; 2 Samuel 16:10,11).
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“Direct my steps by Your Word, and let no iniquity have dominion over me. Redeem me from the oppression of man, that I may keep Your precepts” (Psalm 119:134).
“Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud” (Proverbs 16:19).